There's no fiddly trigger to pull as the Microburst 2 fires as you pump it, and 20 shots is plenty for a water gun with such a low overall tank capacity. We then fired each water gun from a couple of metres away, ensuring that the whole shot hit the tester's overalls.

But this water gun did come up the shortest in our range tests and it can't be relied on to get your opponents especially wet.

Blast Distance – Whether it’s a gentle blast or a full-on soaking, you can find water guns with various blast distances. We've listed the blast distances for each soaker, but remember these are the maximum possible distances, not all kids will be able to reach those max lengths, especially if strong pumping is required first. We measured the capacity of each water gun by filling the water tank up to maximum and then pouring it out into a container on a set of scales that told us how many millilitres of water were inside. Size: As previously mentioned, modern water guns come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes, with the larger options on the market almost always boasting more power and range — albeit at the cost of portability and child-friendliness.

One of the water guns, the Nerf Super Soaker Fortnite HC-E, was unfortunately broken on arrival, so we were unable to complete testing for that one. Soaking power You only fire once between each refill, so you've got to make it count, but that one shot comes with plenty of range and firepower. A distance of 9.6 metres made this the winner of our range test, and if you're unfortunate enough to get caught in the fire of this blaster you're sure to get soaked. Ways to keep your family living costs down, and kids of all ages happy Get our Family newsletter – it's free monthly At an impressive range of 9 metres, you'll also be likely to hit your opponents before they can get close enough to return fire.Water guns with single shots and those that need pumping up before firing are especially weak against moving targets. It takes time to prepare those water guns to fire so you've got to make your shots count, which isn't easy when your target is on the run. 4) Wear the right clothes Bushes, trees and garden furniture are all excellent sources of cover in a water fight. Not only will you avoid getting hit, you'll also keep out of sight and can ambush your enemies when they least expect it. We're looking especially to see if manufacturer claims prove accurate in the real world, so if a product is advertised on its ability to fire water jets far, but in reality they go just a few meters, we'll tell you. T3 tests water guns by buying them from retailers, filling them with water, and then shooting our friends and family with jets of H2O. This tactic can be used to your advantage when your enemies run out of water, too. If you're close to the refill station when they need to come in to load up, they'll be left wide open for you to give them a good soaking without any risk of return fire. 2) Aim high