How To Use Gel Blasters With Your Kids: Top Tips, Safety Advice, and Maintenance

The first place to start (in modern Australia at least) is with safety. Protecting children should be the number one priority!

These days, you can get safety goggles designed specifically for gel blasting. These are inexpensive, protect against projectiles and have UV protection for added peace of mind. 

Look for goggles with anti-fog systems, since these are the most practical. They won’t steam up, making your kids less likely to take them off mid-fight!

You can also get kids helmets. These provide even more protection for sensitive areas around the eyes and skull. Meanwhile, gloves prevent your kids from getting sore hands while handling guns and provide relief if shot in the fingers. A modest level of protection should suffice. 

 

Choose A Suitable Gel Blaster

 

The next step is to choose a suitable gel blaster. Numerous products are available from us, so it is a question of trying them out and seeing which they prefer. 

Here’s a quick rundown of the what we offer for kids: 

 

• Pistols – lightweight and suitable for short-range or close-quarters combat
• Rifles – an all-round option for children who want to experiment with mixed play styles
• Tactical pistols – special pistols often equipped with silencers to make them stealthier
• Gatling guns – rapid-fire electric mini-guns that shoot a continuous stream of gel balls 
• Sniper rifles – long-range weapons for kids who like to skulk around in the bushes
• Sci-fi pistols – like something out of Star Trek
• Water pistols – use water instead of gel pellets or beads
• Shotguns – cartridge-using blasters with area of effect (AOE) shots

 

These blasters are generally far less expensive than their adult counterparts. Plus, most are made of light materials with weaker recoils for easier handling. 

Water pistols are best for young children. Then, as they get older, you can increase blasters’ size, weight and power. 

 

Some of our kids' rifles are capable of shooting at more than 240 feet/second. However, others offer less power (in the 150 feet/second range). 

 

Set Up A Play Area

The next step is to set up a play area your kids will respect. Keeping gel blaster play within certain boundaries can improve safety and prevent property damage. 

Gel blasting is best done outdoors away from anything that might break (like glass). Therefore, choose a spot at the end of your garden (if at home). Somewhere downhill with a naturally protective surrounding landscape is ideal. 
Once you have a suitable location, you can add various obstacles and arena elements. Putting up some sort of boundary can also help ensure the game only takes place in permitted areas. 

 

Teach Kids About Gel Blasters

With the equipment bought and the arena set up, the next step is to teach your kids how to use gel blasters safely. 

Start by explaining the basics to them, like how to fire, load, recharge and refill their weapons. Giving them confidence that they can do it makes them more likely to play with you. You can start with simple shooting practice and go from there. 

Of course, gel blasters require proper handling to use safely, so you’ll want to go through this with them, too. Show them how to load balls, cock weapons, and grip their blasters comfortably. Tell them they shouldn’t open their weapons and fiddle about inside because of the presence of batteries, electric circuits or pressurised gas. 

You will also want to inculcate other principles, including: 

• How to press the trigger correctly
• When to fire the weapon (never in someone’s eyes)
• How to fire to avoid causing injury or property damage
• Why they should use their blasters’ safety features (if there are any)
• How to use a gel blaster responsibly with adults and friends

Once your kids know how to use gel blasters properly, you won’t have to coach them on what to do every time they come out of the box. Ultimately, you want them to self-regulate.

 

Make Gel Blaster Matches Fun

With all that done, the next step is to set up the first activity. Ideally, you want to make this part as fun as possible. 

Try beginning with shooting practice. Kids often need practice to get used to using weapons before graduating to full-blown matches. It can take time for them to develop the muscle memory and strength to deal with blowback and the physical weight of the weapon. 

 

You can try various team games, including: 

• Hide and seek, where one group of players hides and the other tries to find them before they shoot a specified target
• Team battles, where you have two groups of players with gel blasters who attempt to tag the opposing team’s players before the time limit runs out (the team that goes to zero untagged players first loses)
• Obstacle challenges where you include tunnels, climbing ropes, and cover positions and get kids to shoot targets before they can progress to the next stage
• Defend the base, where a defending team tries to stop an attacking team from overrunning their position or touching a particular spot into
• Capture the flag, where one team tries to bring a flag held by another team back to its base

 

Maintenance

Lastly, you’ll want to maintain your kids’ gel blasters and apply safe storage practices to ensure longevity.

To keep gel blasters in excellent working order:

• Clean them on the exterior and inside the barrel after use
• Check for any obvious signs of damage or disrepair
• Store gels and blasters in a try and cool environment
• Don’t expose them to any hazardous chemicals
• Store gel balls following the manufacturer’s instructions, keeping them hydrated where necessary
• Clean magazines to deal with common troubleshooting problems, including inconsistent firing