Celebrating the independent kiwi spirit of invention.

SUPER SHOWER BACKPACK

Super Shower Backpack Construction

Super Shower Backpack Usage Notes

Usage Notes

• The solar shower can be filled by holding the rubber doorstop (tightly) on a tap, eliminating the need to remove the stopper from the shower.
   

• The tap is easily reachable behind the wearer's back, and both the tap and the bung can be rotated to point in the most convenient direction, making shooting with either hand possible (something that may be quite desirable due to the amount of pumping required).

  
   
• Overbalancing backward is a very real danger. Be stationary with care.
   

• Other guns can be refilled in the field by temporarily removing the doorstop from your own gun and directing the water flow into the other gun.

  
   
• Long battles on hot, sunny days will result in a warm stream of water being shot from your gun. Remember to not leave your gun pressurised for long periods. I realise this is difficult since the water lasts so long, but a report has been made of a CPS 3000's pressure falling over the course of a full afternoon's battling, then recovering overnight, and I had the impression that my CPS 2500's pressure wained during a recent evening's battle in which I used the backpack's full contents.
   
• When in use, after emptying the solar shower (yeah, right) the tap needs to be turned to the off position to allow air into that end of the tube so a vacuum doesn't build up in the gun reservoir. (Air could also be let in by pulling the doorstop out of the gun but that would let water splash out while pumping hard.)
   
• Although the backpack frame itself is aluminium, the Super Shower Backpack needs to be dried thoroughly after use to prevent mildew in the strapping. When I'm not on tour I put mine in a room with a dehumidifier pointed at it.

The solar shower box says
"Not to be used as container for potable water."
(Emphasis added. Potable means drinkable – which makes more sense than portable.)

Glossary

CPS 1000. Gun pictured above and used for testing. Nozzle is rated at "5x" the volume of an XP Super Soaker.

CPS 2500. A very large rifle/cannon-type Super Soaker with integrated slide-action pump (rather than a separate pump handle as the CPS 1000 pictured above) and built-in pressure guage. Three selectable nozzles, rated at 5x, 10x, and 20x. This gun is 87cm long!

CPS 3000. At one stage the top-of-the-range Super Soaker. It features an 8 litre backpack which can only be coupled to the CPS 3000, although the hose can be disconnected from the gun to enable refilling team members' guns. The CPS 3000 has a (slightly) lesser range than any of its contemporaries, but without something similar to the Super Shower Backpack makes up for this with its increased capacity.

Overloading. Filling up a gun's pressure chamber after filling (by pumping as normal) then topping up the water reservoir to get the maximum possible load in the gun.

Tap. What non-Americans call a faucet.

Super Shower Backpack Construction

Super Shower Backpack Usage Notes

Celebrating the independent kiwi spirit of invention.

Contact:
Return to ianman HOME | Back to Aqualab Home | Return to TOP
Inventions: Super Soaker Backpack | Air Cannon | Car Interior Lighting | LED Torch