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Zero Blaster Reviewed

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the scare-the-cat dept.

Daniel Rutter writes "I've just reviewed the Zero Blaster, the smoke ring gun that ThinkGeek (among others) sell. It works. It's fun. It's a vortex ring physics demonstration with two triggers and a see-through mechanism. What more could you want for $20?" Thinkgeek and Slashdot are both owned by VA Software.

6 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. ads by Kyle+Hamilton · · Score: 2, Interesting

    you know for every 10 bucks I spend on thinkgeek I sould get something like 20 page views added to my Slashdot account I would shop more at Thinkgeek then I would at http://www.Jinxhackwear.com

    --
    Linux is like living in a teepee. No Windows, no Gates, Apache in house.
  2. Played with one by SamMichaels · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Friend of mine used to be the manager at Spencer Gifts...they started stocking these about a year and a half ago.

    I was yelled at quite often to stop blowing smoke rings at customers, at her cashiers, at her...and even at myself. Couldn't put the toy down.

    Smoke rings went for about 3 or 4 feet before they dissipated. Since I work in a club, I'm used to the smell of fog...and I'm one of the whackos who enjoy the smell of fog :)

    Get one for your home, your office, your car...everywhere. Your visitors will pick it up, start playing, and not be able to put it down. Some day you'll see smokeringjunkies.com from the addicts to this toy.

  3. DIY Vortex Gun by istartedi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This reminds me of a DIY vortex gun I saw in a kids science comic thingy when I was like... 13 or something.

    Step 1. Get a sturdy cardboard box no more than 6 inches wide in any dimension. 6" by 6" square with 8-12" length is good. Something cylindrical like a Quaker Oats container might be even better.

    Step 2. Cut out one end and stretch a balloon over it. Firmly tape or otherwise fasten the balloon over the end.

    Step 3. (perhaps the trickiest part) Attach something to the center of the balloon so you can pull it back. IIRC, they suggested that you could use a brass notebook fastener and some tape to do this. The tricky part is not to tear the balloon.

    Step 4. Cut a circular hole in the middle of the other side. I want to say it should be about a 3rd the "diameter" of the box. Certainly no larger than that.

    To "fire" it, just pull back on the balloon and hold long enough for pressure to equalize (this happens almost instantly because the hole is pretty big). Then, release it in a SNAP! all at once.

    It's been a long time, but I think they promised a curious puff of air could be felt by people 10 or 20 feet away if you did it right.

    An afternoon of scrounging for parts, construction, and experimentation with your kids is probably a more valuable experience than just shelling out for a vortex gun with nasty smoke in it.

    For extra credit and to find out if your kids are mechanicly inclined, encourage them to come up with a handle/trigger mechanism for the thing so it can be pointed like a real gun.

    If your DIY version works, you can take the kids out for ice-cream and get some dry ice from the vendor. See if you can make your gun smoke with that. A fun afternoon and evening for the entire family!

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  4. Glycol? by Combuchan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I find it interesting that Zero Toys would use glycol as the formula for the smoke solution, especially a cherry-scented concotion. Kids tend to equate cherries with stuff that tastes good, with perhaps disastrous results when we look at the defintion from wordnet:

    glycol
    n 1: a sweet but poisonous syrupy liquid used as an antifreeze
    and solvent [syn: {ethylene glycol}, {ethanediol}]

    Smells like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

    --
    "[T]he single essential element on which all discoveries will be dependent is human freedom." -- Barry Goldwater
  5. Request by spudchucker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Please use www.slashdot.com for shit like this.

    Please make www.slashdot.org worth looking at.
    Smoke ring stuff

    Cooler toy stuff

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

    Stuff that matters

  6. I love mine! by dacetone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I got one of these a few months ago, and it's been a lot of fun. I leave it on my coffee table, and it's a conversation piece (I guess it helps to have stoner friends). My cats hate it a lot, they tend to wrinkle up their noses and run away.

    I can't say that battery life has been a problem like he described, i've had the same set in since I got it. It doesn't push them with much force, but you can get better distance with practice. One thing i've found that helps the quality of the ring is to cover the smokehole with your hand while you pull the fog trigger, as if you don't, it will dribble smoke out. This produces thicker rings.

    Just don't try and use it in a room with a fan on, it will blow it right away. One thing that was neat about that was discovering the airflow patterns in my house, and which windows are really drafty.

    It's been more than $20 worth of fun, I think (just making your friends laugh like mine did is worth that) And no, I don't work for the company that makes or sells it, just an amused customer.

    --
    Just follow the day, and reach fo