Gel Blasters – 2020 was a crazy year, and 2021 isn’t shaping up to be very much better. Many countries are still in lockdown, travel restrictions abound, and what used to be a small gathering is now deemed too risky and even illegal!
There IS light at the end of the tunnel. Eventually, vaccinations will be more widespread than ever, herd immunity will be achieved, and this mess we got ourselves into will finally ease.
Life goes back to whatever the definition of normal is at that time, and we finally get a chance to release all that pent-up energy and actually have a bit of fun with friends and loved ones.
What’s the first thing you will do when restrictions are lifted? Most people want to travel, go to a concert, ditch their masks, and maybe just hang out at a bar without feeling irresponsible.
We can’t wait to enjoy the outdoors in all its entirety again. Participating in team sports is a near impossibility these days. Basketball courts lie empty, beach volleyball is out of the question, and sports facilities look dismally abandoned.
Fear not! The time will come to play again. Australia has always been an outdoor adventure mecca, and it’s only a matter of time before we get a chance to hang out with friends, enjoy games, and get back to our active lifestyles.
Since international travel looks to be farther away, domestic travel seems more likely on the horizon. The best we are hoping for is for the lockdowns and domestic travel restrictions to ease up.
Our team was together one day, and we started wistfully talking about all the things we miss doing locally pre-2020.
We thought we’d share it with you and maybe give some inspiration for some ideas of cool stuff to do once the world stops blowing up.
Get An Adrenalin Fix In Queensland
Everything Australia operates in Cairns and has a bunch of fun stuff for the adrenaline junkie. Skydiving, bungy jumping, rafting, and a giant swing are all available for those that want a quick surge of adrenalin. The AJ Hackett’s 50-meter Bungy in Cairns is the only Australian operational jump.
For those that want an even better fix, launch yourself out of an airplane at 14,000ft above sea level and enjoy spectacular views of the Great Barrier Reef.
Sixty seconds of free fall at speeds of up to 200 km/h might be a little distracting so remember to savor your surroundings!
Explore The Great Barrier Reef
Preferably, underwater! A multitude of dive operators are ready to take you exploring the pristine waters of the reef. It might be the perfect time to introduce yourself to the underwater world with excellent visibility and beginner-friendly dive sites everywhere.
Experienced divers will also rejoice, as strong currents bring pelagic fish like sharks, rays, tuna, and barracudas.
Bonus Tip: For an added kick, the best places to go shark diving are Port Lincoln, where the Great Whites are, Whale Sharks in Ningaloo, and Nurse Sharks in the north. The Great Barrier Reef also has an array of reef sharks with which you can dive without a cage.
Climb A Rock
NSW’s Blue Mountains and Victoria’s Arapiles are stellar international destinations that are known to climbers worldwide. If you don’t want to drive or fly across the country, Kalbarri is no Grampians but is Western Australia’s most beginner-friendly destination.
With routes of all difficulties, there will be something for beginners and spider-people alike. Ensure to get proper climbing instruction before heading off; plenty of guides and instructors will give quality education and keep you safe.
Climbing gyms are also an excellent way to get introduced to the sport and determine if you want to pursue it further. Many climbing gyms pepper the country with quality instruction. Gyms are also a great way to meet like-minded people and get the skinny on all things climbing.
Take A Road Trip
Pack those sleeping bags, tent, and other camping necessities, pick a direction, and start driving! Land exploration is surprisingly satisfying, and you get to check out plenty of places that you’d usually miss.
Love driving? The “Big Lap” is Highway #1, an impressive 14,935km stretch of pure road. It connects all the major cities and is the most widely used highway in Australia.
Did You Know? The speed record for this road is just over five days. Ideally, folks should take three months, and some take up to a year, frequently stopping in the most exciting places. “Grey Nomads” are retirees that travel this route permanently!
Surf Some Waves
With world-class, pristine beaches, Australia is home to some of the best breaks. Suitable for all levels, the massive coastline on the east coast is scattered with beginner-friendly breaks, with friendly, expert instructions more than willing to take you out on the water.
Grab some boardies and a rashie and head to these beginner-friendly breaks:
- Noosa, Queensland
- Coolangatta, Gold Coast
- Byron Bay, NSW
- Yamba, NSW
- Crescent Head, NSW
Shoot Your Buddy With A Gel Blasters
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Of course, right on top of our list of favorite activities to indulge in is playing with our Gel Blasters. These fantastic toys became popular in Australia over the last few years.
Shooting eco-friendly, biodegradable gel balls at friends in a military-style war arena? Heck yeah! AND, they hurt less than paintball pellets and are suitable even for kids.
Most are familiar with paintball. Perhaps you’ve played it, or at least understand the basic concept of it. You might also be unfortunate enough to know how much it hurts!
Gel bells hurt way less. Made up of 94% to 98% water, these gel balls are made of an eco-friendly polymer such as Polyacrylamide, Polymethyl acrylate, or Sodium polyacrylate. They explode on impact and biodegrade fast.
Gel Blasters For Beginners
Gel Blasting is a tactical game played as a CQB (Close Quarters Battle). Also known as Close Quarters Combat, it involves sticking a bunch of people in an enclosed area and having them shoot each other. Sometimes played in nature in a limited zone, it can also be played in specially created enclosures.
Gel Blaster games are team-based matches. To get the most fun out of each game, team up with some friends or join an existing team.
When forming your own team, be prepared to be the team leader and tactician. Ensure your team has different abilities and play each person to their individual strengths and weaknesses. If you feel someone else has better tactics than you do, don’t be afraid to pass on the torch.
When joining an existing team, be a good team player and follow the team leader’s instructions. You’re on the same side, and inflated egos have no place in a team sport!
Success in Gel Blaster games depends primarily on three components; surprise, speed, and violence of action.
Surprise
Just like any other versus battles, taking the opposing team by surprise works best. This might be hard to achieve in a gel blaster game though; most folks are prepared for a fight from the get-go and won’t be drinking coffee or eating cookies when you blast through their door.
Speed
The faster you move, the quicker the enemy team has to react to get you. A fast-moving target is also harder to hit, so move those feet and work on those sprints.
Violence of Action
Pin them down! Make sure you take control of the area as fast as possible and keep the enemies from being able to retaliate. Shoot anything that moves, but watch the friendly fire and avoid hitting your buddies.
Each team member should have a different role in a Gel Blaster game.
Rifleman
The most common role, is probably where a beginner should be. You’ll need a rifle, not a shotgun or a sniper rifle.
Pointman
For the brave, the point man is the first one through the door and likely to be the first to get shot and eliminated. Sticking beginners in this role to be sacrificed might be cruel and might be a good tactic for the actual win.
Support Gunner
As a support gunner, your responsibility is to cover the assault team’s six when they charge into action. Support gunners usually use machine guns with big magazines, ensuring the baddies don’t sneak up on the primary assault team.
Sniper
As a sniper, you are in hiding and taking out high-value targets one by one, protecting the rest of your team from afar.
The game in itself is honor-based since there is no way to prove a hit. Anyone being hit has to call it out and hang the head in shame.
Since the Gel Balls are lightweight, so a hit can be easy to miss, especially if protective gear and padding are worn. Don’t let that spoil the mood, and remember you’re all there to have fun.
Airsoft Guns and Paintball Markers
Gel Blasters, Airsoft Guns, and Paintball Markers are great for playing those games; they are toys that only exist to let people have a bit of fun.
They all shoot projectiles that can hit targets at a distance and possibly make you look really cool handling them. Those sports are very similar; the type of ammunition is what sets them apart.
As is stated in the name, paintball guns use balls filled with paint, leaving pieces of the gelatine shell and, of course, a lot of paint for you to deal with. This might pose a problem, especially if it’s a rainy day and you decide to fire a few rounds in your house or apartment.
Airsoft Guns shoot plastic pellets (BBs) with a diameter of 6mm (or the more uncommon size of 8mm) with a few different weights, from 0.12 gram up to 0.40 gram.
The pellets are available in different colors, including glow-in-the-dark features for tracer bullets. Tracer bullets are charged up with light because when they are ejected by a flash added to the barrel.
Airsoft pellets are usually made of one of two materials:
- ABS plastic (the standard pellet) has to be picked up and disposed of.
- PLA plastic (the bio pellet) is biodegradable and will decompose in nature in about one year.
Gel Blasters are also known as gel shooters, gel markers, gel guns, hydro blasters, and gel soft guns. They are a multitude of different blasters that come in various shapes and forms.
Gel Blasters use water-soaked 7-8mm gel balls that you presoak for a few hours before use. The gel balls will evaporate by themselves, leaving you with little to no cleanup hassle.
So let’s take a look at some differences with these different types of Gel Blaster guns:
The first thing you’ll notice is the looks. Paintball Markers are bulkier due to the large barrels and magazines and rarely look like an actual firearm.
Because of their slim barrels, the Gel Blasters and Airsoft Guns are available as replicas of famous weapons such as handguns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, and submachine guns.
Some of the most popular Gel Blaster models right now are:
- Glock G18 (SKD Auto/Semi-Auto Glock G18), a handgun
- M4 (JM M4A1 Gen 8.5 Gel Blaster), an assault rifle
- NWELL MB05 (NWELL MB05 Tactical Metal Sniper Gel Blaster), a sniper rifle
- Scar V (JM SCAR V2 Gel Blaster), an assault rifle
- Beretta 90-Two (SKD Beretta 90TWO 14.8v Auto Gel Blaster), a hand gun
- Desert Eagle (RX Desert Eagle Gel Blaster), a massive handgun
- Glock 18 (YJD Glock G18 Hopper Fed Gel Blaster), a handgun
- Vector V2 (LeHui Kriss Vector V2 Gel Blaster), a submachine gun
- Beretta M92 (JM M92 Beretta Gel Blaster), a handgun
- Galaxy M82A1 (Galaxy Barrett M82A1 Manual Gel Blaster Sniper), a sniper rifle
These Gel Blasters look just like the real thing, so you make sure you don’t bring them out to play in public places. Even though you know they are toys, others might get freaked out and call the cops, which is a reasonable thing to do if you see someone with a weapon. That’s not going to be a very good day.
The cost of ammunition also differs, and since this is running cost, it will matter over time.
Paintball Markers have the highest cost; 500 balls can easily set you back $20-30 for a decent brand.
Airsoft pellets are much cheaper than Paintballs; you’ll get 4000 to 5000 of those tiny pellets for the same price.
The cheapest of the lot are the gel balls; the same amount of money will get you about 30,000 pretty little gel capsules of good quality.
The price of the different gun types is pretty similar. Better quality guns cost more, and extra features and upgrades can cost a pretty penny. Common upgrades include scopes and grenade launchers.
How do Gel Blasters work?
There are two types of propulsion; mechanical and gas.
The mechanical propulsion is driven by a battery-powered electric motor that coils a spring, although some handguns and sniper rifles use a spring you manually activate.
Gas-powered Gel Blasters are relatively new to the market, but they have already gained popularity. They use small gas canisters similar to the ones used in Airsoft guns.
The impact of the bullets determines the minimal level of protective gear you’ll need. Paintballs being the heaviest and fastest, require the most protection, followed by the Airsoft gun. Gel Blasters have the least impact, therefore requiring less protection.
Gel Blasters eject their ammunition somewhere between 150 and 300 feet per second and can discharge up to 30 gel balls per second, depending on the model.
Pistols are at the lower end of the range, while rifles fire at a higher velocity.
Knowing that the bullets are lightweight beads of water, gel blasting is a pretty safe sport. The point of impact will generate little to no pain as the gel ball collapses into gel and water.
Depending on your pain tolerance, you might feel a nip and have a temporary red mark that will go away in hours. A hit from a rifle might hurt a tad more and carry a mark that lasts a day. Gel balls will never pierce or penetrate the skin.
Protective eyewear is required at all types of sports where things are coming at you with high velocity and is recommended for Gel Blaster games.
The Gel Blaster is a relatively harmless toy and a great source of fun, but you should always treat it like it is loaded with the safety off, and just like a regular gun.
Be aware as well of your surroundings. Hitting an innocent bystander is not going to be very fun for both of you.
So what is essential when you buy your first Gel Blaster?
First of all, set your budget.
With a vast range of guns to choose from, it’s easy to go wild with the shopping. We don’t like splurging but also don’t stinge on hardware purchases. Low-quality guns tend to be shelved and unused.
Look online and in shops for combo deals that pair guns and ammunition. They should give you all you need to get started with gel blasting.
If your friends are already playing, you’ll probably want to get enough gear to join them for team play.
If you plan to spend some time with target practice in your backyard (or your kitchen, we don’t judge), you’ll get away with a Gel Blaster, protective eyewear, and a bunch of Gel Balls.
Remember to buy the Gel Balls from your supplier; the standard ones that will come with your Gel Blaster are usually of inferior quality.
The type of gun will be dictated by the kind of role you want to play. If you’re going to play a sniper, you’ll need a sniper rifle. Most beginners start with a handgun or an assault rifle, but there are many options, including shotguns and sniper rifles.
After you figure out what type of gun you want, start researching different brands that have that particular type.
Gel Blaster reviews online are aplenty. Forums might also be a good source of information. Look for a reliable dealer; there are plenty of online shops to choose from.
Your first gun will be your entry into the world of gel blasting, so choose well and ask the experts.
Gel Blasters are fun, basically harmless toys that you can use for a friendly war game with your friends. Some of their key features are:
- Eco-friendly ammunition (water!)
- It is safe; only safety eyewear is needed
- Cheap ammunition (again, water)
- Low impact; little to no discomfort when you get hit
- No litter, the Gel Pellets disintegrate into water
- Lots of upgrades available
Are Gel Blasters Legal In Australia?
Firearm ownership is hugely regulated in Australia. Airsoft guns are entirely banned. Gel blasters are illegal across most of the states. The only state that allows them in Queensland.
You’ll need a firearm license in most other states. It is a serious criminal offense to own a gel blaster without a firearm license.
Queensland – 100% legal to purchase from reputable businesses, legal to own, and no license is needed. You’ll need to conceal it and cannot carry an unconcealed gel blaster in public.
Western Australia – Gel blasters are not legal, according to the parliament of Western Australia. While they may be illegal at present, they are constantly reviewing their purpose and may make it legal at some point in the future.
South Australia – In October 2020, the South Australian Police decided to regulate gel blasters as firearms. Anyone in South Australia wanting a gel blaster has to apply for a category four shooting license.
Tasmania – If they replicate a real firearm and have ammunition, gel blasters are illegal. However, it is not unlawful if the gel blaster does not look like a firearm and is intended to be used as a toy.
NSW – You’ll need a firearm license or permit. Gel blasters are often referred to as an airgun and fall into the firearm category.
Victoria – They are illegal and classed in the same category as a firearm.
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