 Great rocket - Here's a few tips |
| Review Date: June 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cameron D, Utah |
| Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKWD8W7SLWO7T Great toy, once you learn its picky points. Most of what previous reviewers state about following the directions is correct. After close attention to details, we still couldn't get this rocket to fire the first few tries, and then finally success!!! The rocket is trigger happy. We had to launch it within a second or two of pumping it up. And the trigger had to be squeezed hard and fast by an adult. If we waited too long it wouldn't go, BUT ... all we had to do was pump on it some more and then launch it within a second or two to get it to launch. You don't have to empty everything and start over, just pump it a few more times and launch it quick. Worked every time after following this rule. The kids love it! |
Awesome!
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| Review Date: May 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Sarah, Los Angeles, CA |
| I wish I had this when I was a kid. My nephews (12, 9 and 7) LOVED this! Even my husband couldn't get enough. It took everyone a few practice tries before we got the hang of it, but once we did... boy oh boy... did we have a blast! |
AWESOME! loads of fun for all ages!
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| Review Date: August 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Bmommy, Midwest, USA |
this rocket is AWESOME! It is true that it does go 100 feet in the air, maybe even higher. We have had a blast with it. You have to follow the directions EXACTLY to get it to blast off, but they are easy to understand. LOADS OF FUN!
HOW IT WORKS: You blow up the 7-foot inflatable rocket part, really easily (you don't need a pump, and it's easy enough that I could do it myself). You fill a little water bottle and seal it. You pump what looks like a bicycle tire pump until the pressure gauge shows in the green. Then you squeeze a grenade-type ball that launches it. It goes 100+ feet in the air! You can continue launching it over and over by following the same procedures.
On a windy day we were blasting it off, it took off, the wind changed and sent it back right towards us! It was hysterical (it wouldn't have hurt, it's only filled with air after all). It gave my husband a chance to play hero and actually catch a rocket out of the air.
Highly recommend this super-fun rocket. Even at $20, it's worth every penny. It did get one hole in it when it hit the pavement (it's better to do it in a grassy area of course), but we fixed it quickly and easily with the patch repair (stick it on and wait 20 minutes, you're done!).
A few extra tips:
You have to follow the directions EXACTLY. In fact, before you start to FOLLOW the directions, READ them all the way through first. I can't stress enough that you have to do every single step in the right order for it to work.
-you inflate the rocket by mouth, not with a pump. Don't use a pump, it might blow out the seams. This doesn't take long and isn't hard to do. Just make sure that you fill it as much as possible.
-there is a big plastic ring that you put over the end of the rocket AFTER you blow it up, but BEFORE you put the rocket into the launcher.
-line up all the arrows exactly. (arrows on the rocket and launcher must line up).
-make sure that the rocket base is into the ground really well, and that it is level...there is a little bubble gauge to show you if it's level.
-make sure the lid on the water bottle is on really tight.
-pump the bicycle-type pump up till the gauge shows in the green.
-if the rocket won't hold air, find the leak and patch it with the patch kit provided (it's like a 3x3 inch patch adhesive thingy. you cut a small square, put it on the hole and wait 20 minutes). If you can't find the leak, use soapy water to spot the bubble it'll make where the air is coming out. Just make sure you dry the spot off really well, then put the patch on and wait your 20 minutes or more.
-if you're wondering what the long red plastic thing is, you put it in the rocket hold and it will deflate the rocket. Hang onto that and the little red inflating adapter, too. you'll need both of them.
-this is a big one. There is a small hose that comes out of the bottom of the launcher, that has a blue grenade-type squeeze-ball that you squeeze to launch the rocket. This pooped out on us after 3 launches. But we can still launch the rocket with a screwdriver, pushing down on the lock window in the base of the launcher.
-if the rocket seems to want to lean over before you launch it, and doesn't seem like it has enough air in it: it's too late to take it out of the launcher (it locks in) to add air. Believe it or not, you'll have to find something high to stand on, we used a ladder, and insert the little plastic adapter into the top of the rocket, and blow it up the rest of the way.
-we have launched our rocket almost 20 times now. Only had one leak, which we patched up and it works fine.
I assure you that it is worth the fussiness of the product to get a good launch, it is soooo much fun for little ones and us big ones. The whole neighborhood enjoyed it, actually. Good luck and have fun! |
A Blast!
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| Review Date: August 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Patrick Hopkins, |
Maybe we were just lucky, I don't know. Assembling the rocket was straightforward, took about 10 minutes. The instructions are clear and the key points are repeated right on the toy. Got four successful launches on our first four tries. My daughters (6 and 9) loved it, and learned to stand downwind to catch the "exhaust" spray.
- It takes almost a liter of water for each launch, so bring plenty.
- It takes about 130 pumps to launch. Kids can do the early pumps, but near the end the effort gets high enough you need an adult, or a strong kid.
- I wouldn't recommend this for windy days, the rocket would want to blow off of the base and would probably break the latch mechanism unless you actually guide the rocket during launch. And as it's (slowly) coming down, it drifts downwind, so you would need a field with a couple of hundred feet of open downwind space. |
Its a BLAST
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| Review Date: September 12, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Amazon Shopper, Phoenix, AZ USA |
I have told all the fathers I know that no self respecting man should be without one of these things.
The package arived in perfect condition (delivered UPS). No damage to any parts. The built in safety features are great. They prevent you from firing the rocket when the base is not level and if the inflatable rocket portion is not inserted in the body of the rocket. I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out why the thing would not fire (during low preasure testing) only to realize that it won't if these two saftey requirements are not met. The rocket sets up quickly and easily and is never failed to blast of each time we squeazed the trigger bulb. I went out with a group of about 7 children ages 5-10 and no one had trouble launching the rocket.
Pros.
- Easy setup.
- Almost foolproof usage.
- Does not require a lot of water for each launch. (we took a 5 gallon aqua-tainer and it lasted hours)
- Kids love chasing down the falling rocket and bringing it back (5 kids at a time) almost as much as launching
the rocket.
- Falls horizontaly so that it lands gently.
Cons.
- Inflatable rocket part takes a bit of time to fill up and deflate.
- Younger kids will tire of pumping it up before it is safe to launch.
- Most of the spray goes straight into the ground and did not result in us getting wet. :(
PS. We also made homemade water rockets for about $10 in parts and some used 2 liter bottles with plans available on the internet. These were also a blast but did not look as cool as the Banzai.
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