More information about gel balls

Gel balls for gel blaster information

Today, we will focus on the projectiles they use, which is one of the main differences with Airsoft and Paintball.


Pack 10 000 balls of 7-8mm

These are "water balls". They are in fact hydrogel beads composed mainly of superabsorbent polymer. They are presented in their initial form as micro beads and can absorb/store in a few the equivalent of more than 100 times their volume in liquid. Usually used with water, we can imagine any kind of liquid that can be absorbed by the beads.

Process developed in the 1970s, first for hygienic use (diaper, and sanitary napkin), it has more recently been used by the general public with the creation of gel beads as we know them for projectiles but with a gardening use in which the water beads play a decorative role and to maintain the hydration of plants in glass vases.

They can absorb up to 1000 times their mass of water in a few tens of seconds. When they are dehydrated, they are usually in the form of a white powder.

Source: wikipédia

The good point of this material is that it will allow to have a projectile in its initial form which has a minimal size (less than 20 to 30 times the size of the hydrated projectile) which allows that it is in terms of volume or weight to have products easy to store, easy to transport and thus less expensive for the user.
In addition, the rehydration time of Gel Balls is very fast. To reach the size of use, it takes about 1h30 in hot water and up to 3 hours in cold water.

Once rehydrated, the Gel Balls can be stored for a long period of time, just make sure that they stay hydrated (in a plastic bottle for example with water up to the height of the balls, see pictures below). they should be placed in a closed container such as a bottle, ziplock bag or plastic box with a converter. 

There are different qualities of projectiles, the more "rigid" the projectiles will be, the more precise the replica will be, however, the impact will also be stronger. We find a classic diameter in most Blasters, it is the 7-8mm diameter. We say 7-8mm because the diameter of the barrel can withstand this difference there and depending on the marks we will have projectiles more or less close to one of the two values (for example, the most used, called "Milkies" because of their milky color measures 7.2mm in diameter).