We made no secret of the fact that one of our favorite experiences at Toy Fair 2014 came from our time with the folks at Zing Toys. Among all of the products we got to try out at their booth, there was one item in particular that impressed the heck out of us—the humble Sky Ripperz rockets with Rip Zip launcher. This modestly-priced toy is claimed to have a 250’+ firing distance, with nothing more than a pull of a bungee loop and a flick of the wrist for propulsion. Naturally, we could hardly wait to verify this ourselves.
With summer finally upon us, and a holiday weekend at-hand, the arrival of a small package from our friends at Zing earlier this week came just in time. Here, finally, was our chance to test out the Sky Ripperz for ourselves. And we’re happy to report, the Sky Ripperz and Rip Zip Launcher is everything we had hoped, and more. In fact, it could be the most fun we’ve had with a toy this simple in a very, very long time!
We acknowledge the Zing “Blast Off” products (of which the Sky Ripperz is a member) are not blasters or toy guns in the traditional sense, and they skirt the border of the type of products we typically cover. However, we could very easily see the Sky Ripperz, in particular, serving as a type of long-range mortar in a backyard Nerf war, so we’ll give it a pass. And truth be told, even if it was never used in that manner (and Zing wouldn’t recommend you do), it’s such a fun product in its own right that it would be a shame for us not to give it some coverage.
We found the proper launching procedure to be somewhat similar to casting a fishing line—i.e., it’s all in the wrist. While the elastic cords themselves provide decent forward momentum on their own, it’s the wrist-action that provides an exponential increase in shot distances. This technique was intuitive to some of our testers, but not to others. Some of us were able to master the process almost immediately, while others fumbled with shots that went straight into the ground, or that sputtered out in less than 30 feet. We expect that that “8+” age recommendation on the packaging has as much to do with this rather careful launch procedure as it does with safety.
“Slowly but surely, we eclipsed the 250 foot mark, with shots climbing toward the mid-270 feet range, and eventually, all the way up to an astonishing 295 feet!”
But once the launch technique was mastered, the Sky Ripperz did everything we asked of them—and then some. The Sky Ripperz packaging claims “Flyz [sic] up to 250 feet!” At first, we came up short, hitting distances of roughly 225 feet—impressive, to be sure, but not quite living up to the ranges we expected (much less the “football field” claims we heard at Toy Fair). But before long, we saw those distances increasing, eventually reaching 245 feet. But we knew we could get the Sky Ripperz to go even farther, so we headed to a high spot on our test field, and put the wind at our back. Slowly but surely, we eclipsed the 250 foot mark, with shots climbing toward the mid-270 feet range, and eventually, all the way up to an astonishing 295 feet!
Normally, when we’re testing out blasters, attempting maximum distances and measuring accuracy is a bit of a chore… load darts, prime, aim, fire, measure, repeat. And to be sure, this process wasn’t much different procedurally, but it was a heck of a lot more fun. When firing a blaster, most of the distances are due to springs, flywheels or other mechanisms that aren’t directly controlled by the user—it’s usually just a matter of hitting the right angle. But in the case of the Sky Ripperz, the distances are a direct result of the user’s mastery of the product itself. You want a straight, long-range shot? If you’re good enough, you can make it happen. And when you do, there’s a huge sense of reward.
Our overall verdict on the Zing Sky Ripperz is a direct result of the fun we had with the product. Put simply, they are a fantastic buy—a bargain for the performance potential, and a heck of a lot of fun for all but the youngest among us. No, they will never replace a proper blaster, nor are they designed to do so. But if you’re looking for something that will keep you entertained for hours, and will give you a visceral thrill and perhaps even a bit of exercise in the process, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything more impressive than the Sky Ripperz. Frankly, just talking about it makes us want to go out and play with them. They are everything we had hoped, and more.