Hop Ups

What Are Gel Blaster Hop Ups?

Hop ups are one of the most cost-effective blaster upgrades that you must have. They are crucial in increasing your shooting range and improving your shooting accuracy. Specifically, a hop-up applies a backspin to the gel ball as it comes out of the barrel. So instead of the gel ball traveling a particular distance and then falling to the ground in an arc-shaped trajectory, the backspin allows the pellet to fly further in a straighter direction.

How can you use this to your advantage? It’s best to adjust your hop up patiently until you reach peak performance. It’s something you wouldn’t want to adjust on the fly, especially if it’s your first time tuning it. We recommend playing around at your home with the hop up to get an idea of what your gun is capable of. This way you can find the sweet spot of a low, flat trajectory.

When you adjust your hop up, it can have three different outcomes: too much, not enough, or just right.

Too Much - this will make the gel balls travel along a somewhat straight path and then fly up as the backspin takes effect, resulting in a strange and almost vertical trajectory.

Not Enough - If you are starting to use backspin, you will notice your gels increasing and traveling along a floating trajectory. If you are not applying backspin, the gels will move in a short arc path, starting at the barrel and working to the ground. 

Just Right - It is worth testing both the “too much” and “not enough” to get a gauge of how your gel blaster fires with each and so you’ll know what to look for when you finally find the sweet spot. A flat trajectory that slowly lifts to a floating trajectory is the end goal. If you are testing to add maximum backspin, look for when the gel would begin to travel upwards. This should be the point where the backspin effect kicks in and holds the gel balls level in the air. 

With a little experience and some basic understanding of the physics at play, you will soon find tuning your hop ups for the best performance a breeze!