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If you’ve played paintball in the last year or two, and you’re fairly observant to other player’s gear, you have probably seen a good amount of people use what’s called a “Speed Feed” on their hoppers while playing. A Speed Feed is a very simple product for your hopper/loader that attaches at the top, replacing your lid. The obvious reason for using a Speed Feed is to load and HOLD paintballs in your hopper without having to open/close the lid during games. Virtue just released their version of the Speed Feed, cleverly called the Crown, at this summer’s 2008 Chicago PSP Open.

If you run out of paint during a game, it isn’t exactly convenient for you to open your lid and pour a pod of paintballs in your hopper then close it. Today, paintball is getting so aggressive that (good) players specifically look for the exact moment where you retract into your bunker to refill paint so they can move up the field (or worse, bunker you). The Virtue Crown also keeps your paintballs from flying out of your hopper, for those “extraordinary” situations (see video below). The innovation behind the Virtue Crown has been widely accepted by most paintballers today because they’re relatively cheap ($20 retail), and can ultimately help you win a few more games with your team.

Key Features for the Virtue Crown

* Ultra Fast Lid-Less Feed
* No Rise Low Profile Option
* Secure Locking Ring w/ Thumbscrew
* Durable, Memory Resistant Elastomer Will Not Crack or Get Brittle
* Available in Ultra-Soft or Standard Elasticity Versions.
* Extra Paint Capacity (with optional, including, extension collar) – HALO only
* Compatible with HALO, Magna, Revolution, Force, Eye Force (Vlocity versions coming soon)

In just under 24 hours the Bolingbrook Aquatic Center will be swarming with paintball enthusiasts and sounds of buzzers and flying paintballs. The 2008 Chicago Open is a national paintball tournament hosted by the PSP, and will take place June 25th-29th. Last year the Chicago PSP event consisted of over 2,400 players in the tournament, and this year is expected to be even bigger. The Chicago PSP event has historically been considered one of the bigger tournaments of the year, so you should expect to see some real competition on the field. Dynasty, Ironmen, X-Factor, Red Legion, and all the other big team names will be playing at the event among the rest of the lower divisions.

The Chicago event is ironically located in Bolingbrook, IL, a close suburb of Chicago. Its location is perfect for anybody of any age to come and watch the games for FREE. Personally, I was first introduced to the sport of paintball by simply watching the tournaments at events like these. It’s truly something you need to experience in the first person, especially while it’s summer.

For the people curious as to what the teams are playing for, here is a list of the prizes for each division:
Read More about 2008 PSP Chicago Open Firing Up

Paintball-online is giving away a brand new 2008 Planet Eclipse Ego ($1,250). The giveaway only requires your email address to enter and nothing more. The winner will be drawn on June 30th, 2008 according to their giveaway page. All it costs you is a valid email address that you can opt-out of at any time (wait until after the winner is drawn though, of course).

You would think that giveaways like these are flooded with entries, but people usually glimpse over them when browsing the web in my experience. So why not enter – may as well be one of paintballguns.net’s visitors that wins it :). If you do enter and win, make sure you contact me so you can brag to all the other visitors that lost or didn’t enter. Best of luck to you all. Below you’ll find a short informational video on the 2008 Ego.

2008 Spyder Electra

On May 15, 2008 Kingman will be introducing their new 2008 Spyder Electra paintball gun into the market. MSRP’d at $249.99 and retailing for only $199.99, the 2008 Electra is already grabbing the attention from Ion and SLG users. The Spyder Electra is part of Kingman’s Classic Series gun line. The Spyder Electra use to be such a primitive electronic paintball gun way back in 2004. Things have changed since then and now Kingman is in a constant running race, along with Smart Parts and Dye, to create an affordable and reliable electronic paintball gun. Right now the battle is between the Smart Parts Ion, Proto SLG, and the 2008 Spyder Electra. Of course there are others, but these are the main players in the market today.

If you had $250 to spend on just a gun (stock, no upgrades), which one would you most likely buy?

Here’s Kingman’s sales pitch:

The all new generation Spyder Electra with Eye is back with a vengeance. The new design concept features a reduced overall profile (25% weight & 15% length). The Electra with Eye comes standard equipped with the LEAP™ circuit board developed by Tadao® Technologies providing unsurpassed speed and reliability. Outfitted with Spyder’s “Synergy Engineered Technology” the Electra with Eye operates on dual air sources (CO2 & Compressed Air) at 300PSI low operational pressure. This all aluminum constructed powerhouse will out perform every other marker in its class.

Performance Features
+ LEAP™ Circuit Board with Rear Facing Color Access Mode Display (CAMD) Developed by Tadao® Technologies
+ “Synergy Engineering” Low Pressure Dual Air Source System
+ Break Beam Eye (Anti-Chop System)
+ Aluminum Eye Covers
+ 3 Modes of Operation (Semi-Auto, Ramp PSP, & Ramp Millennium)
+ Fast Charge Inline Regulator
+ Vented Pressure Relief On/Off CA Adapter
+ Reduced Overall Profile (25% Lighter and 15% Shorter)
+ Up to 25 BPS Rate of Fire
+ Steel Braided Hose Line
+ Quick Release Delrin Bolt
+ 12″ Two Piece Micro Ported Barrel
+ Twist Lock Clamping Feedneck
+ 3-Way Adjustable Magnetic Response “Saber” Trigger
+ All Aluminum Constructed Body
+ Recessed Dual Texture Grip Panels
+ All Aluminum Trigger Frame with Integrated Dove Tail
+ Standard CA Thread Vertical Adapter
+ Compatible with a Spyder 9.6v Rechargeable Battery or a Premium 9v Alkaline Battery
+ External Velocity Adjuster
+ 300 PSI Operational Pressure
+ Operates on CO2 or Compressed Air

Believe it or not, WDP is slowly declining in popularity in the paintball world. Dye and Smart Parts are starting to dominate the paintball gun market with their very affordable and very reliable high and low end paintball markers. The battle between these major gun manufacturers revolves around bringing the end consumer (you and me) what we want. Right now Dye, Smart Parts, WDP, Planet Eclipse, and all other major manufacturers are struggling to bring the end consumer the fastest, most reliable, most affordable, and most efficient paintball marker in the world. The 2008 Angel A1 is WDP’s stab at it. So far the gun is getting great reviews. But is it any match for the Dye’s DM8 or the new PE Ego’s?

WDP announced their new 2008 gun line at Huntington Beach in late March. Retailing at around $1,300, the Angel A1 caught the eye of many tournament ballers at the event for a few reasons. Of course just like every other WDP gun, the Angel A1 has one of the sickest designs on the market today. Also, WDP really stresses on its ergonomics (the applied science of equipment design intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue, safety and discomfort). So for example, ergonomics would involve designing a paintball gun’s grip frame to fit the human hand as comfortably as possible. This is key for tourny ballers because weight distribution and comfort for the player can really obstruct the team’s performance.

The A1 Fly has been getting mad reviews. WDP is expected to keep up with all the other major gun brands out there – the only real way to find out which one is right for you is to shoot them all! Personally, I have always enjoyed the “feeling” of WDP’s gun line. Their guns operate at such low pressure (about 55 psi) you can barely feel any kick.

WDP also put out special Miami Rage and Joy Division Angel A1’s since they sponsor them. Designer guns like these will cost you another $100 or $200 – and all you really get is different anodizing that the team agreed upon.

New features for the Angel A1 Fly:

• New Mini-reg with what appears to come with standard regulator threads; therefore, after-market regs such as AKA or CP can be put on without the purchase of an additional adapter.
• New Valve/Valve Stem/Ram dubbed the Magno Valve System
• New Milling which has reduced the weight of the already light-weight A1 (the most noticeable amount has been removed from the solenoid cover)
• 3 piece Eye Covers (these did not previously come stock with A1s)
• New Board Graphics, not necessarily a new board
• New Trigger
• New Milled/Slimmed down ASA
• New Grips with: “Fly Paper”
• New “Fly Paper” grip on the grip frame, grip, and regulator.
• New Milled/Slimmed down feedneck
• New Carbon Fiber Barrel Tip
• 6 Piece Barrel Kit is speculated to also come with the A1 Fly.

The NPPL Huntington Beach event just ended March 29th. Congratulations to X-factor for winning 1st place. Who’s talking now Dynasty and Ironmen? Below you will find the score results for every division, as well as the prize money each team went home with. Also, I posted two videos that One4one.tv released after covering the entire event. Enjoy.

PROFESSIONAL
1) San Antonio X-Factor ($15,000)
2) St. Louis Avalanche ($5,000)
3) San Diego Dynasty ($2,000)
4) Golden State Ironmen ($1,000)

SEMI PROFESSIONAL
1) Arsenal Evolution ($10,000)
2) Method of Destruction ($5,000)
3) Impact ($2,500)
4) Avalanche Army ($1,250)

DIVISION I
1) Aftermath II ($8,000)
2) Hollywood HK ($4,000)
3) Splat Kids ($2,000)
4) All or Nothing ($1,000)

DIVISION II
1) L.A. Endurance ($6,000)
2) Miami Rage ($3,000)
3) DC Arsenal Predators ($1,500)
4) Aftermath Factory ($750)

DIVISION III
1) CS Union ($4,000)
2) NV ($2,000)
3) Rockstar Factory Red ($1,000)
4) Black Cell ($500)

Click here for all the results.

TechT Paintball came out with a mod for both Tippmann A5’s and X7’s, allowing your trigger pull to be much more sensitive; and in turn shoot faster. Most people prefer lighter trigger pulls in order to shoot faster. The “Hair Pin” trigger mod includes a few pins that the trigger mechanism in both guns use. According to Tech Paintball’s installation instructions, you simply switch around the pins in your A5 or X7 to your own personal preference. Basically you are replacing the pins in the trigger mechanism to reduce the amount of contact there is between the sear and hammer, and reduce the amount of movement that the trigger has. Together these attributes allow for higher rates of fire and a more response trigger.

A nifty little mod for any A5 or X7 owner. You can find the trigger mod for the 98 Custom here.

Most would agree that Bob Long’s Intimidator marker line is one of the best in paintball. However, one of the downsides to the Intimidator is its high maintenance. Cleaning can be a drag, but it needs to be done. We’ve put together and published the Timmy Tech Cleaning and Maintenance Guide. We believe this guide will safely walk you through those tedious maintenance and cleaning days for your gun.

Enjoy.

“If you want my OPINION as an experienced player (5 years) and an online paintball product reviewer, the Smart Parts Ion is my favorite paintball gun for beginners to novice players. The Ion has everything you need to count on in a competitive tournament, but without the huge price tag that you expect.” – Kyle, PaintballGuns.net

So what defines a good paintball gun? There are thousands of requests every month asking “What is the best paintball gun out there?”. First of all, there is no best paintball gun. “Best” is all relative to each and every person – the manufacturers know they can’t please every person, so they tend to target a certain age group by improving their latest gun model’s feature to the maximum.


Is this the best paintball gun?

Take Tippmann, for example. Notice how they’re one of the leading paintball manufacturers on the market today – and they have yet to release a “high-end” paintball gun. Why is this, are they stupid? No. Tippmann markers are targeted more towards the Beginners and Scenario paintball players. Tippmann focuses more on its reliability; since their guns usually take more of a beating.

So, to answer our original question of what makes the best paintball gun; we will never really know. Even if a company makes a paintball marker with the best accuracy, best reliability, and the best upgrade-ability, there will always be a group of players that just don’t like the looks, or they had a bad experience with it, or they just think it’s too expensive.

When deciding which gun you’ll want to buy in the near future, do a little research (read reviews, watch videos, etc) on the markers that interest you most. Determine what kind of paintball game you will be playing – whether it’s speedball, woodsball, or scenerio; look into the top 3 best rated paintball guns and then see which one is best for you.

Things to consider and research when buying a new paintball gun:

Accuracy
Gas-efficiency
Upgrade Ability
Value (how much will it resell for used?)

Don’t let any manufacturer’s marketing allow you to believe that they have created the “best paintball gun ever”. Good luck on the field.

The Dye DM5 and DM6

Firstly, I unleashed reviews on the Dye DM5, Dye DM6, and the new Tippmann X7. Each one of these guns have had one of the highest publicity ever on the paintball market. Dye’s DM5 and DM6 are well known for their easy maintenance and excellent accuracy.

Tippmann X7

The new Tippmann X7, although, has already had high acclaims for its versatility. In other words, it’s very likely that the X7 will be the new 98 custom – as far as upgrades goes. Tippmann quotes that there are “1000 different looks”.

Paintball Games

Also, more paintball and non-paintball games have been added to our games section. Check it out.

Til’ next time.