Ion Review #1
Ok, here is the low-down, Im not going to feed you a bunch of crap, I’m not going to tell you the story of going to the pro shop, etc, I’m just going to tell you what everyone really wants to hear about the gun.
Strengths:
Accuracy, The accuracy on this marker is phenomenal!! I was nailing a tree about 15 yards away, with about a 10″ spread on all paintballs. So Im estimating you could gog someone with about 1-2 paintballs from a distance of 15 yards, about 20 yards (which is a good distance on most airball fields) probably 1-3. On a scale from 1-10 on ACCURACY I’m giving this gun a High 8!! (10 being a cocker)
Speed, Very impressive (When ramping) !! I myself can only shoot about a 10 bps lane, but some faster people I know can hit about 13/14 bps. After shooting in Semi, I was feeling spunky, so I turned to “ROF” all the way up on the board, and put it in ramping mode. AFTER I HIT ONLY ABOUT 6 BPS THIS THING WAS GOIN NUTS!! 17bps!! 17bps is certainly nothing to sneeze at!! The trigger is very light, but it kind of wiggles from side to side a little, but nothing to worry about. SPEED I’m giving this gun a low 9!! (10 being an Angel Speed)
Weight, it is a very solid, balanced gun weighing in at only 2.2 pounds, what more can I say?! WEIGHT defiantly a 10!!
The Eye, the eye works very well, it didn’t allow me to chop any balls, and they were very cheap/
Style, This thing defiantly stands out, it has a totally unique style of its own, for STYLE Im giving it a 10!!
Price, you get a lot of gun for under $300. It shoots really nice for the price you pay. DON’T LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE, “You get what you pay for, a cheap piece of crap, etc.” MOST OF THESE PEOPLE ARE NEWBS AND COMPARING THEM TO GUNS THEY’VE NEVER EVEN SHOT, OR ARE JUST USED TO HAVING GUNS HANDED OVER TO THEM LIKE ANGELS/EGOS/TIMMYS, AND SO ON. So I am defiantly going to have to give the PRICE a 10!!!
MANY PEOPLE DIS THE STOCK BARREL, SAYING… “The inside of it is powder coated” It most certainly is not! “Why didn’t they throw a Freak or an All American on it?” Because it would only add to the price! Get over it wieners, its no big deal, If you ask me for a stock barrel it shoots pretty nice anyways.
Weaknesses:
The feed neck is defiantly a problem on the marker, nothing fits on it properly, and I’ve tried both the eVo2 and The Halo. So I strongly recommend getting a clamping feed neck.
And yes I have to be honest, the most annoying thing about this gun, is the shoot down, and I had to do a lot of tweaking to the Velocity/Regulator, to try to get rid of the problem, and unfortunately, it still doesn’t work properly, hopefully Smart Parts will fix this problem in the next generation of Ions. If you have the money to go get a new regulator, then I highly suggest you do so; the gun will shoot so much more consistently, you will be happy you did.
My Experience:
So far it has been an enjoyable experience. The gun has never died on me on the field even though I’ve given it a hard time on the field. I play both speedball and the occasional woodsball with friends and the Ion works well on both kinds of play. Cleaning after the game is a breeze and upgrading is just as easy. Ive spent about 100$ in upgrades and there is a noticeable difference. Best purchase Ive made so far.
BUY THIS?
The simple answer is yes. If you’re new to the sport, this gun will definitely take a beating. It will shoot with the rest of the gun and with the right upgrades; you’ve got yourself a very decent gun for a unbeatable price. If you decide to go into tourney play, you can always use your ion as a backup. In other words, this gun allows you to play anywhere. Light enough for speedball, not too vibrant for woodsball, and always upgradeable to your liking. Customize it the way you want, but more importantly, have fun!
Review #2
Ok, this gun is not as bad as everyone seems to make it look. I am happy with my gun, but only after getting an after market board.
Marker setup:
Blue Ion
Stiffi
Hybrid lady grips
Twist lock feed neck
New ASA
Blackheart board
Black Empire
Cp Roller Trigger
Recommended upgrades-
Pros:
Price
Weight
Fast.
Quiet
Replicable bodies
Reliable
Small
Vision
A lot of people have one, so there is almost always someone at the field to fix your gun if it breaks.
Cons:
Yes the stock body is plastic, but that is the only part that is
Stock barrel is crap
FEEDNECK
You will be automatically called a noob, regardless of your skill level
Board is kind of complicated
Detents are just pieces of rubber
Grips look really ugly
Review:
This paintball gun works for a casual young player, who can’t afford a really high end paintball gun, but wants a decent gun better than spyder/pirahna/tippmann group. The big problem with this gun is disassembly. To clean out a chop, you have to take the whole gun apart, which takes about 6 minutes after getting good at it.(definitely not living up to the smart parts 1 minutes cleaning promise). The feed neck will not work, not on any hopper. I tried fitting it in with an empire, and an egg. It wouldn’t even fit the empire with any o-rings in it.
The stock regulator isn’t bad, but I would still recommend a new one. The stock asa is ugly as hell, so I got a new one right away. I honestly think that there is no way to get to 17bps on the stock ion. With a new board, it might be possible.
Runs on co2 or n2, but only co2 if anti siphoned. I would strongly recommend not running co2 on it though.
Price: $230 refurbished, you can get one for like $260 now brand new.
Conclusion:I would recommend this gun to someone who wants a cheap affordable gun with decent quality. There are upgrades that are necessary though. For the price, it is a great gun.
Features: