Shadow
- Thread starter Vimto
- Start date
Ok so this might be seen as a bit of Necro-posting, but Scott sold the Shadow Barrel he had. Anybody else have one that is up for selling it, perhaps?
Shadow Barrel Review
OK Folks, so I’m back from YPC’s/Shoreline’s Armogeddon 7 Event in the UK- forgive me if there are any spelling mistakes, or if I ramble.
OK, so I bought a Shadow Shake barrel to test it out for our team. I decided as most of us use a .692/.693 bore, we’ll grab a .691 for comparisons so bore size would have as little impact as possible when we tested. Obviously, there was still a difference, but yeah.
First Impressions;
Wow. This barrel looks sleek and sexy- even better in the flesh than the pictures. Seriously, that satin finish is amazing in person, and the carbon fibre is so cool, like snakeskin. Immediately looked down it and brilliantly smooth on the inside. The Shadow logo on the side befuddles me- Its obviously not lasered, and you can’t detect it being raised or lowered compared to the rest of the back. It looks really good, if hard to read at first glance.
Deeper study;
Upon looking through the barrel from the back, it looks pristine and seamless. No bumps or anything, no ridge upon the join between the aluminium back and the Carbon front. There are 3 lines of porting along the carbon tip- not as much as on a Dye Ultralite- and the whole feel of the barrel is smooth, sophisticated and very sexy indeed. As I mentioned before, I have no idea how the ‘engraving’ is done- it doesn’t feel like engraving!
Testing!
First of, the classic snap test. Like all others before me, I failed. There is no way I can snap the front with my bare hands- Nathalie explained that this is due to the high grade of carbon used. This ain’t some knock-off Chinese production- these barrels are made in Europe, using European materials, and you can really tell that this is a high-quality barrel
Blow dart test. Just a little mess around, to be honest. I used Sterling Shield, Sterling Claymore and Pure Arctic, and blew them through the barrel. No problems whatsoever, it really didn’t take too much effort to blow through. The sterling Shield was slightly tougher, but I assume that’s due to paint quality than anything else. I’m guessing this barrel won’t have any issues with varying paint qualities and brands.
Scratch test. Exactly what is says on the tin. At Armo, I rubbed the barrel against a tree bark, trying in some way to scratch it and generally being a bit rough with it- I even hit it against the tree. Not a single scratch on the carbon, or even the anodising, which was impressive. As for hitting it against the tree, well, suffice to say that the barrel can be used for many more games
Absolutely no damage from a good whack.
In-Game;
On the day at Armogeddon 7 at the YPC, we were using Pure Arctic. The Shake barrel had no problems whatsoever with shooting ropes of it. Comparing it to my Ultralite, I’d say that even though there appears to be less porting on the Shake, I couldn’t tell much difference in sound- both barrels seemed pretty damn quiet!
The accuracy of the barrel is amazing. It is definitely an improvement on my UltraLite, which in itself is very accurate, if anyone has used it. I did notice that the balls were curving downwards slightly past the 15-20 meter mark, but it’s quite small and you can easily compensate for it, so no problems there. And before you say it, no, it wasn’t gravity =P
Out of a box of 2000, I had 4 barrel breaks, but I am attributing that to the cold temperature rather than the barrel. Comparing this to the UltraLite, which I shot only 500 balls through, I got 5 breaks. No clue why, but a point to the Shake, eh? It was smooth and the breaks in no way affected the next ball, which was impressive. I don’t know if that is due to the slickness of the carbon, (did I mention it looks like snakeskin on the outside?!) or what. All in all, I was able to use the barrel for many types of play- shooting ropes, snapshooting, and long-balling; No problems with any techniques, it just stood up to the tests.
Verdict: 9.5/10
I love this barrel. I think it is gonna be my new main barrel, and I may have to order some different sized backs =D The only minimal fault I mentioned regarding ball curve stops this barrel from getting full marks. It really is that good. Don’t be scared off by the price and think it’s some cheap rubbish- no, this is good, solid European Manufacturing, with a down-to-earth, non-inflated price.
OK Folks, so I’m back from YPC’s/Shoreline’s Armogeddon 7 Event in the UK- forgive me if there are any spelling mistakes, or if I ramble.
OK, so I bought a Shadow Shake barrel to test it out for our team. I decided as most of us use a .692/.693 bore, we’ll grab a .691 for comparisons so bore size would have as little impact as possible when we tested. Obviously, there was still a difference, but yeah.
First Impressions;
Wow. This barrel looks sleek and sexy- even better in the flesh than the pictures. Seriously, that satin finish is amazing in person, and the carbon fibre is so cool, like snakeskin. Immediately looked down it and brilliantly smooth on the inside. The Shadow logo on the side befuddles me- Its obviously not lasered, and you can’t detect it being raised or lowered compared to the rest of the back. It looks really good, if hard to read at first glance.
Deeper study;
Upon looking through the barrel from the back, it looks pristine and seamless. No bumps or anything, no ridge upon the join between the aluminium back and the Carbon front. There are 3 lines of porting along the carbon tip- not as much as on a Dye Ultralite- and the whole feel of the barrel is smooth, sophisticated and very sexy indeed. As I mentioned before, I have no idea how the ‘engraving’ is done- it doesn’t feel like engraving!
Testing!
First of, the classic snap test. Like all others before me, I failed. There is no way I can snap the front with my bare hands- Nathalie explained that this is due to the high grade of carbon used. This ain’t some knock-off Chinese production- these barrels are made in Europe, using European materials, and you can really tell that this is a high-quality barrel
Blow dart test. Just a little mess around, to be honest. I used Sterling Shield, Sterling Claymore and Pure Arctic, and blew them through the barrel. No problems whatsoever, it really didn’t take too much effort to blow through. The sterling Shield was slightly tougher, but I assume that’s due to paint quality than anything else. I’m guessing this barrel won’t have any issues with varying paint qualities and brands.
Scratch test. Exactly what is says on the tin. At Armo, I rubbed the barrel against a tree bark, trying in some way to scratch it and generally being a bit rough with it- I even hit it against the tree. Not a single scratch on the carbon, or even the anodising, which was impressive. As for hitting it against the tree, well, suffice to say that the barrel can be used for many more games
Absolutely no damage from a good whack.In-Game;
On the day at Armogeddon 7 at the YPC, we were using Pure Arctic. The Shake barrel had no problems whatsoever with shooting ropes of it. Comparing it to my Ultralite, I’d say that even though there appears to be less porting on the Shake, I couldn’t tell much difference in sound- both barrels seemed pretty damn quiet!
The accuracy of the barrel is amazing. It is definitely an improvement on my UltraLite, which in itself is very accurate, if anyone has used it. I did notice that the balls were curving downwards slightly past the 15-20 meter mark, but it’s quite small and you can easily compensate for it, so no problems there. And before you say it, no, it wasn’t gravity =P
Out of a box of 2000, I had 4 barrel breaks, but I am attributing that to the cold temperature rather than the barrel. Comparing this to the UltraLite, which I shot only 500 balls through, I got 5 breaks. No clue why, but a point to the Shake, eh? It was smooth and the breaks in no way affected the next ball, which was impressive. I don’t know if that is due to the slickness of the carbon, (did I mention it looks like snakeskin on the outside?!) or what. All in all, I was able to use the barrel for many types of play- shooting ropes, snapshooting, and long-balling; No problems with any techniques, it just stood up to the tests.
Verdict: 9.5/10
I love this barrel. I think it is gonna be my new main barrel, and I may have to order some different sized backs =D The only minimal fault I mentioned regarding ball curve stops this barrel from getting full marks. It really is that good. Don’t be scared off by the price and think it’s some cheap rubbish- no, this is good, solid European Manufacturing, with a down-to-earth, non-inflated price.
I will upload more pictures when the ones from ARMO are available!
I just got my Shadow barrel kit in the post. Waiting for the .683 insert as that is out of stock...
Anyway, ordered all 5 backs (currently on special offer at Rap4) and didn't expect the 3+tip to come in a nice velvet case. Would have been the icing if the case was a 5 barrel version... but oh well.
One thing I did notice is the carbon fibur tips inside doesn't feel smooth. It looks like it isn't polished..
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Look how much thread is on the tip! I keep screwing and it still won't come apart
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
I am going to shoot it this weekend but the inside of the CF tip worries me. The inside of the backs is smoooooooth...
Anyway, ordered all 5 backs (currently on special offer at Rap4) and didn't expect the 3+tip to come in a nice velvet case. Would have been the icing if the case was a 5 barrel version... but oh well.
One thing I did notice is the carbon fibur tips inside doesn't feel smooth. It looks like it isn't polished..
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
Look how much thread is on the tip! I keep screwing and it still won't come apart
Shadow Barrel Kit by WildWayz, on Flickr
I am going to shoot it this weekend but the inside of the CF tip worries me. The inside of the backs is smoooooooth...
Just got a reply back from Nathalie (CEO & Managing Director) @ Shadow... the dust inside the barrel - not happy with that, but swabbing it should be fine.
However, the CF inside feels smooth but looks rough - that is the way carbon fibur is.
Some barrels use an alu core and stick a small amount of CF (almost like carbon fibur wrapping it) around the outside - they don't. It is solid carbon fibur.
So I am to fluffy it, shoot it and everything will be fine.
The barrel IS a lot lighter than the other barrels I have tried...
However, the CF inside feels smooth but looks rough - that is the way carbon fibur is.
Some barrels use an alu core and stick a small amount of CF (almost like carbon fibur wrapping it) around the outside - they don't. It is solid carbon fibur.
So I am to fluffy it, shoot it and everything will be fine.
The barrel IS a lot lighter than the other barrels I have tried...
Was just about to reply saying the same thing- no aluminium core, this is solid carbon fibre, basically during the making process there is no way to avoid the 'scratch effect' I have the same on mine, but it does not affect it at all, and i can't feel any scratches with my fingers Looking forward to your full review WildWayz!
Looking forward to your full review WildWayz!
Agreed, My deathstix kit is polished internally.
I wonder how well this would clean up when a ball breaks?