First Marker Advice

[Everyinchtheanimal]

My opinion is much the same as alexd, get yourself a decent fitting mask, I am sure bz will let you try some on for size (so to speak), but marker wise dont over look some of the older egos, my personal favourite ego has to be the sl8r or even an 09 (much the same gun different milling). I cant get my head round why someone who is starting out, wants/needs to invest best part of £500 on a gun when a cheaper older one will do the same job. Prime example I saw two guys the other week at a walk on, one with a mini and another with an etha, niether knew about how to use the marker both had to borrow site steel bottles and had to borrow site gravity hoppers, the person with the mini didnt know how to maintain it or even get it working! After chatting to them about why have a gun and no essential bits of kit I found out that they had just started playing and wanted a paintball gun!
My big advise would be get onto a couple of walk on days as a rental custome then by essential kit. Such a mask (main priority), then a good cheap hopper to go on the rental gun (you will be suprised at how much a differance constant feed makes) then bottle and then a marker.
This is just my opinion and not me telling you how to spend you money.

 

[connor96]

@Everyinchtheanimal he's right about the order, I was the guy with the mini and looking back at the order I bought my kit, I messed up, I started okay with the mask which was a great help stopped fogging. but I think newbies (myself included) just want the coolest bits of kit as soon as possible without thinking it fully through.

 

[digitalman]

Mask first as a bad mask will ruin your day quicker than any other piece kit failure. As for markers I'm a big fan of Eclipse too due to their great backup and they have always been able to help me sort out any issues even on older models. And being honest I just love a marker that has a bolt flying back and forwards that I can see.

You have a good a healthy budget and if you buy carefully you should be able to get a decent marker and all the other kit needed to get out into the field and enjoy playing.

Personally I would buy a tournie style marker so you are not restricted on game format and get a decent sized air bottle, it keeps you in the field longer in big game playing formats.

 

[movingcanvass]

I'd buy anything from an ego8 upwards as they're really easy to maintain and the same for the geos.
Personally I'd get something a little older (cheaper) then used the change to buy a great mask (do NOT just go on looks, go try some on to see how they fit your head and face) and a bulletproof loader. No point having a smoking gun if your loader sucks

 

[DevilZ]

the £500 wasnt my budget for my whole kit, im getting some i4s for the mask and im quite keen on the look of the JT 2.0 apparel so ill buy all that when i get the rest.

 

[alexd]

the £500 wasnt my budget for my whole kit, im getting some i4s for the mask and im quite keen on the look of the JT 2.0 apparel so ill buy all that when i get the rest.

that's good... but dont forget a carbon fibre air system and decent loader... that's approx £200-300 there depending on if you go new or second hand

Masks are a very personal choice, so try a few. the i4 is cut very high compared to the eFlex, so depends on your face shape / preference

 

[DevilZ]

ill try some stuff out, im just wanting good advice on the EGO11 and from what everyone is saying its a good quality marker.

 

[alexd]

All Egos are good... and I doubt you will be disappointed. All everyone is trying to share with you is there are other options... many ballers own multiple markers and it becomes less of an issue if you are fortunate to be able to do that

You would no doubt think the Etha, LV1, Geo, LUXE, Clone GTi are also very good when you shoot them. Don't make the decision on just reading them or based on other's opinions!

The analogy is would you buy a car without doing a test drive? Most people would read up and take a few out before sinking the cash into it...

 

[digitalman]

I've got an Ego 11 and being honest, its the best marker I've ever used and I'll be using it until it dies, and with the support you get from Eclipse that should be years and years.

Good points, solid, well designed and fits well in my hands. not too heavy, easy to look after, superb after sales support, lots of people have them so lots of advice on settings and adjustments, very frugal on air usage, gentle on all paint I've put through it yet (and I've used some dodgy paint at times) some upgrades available, uses autococker thread barrels, easy to change settings for shooting requirements, holds value well, lots of colours out there.

Bad points, can be a little temperamental with batteries used. some second hand ones have high usage.

 

[digitalman]

I'm lucky that over the years I've been able to keep my older markers and not have to trade them off and while they all have their good points and at times they still get a run out at a game my first choice is now the 11