New to the Gear Market -- Seeking Advice

[shocking]

hope this helps

welcome to paintball!! hope this helps you with some of your questions

1. What about the VForce Vantages / other VForce masks, are they better/worse ?

v force gogles are really good, used them for a few years now. not sure if they do fans and i think they are all single density lenses.


2. When you say 'harsh on paint', do you mean they fire it quite quickly which leads to more costs or ?

what he means is they dont like to shoot fragile paint as they tend to break it. not always the case though if you spend time setting up an A5 it will shoot all day with no problems.



3.My brother uses normal Camo Trousers + a Jacket, does having that gear not give you the advantage of breathable material (preventing sweating, overheating + google fog)

the more ventilation the better. light weight is the key too, you no it will hurt a bit so wearing two jackets and a duvet will just hinder you fun

4.and also elbow + knee protection ?

personal preference most paintball specific pants come with some knee padding and i use the eclipse arm pads which are really good

just a suggestion but if you are looking at going the route of woodsball then may i suggest you check out the warped big game in swinnerton on the mayday bank holiday weekend. it will have all the kit you would ever need to look at and you would be able to try most of it out to see what feels right for you

just my two pence, welcome to the best and most expensive hobby going

roy

 

[Xanten]

What he means by harsh on paint is that the gun has more of a chance of breaking more fragile paint causing you barrel breaks which makes the your accuracy for that game terrible.
Personally i have owned a Tippmann X7 for my first gun they are nice guns for a MilSim (trying to simulate military) but for general woodlands i would suggest a electronic marker like the EGO's and DM's. You can get 05 EGO's for around £200 on here its what i did and it so much better. They are lighter you don't need to spend money on upp's and has a tourney legal board if you ever want to get into that

Ah thanks for clearing that up, I learnt some new lingo

Is there a reason you think Electro Markers outperform guns like the Tippmann A5 in Woodsball ? Would an EGrip on the A5 reduce the gap in performance ?

TBH the chance of getting shot in the lobes is quite low, as the ''enemy'' are going to be infront of you for the most part.

I think you're better off buying a used etek/etek 2 for the price of an A5 just because it eteks are speedball guns dont think they cant hold their own in the woods. By harsh on paint he means that the bolt hits the balls REALLY hard, if your using a semi-brittle paint, prepare to get barrel break after barrel break after barrel break...i could go on forever.

Camo trousers/jacket will be fine, because it is quite breathable (i have a ghillie suit and it is awesome) i think if you get a good pair of pants and a good jacket you will be kept cool in the heat and warm in the winter.

Thanks again for clearing up what that meant So Barrel breaks lead to reduced accuracy until it's next cleaned ? I get plenty of them with rental guns

Well Camo gear should be relatively easy for me to find so I'll look into getting some before I next go, unless I find a really cheap option for the pro gear.

I'd go for the flex 8s.....they are a good fit, you can pop a fan on them (like you requested) and they're a good price.

Excellent, that's what I was hoping I've been strongly pointed towards the VForce Profilers on other forums though, and whilst they don't have a fan option are they better in other aspects (comfort / vision / anti-fog) ?

Don't get me wrong, A5s are work horses. My point is that after all those upgrades, you could have bought a very very nice electro maker that will out shoot an A5, be better on air than an A5, more consistent than an A5 and therefore more accurate to a certain extent (considering paint to bore match).

Well for me, accuracy is something I look for as a key point to my marker. The paint used at my local site is :

- Ramp
- Premium
- Nightmare
- Formula 13

However every time I've been it's been the Nightmare brand. Is there a way to customise like a 14" Barrel for an A5 in order to get a better bore match for those paintballs to increase accuracy ?

When I say harsh on paint, I mean they can get a number of breaks mainly due to the operating pressure being so high (around 800psi). A GEOs operating pressure for example is around 130psi, so as you can see it will be a lot softer on the paint, allowing you to shoot more fragile paint (or poorer quality paint) without as many breaks as you would comparatively with an A5.

I seeee, thanks for that Although, my local site is very proud of the fact it only uses tournament grade paintballs in order to reduce bouncers (and resulting injuries), as well as not allowing people to bring their own paint. So the pressure the A5 operates at shouldn't be a problem.

There's no right or wrong answer - if you go to ukscenario where a high percentage of people use A5s, they would probably point you towards an A5 as that is what they use and know. I have both, but would still point you towards an electro such as an Etek for the reasons above.

Yup I'm noticing that on there Really trying to discover the difference, like I asked above to someone else is there a noticeable difference betwene an A5 w/ EGrip and an Electro Marker ?

If you can afford, get some real paintball clothing for the reasons you've mentioned. Empire now do clothing with a woodland camo feel, as do DYE. It just cost more, but you get what you pay for

That's the plan Birthday arrives soon (in May) so could be something to ask for. Woodland Camo scheme is ideally what I'd like so will check out those brands, thanks !

As onasilverbike has mentioned, buying new gives you that piece of mind when it comes to your marker and stores such as LIPS, BZ, Warped and Just paintball will give you all the support you need. If you can get to a store, try a few out and see how they feel, ask as much as you can about them so you feel confident in your purchase. You'll know what is right for you.

Any other questions mate, just ask - I like to help

Not sure of any local stores in my area (Norfolk, East Anglia) but will check the web later to see. Might try to get down to my local site's Walk-on day to try on some gear.

welcome to paintball!! hope this helps you with some of your questions

1. What about the VForce Vantages / other VForce masks, are they better/worse ?

v force gogles are really good, used them for a few years now. not sure if they do fans and i think they are all single density lenses.

Thanks for that, aside from the JTs I've been recommended the VForce Profiles as well so am looking into them atm.

2. When you say 'harsh on paint', do you mean they fire it quite quickly which leads to more costs or ?

what he means is they dont like to shoot fragile paint as they tend to break it. not always the case though if you spend time setting up an A5 it will shoot all day with no problems.

Same as above, thanks very much for the help, if I get an A5 I may come back to you on help with setting it up correctly .

3.My brother uses normal Camo Trousers + a Jacket, does having that gear not give you the advantage of breathable material (preventing sweating, overheating + google fog)

the more ventilation the better. light weight is the key too, you no it will hurt a bit so wearing two jackets and a duvet will just hinder you fun

Lol. The pain isn't a issue, I can deal with it Will look at some real paintball clothing to see what I can get within budget.

4.and also elbow + knee protection ?

personal preference most paintball specific pants come with some knee padding and i use the eclipse arm pads which are really good

If I can get paintball-specific pants then I'm sorted then The knee protection is more vital than the arms tbh, the way I play they take quite a beating.

just a suggestion but if you are looking at going the route of woodsball then may i suggest you check out the warped big game in swinnerton on the mayday bank holiday weekend. it will have all the kit you would ever need to look at and you would be able to try most of it out to see what feels right for you

just my two pence, welcome to the best and most expensive hobby going

roy

Hmm sounds interesting, I looked around the Web but could only find links to their 07 + 08 'Big Games', do you have a link for this year's event ?

Thanks ever so much for your help guys, it is really appreciated !

/Xanten

 

[seany boy]

Hi there,

The best advice anyone can give you on buying a mask is that you try before you buy. However, I appreciate that not everyone has a paintball shop on their doorstep. The profilers in comparison to the Jt's are relatively old, having said that the newer Vforce grillz are a great mask, offering comfort and an easy lense removal system. It is usually the case that people find JTs the comfiest and definitely the most customizable of any mask. The downside to the JTs is the tough lense removal. Most masks come with a good anti fog coating from the factory now anyway.

Another point that may have been overlooked is whether your local site actually allows electric markers to be used on rental days. I know most sites do not allow them. In which case it may be worth asking around local sites to see if they hold walk on days; where players solely with their own kit play and where you can use whatever marker you like.

 

[Ainsley]

You'll find mate that the paint types you mention are more fragile than bog standard paint or a paint specifically aimed at woodsballers such as blaze......

Reason being is in sup air, you don't want your paint bouncing off its target so its more fragile to ensure that it breaks on contact. Therefore you might find breaks in the cyclone or breech happen more in an A5 with these types of paint. Stuff like blaze has a slightly thicker shell to ensure it can get through the odd fern etc.

If you do end up going for an A5, the best way to get good paint to bore match is a barrel kit. They are a barrel front with 4 different size backs which you match up to the size of paint on the day.

SLY do a nice carbon kit for an A5 - think JCS sport sell them.....they advertise on here so not hard to find.


Good point Seany, you need to find a local site that does a walkon day - normally held once a month. That way you'll meet people with their own gear and learn a lot more!

An A5 with Egrip will do about 12bps.....people say they can do more but in reality, if they do they will probably not last long. They weren't designed for that rate of fire.....plastic internals in the cyclone don't help. Yes you can buy metal upgrades but then the £££ all adds up and you could have bought something like an Etek2 - which was designed to fire at 15bps with ease and will never let you down.

 

[Xanten]

My local site does allow Electro Markers as they regularly allow a Marshall / Walk-on players to join in with us punters to make up the numbers.

Been looking for a store nearby (I live in Norfolk, between Norwich and Peterborough) and haven't had much luck so far.

So the A5 is reliable but you think I'd be better off looking at Electro Markers rather than adding upgrades to the A5 ?

A guy from my local site is offering the following deals on his second-hand (I'm sceptical) equipment:

first i have my spyder MR2 with EYE
this comes with everything that it would if new: mr2 itself, battery, american charger, british adapter, barrel sock, stock (modified as seen in pic), feed neck adapter and other accessories to be found for sale here.
in fully working order, very accurate, recently lubed and seviced, very clean and a great woodsball gun. £70

next is a 14" spyder threaded smart parts progressive barrel (dust black)
great condition, 1 small dent on exterior of barrel but good as new on inside. £10

and i have dye rino 68ci tank cover (grey and black)
not sure of year either 07 or 06, recently cleaned but a bit worse for wear. £5 ono

green v force pro vantage goggles
great set of goggles, comes with peak and all original packaging etc. only once fogged on me (and everyone knows how much i fog), lenses in good condition but a few minor scratches and a very small chip. £15

48ci steely air tank (3000psi)
out of hydro but in full working order, still fills and no damage to reg or bottle, comes with a primal tank cover. £20

an NXE 4+1 remote line battle pack (black)
a great pack in great condition but used quite a lot, very comfertable. £10

and last but not least a pmi padded gun case
good as new condition, velcro staps inside for extra security for your marker, fits any marker. £5

i will be offering a package deal with:
mr2
air tank
barrel
and goggles
for £105

What's your opinion on the market then ? I was advised against the Spyder range due to low reliability but the money there looks like good value ?

/Xanten

 

[Ainsley]

Anyone on here know anything about MR2s? I know I don't.......

The bottle will need retesting by someone like HPAC. Needs to be in test to be filled.....that will cost you around £25/£30. You can buy an new steel tank for £45 if you shop around so not really worth it unless you go for the package as a whole.

Lets see what someone says about the Toyota MR2

 

[Sugz]

Hello mate, and welcome

I'm the same as you more of a woodsballer than anything else.
Personally i have not had the opportunity to handle any spyder marker - but its probably best to read up on reviews on it over at pbreview and listen to what others have said, (provided its not a biast opinion )
At one time or another chances are someone will say to you look at the smart parts range, the ion XE mainly.
I personally have a couple of ions, simply because i wanted something i could work on. To me, they are reliable, rugged and maintainable (With a BOB upgrade )

But. From what everyone else has said, and Etek sounds like a sound choice, Well made, very easy to maintain (hence the BOB (Bolt out back) system), you will get lots of support for it on these forums and another but probably not as obvious advantage.
--->
If you suddenly decide to get into the SupAir scene later on in your days, the Etek will be a perfect marker to start with, as its can stand up with the higher end markers quite comfortably. (and they look awesome)

However, if you still decide you would rather go with the Woodsball, Milsim Look, try taking a quick look at the Smart parts SP1 -> These are apparently gaining popularity in the Woodsball scene and hold the Simplicity, ruggedness and Maintainability factors the same as other Smart parts markers and indeed the ETek. It also has rail mounts, perfect for any apparel pieces of equipment you specified in your original post (like sights, rails) And they are highly upgradeable.
I have not seen these in action, but i believe Mike over at TechPB Likes to use it when he playes Woodsball with an Apex barrel. (Check out his vids at TechPB.com)

Finally, the above is my opinion, but as a first time buyer you should make sure you get a marker which is going to last you - unless your tastes change.

But what has been suggested already:
Etek is a good choice

Alternatives
Smart Parts SP1 (Milsim Look)
Proto Matrix Rail 09

Good luck mate!

 

[Sugz]

what has this got to do with ....

 

[chuckwood]

It is an embedded ad to avoid spam dectors, simply advertising wow gold etc for sale, ignore it.

 

[Xanten]

Thanks to all of you again for the fantastic advice, I'm shocked to see so many willing to give some very informative tips that I wasn't expecting to be in such detail in a 'Newbie' forum .

I've just calculated my budget will be around £300, that's got to cover the Market, Masks, accessories, clothes, everything ! Going to go have a look to see what I could get for that, least I have an amount to work with now