Getting back into the sport - Kit questions

[southernP8nt]

I used to play 5 man paintball about 5 years ago and I'm looking to get back into the sport. Gonna be picking up kit over the summer, try and find a team to train with and then start playing tournaments again next year.

The problem I have is that I am on a budget. I've got about £450 to spend, although if I could come in under budget it would be great, and I need a marker, hopper, tank, pants & jersey. I've still got pod pack, pods, mask and knee pads lying around at home.

What I was thinking for kit was:

Marker - Etek 2 or 3, about £200 for an Etek 2 or hopefully £250 for an Etek 3.
Hopper - Empire Prophecy, about £50, Empire Magna, about £35, Vlocity, about £35.
Tank - Whatever I can pick up for a decent price.
Pants & Jersey - Same as the tank.

I might also look to pick up a new mask as mine is a bit tatty.

Anybody got any other suggestions for decent kit for my budget?

Also, I always used to be more of a front player, would there be anything wrong with buying an Invert Mini? I know they are pretty old but I should be able to get one for about £130 and I did always like a light marker.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

 

[joshypop]

You can pick up a decent pair of slide shorts/knee pads/elbow pads. As a front player, you'll be doing a lot of moving and diving around. To save your limbs from the hard ground, which after a days 'balling will hurt quite a bit, personally i suggest them. At the end of the day, you're there to enjoy yourself, and by injuring yourself from things other than that globule of paint flying at you at 300 fps is just a pain in the a*se!

 

[southernP8nt]

You can pick up a decent pair of slide shorts/knee pads/elbow pads. As a front player, you'll be doing a lot of moving and diving around. To save your limbs from the hard ground, which after a days 'balling will hurt quite a bit, personally i suggest them. At the end of the day, you're there to enjoy yourself, and by injuring yourself from things other than that globule of paint flying at you at 300 fps is just a pain in the a*se!

Should have said, I've still got my old knee pads as well, they weren't used more than half a dozen times so they are still in very good condition.

 

[Bassy]

Had a player in my team who played front with an invert mini, so perfectly acceptable.
If you'd like one let me know as I have one spare.
if you're interested tell me and i'll put the info up, pics n all.

Bassy

 

[southernP8nt]

Had a player in my team who played front with an invert mini, so perfectly acceptable.
If you'd like one let me know as I have one spare.
if you're interested tell me and i'll put the info up, pics n all.

Bassy

I'd appreciate it if you could chuck a few photos up for me, along with any important details about the marker and price obviously.

It is probably gonna be a few weeks till I start buying bits of kit though, don't know if you're trying to sell the marker quickly or if a bit of a wait wouldn't be a problem.

 

[southernP8nt]

Surely somebody must have some opinions on whether what I'm looking for is decent kit or whether there are better things to be looking for in my price range.

 

[essx]

ive seen ego 9 for 300 recently and would get that over either eteks, tbh id probably get an 08 over an etek!

the hoppers are around, sure you will mostly see people using dye rotors now, can be got for as little as 50

the other bits easy to find at god prices, tanks just make sure it has plenty of text on it, egos will run high or low pressure so thats not an issue!

 

[southernP8nt]

ive seen ego 9 for 300 recently and would get that over either eteks, tbh id probably get an 08 over an etek!

the hoppers are around, sure you will mostly see people using dye rotors now, can be got for as little as 50

the other bits easy to find at god prices, tanks just make sure it has plenty of text on it, egos will run high or low pressure so thats not an issue!

I know that an ego 9, even if I could find one for about £300, would put me over my budget once I factored in all of my kit. I'm assuming that an Ego 8 or 7 that has been looked after is still a good enough choice? Hopefully I could pick one up on the good side of £250. Am I right in thinking that an ego 8 or 7 would run on either HP or LP?

 

[maca]

Surely somebody must have some opinions on whether what I'm looking for is decent kit or whether there are better things to be looking for in my price range.

Sounds like you have done your homework mate you won't go wrong with the choices you have made but you should also look at some Ego's you could probably get an 08 for £250 or if you put in another £50 evan a 09
If you want to keep the costs down Mini's are great markers for the money and although a lot of my team are upgrading to the Axe now a lot still use the mini and have done for a long time and they easily keep up with the high end markers
If you do go with the Mini all i would say is try to get one with a clamping feedneck and an on off asa

Yes it will run on both but most on here always say get a hp tank when possible unless your shooting an Angel