Hello and advice please

[Flinni]

Hi guys,

This is gunna sound like a lonely hearts ad, but isn't intended to, so here goes.... 31 year old male based in Warrington, Cheshire (between Manchester & Liverpool) seeks advice on entry level marker (c.£350 quid) and info on any mature newbie team in the region.

Basically, I've been paintballing for over 10 years (off and on, mainly off though) but am now looking at taking the sport up on a more regular basis. (The main reason why I haven’t done so in the past is due to cost). Initially I intend to focus on rec-ball and walk-ons, with a view (depending on if I can find a suitable team) to try out tournaments at some point in the future. What I really want is a reliable marker that I can use at most sites for woodland (and occasional indoor) play, not overly fussed about speedball. I'd like a marker that can be customised and upgraded if needed. Now I know most entry level markers can't compete with top-end markers, but IF i find a team to join and ultimately decide to take more active role in tournaments, then I’ll probably look to upgrade anyway. Unless there is a marker out there that can do both??

On the team front, this is more of a mid/long term aim, but ideally I like to find a team of paintballers who don’t take themselves too seriously (i.e. not hardcore pros) and are of a similar age/mentality. Any suggestions?

Thx

Flinni

 

[mushk1n]

I would go for a lower-level marker. Get yourself a nice hopper, mask and bottle and then when the time comes and you want to play tournies buy a new marker, I wouldn't bother spending too much on upgrading, I've fallen into that trap before.

Ion XE / PMR is a good starter marker, both easy to maintain and reliable.

Hoper - 2nd hand halo b, velocity or something that will future proof your setup

Bottle - 2nd hand air, fibre wrapped bottle with lots of test that will do you for the next few years. New bottle is always an option as it gives you 5 years test, its quite a sound investment.

mask - whatever you like the look of

should be affordable for the 350 mark

Welcome to the forum btw!

mush

 

[Niall W]

olly has some dm5's in the for sale section.

Awsome gats, just a little bulkier than the new matrixes

 

[scott_peters]

i went wrong and bought the best gun i could with my money and hopper then got not so good quality goggles !!!

my advice is get a better pair of goggles and compensate on the hopper

 

[weastie]

the dms are good cheap as well

 

[Lump]

whats your age ?
and as said before. get the important things right first time. Air buy a 4500psi HP bottle from new. about £150 but will last you 5 years and will cover most markers. markers come and go. a good loader ReloaderB are cheap and very reliable. get these two right and any thing you put on it will work right.
marker wise, start cheap. if your still balling next year upgrade. a few of the guy have said about DM5s up for sale. really still one of the best markers out there. very accurate and good on air. may need a new chip to comply with new tourney rules. but again nice and cheap.
playing kit. there is always loads for sale here. so your looking at £50 to £80 for pants Gog's and a top.
and your good to go

 

[Ali]

as you said you wanted a reliable, cheap but a upgrade-able gun, so go with a ion/ion xe
with so so so many upgrades avaliable for it. and you can use it for speedball, woodsball, rec ball, walk ons and anything else.

 

[speeman]

if i was in your position this is what i would do

i would buy a brand new mask(my opinion)flex, grillz, e vents all great masks all around 60 quid get a fibre wraped tank, on here around 40 -60 and hopper 30-50 first, you may be able to afford an 05 ego aswell they are around 170, that will be a strong setup and the gun will do just fine untill you want to upgrade

it will be alot better than an ion or pmr and egos are very reliable so you will very unlikely have problems with it

hope this helps mate

 

[Flinni]

Thanks for the prompt replies.

In answer to a couple of your questions....

1. Age - 31 (yes, an old man I know with a few grey hairs)
2. £350 was a rough budget for the gun itself, without all the peripherals such as goggles, bottle, hopper etc..I was expecting to buy these separately anyway and probably new.
3. It seems that the main recommendations so far are DM5's and ION XE's. I'll have a look into this and see what’s best.

Couple of quick questions – are DM5’s still supported by DYE and is it still easy to get spare parts and upgrades for them, just in case anything goes wrong? Obviously being a bit of newb, I don’t want to have to worry about being able to source parts etc..

Noob question - Can DM5’s and ION XE’s be used at the majority of Woodball sites around the UK?

 

[Lump]

if the site you visit allows own gunners then yes, what tourney are you looking to play ? i may be able to put you in touch with a bunch of guys who play for the fun of it, nothing to serious