oh and im hearing some good things about Spyder VS1 as well. any one have any views on that? i hear that the eyes arn't very effective on it and you still good that big kick that everybody loves soo much but i could be (and probably am) wrong.
What the eyes do is sense when a ball is properly loaded if a ball isn't loaded properly the marker won't fire until the ball is properly in the breech so the marker won't chop. The low force bolt is a sort of low tech way around the same problem the bolt doesn't move fast enough to break a ball so if the ball isn't loaded properly the ball is just lightly pinched rather than smashed to mush. Eyes are great at very high speeds and since the bolt doesn't touch the ball until loaded you can use more fragile paint. The disadvantage is that if the eyes get dirty you can quickly end up with a huge mess since the scum covering the eyes will be read as a loaded ball. The low force bolt will work dirty or not but isn't a 100% chop free solution and since it can't tell if a ball is loaded or not more fragile paint can still get broken in the marker.
I have a Tipp A-5 with an E-grip, I believe you said you cant use the E-grip though, but the E-Grip semi mode has a much faster action than the stock trigger. A-5 is extremely reliable marker, use in several scenarios and pickup games. Downside is coldweather, CO2 becomes difficult and the high pressure bolt can chop paint. The Advantage is the cyclone hopper, so much better than an electric loader. But with an A-5 you will need to upgrade a barrel right away, stock is terrible, I have a J&J 14' and a 12" nightstix, the J&J is great.
I also have a PMR, got it for fun speed and primarily cold weather, easier on the balls.
I would say go with the Smart Parts SP-1 and purchase a 68/4500 HPA tank. SP-1 is cold and wet weather friendly, where I would not use my PMR during wet conditions, I will go with the A-5.
Low Pressure is much more accurate than a High pressure bolt
Go with a low pressure marker, since you play a lot in cold weather go with a HPA. Not sure of the markup in New Zealand but here in the US SP-1 is $175 and N2/HPA tank is $160. And yes Co2 can be used with the SP-1, but I would stay away from Co2 during cold weather.
In the future, I look to invest in a SP-1, outstanding for the price!
Also, I use a Torque Loader, simple easy and just plain works, some don't like it because it is a continuous feed, but with a mask on, no one has ears that good. But the VL Eye Force is not bad for scenario.
Sorry, just saw where you dont have access to HPA. That makes it easier, go with the SP-1 with the Remote line, dont think you can do any better. Make sure the vest mounts the bottle vertical, helps with the siphon of gas and not liquid. Find a hopper that wont put too much pressure on the balls so it wont chop it. Try some brittle paint or place your usual paint into and try it out. Go get that SP-1
I got the SP1 and it seems to work perfect. It has a bunch of rails that are the same standard used in the military and on real guns, so it's very standardized. I'm trying to find some kind of offset so I can put a red dot scope on it. you need an offset for optical sights since it's loaded from the top. It uses CO2 or HPA. It's never chopped a ball once since I got it so that's fine. send me a message if you have a question. Also if anyone can tell me where I can find rail offsets or something please let me know.
I have a MR1 and love it. I have also played with shot A5s countless times. The popularity of the MR1 now compared to a couple of years ago has increased, so now there are tons of upgrades for it both looks wise and performance wise. One upgrade that I recommend for it is an ACS bolt (delrin 2-oring from Paintball Guns and Gear from Alamo City Paintball is what i have). Also you can get a new ball detent. The ones from the Bob Long Timmy work well with the MR1. Also you can get a J&J barrel. They're one of the best barrels for the price. Super accurate and consistent. Also if you're going for the milsim look they have literally tons of things now in that category for the MR series, unlike how a couple of years ago the milsim market was pretty much all for M98s and A5s. With the bolt and barrel which are relatively cheap $65 total. That's already a major improvement for under $100. Which the A5 can't match performance wise. I'm not sure about the SP1 but I do know that since you're only allowed semi in NZ then the cyclone feed doesn't make that much of a difference. A cheap agitated will be just fine but not necessary. The gravity fed hoppers will do fine for woodsball. Besides you don't want a ton of noise anyway. Hopes this helps.
Aloha
I own an SP-1 and an MR-1 (gave my MR-1 to my 10 year old son. I did like it when it didn't chop - fairly accurate for a less expensive out the box marker). I would go with the SP-1 all the way. I have a freind or two that have the Tippmans and they all say my SP-1 is better.
Eyes are better than low force - but, you can find a SP-1 with the blackheart board upgrade (includes eyes) for about 50.00 more as a package if the eyes are that important.
1)The best thing I love about the SP-1 more than the MR-1 is that my SP-1 simply does NOT CHOP. I chopped about five balls in my first two days of play with my MR-1. Shot about a case through my SP-1 without a single chop. And, no I don't have the Blackheart upgrade.
2)The SP-1 has all sorts of rails on it.
3)I found the J&J elite barell kit for it at 88.00 online. With the J&J barrels the SP-1 is QUIET as hell!
4)The SP-1 used LESS air. You can upgrade the bolt for about 30.00 and it will be more quite and sip even less air.
5) You have a better selection of stocks(if you use a stock) with the SP-1.
6) The SP-1 has a bleed off in case CO2 gets into your gun which protects your internals. Just wait a sec after it bleeds off and your back in business.
The ONLY thing I liked better about the MR-1 was the offset feedneck. Not a fan of the cyclone feed of the tippmans.
I highly recommend you get a forcefeed loader as a gravity one just won't keep up with even single fire mode on your stock non-blackboard SP-1 if you start to shoot fast.
TIPPMAN A-5 vs smartparts SP 1 vs spyder MR1
