[CannonFodder]

Choosing a new marker can be both exciting and stressful. The stressful part is fear of making the wrong decision given the numerous choices and price points to consider. It can be especially stressful if you need to convince your parents to lay down some cash for something that is several times the cost of what they had in mind from Wal-Mart. The purpose of this write-up is to share knowledge I gained from my own experience in buying markers. Some if not most of this information is contained in various other stickies and posts in varying depths of detail, but I wanted to provide one place for an overview so the reader will have a better idea of what to go research in detail. The information here should be relevant for adults spending their own money, kids spending their parents’ money and parents who are trying to rationalize why they should spend the money on what their kids are asking for. This information isn’t necessarily for buying the first marker; it could also be used to buying the second one when the player realizes playing paintball is something they’d like to do more often than at friends’ birthday parties.

Before we get in to types of markers, let’s cover some features of markers in general as they are both attributes of markers that you may see with stock markers or features that you may consider for an upgrade. I think it makes it easier to then wrap up with the different types of markers you’ll see and how different types of game play can influence the marker decision.

Air source: There are two types of systems to supply gas pressure to the marker: CO2 and high-pressure air (HPA). A CO2 tank holds liquid CO2 that essentially boils off in to gas until an equilibrium pressure is reached in the tank. As the marker is fired, the pressure in the tank drops momentarily and more CO2 boils off in to gas to reach equilibrium again. The advantage of CO2 is it is cheaper to purchase as an air system. The disadvantages are:
· When shooting a marker at a high rate of fire, the marker can actually draw the gas CO2 faster than it can boil off from liquid. This is called “shoot down” and results in either a significant drop in velocity until a little resting period is given, or having liquid CO2 entering in the system.
· Liquid CO2 can enter the marker’s system from either shoot down or pointing the marker down and firing, thus letting the liquid CO2 run to the valve end of the tank. Liquid CO2 in the marker’s system can cause a pressure spike, temporarily freeze up the marker and can potentially damage the marker.
· The delivery pressure of CO2 is less consistent than HPA (see the section on accuracy below for why this is important).

HPA is a more expensive to get in to ($75 - 350 for HPA versus $35 for CO2), but it doesn’t have the disadvantages of CO2. Other than cost, another disadvantage of HPA is most paintball supply shops don’t fill it. Most fields fill HPA, so playing with it isn’t a problem, but if you want to practice at home you might need to buy a SCUBA tank with a fill adapter. You can always get a fill after your last game at the field, but you might run out at home before your next game day. One option is to use HPA at the field and buy a CO2 tank for practicing at home, provided your marker can use CO2 (some mid and most high-end markers cannot use CO2).

A CO2 tank can be fitted with an anti-siphon tube to help reduce the chances of liquid CO2 entering the marker’s system. The device is basically a little copper tube that is installed in the tank that goes from the valve and curves up to the top of where the gas should be when the tank is on the marker. The idea is the tube lets you get every last bit of gas out without sucking liquid CO2. My local shop doesn’t do this modification, but I read that it costs around $25 or so.

Accuracy: accuracy is largely a combination of a low-pressure firing system, consistent pressure in the firing system, a good barrel, and good paint matched to the barrel.

High pressure versus low pressure: Some markers use high-pressure air (500-800 psi) to launch the paintball, whereas low-pressure markers use 180-250 psi or so. Both types can achieve the same velocity at the end of the barrel; the low-pressure system just does it in a more gentle way. A low-pressure system has two advantages: (1) it is more accurate since the trip down the barrel is less violent, and (2) it is less likely to break brittle paint (brittle paint can be a good thing since it is more likely to break when it hits someone). A high pressure firing system should not be confused with HPA; HPA can be used for either.

Consistent pressure: The more consistent the pressure being used to launch the paintball, the more accurate the marker will be since the amount the ball drops from marker to target will be the same. CO2 alone as the air source is the least consistent; there will be spikes high and low. The use of a regulator can make CO2 significantly more consistent. A regulator is a device that takes the variable pressure air source as input and delivers a more constant output in to the marker. The quality of the regulator contributes to consistency in how well it can deliver a constant output. The use of a HPA as a source with be much more consistent than CO2, and even further enhanced when coupled with a good regulator. Note: a regulator is different from an expansion chamber. An expansion chamber is an empty cavity for CO2 to better expand in to before entering the marker. A regulator has some mechanical stuff in to control the pressure of gas entering the marker. Another advantage of a regulator is it is a better method of controlling velocity of the paintball than other controls available on markers.

Barrel: As you might expect, the barrel contributes to accuracy. The top barrels usually have a mirror smooth primary section where the paintball is accelerated, then a wider secondary section with ports. The secondary section is for the ball to stabilize before exiting the barrel. Less costly but yet still good barrels may not have two sections. Barrels in the lengths between 10 and 14 inches are most effective. A barrel longer than 14 inches is regarded to not contribute to accuracy.

Paintball quality and matching to the barrel: Barrels and paintballs come in different sizes. It is important to match paint with the barrel size to avoid ball breaks and for improved consistency in accuracy. Good paintballs are fairly consistent in size, more round and have minimal flat spots. The more round the paintball is, the straighter it will fly. Cheap paintballs are noticeably less round and less consistent in size.

The maximum practical rate of fire of the marker is another consideration. I say “practical” rate of fire since the marker may be capable of out-shooting itself where shooting faster than a certain rate results in broken paint or the marker otherwise not cycling properly. The rate of fire is a factor of a ball in place system, air system, trigger system, and the hopper.

Ball in place system: The purpose of a ball in place system is to be able to ready and fire a ball without breaking it in the process. This can be done mechanically or electronically. An electronic system uses break-beam eyes to tell if a ball is in place to be fired. If it isn’t, the system delays the firing until the ball is in place. A mechanical system may or may not interrupt firing. One mechanical example is the Kingman (Spyder) anti-chop bolt that is designed to somewhat delay the bolt moving forward if the bolt isn’t able to move forward from a ball not being clear from the feed neck. The electronic system is better than mechanical. I think of the electronic system as “guaranteed ball in place” whereas the mechanical system is “best effort.” Other factors, such as a faulty hopper feed system, can still cause a ball to break before going down the barrel, but the ball in place system handles things if the hopper is working properly. An electronic system allows a higher rate of fire.

As noted earlier, the air system contributes to rate of fire capability. CO2 will be the slowest due to shoot-down. CO2 with a regulator will be faster since the regulator makes better use of the CO2. HPA is by far the best. CO2 with a regulator will get you short bursts of 12-15 BPS or so. HPA will feed longer and faster shooting cycles.

Trigger system: A mechanical trigger trips the sear for the bolt when the trigger is pulled. With an electro trigger, pulling the trigger activates a micro switch. A little computer board in the marker’s handle detects that event. The board will then fire the marker by either tripping the sear or activating an electronic air valve. Two qualities of an electro trigger that set it apart from a mechanical unit are: (1) there is much lighter trigger pull, and (2) the trigger computer is typically programmable to fire the marker more times than the trigger is being pulled. A high rate of fire cannot be achieved with a mechanical trigger. An electro trigger facilitates “walking the trigger” wherein the player uses two fingers on the trigger and moves them alternately as in “let your fingers do the walking through the phone book.” It should be noted that many fields do not allow enhanced firing modes like full auto or ramping (when the computer essentially adds trigger pulls when a certain trigger pull rate is reached), so having a trigger that is walk-able is a requirement for anything over single digit BPS firing rate.

[CannonFodder]

Hoppers: There are non-electric and electric hoppers. Non-electric hoppers work fine for markers with mechanical triggers. Electric hoppers have a device in them to help feed balls at a higher rate for markers with higher BPS. The more basic electric hoppers have a little “paintball scrambler” thing in them that spins a little with each ball fired in order to keeps the paintballs from jamming each others’ access to the feed tube in to the marker. The higher-end hoppers have a device that actually force-feeds balls in to the marker at a rate faster than they would fall with gravity alone. This faster feed rate accommodates high (13+ BPS) firing rates.


Now, let’s talk markers. There are three types of markers you’ll see: mechanical, electro mechanical and electro pneumatic:
· Mechanical: A mechanical marker uses a spring push the bolt forward to fire a paintball. During firing, some gas pressure is used to cock the bolt back, thus compressing the spring for the next shot. This marker also has a mechanical trigger. The mechanical marker is the lower end of the semi auto marker market. Most rental markers at fields will be the mechanical type. The mechanical will be the slowest firing since the trigger cannot be walked.

· Electro mechanical: This marker has the same spring-loaded bolt of the mechanical, but this one has an electronic trigger. A higher rate of fire can be achieved since the trigger can be walked, but the maximum effective BPS will probably be under fifteen due to lack of electronic break beam eyes and a heavier trigger pull than higher-end markers. Keep in mind that with markers in this class that just because the trigger can be pulled faster than 13 BPS or so, it doesn’t mean that the marker will actually consistently fire paintballs at that rate. Better models in this category come stock with a regulator, but most use a high pressure firing system.


· Electro pneumatic: This marker does not use a spring to drive the bolt forward. Instead, it used gas pressure to move the bolt in both directions. The timing of moving the bolt back and forth is controlled electronically. You also have more control over the firing sequence, such as a ball in place, de-bounce, etc. The advantage of this a higher rate of fire, less recoil (which makes the marker easier to keep on target when firing fast) and more tune-ability. These markers also typically have break beam eyes and more refined electronic triggers than the other types of markers. These markers can consistently fire at their stated maximum rate of fire assuming you have a hopper that can feed that fast and HPA. Electro pneumatic markers also usually operate with low firing pressures and come stock with a regulator. They usually require HPA since liquid CO2 would damage the internals.


My opinion is the electro-pneumatic is a huge jump over the other two classes of markers. Pneumatic markers are the type used in tournaments.

Let’s look at how the type of game play factors in. I see it as two types: woodsball and speedball. Woodsball is what most people not familiar with paintball think of; people in camouflage playing over acres of wooded areas. I classify speedball as any of the other forms of paintball played on smaller fields, like air ball, X-ball and hyperball. All of these speedball games have some attributes in common that sets them apart from woodsball:
· The fields are small enough to generally see and shoot at the other team as soon as the game begins
· The field has bunkers to hide behind. There are usually no trees or other natural points of cover or concealment. Camouflage doesn’t help.
· The games are fast and furious. Higher rates of fire and larger volumes of paint provide more of a strategic advantage than in woodsball.

The type of game play a person will be involved can have some influence over the type of marker they need. A person playing woodsball with a low-end marker will not feel outgunned as soon as someone playing speedball with the same marker. A high rate of fire in speedball is not only a benefit; I would say it is a requirement. This brings on some equipment dependencies, which means the low price range of a complete setup is really not an option.

Let’s look at what I consider to be the least costly but yet still effective speedball setup, and then look at the next price point above that. I focus on speedball here since that’s where more questions seem to be.

Least costly for speedball:
· Electro-mechanical marker
· HPA
· New barrel
· Basic electronic hopper
· Trigger upgrade
· Optional: some kind of low cost ball in place system

I say a ball in place system is optional since it will most likely be mechanical in this price range, and it is debatable how effective a mechanical ball in place feature can be.

Keep in mind that a lower end marker may require some additional modifications to get it dialed in properly, like perhaps a new set of springs or a regulator to better control both velocity and bolt action.


Next step up:
· Electro-pneumatic marker with a regulator
· HPA
· Better electronic hopper


So what about CO2? Well, to use CO2 in speedball where a higher rate of fire is more heavily relied upon, you should really use a regulator and perhaps anti-siphon. The cost of the CO2 tank, the anti-siphon modification and a regulator will equal the cost of a smaller HPA tank. Also, CO2 cannot support the rate of fire of better markers. Modifications to a CO2 system can only minimize the disadvantages of CO2, whereas HPA eliminates the disadvantages of CO2.

It is important to match the level of equipment you attach to the marker with the level of the marker. For example, if you’re thinking to use CO2 with an electro-pneumatic marker, then I think it is better to get HPA and use an electro-mechanical marker. One reason is potential damage to the internals of the better marker; the other reason is CO2 will limit you from making use of the higher rate of fire of the better marker. Another example is using a non-electric hopper on a fast shooting marker. You can’t get the benefits of the better marker if the supporting equipment is starving its performance.


You might be a noobie if….

Matching marker to player: It is true that if someone just plays occasionally then they shouldn’t empty the bank account on a marker in case they end up drifting out of the sport a short time later. If someone is going to play regularly and wants a decent setup, then I think some important considerations are:
(1) Does the person know that they like paintball and that it is something they want to continue doing
(2) Is the person willing to dedicate some time to paintball at home for cleaning the marker, reading up on new equipment and how to troubleshoot equipment they already own, etc.
(3) Age

Over and above liking the sport, gaining knowledge of how to take care of more advanced equipment and actually setting aside the time to take care of it will be needed. I think the age of the player affects this. An adult will be more responsible in caring for their equipment, have greater ability to follow directions that aren’t exactly explicit and be able to apply solutions learned from others for either troubleshooting or upgrading. This maturity means they can handle a more advanced setup earlier on in their skill level progression.

My opinion is an adult could go for a lower priced electro-pneumatic for their first marker, assuming they know that paintball is something they are “in” to. For someone who is middle school age and his or her mom or dad isn’t in to paintball (and therefore no trickledown of paintball knowledge and responsibility), then I think the first marker should be at most electro-mechanical and then look at electro-pneumatic when they really need better performance.


Upgrades

A barrel upgrade should be assumed with any marker. Beyond that, be cautious of the thought of buying a cheaper marker with the intent of building it up to the next level or class of marker later. You may very well spend as much as buying the better one up front but still end up with a lesser functioning marker. Understandably, budget constraints and the desire to get something better than a rental marker may prompt you to go this route, so just be careful about how much you spend on upgrades over time. It may be better to sell what you have and buy up to get a number of upgrades at once for an overall lesser price than building marker up to the same level. On the other hand, in the lower end electro-mechanical market some marker manufacturers don’t use quality components for more feature packed models, so in that case it may be better to buy a basic electro-mechanical model and add a few upgrades. The end result is that for a similar price you get a better setup. It seems the general opinion on this board is that Spyders fall in to this category (i.e. buy an Imagine and do some upgrades rather than buying a Fenix or Electra).

There are plenty of stickies and threads on upgrades for each brand of marker, so the next step is to research those for your model of marker.


Conclusion

I hope this information helps guide you through some of your early decisions in buying or upgrading marker. When doing additional research, don’t forget to read the stickies and search on the topics of interest in the forum categories; someone may have already asked and answered the question you have. Paintball is a great sport, and making wise decisions about equipment will help keep the sport fun for you.

[Ellis]

Wow, nice post. Very informative.

[Blizzardz Wrath]

Wow. Some of that actually helped me and I thought I already knew a lot. Good post, this should be a sticky.

[Nor*Tex]

sticky!

[Jase]

Good post. A lot of good things in there.