[RockingTheIon70]

Okay, this thread is simply to reduce the number of threads clogging the newbie forum asking "what should I get for $XXX?". If you have any questions, you can always PM me. Martix_agent and txaggie08 are both also very knowledgeable and helpful, so if you have any questions, you can also shoot them a PM. Now for the info:


Hoppers

There are many hoppers out on the market right now, which means one thing for us paintballers- more competition, which ultimately equals a better product. I will talk about the most popular, as loaders such as the Torque really haven't been around long enough to get an accurate review. If your marker doesn't shoot over 12 bps, don't bother with an electronic- stick to a gravity.

Viewloader Quantam-$18


There's a reason this hopper is so cheap- because it's trash. And yet, every time I go play I see at least one kid who didn't do his research and went out and bought the cheapest thing he could. Don't be that kid.

Pros:
-low price

Cons:
-motor constantly whirs
-agonizingly slow
-extremely inconsistent
-shells break easily
-bad battery life

Viewloader Revolution (Revvy)- $35

These were the real deal right up until the Viewloader Evlution was released. They only feed about 10-12 balls per second and not very consistently either, so unless you want one as a backup, I would simply skip it. Even if you are only a weekend recballer, I would buy at least an Evlution.

Pros:
-very cheap

Cons:
-very slow




Empire Reloader 2
-$45


This is essentially a Viewloader Revolution with new shells and a sound activated board.

Pros:
-sound activated (no problem with dark paint)
-low price

Cons:
-viewloader eye force is miles better for only $15 more
-very slow



Viewloader Evlution 3 (Egg)- $60


Although this hopper was also once top of the line, it is quickly falling behind to a market of faster, more durable, and more consistent loaders. If you want to play at a higher level, I would seriously recommend skipping this and moving a step up to another loader as this one simply won't stand up to the abuse and high rate of fire seen at many tournaments today. If you are simply a weekend recballer, then this hopper makes a good choice.

Pros:
-low price
-semi-force feed

Cons:
-not very durable
-inconsistent



Viewloader Eye Force-$70

This hopper took the paintball world by suprise somewhat, as it uses the VLocity's force feed technology with eyes at an astoundingly low price. Reviews have been exceptionally positive for the short time it has been out, so if you want to take a leap of faith and try it out, go for it.

Pros:
-extremely good price
-has eyes and force feed
-good feed rate
-light

Cons:
-some people complain of awkward profile



Spyder Fasta- $80


This is Spyder's newest addition to the tournament paintball world. It has received positive reviews, aside from a few small criticisms. Also, get an 18v and skip the LCD one, as it isn't advanced enough to warrant the need of an LCD screen and it's just something else to break. One big complaint about the Fasta are the rock hard feed paddles, which seem to break paint like a blender. This can be a problem if you use tournament paint, which is very brittle to encourage breaking.

Pros:
-inexpensive
-good feed rate

Cons:
-hard paddle
-large profile
-lid is awkward for many



Odyssey Halo B- $87


The Halo is definitely the most popular high end hopper on the market. It has been around for a long enough time to have all the bugs worked out of it. Also, since it has been around for such a long time, it has loads of upgrades for it. If you do get this hopper, I would also recommend getting something called the Rip Drive. It allows you to spin a little knob at the bottom of the hopper when your battery runs out, which winds the spring and feeds 15 balls. You will have to do this every 15 shots, but it might keep you in the game.

Pros:
-very customizable
-good feed rate
-good battery life

Cons:
-questionable reliability
-slightly heavy and bulky



Viewloader Vlocity Jr.-$100


This is considered by many to be the best hopper on the market right now. It has everything you could want from a hopper. Light weight, fast feed rate, and durable shells. The only difference between the Vlocity Jr. and the Vlocity is the chip (which can be replaced) and the ball capacity. Other than that, they are pretty much the same. The one bad side to this hopper is that it is constantly putting pressure on the balls, which eats up battery life very quickly. Once you get an upgrade chip and adjust the tension, the battery life improves dramatically and the hopper is practically flawless.

Pros:
-fast enough for any marker
-very durable
-extremely light

Cons:
-terrible battery life



Empire Reloader B-$108


The Empire Reloader B is probably the second most popular high end hopper on the market. It takes the exact same design as the Halo and replaces the eyes that "see" the balls and use that to determine when to feed, and replaces it with sound sensors that feed when they "hear" the gun being fired. The Reloader B is also very customizable, and doesn't have any of the reliability problems that the Halo B does. Between the Reloader B and the Halo B, I would definitely get a Reloader B. Also, since they are practically the same hoppers, many of the same upgrades are compatible with both (such as shells)

Pros:
-good feed rate
-good battery life
-customizable
-better quality than the Halo B

Cons:
-slightly heavy and bulky


NXE Jrny-$120


This is a very new hopper that has not been released yet. The drive system is unlike anything any company has tried before, it uses something called an auger (a spiral shaped screw) to feed the balls into the feedneck. It supposedly weighs less, feeds more consistently, is easier to clean, and is much easier on the paint. Of course, the hopper isn;t out yet, so we'll have to wait a little bit.

Pros:

Cons:

[RockingTheIon70]

Viewloader Vlocity-$130


This loader is very similar to the Vlocity Jr. (above). It is slightly heavier and larger than the Vlocity Jr. It also includes a chip that lets you select the tension that the hopper puts on the ballstack, which preserves battery life.

Pros:
-fast feed rate
-slim profile

Cons:
-Vlocity Jr. makes more sense



Empire Magna-$150

This is considered to be the face of a new generation of high-tech hoppers. It was released very recently at the PSP World Cup, so it has not really caught quite yet. It has a revolutionary system, in which you can choose the amount of magnets based on the type of paint. For example, if you were shooting very brittle and soft tournament paint, you would use less magnets. On the other hand, if you were shooting reballs, you would use a lot of magnets. This is also how the name "Magna" was derived. It also uses the Empire B2 board, so it is very fast and adjustable.

Pros:
-magnet tension system
-fast
-adjustable

Cons:
-sits very far back on marker
-quite expensive

[RockingTheIon70]

Reserved

[RockingTheIon70]

Originally Posted by martix_agent

eh, sorta. it's got both old and new in it. If you want to do that as well, make it in another thread.

by the way, once this thread is complete I'll clean it up then sticky it.

So I should make one for hoppers and one for masks?

[the_real_kaz]

Alright, sweet. You can finish the "hopper thread", (possibly re-name it?) darktamer can redo his marker thread (hopfully excluding the promaster this time lol), and maybe matrix_agent can move them both to the same thread so newbies don't have to search for them. I wouldn't think to look in the gun review section first if I was a new person.

[txaggie08]

It might be nice to get a "the ultimate ear guide" sticky on top of the newb forum with links to all these. The ones of us here all the time can put it in our sig's and try to point them that way...