[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
REVIEW

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

[martix_agent]

Pinokio Hopper Review
This is TheAznInvazn giving you one of my *P.O.S. Reviews!
*Price Over Skirmish-ability

Table of Contents:
Ordering
Factory Specs
First Impressions
Feel
Performance
Externals
Internals
Upgrades
Pros/Cons
Overall

Ordering
I was in the hunt for a new loader; three “super hoppers” had just come out and I wanted one of them, the Rotor, the Prophecy and the Pinokio.
After much soul searching and research, I decided that the Pinokio was the one for me, but there was just one last problem… All of the “super hoppers” cost $150, and I was quite poor…
I saw Pinokio’s video on YouTube saying that they were looking so semi-sponsor teams like mine and I jumped on the chance! Big thanks to Mr. Gavin!

Factory Specs
(Taken from the back of the box)

-Stage 1-
Weight*: 1 lb.
BPS: 30
Ball Capacity: 230

Stage 1 of the new PL230/400 is designed for speed. With its ultra light weight and a maximum of 30 BPS it’s the perfect loader for the frontman in any game situation.

-Stage 2-
Weight*: 1 lb. 8 oz.
BPS: 30
Ball Capacity: 400

Stage 2 offers a totally new concept that only PINOKIO can give you. Stage 1 loader easily transforms in under 5 seconds and with an unmatched capacity of 400 balls, this is the ultimate performance loader made today.

*Weight includes two 9 volt batteries

First Impressions
When I received my shipment of 3 Pinokio’s for my team, I immediately tore into the box and took out the first one I saw, it was now mine!
HOLY COW THIS THING IS UGLY AS SIN!
After getting over the shock aside from it being a bit… different looking, I warmed up to it and began to like how it looked. The curves and contours of the hopper don’t clash, nothing really looks out of place, but when all together, it just looks… weird…
Upon further inspection, I noticed the lid on the Pinokio. The tabs on the lid are huge! If you like lids, there will be no more missing the tabs on your lid or having your fingers slip off and not completely opening your lid in the heat of battle!


The lid is the same dimensions as the Halo, so all the Halo style speed feeds that are flooding the market right now will work fine, nothing to worry about there! I personally use one if my very own Ghetto RapidFeeds
The battery door has a tool free design, it just snaps into place. It’s so simple it isn’t even funny.
The shells are thick and robust, but the hopper itself is very light (one of the lightest hoppers on the market). There is no internal raceway, just the two shell halves together, and it does come with both nose attachments with is really nice! All the other super hoppers have larger capacity systems available, but you have to buy them separate.
The feedneck on the Pinokio is very thick, I think on par with Halo’s. It’s quite strong as well though, so you really don’t need to worry about breaking them. These shells are made to last!


The noses are quick release, just push the spring loaded tab to the side, slide off the nose, and attach a new one. You can also clean it with water from a spray bottle, amazing! Just make sure to take the nose off and keep the back pointed up!


Feel
The Pinokio… it’s very… smooth… and quite… curvaceous… uh, anyways!

With a fully loaded Stage 1 setup, it really doesn’t feel all that different from my fully loaded VLocity when just comparing weight. It’s not awkward feeling at all when on a marker.
Because of the Pinokio’s swept back design, most of the weight of the hopper is behind the feedneck, and in turn, when on a marker, it brings the center of balance back towards the shooter, making the font of the gun feel lighter. I also personally feel that it’s easier to “point” now with the balance point further back. I don’t feel that it’s overly top heavy either; don’t feel that it’s any worse than a fully loaded VLocity.
When looking down the barrel with the hopper tilted in, the Pinokio isn’t in the way either, the hopper itself as actually quite thin, which is a plus!

With a fully loaded Stage 2 things are quite different…
Carrying almost half a case of paintballs in your hopper makes for a very VERY heavy setup. It throws the center of balance way forward; it’s awkward to point because all that weight up front makes the marker unbalanced, and did I mention that it’s heavy? The cool thing about the Stage 2 is that once you start shooting, since most of us don’t shoot down hill and have to slightly arc our shots, all the paintballs in the nose begin to roll back into the body of the Pinokio! The more you shoot the more balanced it becomes, and after you empty the hopper, you can switch noses in the middle of a game if you really wanted to.
Looking down the barrel of the marker with the Stage 2 attached is really no different than the Stage 1; you can’t even see the extended nose of the Stage 2 when you’re playing.
Because of its swept back design, yes it brings the center of gravity closer to the shooter, but it also brings the hopper closer to your face. If you have a really close setup this may bother you. I play with a DXS 48/45 and it doesn’t bother me though.

Performance
Now here comes the fun part!
You tap the button once and it’s on, tap it again and it’s off! The light also stays on when the hopper is on! It always pisses me off when I drain batteries because I didn’t turn off my hopper because I thought it was already off when it wasn’t… As for on gun performance…


HOLY COW THE PINOKIO IS CONSISTENT! With my VLocity with Dynasty chip and Ninja Star Paddle, I would still get skips and pauses in my streams of paint when I would try and hold down a lane or force someone to make a move. With the Pinokio, it was just paintball after paintball after paintball! No skips, no pauses, not a single hiccup! That was truly amazing.
The way the Pinokio is designed also makes it nearly impossible for it to jam. The only things there are a hold for the paintballs to go down and a little prop to get the paintballs down there, there’s no place for paintballs to get caught up on, so if the prop spins and the ball stack isn’t moving, it’ll just spin the paintballs in the catch cup around! Because of this, it’s very gentle on paint as well.
There is also zero popcorning! I don’t know how they did it, but the thing just won’t popcorn.
With this kind of consistency, and with so much capacity, it was crazy how well I could pin down players and just outlast the people trying to shoot at me! I just play with the Stage 1 since I play front and all I have to say is wow.
YouTube - Pinokio Hopper Popcorn/Jam/Drop Test

The only thing I has problems with was the small nose, it was pretty hard to get on and off, so I had to sand down that one side a bit so it fit better. For $150 I think that there shouldn’t need to be any kind of modding on my part to get the thing to work the way it should.

In ideal conditions, the Pinokio is said to get 37 cases of paint before having to replace the batteries. I’m on my second case and still running strong, so I can’t really attest to the battery life.

Externals
Like I said, it has a rugged plastic shell that come apart in two halves. No separate raceway, no separate catch cup, just the two halves of super robust plastic material.
Comes with both the 230 round nose and the 400 round nose, where as other companies make you pay for the extended capacity parts.


Internals
The only things in the Pinokio are the board, some wires, the battery connector, the motor, a paddle and the bend sensor, that’s it! No eye’s to get blocked, no random loud sounds to make your hopper think it should feed, just a super simple, trouble free bend sensor. It works clean or dirty, day or night, whatever, its fool proof and it shows.


Aftermarket Upgrades
The only real after market upgrade you can get for the Pinokio is the P Board, which boosts your BPS (and your consistency in the process) by like 10 or 20, not quite sure since the stock Pinokio board was shown to peak at 47 BPS in Mike’s SL8R on TechPB, so the P Board must be godly.
The P Board also drains you batteries faster, so there is a trade off.

Pros
One Button Operation
Light stays on when the hopper is on!
Light
High Capacity
Comes with the High Capacity Nose attachment (other hoppers don’t come with them)
Consistent
Fast
Slim
Rearward Center of Gravity
Strong Shells
Tool Free Battery Cover
Few Parts
Gentle on Paint
Popcorn and Jam Free Design
Doesn’t block Vision
Bend Sensor
Simple Design

Cons
Nose had to be sanded
Full Stage 2 is Awkward and Heavy
Can get close to face

Overall
All my complaints are wither fixable or situational. I absolutely believe that the pros destroy the cons. The Pinokio is fantastic, and worth every penny!
I, TheAznInvazn, hereby declare, with the power invested in me, that the Pinokio Hopper is a fantastic POS* loader! Get the Pinokio and know that you’re getting the best, and remember; It Takes Balls to Rock a Pinokio!