kitono

Scenario: I'm up at the frontline and find a clear target with half his body exposed behind a bunker. I point aim and fire a good 20 shots (distance is not at absurd range, we're playing speedball) he notices it (finally) turns and shoots me once in the face plate.
Besides it being a good laugh, it's frusterating.

I'm a Beginner/Intermediate player who doesn't know much about repairing very complicated paint guns looking to upgrade from my $50.00 spyder p.o.s.

With the price range I'm looking at, these two guns seem to stand out to me because the tippman a-5 sounds like it has a great effective range and accuracy with the flatline barrel and because the ion seems to overall be the popular gun right now.
I'm not so interested in shooting many bps as much as I am interested in having a high effective accuracy even at long ranges.
I would like it to be fairly reliable and if possible to be a little "quieter" than the loud "pah pah pah" my spyder makes when I shoot. We're talking one of those guns you hear from the parking lot.
I've read about all these upgrades and it doesn't seem to add to performance much in my opinion however I may be wrong. The only upgrade that looked good to me is the Flatline barrel for the A-5.
My only concern is that this Flatline will increase my feet per second (fps) over the 275 my paint ball park enforces.


I like to play both woodsball and speedball evenly and tend to be an aggressive player rather than to sit in the back wasting my rounds I am often seen trying to sneak up on bunkers held by the opposing team. At the same time, I find myself rather frustrated when my accuracy falls short in woodsball.

Opinions?

paintballjeff

Hmmm, sounds like even though you like to sneak up on people a fast marker would be good in case you are seen an need to put down some suppressive fire. I would recommend the A5 because it is a perfect base platform for either woodsball or speedball. An e-grip would be perfect for it.

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kitono

what is so good about an egrip?

paintballjeff

Trigger pull will be lighter(I think) and you will have full auto capabilities. I also suggest a double finger trigger.

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Arc Angel

Well, I play with a Tippmann BT-4 combat, and I actually shoot faster with the single trigger, than the double.

Weever

The Ion is a nice choice, perform better than an A-5 and is quieter, but it's more complicated to use, fix and maintain.

The A-5 feels very solid, doesn't need electro hopper and HPA (which means will be cheaper), is really easy to use, fix and maintain, but is louder. My brother have one, and it's louder than my old spyder TL-X, but I really don't think that's a big issue...

So both are great choices, sure you'll be able to fix your Ion alone when you'll get used with it, but if your doing only woodsball, I strongly suggest you to go with an A-5, with or without the flatline. It feels very solid, so you'll never be afraid of breaking it, and it's really easy to maintain.

BTW the flatline doesn't raise up balls speeds. The velocity has to be adjust right on spot. If velocity is to high, balls will fly to high... A flatline with the velocity will allow the ball to travel farther, but not quicker.

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nict93

i just sold my tippmann a5 and got an ion so ill c how i like it

Tippy_A-5

Tippmanns are no doubt a great choice if you want a reliable marker. Tippmanns are known for their durability and reliability. These qualities are what makes tippmann one of the, if not the, leading paintball manufacturer. If you want a marker more suitable for speedball but still be a great choice for woodsball go with an ion. Ions are more work to maintain and aren't as durable as a tippmann. Although ions are very durable if maintained. If you keep up on that i believe the ion would be a better choice. An ion is also more efficent due to its spool valve design versus a Tippmann's blow-back design.

P.S. If you decide on an A-5 let me tell you flatlines are a waste of money. They work as far as adding a little extra distance but greatly decreases velocity. Use the $100 it will cost for the flatline and get a high end barrel. You will be much more satisfied with a high end barrel than you will with a flatline.

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soxfan388

the tippmann with egrip is illegal in a lot of places and the double trigger will compleatly mess up the egrip i would recomend somthing like a dm5 because the are very accuarte and are actually not very expensive.

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BUBBASR.

generally when some one asks for a comparison of two basic level markers they don't want you to throw in a completely different one. Try instead to offer a reason as to why then a cost reference to hey you get your dm5 then you will need this this and this....Basic paintball concepts are not grasped by all members so not spelling somethings out will leave people lost.
I would suggest the ion. They shoot quite well. But remember you will need to look into your air source check several forums down in the air systems or in the new player or marker specific chat to discuss what others find works best. Remember not to base your decision completely off folks in here. Read around the net and on this site to find out alot more about what you are getting into.

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Dirtbike360

Go for an Ion, they have just as much accuracy as an A-5 but have better fire-power for wood-ball and speed-ball!
Ions are also easy to take care of compared to all those other speed-ball guns, 'cause they have simple three part bolt with no weird springs just a couple of O-rings!

JugaLug

I own 2 A-5's one E-grip double trigger and one stock grip. I have never had any problems with my E-grip w/ double trigger. The E-grip does have a nice feel to it. The field I play at has Ion rentals that I have used (Ion's were new when I used them, and are well maintained). The main thing to consider with the Ion is the paint. Compared to the A-5 shooting any paint with few breaks, the Ion likes higher quality paint. With either marker the better the paint the better the accuracy. As for the Flatline, I recommend starting with a J&J, and see if you like the results, then see if you still want a Flatline

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The Ginger Kid

Bt-erc with rip clip and apex, BT4-ironhorse with big shot apex, or Alph Black with J&J or Apex one of these three

The Ginger Kid

i have the ironhorse and the Alphablack, my father owns the BT-erc

Trbo323

i didnt bother reading through everyone elses posts so if anyone already stated any of this forgive me

first of all i voted nither, heres why, the A-5, ahh yes my very loud, heavy and cumbersom friend, a 98c with a decent hopper is a better choice in my opinion, theres really not a huge difference between the internals of the two, the A-5 has the cyclone feed which is a major pain, you have to be sure to give it quality paint or it will just rip all the paint to shreds and you are left with a blender attachment instead of a feeder

the flatline is a joke, it is overpriced, doesnt work, and is (as of this point in my life) the loudest barrel iv come across, it will get the paintballs to go further but theres a catch, they wont break! they are going so slow by the time they get way out there that they will just bounce off people, so then not only do they know where you are from the sound, they know you cant get them out from where you are either

and the ion, the anarexic of the two markers which means all the problems are on the inside, and they really are, i have never liked the way you have to split the A-5 in two in order to get to the internals but the ion goes further, in order to get to the bolt of the ion you must take the battery out, the circut board out and remove the grip frame, and thats just the first few steps, they are not the most reliable of markers out there but i will say they are quieter

one thing though, a lot of the sound comes from the barrel design rather than the marker, there are some differences with the marker design but the barrel is what really quiets things down

heres my suggestion, the spyder vs1 (around $150), its about the size of the ion, has eyes and a electronic trigger and is a proven design. grab a J&J ceramic barrel ($30 and fairly quiet) and a new feedneck and you will have one of the best packages you can get for the money


*o and one thing i forgot, the apex barrel is the same as the flatline, wont break way out there)*

DBpaintballer

its all about prference