Paintball Buyer’s Blog

One of the surprises at World Cup this year came from the massive and swanky Proto pavillion. Besides the very radically milled and rengineered PM8 (pics and more coming soon!) they launched a new marker in a market they typically don’t venture into.. the sub $300 category. Last year their Proto Rail took bang-for-the-buck to a new level, putting a real tournament performer into your hands at $400-600. Now the SLG (which they told me stands for Super Light Gun) goes even further, coming into the market at $250 and loaded.

The marker’s operation is a bit different than the usual DM and PM series. There is a spool valve-style bolt still, but a mechanical solenoid (instead of a solenoid valve) and a sear. Its operation reminds me more of a blow-forward design like the Automag or the old ICD Desert Fox. This style of operation has slightly more kick than a DM series but is also much lower in height and more gas efficient as well. One interesting features is the button on the rear cap. Its used to cock the marker when first gassed up but also helps discharge the pressure for safe disassembly.

Feeding the pressure to the SLG is the new Hyper3 Regulator that will be on all Dye and Proto guns this year. It features better flow in what is possibly the thinnest and lightest inline vertical reg I have ever seen! The gripframe is molded from a light but strong polymer that is even stronger than the material used on the PMR frames. The trigger is about the only thing I heard negative comments on at World Cup, but Custom Products and others are already working on aftermarket triggers…. and really, who uses a stock trigger on virtually any marker these days anyways?

The Proto SLG puts a lot of gun in your hands for not a lot of money. Its definitely worth looking to as a step up into higher performance or as a backup to your usual tourney marker.