Paintball Buyer’s Blog

At World Cup I finally got to check out something I had been seeing in various paintball magazines. A few doors down from the Full Clip Paintball booth (whose products we will be carrying soon as well) was Airow Gun, probably the most original new product at the entire World Cup tradeshow. In a nutshell, Airow Gun markers are a barrel and compression chamber unit that mounts onto a low-powered compound bow… yes, as in archery. A piston is connected to the bow string so to fire it all you do is chamber a paintball into the breech via a breech knob, pull a full draw on the bow and release. Just like shooting an arrow back in summer camp but now there is .68 of gelatin-encased paint flying downrange.

Velocity is adjustable via a lockable setting and the barrel is Spyder threaded. I’d love to see it with a Smart Parts 20″ Tactical Barrel, I think the look would be perfect. A raised 7/8″ picatinny rail is standard to provide a point of reference or to allow you to mount a variety of sights. Included is a 10 round clear acrylic feedtube that nearly brought a tear to my eye… I never thought I’d see the day when a new paintslinger would come out of the box with a ten round stick feed! The machine and finish quality is great and all the necessary tools and spare seals are provided. The Airow Gun may look complicated but its really a beautifully simple concept when you examine it.

Company policy is that we never open any boxes until they are ready to be received…. however, since Brock our warehouse manager is an avid archer and bow-maker we decided that a little ‘quality assurance’ testing was necessary for the benefit of our customers. A quick read of the well-written owners manual and 5 minutes with the included tools and the Airow Gun was ready for a few test shots. The draw weight of the bow is about 50 pounds so it does take a little bit of muscle to pull the plunger back. Combine that with the strain of the holding the bow steady and you quickly realize that using an Airow bow is a workout on the arms. Being a compound bow the cams ease up at full draw . Chamber a ball, pull back and ’ssssssshooooop’…. the paint is on its way. It is surprising just how quiet they are, too, since the Airow Gun is basically a big blowgun.

The Airow Gun itself is just as accurate as any other quality paintball marker out there… just how accurate you are with it is a matter of personal skill and it takes a lot of practice. This is a whole new way of shooting a paintball and it is both fun and addictive! I plan on buying one and taking it out during the next big game, hooking up with a squad of players to provide cover fire while I pick away on the flanks, or go into ‘hunter’ mode, sneak off and try to ambush lone opponents.

The number one thing I hear players say is “Why?”…. well, why not? On several forums lots of young players just didn’t get it, saying that you’d get killed on a speedball field and there were so many other guns you could buy for the money. One thing I’ve noticed in the last few years with the rise of the rec/ scenario scene and pump play is the long-overdue return of playing paintball for the sake of… dare I say it… fun. Is the Airow Gun for everyone? Not really. Is it possibly the most original and fun way to try to shoot someone on the paintball field? Most definitely! Like a stockclass pump marker, this is the ultimate in proving just how good you are and just having the guts to step onto a paintball field with one is worthy of respect from any player. It will take more work and dedication than you ever imagined to score, but when you do it will all be worth it.

If you are that player who thinks an 800 ounce, 28 inch cam-and-wheel triggerpull sounds a lot more intriguing than a 1/32 inch, 4 ounce optical activated one, who believes that one perfect elimination is worth an entire hour of stalking and want to go down on your local field’s history like the English longbowmen of ancient reknown…. the Airow Gun was made for you.

We currently off the all black Cutter Airow Gun as a complete unit, or if you already have a bow we have just the Airow Gun Module to attach to your own.

(all photos courtesy of Airow Gun)

When Dye/ Proto debuted the DM8 and PM8 at World Cup the most talked about feature was the new Hyper 3 Regulator… smaller and lighter with a radical new look and feel. In keeping with the current trend of making the marker smaller and narrower, the Hyper 3 uses new threads to screw into the marker and requiring an adapter to use on other guns. First thing I wondered was “What are they going to do with all the Dye Hyper 2 Regulators?”.

Sell them in big lots to us, of course! We bought a good sized chunk of what was left at a great price and now we have them priced to move. These are excellent regs, easy to adjust in the 0-450psi range and feature a swivel bottom so your macroline (one 90 degree fitting included) or SS hose can be perfectly lined up every time! If they were good enough for the $1400 DM Series markers, they are sure to be an upgrade on a variety of markers out there.

These are now priced well below half of what they used to retail for and when they are gone, they’re gone! If you’ve been needing a new regulator or thinking about an upgrade, here’s your chance to improve performance and save money. Remember, you can always call one of our experienced reps to if you have any questions about this or any other prouct at 1-800-875-4547.

If you ask me, the Tippmann Custom Pro paintball markers are the most overlooked for best value in recreational level play. Its amazing how a lot of people seem to think its an entirely different marker than the Tippmann 98 Custom, which it is not. Basically, Tippmann figured that they would offer the 98 out of the box with three of the most common upgrades already installed… can you name all three?

First up, they added a better barrel to the Custom Pro. Its no secret that the 9″ stock barrel on the 98 Custom is, shall we say, entry level? It gets the job done, namely pointing the paint downrange with a wide bore to handle all kinds of grades (and age!) of paint that beginners tend to run through their markers. However, accuracy is not the best due to the huge bore diameter and overall finish. Hey, it helps keep the costs of the marker down! Well, they added a 14″ barrel with a slightly smaller bore and better internal finish to the Custom Pro… the same barrel they retail for $44.95. There’s one upgrade you won’t need.

Second, they installed a two-finger trigger from the factory. Also known as double triggers, these allow the shooter use two fingers instead of one for the triggerpull so more muscle and leverage adds to a lighter smoother ‘feel’. Plus, your fingers don’t get so tired when you’re in those situations where you have to lay down a lot of paint. Double triggers usually run $15-25 dollars retail, but then with the Custom Pro you don’t need to buy it.

While the tournament players sneer at dropforwards these days, they are still a very popular and in some cases necessary addition for many players. Tournament players generally use just an ASA and a smaller tank on their marker to keep a low profile. This generally makes for back heavy setup but it is not such a big deal in typically short individual tournament games. However, many woods players opt for a dropforward, which is a mount that moves the tank down and forward to shorten the overall marker length and bring the balance more under the grip for all day carrying. Kids and those with shorter arms often need a dropforward or they must hold their arms out uncomfortably when shooting. Most dropforwards range $20-35 in cost… but its included and already installed here.

So lets see…. you could buy a Tippmann 98 Custom ACT for $139 and add a barrel for $45, a double trigger for $15 and a dropforward for $20 for a grand total of $219.

Or, you could buy the standard Tippmann Custom Pro ACT for $159 and put that $60 towards a case of paintballs, a new mask or even three 20oz CO2 Tanks.

Like I said, most people overlook the Custom Pro as an option when shopping for their first paintball marker. Its already got what most players wish to add right out of the box, and the dropforward makes it an ideal first paintball marker for youth players. Available in Standard, Egrip and Digital Camo models, its highly recommended or someone wanting the best value in a rugged, reliable paintball gun.

We bought the last of the Smoke to Yellow Fade Thermal Lenses for the Proto Switch FS Paintball Goggles… lots of them. Too many, actually. To show appreciation to our customers we are offering, while supplies last, a free Smoke To Yellow Thermal Lens with purchase of a Proto Switch FS Goggle. That means getting almost $78 worth of stuff for $49.95 and you have a spare lens in your gear bag when you need it. This is on the Proto FS Switch in Black, Smoke Grey or Olive and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

After working in paintball shops for several years one thing you get used to was the last minute Christmas holiday rush. It never ceased to amaze me how people would come into our showrooms or call us on our ordering line (1-800-875-4547) and say “I’ve got a son/ daughter/ husband/ wife/ niece/ nephew that needs a paintball gift and I have no idea what to get”. I used to keep popular marker packages already pre-boxed behind the counter for such desperate customers. Another common request was for simple quick paintball Christmas ’stocking stuffers’ ideas. When I ran a store I would have these on the counter, but since more and more shopping is being done online (after all, we are Paintball-Online.com) I figure I’ll help out those last-minute shoppers on here.

Gloves are one of those gifts that every paintballer can use. A popular glove among the recreational paintball scene… and a good choice for kids… are the CORE Hard Top Paintball Gloves. These feature half fingers for dexterity, a padded palm and flexible plastic armor on the back. You barely even feel getting hit by a paintball in these things. They are really inexpensive and the half finger design helps them fit a wide variety of hands.

Another hot seller and perfectly sized for the stocking are the 08 JT Gloves. They have two models to choose from, Team Series and Pro Series. Team Series are available in Black , Blue, Olive and Red. They feature lots of compression formed padding on the backs and wrists with silicon armor on the knuckles. Pro Series gloves are available in the same colors as well, with a wrist strap and more flexibility at the joints and Lycra trigger fingers for trigger speed. Used by many of the top professional teams, these gloves are sure to make any player happy.

All paintballers need squeegees, the more the better. They get worn out, forgotten at home, lost on the field or “borrowed” and never returned. Pull throughs clean the best, stick squeegees can be used the fastest and swabs are handy for sopping up little bits of paint and cleaning chambers and feednecks. We have a 4 Piece Squeegee Set that offers all three plus a lanyard for keeping the stick squeegee around your neck for easy access. Again, every paintball player, no matter what skill level or style, always need them! A few CORE Barrel Covers will be well appreciated as well.

Its winter time and if you want to get them something they can use right away, take a look at Smart Parts Beanies. These acrylic knit caps look cool, keep their noggin warm and tell the world they play paintball. These just dropped 33% in price too so you’re getting quite the deal! There’s the Flipside (reversible black to red), classic Black and Blue, Crosshair (featuring Smart Parts’ famous logo) and the hip Brimmed.

Still can’t think of something? There is always a Paintball-Online Gift Certificate as well ! Simply choose which amount you would like and place the order. Print out our Gift Certificate Form (located on webpage) and fill in the certificate number we email to you when we process your order. Ready to be slipped into an envelope or holiday card and stuffed into that stocking.

Take a look at our Holiday Gift Ideas page for more great last minute ideas to finish getting all those paintball gifts. All orders placed by 12pm PST on Dec 14th on items in stock receive guaranteed UPS Ground Shipping in the Continental US!

Added… Check out the new BT-4 Delta Elite here !

Back in stock are BT’s two latest paintball markers, offshoots of the innovative and successful modular design that put them on the paintball map. One is comprised of several popular features all rolled into one low price and the other is a complete milsim monster! But before I discuss both of those I should probably draw your attention to the new loader, the BT Rip Clip Electronic Loader for BT-4 markers.

The Rip Clip basically takes the drive cone force feed of a HALO B and the sound activation and speed of an Empire Reloader , puts them in a compact housing and mounts it securely to the side of your BT paintball marker (no, it doesn’t fit other markers). The end result is a force feed hopper with a low target profile and plenty of room for accessories or even a monster 45mm dot sight! Force feed pushes right through pressure blowback so each ball is positively chambered and sound activation means that your loader won’t shut down from dirty, loose or broken eyes or wires. We are selling more and more BT Electronic Gripframes and this loader was designed to be the perfect companion.

This leads us to the next product from BT, the BT-4 ERC paintball marker. Lets see… BT has a very popular base gun, the BT-4 Combat, a successful electronic gripframe, an electronic loader and the hugely popular Apex Barrel that people often buy all at the same time… why not combo that all together in one box? That’s just what they did! The ERC combines all those great accessories into one pre-built package and saves you about $50 at the same time. You get the speed and cool burst and auto modes of the electronic frame coupled with a loader designed to feed those speeds so you not chopping paint like those old Ginsu Knife commercials and the adjustable backspin effects of the Apex Barrel for increasing your effective range and flat trajectory another 100 feet!

Now me, I need another paintball marker like I need a hole in the head… but dang, the new BT Delta paintball marker just looks and feels soooooo awesome. When we got them in I set one up and took it on a quick tour of the office to show the sales staff. Two hours later it finally made it back… everyone from the warehouse staff to sales to even the general manager wouldn’t put it down. The look of the Delta is based on the immensely popular MP5 line of submachineguns, again all centered around the basic BT body shells. The most striking feature is the retractable stock. Just like the real thing, a locking lever underneath lets two arms slide in or out along the length of the body. This allows for an incredibly short size for gear bag stowage or for that perfect fit when shouldering against a fully loaded tactical vest. A metal mag well holds a mock curved 9mm magazine and the top shroud over the barrel and body completes the look, even down to the authentically-styled front/ rear sights and side sling mount. Throw an Electronic Grip and Rip Clip on there and you have the complete SWAT scenario marker!

I’ve heard rumors of some big product changes in the future for BT, hopefully to be released at the Oklahoma D-Day game in July (looks like this event is going to become the World Cup of manufacturer’s releases of milsim/ scenario/ woodsball gear). If they are as well thought out and attractive as their current lineup they are already a winner.

Added… check out the new BT-4 Delta Elite here.

One of the markers that everyone was talking about at World Cup was the SP-1 from Smart Parts. This marker is obviously targeted at the entry level woodsball player, a huge demographic that Smart Parts hopes to gain a foothold in. I brought an SP-1 back from World Cup and have been putting it through its paces. So far I am quite happy with its performance. Its sub-300psi operation is pretty gentle on paint and not too loud. The plethora of tactical rails give the scenario player lots of real estate for cool toys to be added. Spool valve markers tend to be low on recoil and the SP-1 has practically none. It is really easy to rapid fire and keep on target. Gas efficiency is average… not as efficient as a Spyder but about the same as a Tippmann. You can still expect about 1000+ shots from a 20oz CO2 tank. Yes, you can use a standard CO2 tank too, though more on that later. A two-finger trigger just got released for it and the Stock Adapter Plate is now available so you can attach most Tippmann 98 Custom stocks to the rear of the body.

The board is capped at 11 balls per second and in its current form does not have burst or full auto. I’ve heard quite a bit of people wonder why they did that and the answer is simple… most players don’t need it, don’t care for it once they have tried it and don’t have the proper accessories to use it properly to begin with. So many times I have been at a field and get called over to take a look at a kid’s marker. The CO2 tank and half the marker is frozen frosty white and paint is oozing out of their standard gravity fed hopper. The reason is always the same… the kid wanted to use burst or full auto. Well, if you use those modes without a fast motorized loader and compressed air your bolt is gonna chop and blend paintballs like a Cuisinart and your tank will freeze up till it looks like a snowcone. Since so many players don’t always have cash on hand for such accessories starting out, Smart Parts decided to slow the marker down a bit to account for lower technology. I know Virtue is working on a board for it right now so those will be available in the future.

As with any marker, I do recommend using compressed air. The performance in all weather conditions can’t be beat and it tends to be a lot cleaner than CO2 (all those rust bits, metal splinters and other garbage floating around in liquid CO2 tanks are horrible for your marker’s seals). However, the SP-1 and Vibe will accept anti-siphoned CO2 (make sure the line on the tank where the tube lies is facing up) or regular CO2 tanks. When using regular CO2 I recommend slowing down your rate of fire and try to keep the marker pointing barrel tip up when not actively shooting. If you shoot too fast you get a lot of liquid CO2 and dry ice in the regulator… the interesting design of the reg vents off the excess pressure and shuts down until conditions are back to normal. Thus the marker stops shooting until the passageways are clear again. So, if using CO2 try to shoot slower, or use compressed air and blaze away. By the way, a remote line really helps with CO2 use.

After messing around with a few different accessories and figuring out some cool combinations, I decided to offer them on our website in kit form. This way you can pick up a cool looking SP-1 with proper matching parts/ adapters and save a few bucks over buying everything separately at the same time!

Our SP-1 Rifleman kit includes a Smart Parts 16″ Tactical Barrel and a Collapsible Stock. Its a good basic setup with room to grow later.

The SP-1 Close Quarters kit provides a Collapsible Stock and a lasersight with pressure switch that mounts on one of the four front rails. This is red laser, not green, so its safe to use while playing. I used a laser in some big games awhile back and what was fun was painting the laser on an opponent but not pulling the trigger until they looked down and saw it. Their reaction was priceless!

The SP-1 Night Ops kit includes a Collapsible Stock and a Tactical Flashlight with pressure switch. A barrel mounted flashlight with pressure switch is one of the most important pieces of gear you can have in a 24 hour scenario game. Its quick light so you can see where you are going in the dark so you don’t break your neck and lights up your barrel cover when you’re walking back to the regeneration zone after being hit, so the other team doesn’t continue to shoot you. Of course, its also used for another dirty trick… when you have opponents looking in your direction, strobe the light at their eyes with the pressure switch. It will dazzle them briefly, making them see spots of color all over the place while you move in for the elimination.

The SP-1 Heavy Gunner kit puts a Collapsible Stock on your shoulder, a 16″ Tactical Barrel throwing the paint downrange and a Folding Bipod under the body front for keeping that aim steady when you’re trying to put a lot of paint downrange. I used to think bipods were just useless weight until I used one… they are amazing for keeping on target while reloading, laying down suppressive fire and dang it, they just look and feel awesome!

I’m impressed with the SP-1 and our company plans to support the platform thoroughly! Watch this space and our website for more cool toys to make your Smart Parts SP-1 shoot better and look sharper.