Paintball Buyer’s Blog

The Smart Parts NXT Shocker platform is still going strong, proving to be a reliable and easy to maintain paintball marker. The Shocker has won more championships than any other marker from the sleek airball fields of the NPPL to the gritty woods fields of the SPPL.

Just to spice things up a bit, they’ve made the Shocker NXT available with some sweet laser engraving from Modefy’d. Formerly Hybrid and home to Contract Killer clothing, Modefy’d carries on the custom laser engraving tradition of Hybrid to give some style and attitude to your paintball marker. Normally costing about $150 and requiring shipping your marker in for 3-4 weeks, you can now pick up a Modefy’d Laser Engraved Shocker NXT already engraved right out of the box. Saves you playing time and $50.

We currently have two styles, ‘El Gluucha’ and ‘Vines’. El Gluucha features a twist on the popular fashion patterns, with winged skulls and barbed wire. Vines have a flowing skull motif. Both feature what my wholesale rep Dennis loved engraved on the reg, “Let Them Hate As Long As They Still Fear”… words to live by on the tournament field!

El Gluucha:

Vines:

How’s everyone doing? I took a little time off of writing on here to get caught up on important projects for the company but now I’m back and have a full plate as there is a ton of cool new stuff to show everyone.

Today is all Proto. They hit a homerun this year with the Proto Matrix PM8. They added a bunch of new features like the improved self-cleaning eye system from the DM series, relocated the LPR, cut away below the barrel and threw in the tiny Hyper 3 reg for a slim front and of course the much-loved Ultralite Frame, all for the lowest price a new model Proto Matrix ever debuted for!

They rolled it out in five basic colors, but since there are always those players that need to be different from the rest they are releasing limited runs of special edition colors over the next few months. Each color run is limited to 100 markers each so if you like a particular one you better grab it quick! The first two Limited Edition colors are the Proto Matrix 8 Grasshopper and the Proto Matrix 8 Blue Steel. The Grasshopper is a beautiful light olive with champagne parts and the Blue Steel is a classy battleship blue with silver parts.

Many were bummed when it was announced that the Camo Proto Matrix Rail was discontinued. Well, Proto decided to do another run of this much sought-after marker! The Camo PMR SE, with its unique drip ‘n’ splatter camo finish, also includes an improved clamping feedneck, aluminum bolt cap, aluminum Edge trigger and Edge trigger guard. Get’m while you can!

We just got in the new EPS Sic Series Spectra Goggle Frames from JT Sports. Debuted at the Huntington Beach NPPL event, these will fit any JT Spectra mask, be it a Proshield, Proflex, nForcer, Flex 8, or Flex 8 Full Head Shield. These feature the ever classic banadana print in blue, red or yellow to add a touch of style to your favorite paintball mask as well as come with a smoke thermal lens. Coming soon will be the Dynasty Dragon print and Miami Rage patterns as well.

Site Mfg is a company that makes OEM carbon fiber products for industrial and miltary equipment, and a few years ago they broke onto the paintball scene with Stiffi Carbon Fiber Paintball Barrels. In the quest for lighter weight aluminum can only be shaved so far down before it loses its structural integrity. Carbon fiber is so featherlight it has to be held to be believed yet still rigidity and strength. It is resistant to thermal expansion, meaning expansion or contraction due to heat or cold is negligible.

The carbon fiber barrels have a slick finish internally and are step bored with a smaller bore towards the breech for compression to get the paintball to velocity, then expanding to .695″ at the muzzle. This boring creates less drag and friction on the paintball and combined with the smooth finish helps shoot through broken paint. Often it just takes a couple of shots to blow most paint splooge out the muzzle so you can get back to reasonable accuracy without stopping to squeegee out the barrel, keeping you focused on your opponents and not your marker.

The carbon shaft are attached to precision machined aluminum backs. For the one piece barrels the shafts and backs are permanently attached and the back is machined to a stated inner diameter such as .689, .691 etc. For their multi diameter Stiffi Switch Kit the backs are machined to size and threaded to accept the Switch tip fronts. Even with the aluminum backs Stiffi barrels are insanely lightweight… the 23 inch model is only 3 ounces!

One common misconception about carbon fiber barrels is they crack or that the muzzles can get easily damaged. Well, I wouldn’t say its impossible but you would have to go way out of your way to damage a Stiffi… basically, you’d destroy any barrel with what it would take! One thing you do not want to do is use a fluffy swab or other fiber squeegee, as the carbon tends to grab the fibers and the results will be a permanent fuzz on the inside of your barrel! Only use rubber or silicon pull throughs and stick squeegees… however, given the nature of the finish and step boring you won’t need to do this too often.

We currently have Stiffi Carbon Fiber Paintball Barrels for most popular threads and diameters in 12, 14 and 16 inch lengths. There is also the crazy long Stiffi Carbon Fiber 23Inch Tippmann Sniper Barrel… don’t laugh. These are only 3 ounces and are truly one of the most quiet barrels I’ve ever heard! I have always said that 20+ inch barrels do have a specific advantage in many situations and one is to be able to spear the barrel through branches and leaves to take stealthy shots while remaining hidden and behind protective cover. This is the ultimate barrel for that role.

We also have the Stiffi Switch Kits in several popular lengths and barrel threads. Pick the overall length and thread that you desire and you get 4 sizing breeches to match up any paintball you need to shoot, ensuring the best possible accuracy.

If you already have a pre-existing Custom Products or Smart Parts Freak Barrel Kit and want to lighten up your marker you can get a Stiffi Stif-Tip for Custom Products or Smart Parts barrel kits and 2 piece barrels.

Site Mfg has been producing and refining the Stiffi Carbon Fiber Paintball Barrels over these last several years and have created one of the most desired barrels in paintball today, used by recreational, woodsball and scenario players like the Psycho Clown Posse as well as top tournament teams such as Stockholm Joy and Miami Rage. Yes, they are not cheap… but the most advanced toys in life seldom are !

Perhaps the most annoying piece of paintball equipment to pack up and look after are your pods for carrying paintballs. They take up a large volume in your gear bag of what is basically just wasted space, but you have to have them! If paint breaks inside them they are not the easiest thing to clean because of their long shape unless you have a pod squeegee… but then that’s yet another piece of equipment to have to pack and lug around. I personally like to take at least double the pods of what my harness can carry so I can fill them all at once and be ready for a quick turnaround between games if I’m running late. That means I’m cramming 8-16 pods everytime I go play, practically a whole seperate backpack just for my pods!

Not any more.. I have found the pods to use for the rest of my life! The Smart Parts Transpod Paintball Pods are now my paint storage of choice on the field.

The concept is a 3 piece tube set nested within each other that opens with a quick flick of the wrist. Molded tabs snap into place with a simple twist and the pod is ready for your paintballs. Each pod when nested is about 1/3 the size of a standard 140 round tube, which means you can fit 3 pods in the space that one used to take up. In the space that used to hold 4 pods you can now easily fit a whole dozen Transpods!

If you get broken paint or dirt in a Transpod, simply slide all the sections out the front and now you can swiftly and easily wipe them clean between games… no more trying to wedge a towel or shirt in a long narrow pod with a squeegee trying to get all the paint out.

Transpods are tough and the lids are secure yet open easy. The only issue I can see one having with them is getting water seeping in between the sections in wet conditions. However,  if rain looks like part of the day’s forecast then a quick wrap or two of black electrical tape (which should be in every paintballer’s tool kit) will keep the water out yet remove easily at the end of the day.

Smart Parts Transpods do cost more than standard paintball pods, but the space savings and fast  easy cleaning make them worth twice as much in my opinion!

Something that has been in stock for awhile but proving extremely popular is the new Camo FS Goggle from Proto. The new ‘wrap’ technology where patterns on a film can be cleanly and seamlessly transferred to surfaces is one of the best thing to happen in a long time. Now extremely durable yet intricate visual patterns can be added to virtually any hard good piece of equipment without the hassle and expense of anodizing. Dye/ Proto are utilizing it quite creatively! They took their successful long-running FS Paintball Goggle System and gave it a fresh look featuring a vibrant camo that slyly works the Proto logo into the pattern and it doesn’t cost anything extra. Great field of view, an easy to change thermal-cured scratch resistant lens and a flexible visor to keep out the sun and rain yet encourages bouncers and ricochets over the head. Check it out if you’re looking for something stylish that still blends into the greenery.

All the original Special Edition Rails in Blue, Red or Clear are gone, gone and gone. Taking their place is the latest Special Edition Proto Matrix Rail, this time in a camo wrap. The Camo PMR SE again features the metal Lever-locking Feedneck, Aluminum Vertical ASA, Edge Trigger and Edge Triggerguard upgrades, plus a finely detailed camo wrap over the body. The camo colors are in the same shades as the popular ACU camo, with the pattern looking like a mix of paint smears and drips. Sounds weird but trust me, the effect is awesome! One of the more original camoflauge ideas I’ve ever seen.

The Camo SE Proto Rail’s first production run is sold out from the factory but will be back in stock in about two weeks. I predict they will burn through them again in a crazy short time so get a pre-order in now!

The last post mentioned BT Apex Barrels, which have been a very popular paintball barrel system for the last few years for its ability to provide adjustable backspin for long flat trajectories and trick shots. However, one thing many players wished they had was a different base barrel for the system when they have the rubber ramp “dialed open” for close range play. Many wanted a barrel with a bit smaller bore and better finish or inserts for better gas efficiency, noise reduction and to prevent rollouts on markers like Autocockers.

Well, now players have options!

The first to step up to the plate is LAPCO. The have made their excellent Big Shot Barrel available with a machined groove at the muzzle to accept your existing Apex tip. The LAPCO Apex Ready Paintball Barrel is available in 12″ Spyder, Autococker, Impulse/ Ion, Model 98/Custom Pro and A5/ BT-, plus a shorty 8″ in A5/ BT-4 threads. These barrels have been flying off the shelves for us, a sure sign that they work and work well!

Smart Parts heard the wishes of players and have released an Apex Compatible All American Barrel Front. This is not in itself a complete barrel, it is a 6″ front (for a total barrel length of 12″ not including the apex tip) to fit your existing All American, Freak or Freak Jr. barrel back. Its ample spiral porting makes this the quietest backspin system ever, and combined with a Freak or Freak Jr. kit you get the maximum versatility virtually any barrel system in the history of paintball!

BT, or “Battle Tested”, has come out swinging with another entry into the ever growing scenario paintball market. Last year they released their walkable double trigger BT Electronic Gripframe, followed by the BT Rip Clip Electronic Loader to feed the insane rate of fire that the e-frame could put out while still maintaining a low profile. Then, they really upped the ante with the BT-4 Delta paintball marker. This MP5 A3 look-alike threw the proverbial monkey wrench into the market by providing sweet looks and features below some competitor’s base model price. I discussed these in a previous post here.

Unfortunately, to put the popular Apex Barrel on the Delta took some tooling around and did look a bit awkward. The submachinegun effect just isn’t the same without burst/ full auto, but once you put the Electronic Frame on there you needed the Rip Clip or else your marker would just be chopping paintballs like a deli slicer. All of a sudden the marker got very expensive compared to its low starting price.

Well, not anymore… BT listened to the customer’s wants and have released the BT-4 Delta Elite Paintball Marker.

The Delta Elite resembles the famous MP5SD, one of the most common sound-suppressed submachineguns used by SWAT, Navy SEALS and other elite forces around the globe. It still features the awesome retracting stock, removable mock magazine and top shroud over the body and barrel. An Apex Barrel is standard and a new shroud resembling a sound suppressor fills out the front end so the Apex tip looks more an integral part of the marker. An Electronic Gripframe offers faster rate of fire and burst/ auto modes with the sound-activated Rip Clip loader feeding plenty fast.

Best part is the price. The already costs much less than outfitting a standard Delta with the e-frame and loader separately… AND you get the Apex with the sweet-looking shroud! The player saves over $100 and gets what I feel is the most intimidating full-production milsim paintball marker yet.

My spies at BT have told me of yet another marker in the works that is bound to make as big a splash as the other BT paintball guns have. Plus, I’ve already seen prototypes of other future BT products that are in the final testing stage. Their big rollout is going to happen at Oklahoma D-Day… and I’ll be there to see it!

Added… read about the other BT products in this article from my previous post.

If you’re like me you have a whole closet full of hooded sweatshirts. Living in the Pacific Northwest of the United States they are one of those necessities when the thermometer starts to drop in the fall and they don’t come off till spring. They are also on every paintball manufacturers list of must-have casual wear for players to show their love of the game everywhere they go. Traditionally just a silkscreened logo, Empire/ Invert decided to mix it up this year with some pretty interesting new designs.

They do have some standards, like the the zip up Empire Thornside and Invert Grenade and Invert Heart……

and pullovers like the Empire Bladestar, Empire Crack, and Empire Graphiti.

They are all great quality sweatshirts, thick and soft with big hoods that fit over your hat. All the Empire models have the trendy thumbhole in the cuff that is actually a nice feature, covering up your wrist for that extra bit of warmth.

Notice I said ’standards’… the next few are really creative departures from the usual”let’s just slap our company logo and be done with it” paintball sweatshirts.

I’ve seen full-zip hoodies around town lately on a lot of kids. The zipper zips all the way to the topof the hood so it actually forms a mask keeping your entire headwarm. Ones I usually see are of skull faces or Mexican lucha libre wrestling masks, though a designer at Empire thought a gas mask would look perfect on there. Thus the Empire Gas Hoodie came to be. I bought one of these and standing at the train platform with it zipped up all the way does get some stares!

The Empire Gambler Hoodie seems plain and innocent enough, being bright green with sewn red letters on the front. However, zipping it open and laying it flat reveals a craps table on the inside! Perfect for those late night dice games when you’re away at a tournament.

The Empire Hounddog Hoodie fulfills two trendy fashion needs… houndstooth and the look of all over company logo, a la Gucci or Louis Vitton. From a distance, the Hounddog looks like a houndstooth-pattern sweatshirt, but on closer inspection the pattern is actually Empire logos. Available in black with white or white with black, these are lined with a thick thick thick acrylic fleece pile that feels like you’re wrapped up in your bed, they are so warm and comfy.

Lastly, there is the Empire Soft Shell Hoodie. Why its classified as a hoodie in their catalog I don’t know because this thing is a very lighweight and comfy windbreaker. They are windproof and water repellent with elastic cinch cords for the hood, wrists and waist. A thin layer of acrylic fleece inside keeps you warm and are roomy enough to fit over a sweater or hoodie underneath it for even more insulation. This is my new favorite coat… warm and dry enough for most conditions, light and compact for going in luggage and looks snazzy and sharp for meeting with company reps. I saw a similar jacket at North Face the other day that cost twice as much, so this piece of apparel is one of the smartest purchases you will make all year.

In my opinion, these are the best looking and functional sweatshirts and jackets from any of the paintball manufacturers so far this year!

Worr Game Products lately has been creatively using up their stores of older stock components to make room for new products. I would have loved to seen the meeting where someone said “Hmmm, people still seem to like this whole pump marker thing, should we try that?”. They seem to have forgotten that Worr Game Products was founded on a pump marker, the WGP Sniper, in the late 1980s. The originals, many built in Bud Orrs garage, were rather blockish with hinged triggers and are now collector’s items among serious pump enthusiasts.

Eventually the design morphed into the Sniper 2 featuring more refinements such as the slide trigger. When semi auto was starting to become available there was a sudden boom in kits that converted your pump marker into a true semi or self-cocking pump. Bud Orr went the self-cocking route, making a pneumatics kit that bolted onto your Sniper. Called the “AutoCocking Kit”, it proved itself so popular that they were eventually sold as a complete gun. Thus, the WGP AutoCocker (or simply ‘Cocker’) was born. Anybody who played in the early 1990s remembers the great ‘Mag Vs. Cockers’ debates.

The Sniper 2 (there was the rare Sniper 3 in there, with a wraparound pump on a Mini cocker body) faded from the picture. Oh, it was still around but basically forgotten by the industry. The AutoCocker rose to the top of the heap for a long reign as the top tournament marker until the WDP Angel and other electropneumatic markers became the new kings.

Now we enter paintball today. Pump play has made a significant comeback, whether its older players returning to their roots or newer players looking for a challenge. Many players make the switch when they realize how much fun it is for a lot less money, since your paint consumption drops to a fraction of playing semi. Cheap paintball play means being able to play more often. Pump marker sales are up and there is actually a market for converting semi autos into pump markers! All of a sudden WGP pumps are back, with tons of aftermarket Autococker accessories available cheap with a little searching.

We have been getting in small shipments of pump WGP markers… their availability is so limited that when I call in my order for them my rep has to run out to their warehouse and tell me what I can get. They won’t be making them much longer so if you can get your hands on one of these I’d do it! WGP Karnivor Pumps were in our last shipment and this week we had received Nightkast and Super Stock Pumps as well.

The Super Stock Pumps use the Super Stock body. We have in Olive w/ Hinge Trigger and Black w/ Slide Trigger.

The Nightkast Pumps I think are the best looking of the bunch! We have Blue and Red w/ Slide Triggers.

Karnivor Pumps feature a half-blocked Karni bodywith a quick pull bolt. Combine that with its intricate milling and you’ve got a true joy to shoot! The stock on these changes often and quick so go to our website to view the stock on the WGP Karnivor Pump Marker.

If you already have a WGP Autococker or Trilogy and want to convert it to a pump marker we can help you with that too. Just pick up a WGP Sniper Pump Conversion Kit.

When these are gone they will be gone forever.