Blair Stephens asked:


Of course, as a paintball enthusiast, you are always looking for expert advice on which paintball markers they use themselves and why. Unfortunately, the answer is neither consistent, nor simple because the paintball marker you choose is completely subjective to your tastes, needs and play strengths. What a great paintball player loves in a marker, may end up epitomizing everything you ****!

So let’s break down paintball markers in a different way.

· How much do you actually need to spend to stay competitive in the game?

· How much you can afford?

· How often do you play?

· Are you involved in paintball tournaments?

You may think that your level of play will be the same as the level of money you spend on a cool new paintball marker, but that is actually not the case. Although there is always peer pressure to get the latest and greatest, you can still be an awesome player without the 07 Ego or the DM7.

If you are a smart player, you’ll want to look for a marker that has great performance and features for better prices. As in all technology, bleeding edge may be cool, but it always costs a premium, so a lot of the features that were crazy a year or two ago are now consistently included in well made paintball markers. For instance, the Smart Parts Ion can fire more than 15 paintballs per second and it’s also efficient and accurate and retails for less than $200.00. This is a marker that is competitive in features and in price.

Paintball manufacturers have listened to the marketplace demand for feature rich and affordable markers and the market has undergone a shift in the last two years. There is now a mid level price point for those ready to spend a bit more money – the Smart Parts Epiphany and Invert mini cost around $400 and incorporate the features to go along with that price including a higher level of efficiency, firing rate, improved components and better software.

The next group of paintball markers, including names like the Proto Matrix, ETek Ego and Bob Long Intimidator jump to around $700 in price. Better quality materials and aftermarket quality stock barrels are frequently see in these models and most experts agree that anyone playing at a high level of competition should be using this level of marker at the very least.

If you have the money to invest, there are paintball markers out there at $1000 and up. The Angel One, Marq 6 and the Eclipse Ego are three top names and any of these are designed to come out of the packaging ready for high level paintball play. They are incredibly lightweight and efficient, have multiple firing modes, high quality components and they shoot the brittle paint. These are the markers most often used by professional level players and there is a reason for it!

Remember that the paintball marker right for you doesn’t have to cost $1000 and that you need to make the smartest decision based on affordability, feature set and individual taste to your needs and no one else’s! Take the time and do your research and you’ll end up with a great marker that will help you become the paintball player you want to be!



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