Getting back into it

[ElectricBullshark]

Hey hey. So i just joined this forum. Havent been on a paintball forum since the specops brigade (rip). This seems to be the only paintball forum thats alive now. Everything on pbnation looks like it was posted 10 years ago, lol. Im in florida, my home field would now be gator paintball in hernando. I played hardcore for many years. Just wanted to say hey, and see whats cracka lackin in paintball nowadays. I got all my gear- an a5 (in profile pic, egrip, 100%modded out), a model 98 (one of the first gens) tooled out too. Both are fully upgraded as can be. Anyone have any hot leads on new stuff thats a must have nowadays?

[Grendel]

Howdy, welcome back to the sport and yes we (MCB) are still alive. I'm an old gear kind of player and play what you got so go for it your A5 and 98 will still serve you well.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

Any gear you looking too replace specifically? Unless the rest of your stuff is bad and needs replacing you seem good to go. Hit the field again and you will see plenty of newer gear that more often than not the owners will gladly let you check out/test too see if its something you may want to buy. Nothing really game changing happened unless you count magfed games becoming more popular as well as mechanical gun games (pump and stock class still going aswell).

welcome back

[lizardking132]

As what everyone else is saying, I'd stick to what you have and get a feel for modern gear on the field. I will have to say tho, one of the trendy markers right now is the planet eclipse emek, it has a ton of mods for it being a mech gun. I WOULD say they are at a good price, but since covid hit have luck finding any for less then $280, it's dumb. My home field uses them as rentals and they are practically bullet proof. But yeah, the original retail price for them was $220, now it's $280 or even $300. I'm patiently waiting for it to go down.

[ElectricBullshark]

Yea my markers i bought used off of ebay, and bought all the parts and replaced everything. They are better than new now. Interesting to hear ego making cheap mech markers. I remember them all being like 1,000 bucks. I have an hpa tank for my a5, and thought about getting a tourney gun to complete the collection. I had a sp ion a long time ago, but am hesitant to buy a sp marker because there is no sp company anymore. Quietest marker i ever shot, stock everything.

[BrickHaus]

On that note. Sp is still a company, but its under DLX.

But i have a few ions. I prefer to mech, they are really fun shooters if meched.

[lizardking132]

Ions make great mechs, GOG Wich is another company that's a branch of DLX, make the eNMEy. It's like a mech SP vibe or ion, some people really like them for mech tourneys but mech ions work just the same

[Junglepeanut]

"Anyone have any hot leads on new stuff thats a must have nowadays?"

This is the place for hot leads on stuff that was a must have in the 80s and 90s. Welcome.... Honestly your current setups will serve you well.

[Jonnydread]

Welcome back! We’ve missed you!

Nice a5, that thing looks fun

[ElectricBullshark]

Thanks. It shoots real sweet. Tested it after i rebuilt it. Carbine adjuatable stock, one point sling,, metal powertube, rap4 starfire bolt, lightening rod and full metal kit in cyclone, squishy cyclone paddles, clear cyclone bottom, metal cocking rod, specops foregrip, 98 to a5 barrel adapter, 98 barrel break, air thru remote mag, low profile hopper, skull pushpins, new orings and springs, polished internals. Bazinga lol

[Tarsun2]

you can get wireless charging electros, built in pressure transducers, tool-less disassembly, contact points between the grip frame and the body (instead of a bunch of thin wires or ribbon cables), Bluetooth markers / hoppers / and masks that are all set up using your phone and talk to one another, and super efficient / light weight markers.

if none of this appeals to you, then no; theres nothing new.

Still: hopper up top, tank out back, and paint comes out the barrel up front at the desired speed. Everyone uses break beam eyes as well. spool valve markers have surpassed poppet valve markers in popularity. i know NOTHING of mag and pump.

people have been going back to "classic" markers it seems. so your current setup would be right at home.

i, like a lot of other MCB members, still bring a classic STBB like a spyder to use for a few games.

[Meleager7]

welcome back !

[glaman5266]

I wouldn’t replace anything until you get the feel for pb again. Use what you have- it will work just fine. I still pull out my old Pro Carb occasionally. If you see something at the field you like don’t be afraid to ask the owner about it.

Also, don’t forget to replace your mask lens & get your air bottle hydrotested. (if applicable) And welcome to the forum.

[ElectricBullshark]

I basically got everything i need/want from ebay and a couple sites. I know all my gear inside and out (its all basically what i used to use before). Everything i like/use is basically considered "vintage" by todays standards lol. Got a brand new hpa tank for my a5 from HK, and new c02 tank from amazon for my 98. I got vforce profiler gogs, and put a double fan system in them. (Not the cheap crap fan that jt sells). I am locked and loaded for good. Might just get a gun here or there to round out my collection later on. (Like 68 carbine, an ion, a magfed)

[coyote]

Get your tanks hydroed, replace the lens in your mask and come out and play.

You have entirely adequate gear.

[Brokeass_baller]

Welcome back! If you were really into the SpecOps milsim thing, you might really like magfed. I converted my A5 into a Tacamo Vortex, and it's so sick. I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Check out this guy's channel. The productions value is crazy good. It's one of my favorite YT channels. https://youtu.be/hxKNf4kILKc

Mechanical is booming again. Your A5 will fit in just fine. I still play hopperball with my old Automag and Autococker. They still get respect at the field. It's nice.

[vijil]

I was an ion/ego guy when I played, but honestly the mechs like the emek are so good now that I'd probably just use one of those if I started again. PE have this sweet matching PAL mechanical hopper system that is activated by their mech guns, meaning no shaking required. Like a modern version of the A5 hopper.

Magfed has come in leaps and bounds. PE (I'm pretty much shilling for them at this point) make the EMF100, which combined with their continuous 20 round mags is, IMHO, the best magfed ever made. It also switches to hopper mode and works with the PAL hopper mentioned above.

And, I think one of the coolest things to happen recently is the invention of (finally) SMALL 4500 carbon tanks. Like this one from First Strike, a 15/4500 which will fit in the stock of many magfeds while holding enough air for 200+ shots. Or this from Dye. If you want to mostly play hopperball or magfed, those are the go.

HK Army sell literally everything now, whether their own stuff like masks and hoppers, or rebranded. They still have that slightly agg image but have grown up a bit too.

Dye is kinda sorta dead. I dunno. Just very, very quiet these days. Moving into rental/mech is probably what's kept PE alive when everyone else is floundering, especially since electronics are impossible to get right now.

[ElectricBullshark]

What is PE again? And dye never thrilled me on much. They seemed more speedball oriented than woods. Yes, as far as electronics go i got SUPER lucky and got a egripped a5... the guy didnt even mention it was egripped when i got it for a song. I had searched high and low and absolutely no one has them.

[vijil]

An egripped A5 will do you just fine. Paint still needs to be shot at 300, so as long as you can do that, you're golden.

Sorry, PE = Planet Eclipse. Ego makers, now a weird woodsball/magfed/speedball/everything company. They make the best electros, the best magfed, the best mechs... you get the drift. I dunno how long it will last but for now I think it's fair to say they're the best and biggest all round manufacturer in paintball.

I mean that electronics are impossible to manufacture right now due to major supply lag in Taiwan.

[ElectricBullshark]

I cannot believe i forgot planet eclipse... lmao!! Yea when i was playing hardcore they were one of the gold standards of high end tourney guns. It seemed like everything they touched was over 1,000 bucks. Im kinda surprised they turned to magfed stuff and woodsball, but you gotta do what you gotta do to survive/ stay relevant i guess. The taiwan thing makes total sense now. I had thought it was manufacturers catching up from covid shutdowns.

[vijil]

Yeah I used to work in the electronics industry. It's fascinating how it works. Apple or whoever orders from some company, predicting how much they'll need, then TSMC orders from who knows, predicting how much they'll need, and the whole chain is looooong and like years long. All based on assumptions. So if someone gets an assumption wrong and doesn't order enough of something, or there's a delay, or there's politics.., the ripple effect takes ages to propagate, and then it takes months or even years to recover. It's an insane system.

Well, kinda fascinating too...