OK, after reading a somewhat recent thread on here about midrange hoppers I decided to pick up a Protoyz Speedster to test & review.
A little background: Protoyz is a child company of Planet Eclipse that primarily makes entry level soft goods. This loader is electric (powered by 4 AA batteries), can be torn down without tools, and is advertised to feed 10 balls/second. It is priced at roughly $65 USD.
I will post a description & relevant information for each photo. And I have a lot of photos, lol. I resized the images to save space, but they should give you a good idea of what this loader is about. The first post will be about the loader itself. The second post will be detailing my experience using it for the first time in a game setting.
To start off, here’s the box it came in, as well as the loader itself. Simple one-page, double-sided instructions are included.
Here are other views of the loader. The “square” on the front is how it hooks into the top shell. The “hump” on the underside is where the motor is inside the shell.
I don’t like this button. The outer, clear button moves around a bit & sometimes does not get a positive press on the inner button on the board. Might just be my particular loader, might not. When it’s loaded with paint, though, the weight seems to settle the inner tray a bit so I get a positive press. When it’s empty I get positive presses with a firm push. This isn’t a button you just press lightly. Also, the button blinks green at a medium pace when it’s on.
For those wanting a balanced weight distribution, you’re in luck. With batteries This loader stands on it’s feedneck perfectly.
I love/hate this lid. It’s awesome because it’s the largest opening I’ve ever seen on a hopper. It’s a pain because the little latches that lock the lid down are very stiff. It’ll definitely need some breaking in. As of this writing there are no speedfeeds made for this loader. However, I did find that PaintballDNA makes an adapter to use an Exalt speedfeed. It’s an interesting idea, but it kind of defeats the purpose of the large opening in my opinion. I’ll admit I’m biased against speedfeeds, but I’m sure PaintballDNA’s adapter is a welcome sight for some. Here’s a link for it: https://paintballdna.com/product/pro...-feed-adapter/
The inside, showing the impellor. The impellor does not spin very fast, about the speed of a 12V Revolution, if not slightly slower. However, note the little raceway. That will allow several to be stacked up & ready to go into the feedneck.
Taking it apart. This is not the easiest loader to tear down (not Rotor-easy), but it is indeed toolless. To start, you push down on the sliding clip with the cupped-looking surface. Then you pull the tab above it to the center of the loader. This will release the top shell.
Push the front tab out/away and lift the front of the inner tray to remove it.
Ta-da! Board, motor, & battery placement. Pretty self-explanatory.
In this picture, you’ll see little “tabs” where the included .50 cal adapter is inserted. This, of course, converts it to a .50 cal loader. This is also where the eyes for the loader are located, similar to a Revolution.
The .50 cal adapter & a spare button. The spare button cannot be depressed when installed. There’s a tiny hole in the back where you can insert an allen wrench to push the inner button to turn it on. This could be good for rental use because it allows the field to just turn it on & the renter can’t mess with it. Set it and forget it.
OK, size comparisons. I tried taking the best pictures I could, so I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect.
Side-by-sides. This loader is rather large. In fact, it’s the largest loader I own. In order, the pics are comparing the Speedster to a Dye LTR, HK Army/Pinokio Speed, and a Viewloader Revolution. It’s slightly larger than the LTR, but note the feedneck location. The LTR is backheavy compared to the Speedster. Also note that the Revolution is a fair bit taller than the Speedster.
Top-down pictures. The Speedster is pretty wide.
How it sits/looks on a few markers. Side & behind shots. Markers are my Etek 5, 2k3 Angel LCD, and Empire Resurrection. The loader is rather large, but I also think the lighting is making it look larger than what it really is. Forgive the lighting. Personally, I think it looks pretty good on anything with matte black anno or GRN construction.
I filled it to capacity with two plain 32 Degrees 140-ish round tubes. It took one tube & maybe a third of the second tube, making it about 200 rounds, possibly more. The paint I used is probably a little swelled due to age. I’d bet this thing holds over 200 rounds, though I haven’t actually counted them all.
The feed rate is advertised at 10 BPS. I have not tested this on an electro yet, but I found a Youtube video that demonstrates it being used on a MacDev Prime. The counter on the marker shows it hitting over 10 BPS, suggesting it can somewhat keep up with NXL ramping. Here’s a link to that video (test starts at 15 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y26kWs9c6w
One thing I did notice is when you turn it on & it’s loaded it might not sense a ball even though there is one there, and the impellor would make several revolutions. Sometimes it stops after a couple turns, a couple times during my play day it did not. This only happened when I turned it on while loaded. This is shown in the above video when the guy turns the hopper on. If for some reason it does not stop rotating, one shot seems to sort of “reset” it, but you could also just turn it on & then load it. Or leave it on all the time or turn it on at game start. Kind of quirky. I’m OCD about this stuff though, so I turn all my stuff on/off all the time. Could just be my actions. When I had this happen I was using green-shelled GI Field paint. Testing it at home I had it happen once with some old Empire Evil, though that stopped after a few revolutions.
UPDATE ON THIS. SEE POST #3 BELOW.
Overall impressions-
Pros:
-Large capacity. Would be great for hopper ball.
-LARGE lid opening. I like this very much.
-Heavy-duty GRN construction. Not sure if it’s Rotor durable, but it seems very sturdy.
-Priced between a Revolution and the Dye LTR/Virtue Spire IR at roughly $65 USD. I think this is a good price point considering it’s performance.
-Feeds well. I haven’t tested this on an electro (other than for tuning an Angel), but on my Resurrection it fed perfectly when I played this past weekend.
-.50 cal compatible.
Cons:
-Poor on/off button. It works, but requires a firm push.
-Large size. Yes, this loader has a large capacity, but because of that it’s also very large. Pick one or the other.
-Weight. This weighs almost as much a Dye LTR. However, I’d bet it’s capacity is higher.
-Somewhat quirky when turning it on when loaded. UPDATE ON THIS. SEE POST #3 BELOW.
I think this is a good option for those wanting faster feeding than a Revolution but don’t want to spend the money on a Dye LTR or Virtue Spire IR. This would face stiff competition from the HK Army/Pinokio Speed though, being just a little more expensive & feeding a bit better. However, I personally feel the build quality HK Speed is suspect. I don’t care for the materials it’s built with. I feel like I need to be careful with the HK Speed, but not with the Speedster. I feel at times I can outshoot my Revolution, but I didn’t feel that way with the Speedster last weekend. However, the weight difference is definitely noticeable (I regularly use my Revolution & HK Speed hoppers). It is definitely larger & almost as heavy as my LTR (empty weight), but I think it sits better on my markers. I like the feedneck placement in the middle of the loader. I personally think it also looks good visually. Simplicity is king in my book, and I think this will look good on any marker with GRN parts or matte black anno.
Overall, I think this is a solid loader. Needs a bit of refinement, especially with the on/off button design, but I think it’s priced well for what you get. Just be aware of the little quirks, like the on/off button & turning it off/on when loaded. This would be good for rec & mechanical play, but I think if you’re going to be shooting NXL ramping or any hair trigger electro without eyes you may as well go the next step up to a HK Army Speed, Dye LTR, or Virtue Spire IR. Also, if you are comfortable with a Revolution & you’ve never needed any more than that, then you’ll likely not benefit from the Speedster. Also, considering the Speedster’s quirks, I think the Revolution is a better-designed (read: more idiot-proof) loader. Not that the Speedster is poorly designed- more that the Revolution's design has stood the test of time & isn't as quirky to operate. The Speedster obviously has it beat in the feed rate & teardown departments, though. Quirks aside, the Speedster is fairly well designed and performs well enough for it's price point.
I’m not sure if this will be a regularly-used loader for me, but I’ll use it a few more times & provide more feedback.
Feel free to post questions & comments. And thank you for reading.
A little background: Protoyz is a child company of Planet Eclipse that primarily makes entry level soft goods. This loader is electric (powered by 4 AA batteries), can be torn down without tools, and is advertised to feed 10 balls/second. It is priced at roughly $65 USD.
I will post a description & relevant information for each photo. And I have a lot of photos, lol. I resized the images to save space, but they should give you a good idea of what this loader is about. The first post will be about the loader itself. The second post will be detailing my experience using it for the first time in a game setting.
To start off, here’s the box it came in, as well as the loader itself. Simple one-page, double-sided instructions are included.
Here are other views of the loader. The “square” on the front is how it hooks into the top shell. The “hump” on the underside is where the motor is inside the shell.
I don’t like this button. The outer, clear button moves around a bit & sometimes does not get a positive press on the inner button on the board. Might just be my particular loader, might not. When it’s loaded with paint, though, the weight seems to settle the inner tray a bit so I get a positive press. When it’s empty I get positive presses with a firm push. This isn’t a button you just press lightly. Also, the button blinks green at a medium pace when it’s on.
For those wanting a balanced weight distribution, you’re in luck. With batteries This loader stands on it’s feedneck perfectly.
I love/hate this lid. It’s awesome because it’s the largest opening I’ve ever seen on a hopper. It’s a pain because the little latches that lock the lid down are very stiff. It’ll definitely need some breaking in. As of this writing there are no speedfeeds made for this loader. However, I did find that PaintballDNA makes an adapter to use an Exalt speedfeed. It’s an interesting idea, but it kind of defeats the purpose of the large opening in my opinion. I’ll admit I’m biased against speedfeeds, but I’m sure PaintballDNA’s adapter is a welcome sight for some. Here’s a link for it: https://paintballdna.com/product/pro...-feed-adapter/
The inside, showing the impellor. The impellor does not spin very fast, about the speed of a 12V Revolution, if not slightly slower. However, note the little raceway. That will allow several to be stacked up & ready to go into the feedneck.
Taking it apart. This is not the easiest loader to tear down (not Rotor-easy), but it is indeed toolless. To start, you push down on the sliding clip with the cupped-looking surface. Then you pull the tab above it to the center of the loader. This will release the top shell.
Push the front tab out/away and lift the front of the inner tray to remove it.
Ta-da! Board, motor, & battery placement. Pretty self-explanatory.
In this picture, you’ll see little “tabs” where the included .50 cal adapter is inserted. This, of course, converts it to a .50 cal loader. This is also where the eyes for the loader are located, similar to a Revolution.
The .50 cal adapter & a spare button. The spare button cannot be depressed when installed. There’s a tiny hole in the back where you can insert an allen wrench to push the inner button to turn it on. This could be good for rental use because it allows the field to just turn it on & the renter can’t mess with it. Set it and forget it.
OK, size comparisons. I tried taking the best pictures I could, so I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect.
Side-by-sides. This loader is rather large. In fact, it’s the largest loader I own. In order, the pics are comparing the Speedster to a Dye LTR, HK Army/Pinokio Speed, and a Viewloader Revolution. It’s slightly larger than the LTR, but note the feedneck location. The LTR is backheavy compared to the Speedster. Also note that the Revolution is a fair bit taller than the Speedster.
Top-down pictures. The Speedster is pretty wide.
How it sits/looks on a few markers. Side & behind shots. Markers are my Etek 5, 2k3 Angel LCD, and Empire Resurrection. The loader is rather large, but I also think the lighting is making it look larger than what it really is. Forgive the lighting. Personally, I think it looks pretty good on anything with matte black anno or GRN construction.
I filled it to capacity with two plain 32 Degrees 140-ish round tubes. It took one tube & maybe a third of the second tube, making it about 200 rounds, possibly more. The paint I used is probably a little swelled due to age. I’d bet this thing holds over 200 rounds, though I haven’t actually counted them all.
The feed rate is advertised at 10 BPS. I have not tested this on an electro yet, but I found a Youtube video that demonstrates it being used on a MacDev Prime. The counter on the marker shows it hitting over 10 BPS, suggesting it can somewhat keep up with NXL ramping. Here’s a link to that video (test starts at 15 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y26kWs9c6w
One thing I did notice is when you turn it on & it’s loaded it might not sense a ball even though there is one there, and the impellor would make several revolutions. Sometimes it stops after a couple turns, a couple times during my play day it did not. This only happened when I turned it on while loaded. This is shown in the above video when the guy turns the hopper on. If for some reason it does not stop rotating, one shot seems to sort of “reset” it, but you could also just turn it on & then load it. Or leave it on all the time or turn it on at game start. Kind of quirky. I’m OCD about this stuff though, so I turn all my stuff on/off all the time. Could just be my actions. When I had this happen I was using green-shelled GI Field paint. Testing it at home I had it happen once with some old Empire Evil, though that stopped after a few revolutions.
UPDATE ON THIS. SEE POST #3 BELOW.
Overall impressions-
Pros:
-Large capacity. Would be great for hopper ball.
-LARGE lid opening. I like this very much.
-Heavy-duty GRN construction. Not sure if it’s Rotor durable, but it seems very sturdy.
-Priced between a Revolution and the Dye LTR/Virtue Spire IR at roughly $65 USD. I think this is a good price point considering it’s performance.
-Feeds well. I haven’t tested this on an electro (other than for tuning an Angel), but on my Resurrection it fed perfectly when I played this past weekend.
-.50 cal compatible.
Cons:
-Poor on/off button. It works, but requires a firm push.
-Large size. Yes, this loader has a large capacity, but because of that it’s also very large. Pick one or the other.
-Weight. This weighs almost as much a Dye LTR. However, I’d bet it’s capacity is higher.
-Somewhat quirky when turning it on when loaded. UPDATE ON THIS. SEE POST #3 BELOW.
I think this is a good option for those wanting faster feeding than a Revolution but don’t want to spend the money on a Dye LTR or Virtue Spire IR. This would face stiff competition from the HK Army/Pinokio Speed though, being just a little more expensive & feeding a bit better. However, I personally feel the build quality HK Speed is suspect. I don’t care for the materials it’s built with. I feel like I need to be careful with the HK Speed, but not with the Speedster. I feel at times I can outshoot my Revolution, but I didn’t feel that way with the Speedster last weekend. However, the weight difference is definitely noticeable (I regularly use my Revolution & HK Speed hoppers). It is definitely larger & almost as heavy as my LTR (empty weight), but I think it sits better on my markers. I like the feedneck placement in the middle of the loader. I personally think it also looks good visually. Simplicity is king in my book, and I think this will look good on any marker with GRN parts or matte black anno.
Overall, I think this is a solid loader. Needs a bit of refinement, especially with the on/off button design, but I think it’s priced well for what you get. Just be aware of the little quirks, like the on/off button & turning it off/on when loaded. This would be good for rec & mechanical play, but I think if you’re going to be shooting NXL ramping or any hair trigger electro without eyes you may as well go the next step up to a HK Army Speed, Dye LTR, or Virtue Spire IR. Also, if you are comfortable with a Revolution & you’ve never needed any more than that, then you’ll likely not benefit from the Speedster. Also, considering the Speedster’s quirks, I think the Revolution is a better-designed (read: more idiot-proof) loader. Not that the Speedster is poorly designed- more that the Revolution's design has stood the test of time & isn't as quirky to operate. The Speedster obviously has it beat in the feed rate & teardown departments, though. Quirks aside, the Speedster is fairly well designed and performs well enough for it's price point.
I’m not sure if this will be a regularly-used loader for me, but I’ll use it a few more times & provide more feedback.
Feel free to post questions & comments. And thank you for reading.
Slightly apples/oranges, but eh. I'm not knocking the HK Speed. It's a heck of a hopper that just feels fragile & makes me wonder...
Comment