M170r?

[Mr. Hick]

Anyone that lurks round here want to give me an honest review about it? After my run back into paintball this last year I would really like a marker to replace my 99 STO for daily operations. I love that gun, but she doesn't need to be hauled through the woods too much any more. I want to hang her up to cherish.

My local parks are heavily saturated with Emeks, and while awesome shooters in their stock configuration, withan early 2000's Honda Civic aftermarket to match I'm more interested in buying something that wont take me the rest of the winter to piece together all the aftermarket parts and pieces to "make it my own."
I have had my hands on 2 M170R's and I'm impressed with the feel, fit and finish of them. I'm just hoping a few of you guys could chime in with what you have experienced with your set ups.

Thanks.

[jerryjjackson69]

I liked my m170r, but I ended up selling it and keeping my EMEK because I thought the EMEK was more ergonomic with the angle and contour of the frame and front grip. The m170r felt less contoured and boxier. I preferred the feel of an aftermarket trigger on my EMEK over the stock trigger on the m170r.

I can't say anything bad about the m170r except maybe the price. If you like the m170r ergonomics then definitely snag one. They don't have any real shortcomings or flaws. I have a close friend that kept his because he liked the feel more than the EMEK. EMEKS just dominate due to their price and it is cool to have a product with lots of customization and aftermarket options again. Some of the Predator m170r were on sale recently, I'm sure you could find a retailer looking to move one. I think that milling would look great with a custom anno to give the m170r some individuality.

[Mr. Hick]

I love what the Emek is. But I know how that works! You buy a $250 gun and by the time you stop purchasing aftermarket parts you have a aluminum body, or maybe 3 or 4 3D printed ones laying around, all the different switches and triggers and you have spent: $700. I'm not in the market to replace my marker today, so I thought the 170R would be a good buy and play option. What hopper did you primarily use on it? I noticed with these single tube guns the weight balance is a much finer detail.

[jerryjjackson69]

I always use my Spire3 with a custom loader-integrated GoPro mount. I did use the GoG multi-cal loader once and it was incredibly light.

My EMEK setup (most of my markers are setup similar): A carbon paintball barrel or a superlight one-piece single bore aluminum barrel, 1st gen non-pal EMEK with chopped down body and offensive language scratched into the aluminum core body, safety disabled, Eclipse low profile feedneck, POPs ASA, Bang switch (I have the hair valve on my second EMEK, it is faster, but I like the bang switch more. You will probably like the hair valve more, like most people), Fang trigger, 3d printed backcap of my design, the loader mentioned above, and a superlight SL2 77 ninja tank with a custom stupid light reg and a tank reg extender.

I have a buddy that prefers his GMEK with slider frame over the EMEK or m170r just because he loves slider frames.

You will probably buy a m170r, a hair valve for it, then slap your preferred tank, loader, and barrel on it. It definitely has a simpler set of aftermarket options for an end product that will shoot the same.

[NONOBLITUS]

I am a big fan of the M170R and could not recommend it more. Super smooth shooter and I happened to use a Dye Rotor because I had one. It feels well balanced in your hand and just plain rips. I Switched over and actually was using 10 round tubes in a cram and jam setup and loved it.

[JonM]

Another thing to consider if you're debating between the Emek and M170R is that you really don't need to sink $700 into it to make it a high performance marker. The foundation is already there out of the box. You can lighten the trigger pull with a ballpoint pen spring. You can install an aftermarket trigger if you'd like, but you can also drill & tap the stock trigger for adjustment screws. 3D printed bodies are neat and all, but they're not as sturdy or as clean looking as the stock body. I printed a couple myself and just went back to the GRN body. It takes Cocker threaded barrels, so you probably already have a few lying around to choose from. Really the only thing you couldn't modify yourself would be a POPS ASA. Yeah, you can install things like a Bang Switch or Hair valve, but they're not really necessary. I actually took my Bang Switch out and went back to stock. The gun is plenty fast enough without it.

[iamthelazerviking]

Amen! I don't like the idea of some 3D printed material over the stock glass-reinforced nylon body. Lighter trigger spring plus a stock trigger modified for pre and/or post travel screws is absolutely enough. Mine has just a post travel and Lite spring, feels amazing and shoots as fast as I will ever need.

[wunderbarsafari]

I don’t have an m170r but I’ve been shooting the original Gmek for the last two plus years. I recently picked up an emek as a backup. I do like the grip ergonomics and hoseless design a little better on the emek and the customization potential is certainly tempting.

Despite that, I still grab the Gmek every time. The Gtek series are really nice guns right out of the box. Yes, they are 3x the price of a stock emek, 2x still if you added a pops and nice barrel. But, they are well executed and for me it’s worth the price as a daily driver.

As for loaders, I’ve used a spire IR which has been flawless on both guns. Also a revvy for lightweight funsies, but you can definitely outshoot them with the stock swing triggers.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I purchased a Emek then a M170R I played several events and many practices with my Emek before I went and purchased a M170R. My entire teams went to them after they seen the efficiency numbers out of the Emek/M170R. I decided To sell my M170R after putting an adjustable trigger in my Emek.

The reason I sold the M170R is because it’s a fancy bodied Emek. I use mine for competition mech play. I’m 100% function over form. I could buy two Emek for the cost of one M170R. I beat the hell out of it smash it on rocks, hard dive over mounds and it takes a licken keeps on ticken. I have no worries about getting the thing filthy or banging it up. Worst case it’s 220 for a new one if I break it. I have already gotten my money’s worth at this point with it. It just works all the time and the thing rips faces off.

If you are looking to impress people in the staging area get a fancy ano M170R or cool cocker. If you are looking to get dirty make big moves you probably should have never made. Get one or two of the plastic markers. Don’t get me wrong The M170R are really nice but they shoot exactly the same especially an Emek with a simple trigger mod.

DW valve is a really nice upgrade to both. Just about all of my 10man team is running them. If you want rate of fire. I find I can shoot my DW valve Emek faster then my teammates DW valve M170R. However his trigger is adjusted to his preference.

Honestly you can’t go wrong with a M170R if you like nice things and don’t care about banging a nice ano finish up in the woods or play conservative the M170R is a really nice marker. For me the Emek is just to good to justify the fancy ano aluminum pieces.

I use the same first generation Rotor I purchased new back when the rotor first came out (we been threw a lot and it’s never let me down on the field) I use it on all my markers electro mec markers. When looking for a hopper make sure it’s force fed if you are looking for rate of fire constancy. Revvy s work spires work but I feel like my rotor really works well with the Emek /M170R could just be that’s what I’m use to. But I prefer using a Rotor the basic no frills on off first Gen one.

[Mr. Hick]

Thanks guys! I'll mull it over for a couple of more months before I make my purchase. I certainly am swinging toward the 170R more because it makes me feel more like an adult spending the money on something nice. Likely when it comes time to separate myself from that hard earned change I'll be picking up an Emek.

[Chuck E Ducky]

You can’t go wrong with either one really.

[MAr]

SO after watching 'The Best Kids in Texas' I felt inspired (as a senior citizen) to get back to speedball. Everyone is pointing me towards the 170r, but I keep hearing about how good the EMEK ergonomics are. To that end, I wanted to ask about the ETHA2. It has the same ergonomics, so how is it as a marker overall? ANyone shoot one? ANy reviews?

[Chuck E Ducky]

Etha2 are great especially for budget electro. You want firing modes it’s great for that. As always with PE they shoot grate, are super reliable, I have never been disappointed in a Planet product. But if you are just looking for something cheap to play with 07/08 EGOs are my favorite you can find them used super cheap. Probably my favorite electro to shoot. They got all the firing modes you could possibly need.