The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion below.
Period of Product Use:
3 months
68 of 180 people found this review helpful.
Paintball Experience:
More than 5 years
Similar Products Used:
Impulse and Spyder Imagine
Marker Setup:
Stock with HPA and Halo B hopper
Recommended Upgrades:
Differnt Gun
Strengths:
It was cheap
Weaknesses:
Hose connections, frame, body, Setup,
Review:
When I first bought my gun I though I had really made out due to the price. I figured that Smart parts had been a reasonably reliable brand name. I got home opened the box and found what I thought was every thing in the box. There was the wrench, gun, barrel, battery, barrel condom, manual and registration card. What did not realize was missing until I consulted a friend was the repair kit.
Looking through the manual I saw how to set the gun up and adjust the electronics. I found having to remove the grip to do so quite a pain and poor design. I understand since it is hoped to be used by tournament players and the restrictions put on those guns. Yet since this gun is only suited for random target practice in the backyard.
When first gassing up the gun leaked like a sieve. All throughout the body there were leaks. I called Smart Parts the next day and the rude tech-support was completely ineffective. I ended up taking it back to the store that I bought it. He looked at it and fixed in a couple of days in time to play on Satuday.
Took it home and ran though a ˝ case in the back yard getting used to how the adjustments affect the performance of the gun.
On Saturday the gun did alright it never achieved the 17 BPM. Even with a Halo B hopper. But as the day continued the gun developed a leak from the grip. Latter diagnosed as the solenoid. This is killed the day. I ended up with a rental for the rest of the due to the cheap piece of cr** .
Brought it back to the shop to get it looked at a gain it took almost a week to be told it had to go back to Smart Parts to be fixed.
When I finally got my gun back 1 ˝ weeks later it seemed to be fine for a while. Again the ritual of Saturday paint ball came around. The gun did well but I though I heard a light leak and then the world blew up a large leak explode with in the gun during a game. It ended up being one of the banjo joints. Back to Smart Parts it went. The break occurred so that the treads were stuck in the Ion Chamber.
At this point a have washed my hands of this gun.
As I read the reviews on this marker I shake my head and wonder how many of these posters believe what they are saying, or are they just trying to justify spending money on something that does not work as well or they are in collusion with Smart Parts in some way trying to make sure they continue to sell.
I can honestly say that the Ion is Smart Parts answer to the cheap Chinese made guns flooding the market, was is really said to say is that it was really made in the USA.
Smart Parts rushed to compete, but it really shows how little they put in to it. The gun feels cheap.
Described as a tournament grade marker, the Ion falls short on consistancy and sustainability. A long string of balls produces shootdown in such drastic proportions that I thought originally I had run out of air.
In my opinion, anyone insisting on buying a marker that was not properly tested, deserves what they get, it is people too lazy to research that allows Smart Parts and Brass Eagle to keep putting out lame markers and weak products. From what we can tell the Smart Parts plan was to sell to the 13-17 age group, relying on their lack of consumer savvy to boost sales on the ION.
I spend the extra money for a real dependable gun I bough a Smart Part Impulse with Vision. I am not agaist Smart Parts products. Just the Ion was a horrible gun.
Conclusion:
With the total lack of quality and horrible performance I give it a 1. Some might say I had a lemon but after I sent it back to Smart Parts and gave them a chance to fix the gun. There fix just proves that they don’t care enough to put quality into this product.
To add to the whole thing the price of these guns a haas take a huge dive. When they came out they were fetching about 250 -270 used on e-bay; now they go for about 202-210 used. Word is out that there have been way to many problems with this gun. I t might work for some but it could not have gone worse unless it exploded in my face.
You are sadly correct. The quality is terrible, you are the only person I have seen so far who gave a 1 that is acually correct! And I agree with you the impulse is the best gun Smart Parts has made! I had a shocker it sucked!
Well i can understand why you gave it a 1. But i must say i've had no problems w/ my ion besides a leak and a blown gauge. That was caused by the person who was putting a qev in it. And you are correct about how you can't do 17bps on it. You have to put some ups on it to make it rip. And as for the imp being better then the ion. I don't know, both guns have there pro and cons.
The horrible quality control of the Ion defined my experience with one as well. These low reviews may offend the pride of ION owners, but they're critical il letting prospective owners know what they're getting into. Some will buy an ION anyway, it is awfully inexpensive, but at least they'll do it with their eyes open.
quote:Originally posted by Vinie5121 well i would get a Kingman spyder Electra ACS 05 instead of eather the ion or impulse. o wait i did....... and it kicks @ss!
Talk about wasting money. For the price you pay for that piece of junk, you could have a t-boarded Imagine w/ eyes, a new barrel, reg, hopper, etc.
quote:Originally posted by Vinie5121 well i would get a Kingman spyder Electra ACS 05 instead of eather the ion or impulse. o wait i did....... and it kicks @ss!</q>
i have yet to see a electra rip.... does anyone disagree?
Last edited on Saturday, August 6th, 2005 at 9:22 pm PST
I saw greg hasting in G4tv and he shot the electra and it sounded like the electra shot fast. Hey doesnt the electra(20 bps) shoot faster than the ION (17bps). I have an ION and it works really well for me.
quote:Originally posted by fadsjflajf Originally posted by Vinie5121 well i would get a Kingman spyder Electra ACS 05 instead of eather the ion or impulse. o wait i did....... and it kicks @ss!</q>
i have yet to see a electra rip.... does anyone disagree?
i havent seen an electra rip...but i have seen a spyder tl-x rip, it had that rocking trigger on it with the anti chop bolt, new feedneck, and cp barrel. got it up to 21bps
quote:Originally posted by Vinie5121 well i would get a Kingman spyder Electra ACS 05 instead of eather the ion or impulse. o wait i did....... and it kicks @ss!
quote:Originally posted by Vinie5121 well i would get a Kingman spyder Electra ACS 05 instead of eather the ion or impulse. o wait i did....... and it kicks @ss!
sorry but no, it chops like anything and the trigger is setup for newbs that cant walk and is not even tournament legal.
sounds like bad luck, no problems with mine
Last edited on Monday, October 10th, 2005 at 9:30 am PST
I think that SP was so excited to get this gun out that some of the first batch was defective due to rush. But I'm sure that they have corrected this problem.
Yeah, so 17 BPS is impossible to hit with the stock trigger (read on a site). Get a better one. A friend of mine told me that one of his friends got it to 21 BPS on semi.
Smart Parts is a good company, and Ion is a good gun, just upgrade.
Has anyone else noticed how this guys review is basicly identical to guncleaninfool's? and how guncleaninfool's reviews for the ion and wrath are also basicly identical? when you see the reviews repeat themselves like this over and over again, IGNORE THEM! Its just jerks who don't want the competition to their own gun to get good overall ratings.
