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.
my ion works just great! it doesnt leak whatso ever, just take care of it. also, you can achieve 28 bps with the stock board. Andy on zdspd prooved it. and dont say im some noob who doesnt know what im saying, cause he did do it. just mess witht he dwell and stuff. i personally dont have the stock anymore, i have the virtue board. and i can acheive 25bps+. if you want to know how i did it, pm me. =p
hell, its a great gun! next time you go paintballing just go ask someone who ownes it(or multiple people). because pbreveiw has sooooo many ppl lying on it!
Dispute: man dont even try and doubt smart parts customer service..... i had over 50 dollars in problems with my ion when i got it and they fixed it for free....... id say you never had this marker, your just tryin to say this so you wont get pwned by one on the field..... so dont complain actually try one out and then review it....
how can u not like the ion. i have an ion and its wickedly awsome. i dne no bout stock but i ut cocker threads and ten i put in cp classic and other ups i think its an awsome gun
quote:Originally posted by myguns2fast4u my ion works just great! it doesnt leak whatso ever, just take care of it. also, you can achieve 28 bps with the stock board. Andy on zdspd prooved it. and dont say im some noob who doesnt know what im saying, cause he did do it. just mess witht he dwell and stuff. i personally dont have the stock anymore, i have the virtue board. and i can acheive 25bps+. if you want to know how i did it, pm me. =p
Every person who doesnt like the ion either hates smart parts or is a complete moron because the gun is easy as pie to fix and maintain. It rips with a few upgrades and is well over tournament worthy.
Why do people hate ions so much? lol JW but anyways ive used a Tippmann A-5, Bob long defiant 2, shocker, impulse, and a Ego, all of which broke in seconds with little to no use, (except the A-5 :p ) but tippmanns will be tippmanns... well anyways ions are nice from what i can tell with mine, you must upgrade it idk who the heck can get 17 bps with that stock trigger... must be god or jesus who made it do that, but throw yourself a nice trigger, feedneck and board in there and you have yourself a decent gun... hasnt failed on me yet
Last edited on Friday, January 25th, 2008 at 8:14 pm PST
this guy was actually being honest with this gun..
i think im gonna keep my vs2 for now..
u have any recommended guns for me that arent freakin expensive?
i was thinking about the ion till i saw this and im agreeing.. it does look like plastic and stuff.. what gun should i get next?
quote:Originally posted by atmtaz2 man dont even try and doubt smart parts customer service..... i had over 50 dollars in problems with my ion when i got it and they fixed it for free....... id say you never had this marker, your just tryin to say this so you wont get pwned by one on the field..... so dont complain actually try one out and then review it....
well why dont you just go write a review yourself on how amazing the customer service was and stop worrying about what others were. i know one tourny player with an ion and he is getting rid of it because it just cant keep up with the real high end markers and if you havent noticed most ion owners are new to the sport resulting in inexperience of the player which truely shoots the marker (ion owners are usally newer because of the price of this gun is so cheap). which leads me to another point in a lot of these reviews they writers say it needs a bunch of upgrades which obviously results in more money being spent so its not really this amazing 200 dollar gun anymore more like a 400 dollar one just btw. my other non tourny friend has had close to this same problem as well so this review has quite a lot of truth to it.
Dispute: Dude wtf? well it probably didn't work rite because you so expertly adjusted the settings (said with EXTREME SARCASM) "Looking through the manual I saw how to set the gun up and adjust the electronics" LOL it's fine stock you probably jacked up. Also "On Saturday the gun did alright it never achieved the 17 BPM." Holy sheets on a bed you have gotta be SLOW to not even be able to get 17 balls per minute. and i don't really want to continue, therew are to many things wrong with this review.
this is the worst Ion review ive ever seen! i own an ion and no matter what im doin im destroying on the field and so im happy he bought an electra so i could kick his ass on the field
i dont what the **** is this guys problem itsa a great gun mines all stock except clamping neck 14 inch freak barrel with inserts q-ev and of course the best chip! "black heart chip" best chip ya can get for ion i can get up to 23 bps with it no ramping!
overall its awsome gun this guys just***** or didnt get a good gun not every1 can be perfect!
dude. i bet the reason you had all them leak problems is like everyone in their reviews say you need to turn your reg pressure down or you will blow lines or solenoids. i wish people would research the gun they want to get before they get it and break it and blame it on the manufacturer. this just shows how much common sense some people have... ive had my ion for over a year and havnt had any problems because for one before i bought it i researched it and before i ever aired it up i turned the reg pressure down like people say and i also did some upgrades like people suggest to make it work better. so if your own laziness and stupidity caused your gun to break dont write bad reviews and trash the gun. if you want a perfect gun with no flaws out of the factory then good luck because if there is a gun that perfect your going to be refinancing your house to afford it.
I have been playing for over 13 years now and played with many different markers over the years(first one being an F2 illustrator if anyone remeber them) and there are lemons with every make and brand but for the price tag, this marker stock is a very good value. I know a player that was a huge tournament player and he shot Angels for years until they started making them like crap in recent years acording to him (he had one that parts started falling of mid game) I however will never give up my A4 fly. Anyways point being he went from shooting Angels getting the newest available each year to shooting an Ion ( now it is heavily upgraded mind you but the price tag is still under $500) so for someone looking at purchasing this gun keep in mind you budget as well as there are many upgrades available for it.
DUDE. you are so incorrect. I have a Ion and had no problems with it. I think your just an stupid dummy it sounds like to me. The Ion is a awesome gun. I give the Ion a 10 out of 10. Smart Parts makes great guns and parts. Im on a paintball team and we play in touraments. We just won first place in a recent tournament and all the players have ions. There are 9 of us on the team. All of us used a Ion and we won first place. We are sponsored by APX gear and we now what we are talking about so your wrong. People that is looking for a great gun get the ion because it is awesome.
