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Period of
Product Use: |
3 months |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Powerlyte 07 body - obviously entirely different style, with the advantage of semi-BOB access. Good body |
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| Marker Setup: |
Marker #1 - Phantom VSC - Green camo ano by CCI with armson OEG sight ("sniper" rifle)
Marker #2 - SP Ion with Deadlywind stinkops body, JCS folding stock, Deadlywind Wispur barrel or Apex/Python compression barrel, combo foregrip/bipod, L7 bolt, SP 360 QEV, V***** board, VP Scythe trigger, Egg3, 40mm red dot sight, and Evil detonator reg (Light support weapon)
Marker #3 - Tippman E-grip A5 with JCS folding stock, and Python compression kit with 2" barrel cap (total barrel length - 3.75"!!), R5 loader, and PMI Pure energy regulator (CQB beastie)
Marker #4 - SP Ion with Powerlyte 07 blue body, V***** board, Warrior SL2 bolt, Evil Detonator reg, SP 360 QEV, Check-It Drop forward, Stiffie 1 Piece .691 barrel with Python compression Kit, and Deadlywind trigger ("tourney" gun)
Marker #5 - Palmer Typhoon Right Feed/Back Bottle (my baby)
Marker #6 - Brass Eagle Rainmaker 98 - select fire - totally stock with eagleworks barrel (the only good thing that brass eagle ever did)
Marker #7 - nonfunctional but complete Pneumatic Designs Storm (circa 1992) with 14" AA SP barrel. (my first marker, and still a sentimental favorite)
Also...
Twin Tac-8's for kicks and giggles |
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| Strengths: |
Lots and lots of rails
Looks |
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| Weaknesses: |
Weight
access to barrel threads and front screw is more difficult |
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| Review: |
Overall, I think this is a great body. I have not had the opportunity to experiment with other mil-sim/rail bodies for the ion, but after reading various reviews of the other bodies, I chose this one.
A few points
#1 - There are a ton of rails, as you can see from the pictures provided. The back/side rails are not quite horizontal, and can make adjusting a sight a little more difficult than if the rails were true horizontal, but on the same token, actually push a sight that is mounted on it, a bit upwards, which is nice. Plus, it looks different, and thus is pretty cool.
#2 - There is a dovetail mount on the upper spine of the body, but they seem to be a bit small to fit standard dovetail accessories. I've tried some of my old dovetail sights on it, as well as a dovetail rail-riser on it, and they won't completely lock down on it as it is too narrow. I may have to use shims or something else to make it fit.
#3 - The body is actually longer than a standard Ion body in the front and the back. In the back, this is not such a big problem, unless you're used to shoving your face all the way up to the back of your standard Ion body when you fire. You'll get used to it. You can mount 98 Custom stocks to the body with little fuss or muss. HOWEVER... In the front, the body extends around 2" past the end of the breech, and taking the breech screw on/off is done through a little hole on the top of the body. Taking the screw off is not so bad, but putting it back in is kind of a pain. This is not a semi-BOB or BOB body, so you HAVE to dissasemble the body to access the bolt. Minor annoyance, but if you use the marker alot, this can begin to wear on you. In addition, if you use a 2 piece kit, especially a stiffi switch kit, you MIGHT have a problem if the barrel separates from the sizer. It'll be a pain to get the sizer out on its own (stuck down in the body).
#4 - It weighs a fair bit more than the standard body, but it isn't so bad. The Ion is very light to begin with, and compared to my other Mil-sim marker (Tippman A-5) it is still a fair bit lighter. Combine this body with a CF barrel and a remote system, and you shouldn't have a big problem.
#5 - the feedneck actually screws to the body, and not the breech/can, so you've got to remove it from the can and re-screw it to the body itself. Again, not that big a deal. |
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| Conclusion: |
Overall, a great body with lots of WOW factor in the right crowd. (woodsballers will love it, speedballers will mock it) Looks like the best ion milsim body out there from what I've been reading, and I'll have to agree. |
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| Rating: |
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