The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion below.
Period of Product Use:
6 months
59 of 73 people found this review helpful.
Paintball Experience:
2 years
Similar Products Used:
There are no other barrels on the market similer to the Flatline. I guess if you run a piece of masking tape along the top inside edge of the stock barrel, you could cause enough friction to give the ball backspin. : )
Marker Setup:
Tippmann 98 Custom
Flatline
Various other accessories.
Recommended Paintballs:
Blaze paintballs never gave me a problem. I also liked TC Venum, but that paint was SO hard that it didnt break on targets far away. I have used the cheapo $32 a crate practice paint without MANY problems (Obviously, had some breaks). Try to go with a good ball though. I used 32 Degrees Team Color and RPS BIg Ball. They worked fine.
Strengths:
--Looks - The least important feature in the long run. Either way, it adds great looks to your gun.
--Distance - Unsurpassed distance can be achieved. Perfect for supprising people on the other side of the field with shots that actually hit them.
>---Great for Speedball or Sceanario matches.
--Accurate - We arnt looking for PINPOINT accuracy here. But once you get the barrel adjusted (if you even need to) , you can have Great shots, even from 100 feet. Just be sure to adjust your back sight.
--Powerful - Some say the power created by the backspin slows the ball down too much. Well id does slow it down, but that is only with LONG shots. I have not noticed any power problem if you dont try for those "150 ft+" shots.
--Did I forget to mension??? - The balls travel in a flatline for average shots - no gravity arch right away!!! The best part of this gun!
Weaknesses:
--Loud - Bad if you are a Sniper on a scenario match.
--Must keep it clean - Any paint, dirt, or gun oil can throw off your shot. (A good way to clean it without taking it all apart - put a wire squeegie through the ball feed and work it through and out the muzzle)(Some people I know never thought of that! LOL)
--Bad on windy days - Any good wind can throw off your shot more-so than a regular barrel due to its backspin.
--Expencive - $109 by itself. I got mine in a package, which made it seem much better. If you look around at starter Flatline packages, and be sure you know the quality of everything else, you can get them much cheaper. I paid about $60.
--Hard to initially install - Took me forever to realize you have to take off the whole reciever to get the adapter in. That limits you to only using the flatline untill you disassemble your gun again.
Conclusion:
There are other expensive, technological barrels out there, but none of them do what the Flatline does. It is a one of a kind. All of the good things about it sort of cancel out anything bad I found about it. Once you overcome the price barriar and learn how to care for and use the Flatline, you will love it. I think it is one of the most unique and best barrels out. Now I just want that Autococker with the Flatline to Upgrade from my Tippmann! : ) (Got nothing against Tippmann - I love my Tippy!)
Hi, I noticed when I was reading your review, you said that you had to take apart the whole gun which is not true. All you have to do is loosen the two screws up front to take off pressure. Then you wood be able to screw in the adapter.
yea paintballcheeks is 100% right all i did is loosen two or three bolts then put the adapter on then took off the back sight and bang to to to to easy to put together the flatline though i love it!
I like your idea of cleaning the flatline. I just bought myself a flatline for my A5 and looked for any disadvantages for the barrel and thought that cleaning it would be time consuming. I will take your advice into consideration. Thanks. Tippmann RULES!
What do you mean when you say "If you don't go for the 150+ ft. shots"? I thought this was supposed to add range...At least 100 feet...and if you can't shoot someone from 150 ft, when you can nail them at 50, why buy this barrel?
well, i would recommend the J&J 16" ceramic barrel. this is an accurate, somewhat quiet, self-cleaning barrel. and, in addition, to keep the hard-earned cash in your hands, it only cost about $40. yea, thats right. fourty dollars. it is an awesome barrel, not to mention extremely easy on the wallet, but i still prefer my flatline over any other barrel. but my second choice would have to be the J&J 16" ceramic.
Last edited on Wednesday, June 16th, 2004 at 10:49 pm PST
You don't have to take apart the entire gun, I've owned mine for about as long as the customs have existed, all you have to do is loosen the front screw closest to the barrel and it screws right out.
Dispute: This barrel is horrible for Speedballing and I have suffered for it.... me and my 50 buddies who use flatline say that flatline is NOT for speedballing... speedballing you can just use a stock barrel or a 14" Progressive and you can do even better....
quote:Originally posted by BillyG2093 This barrel is horrible for Speedballing and I have suffered for it.... me and my 50 buddies who use flatline say that flatline is NOT for speedballing... speedballing you can just use a stock barrel or a 14" Progressive and you can do even better....
wait wait wait, you used a FL for speedball? What's wrong with you? Never even bring a Tippy to a speedball fields, they aren't meant for that. Compared to speedball guns, Tippy's are heavy, cumbersome, big targets and slow. Plus a speedball field is way too small for using a FL. BTW me and everyone I know say that a Tippmann is NOT for speedballing...
Last edited on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 8:06 pm PST
