The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion below.
Period of Product Use:
Less than a month
813 of 852 people found this review helpful.
Paintball Experience:
Less than a month
Similar Products Used:
Spyder
Marker Setup:
Response Trigger
CO2
Recommended Upgrades:
Flatline Barrel
Strengths:
Well, here’s this 43-year-old satellite engineer who gets convinced to try paintball with his 15-year-old son. So, I started doing research on paintball products a little after Christmas 2002. By the beginning of March, I had read almost every article on the subject. The technology is getting better every day. And since I have a wife, kids, mortgage, car payment, insurance, food, fuel and those domestic things that some 15-year-old kids think magically appear, I chose the Tippmann A5.
Here are several reasons. Let me share just a few.
**The Tippmann marker LOOKS Awesome!**
The marker is an excellent piece of Tippmann engineering and workmanship. There is the distinct ‘feel’ of craftsmanship when holding it. It doesn’t feel in any way like a toy. The coatings are perfect with only a few mold marks where the two halves of the frame come together across the site rail. It closely resembles an MP5.( Maybe too close for the sensibilities of some parents )
**The Mechanicals**
So many markers of today look like they are straight out of the prop room of a low-budget science fiction movie – with enough gadgets to confuse even the most adept button pusher. The Tippmann A5 is a workhorse of integrated technology. The only adjustments are the safe button and the needle valve for the Response Trigger. That’s it! Needless to say the markers’ 100+ pieces were laid out on my kitchen table the night the UPS truck brought it home. I inspected everything. (Special note: NEVER take this marker apart in the woods – other than the basic field strip – you WILL loose something. Trust me on this!) Almost everything about this marker fits tightly together. Nothing looks like it was added as an after thought and needed to be re-engineered. However, I’m a little disappointed in the piston that drives the Cyclone Feeder system. Although it works perfectly, it seems a little fragile. A little longer collar on the feed chamber to support this piston would correct the wobble. You are definitely getting an original product and not someone else’s ideas. The mechanism should last a long time with the proper care and maintenance.
**Accuracy**
A friend of mine has a Tippmann 98 with R/T and Flatline barrel. He raves about it! The stock barrel on my A5 seems just fine however, many, many, many reviews are telling the tale of the A5 Flatline barrel. The A5 Stock barrel on my setup can hit a 9”x15” target 9 out of ten times using Co2 and RPS/PMI Super Swirl Tournament balls at 100’. ( I know! Don’t give me any heat about cheap balls!) The outside temp was about 40. I shot almost 500. I didn’t chop a single one. My next purchase for the marker would be the Flatline barrel. And yes, I will be getting some better balls for that. The reviews say Marbleizers or Diablo.
**Rate of Fire**
Well, I guess this is where the purist comes out in me. Although Tippmann doesn't advertise this very well, for a NON-electric marker, this shoots like a paintball fire hose! No missed feeds, no broken balls, just a steady stream of flying hell from the muzzle. I would estimate 10 to 12 per second. It truly didn’t miss a lick! Although with the cost of paintballs, this novelty will wear off soon enough. Consistency and accuracy will always prevail.
Weaknesses:
We'll have to see about this. Nothing too bad so far to report.
It could use a little bigger hopper and a little bit better barrel.
Say that 5 times fast!
Conclusion:
I would recommend this marker to anyone that wants reliability. The extra $75 to $100 bucks you spend will be well worth it in agony spent on lesser markers.
If I’m not too ‘geezed’ by then, I hope to be using it 5 years from now. Or maybe, my son’s or daughter's children will be using it someday. Now if you want to pay ($$$$) for a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range, go buy a Cocker or an Angel.
If you want an excellent, well engineered marker, and still be able to afford a family, this may be the one for you.
quote:Originally posted by Shulacker SERIOUSLY MAN, impy's and angels are 10 times better than an A-5, they're not even comparable, they're in a completely different quality/ price range. Nice review old man, but, u said "The extra $75 to $100 bucks you spend will be well worth it in agony spent on lesser markers" but then why not pay an extra 50 bucks on that to get a '03 WGP autococker (a very nice gun)? I would. other than that, great review.
Hmmm.. a very opinionated person aiming in the wrong direction. You can't seriously mean that the quality of Tippmann is below your electro markers. In winter when all the electro markers aren't even working, the Tippmann keeps going. Drop that nice shinning electro on the ground and it's pretty much useless unlike the Tippy. If the person likes to take the time to learn and constantly maintain a cocker or keep feeding batteries and tuning the electro, then fine. If they want to play without maintenance, then it's the Tippy. If you play Speedball OR if you need the "electro crutch" (something that sprays the most paint in case you aren't a good player) then get an electro.
Bottom line. Tippmann = quality, extremely low maintenance, dependable even with some abuse and bad weather. The glock of the paintball world.
This review is nothing but propaganda nonsense. You need to justify your broad preformance claims about the A-5. Speaking as a former A-5 user this gun is a straight up disappointment and i'll tell you why. 1) it is highly inaccurate and the paint wizzes off in odd directions if it's anything other than hard paint (like marbs) PMI premium the average field paint sucks in this gun 2) If there is a missed feed in the A-5 it turns into a paintball blender. 3) It's slow compared to just about everything else and can only get 11bps tops despite what tippmann says i tested it. 4)It's heavier they the fat girl at the prom compared to other paintball guns 5) It's price is a joke compared to the performance that you'll get out of it buy a BKO (or since most people have to have the flatline) spend an extra hundred and get a freaking impulse. Both of these guns are really fast when upgraded 23-25bps. If you HAVE to have a Tippmann you would be better off getting a 98 Custom the A-5 is a joke.
I guess you could say that I'm a noob still. I've been playing for about 2 years now. Right now I'm on a low budget gun called the Black Maxx. It's about $50 but does me good. I've been looking for a new gun for quite sometime now but I'm not sure what I should get. After seeing a friends A-5 in action yesterday, I was glad to know that he was on my team. This has made me want to look more into the gun. After reading your review I'm almost convinced I should invest in this gun. I'm just wondering how much it weighs. If someone who knows could get back to me that would be great. Thanks guys.
Great review !
Everyone has there own preferences in paintballing,
obviously the A-5 is for the woods baller ,
all the people that talk about cockers are probally speedballers, the A-5 was not designed for speedball obviously,
as the cockers were not designed for jumping over logs and runing throu streams.
so dont criticize the A-5 for its design it was designed for woods balling not speedball.
So i dont see why all these people are sayin buy a cocker for 100$ more in this review.
Iet people have there own opinion, woodballing or speedball just dont mix them up comparing them to the other!
Great Review! but I have a few things to mention.
I played with an A-5 with thr RT.
First of all, this gun has a whole lot of kick back, but then again, it might have been the rt.
This gun is also a gas hog! It gets about 275 shots for an 9 oz, but that's because all of the working parts use the gas.
Tippmans are reliable, but if someone loses or breaks something, it's a major pain. My friend lost his screw tho the grip frame, and one of the sides of the grips fell off.
I still think that tippmanns are great, but I think they still need a few improvements.
quote:Originally posted by Allias120 I guess you could say that I'm a noob still. I've been playing for about 2 years now. Right now I'm on a low budget gun called the Black Maxx. It's about $50 but does me good. I've been looking for a new gun for quite sometime now but I'm not sure what I should get. After seeing a friends A-5 in action yesterday, I was glad to know that he was on my team. This has made me want to look more into the gun. After reading your review I'm almost convinced I should invest in this gun. I'm just wondering how much it weighs. If someone who knows could get back to me that would be great. Thanks guys.
The gun weighs 3.5 lbs. without co2 tank and standard barrel
Very well thought out review. I was feeling regretful about my A5 purchase but you made me realize that I wouldn't trade it for any other gun out there! Review Rating: 10 of 10! Great Job!
quote:Originally posted by player4 Great Review! but I have a few things to mention.
I played with an A-5 with thr RT.
First of all, this gun has a whole lot of kick back, but then again, it might have been the rt.
This gun is also a gas hog! It gets about 275 shots for an 9 oz, but that's because all of the working parts use the gas.
Tippmans are reliable, but if someone loses or breaks something, it's a major pain. My friend lost his screw tho the grip frame, and one of the sides of the grips fell off.
I still think that tippmanns are great, but I think they still need a few improvements.
BY THE WAY the A-5's accuracy is awesome!!!!
completely agree, i personally would go with my autococker any day over the A-5, that doesn't mean the A-5 sucks! it simply means that i really like the lightweight easy trigger pull, and inherent accuracy of the cocker. but the a-5 has its unique ball feeding system, with low pressure it can even be quieter and more accurate then it already is, and with response trigger it can provide superlative RoF. with all these upgrades it would operate at around the performance of an E-blade or Morlock, or Racegun'd Cocker, and there are also many more ways to customize your autococker then an A-5, and more interchangeable parts... im getting a little carried away here, in short stop flaming people who have a different opinion then you, and if you can help simply state your opinion instead of acting like it is law, even if your not flaming. Oh and BTW on the topic of this section EVERY review should be like this one!
