Torpedo, Stock ICD, Works, Gladiator, Kingman
CP Grip reg is the best by far.
Marker Setup:
B2K3
Works E-blade
CenterFlag Screw-in 4500/68
Strengths:
small
bottom inlet
consistent
almost zero-maintenance
Weaknesses:
structure failed when subjected to 4500 psi accidentally (see below)
Review:
All of my guns have to have bottom inlet regs so that I don't have to remove the trigger frame in order to perform maintenance on them. This basically limits my choices to the Sidewinder (too expensive), Gladiator (never worked right, even after rebuild kit), and now the CP Grip reg.
I used a Gladiator for over a year, and it was the biggest headache, so when the CP reg came out, I quickly replaced the Glad with it, and never looked back.
I recently chronoed my B2K with a CP reg on it: 284 284 284 283 284 284 285
I used to use a Conquest system that suffered from the same maladies as the Gladiator. It blew a burst disk while filling when the reg decided to spontaneously transmute into a gas-thru (even though it was turned off!), and I mistakenly grabbed a 7500 BD to replace it. The same problem occured later on that day resulting in 4500 psi going straight into the Grip reg which caused the aluminum to fatigue and the oring that seals the two halves of the reg together popped out and ruptured (thankfully, otherwise the local paintball field would be minus one employee) I threw the Conquest in the trash where it belongs, and put a CenterFlag preset on the old tank, put a bigger o-ring on the CP reg and tried it out again. It still worked. For safety reasons, I'm going to replace the bottom half anyway, but I'm still amazed that it would continue to perform flawlessly after suffering a catastrophic failure.
These things will work great with a minimum of maintenance, and seem to be nearly immune to "dirty air."
I would not use them with CO2 since the seat is a soft plastic that could freeze and therefore leak. I don't really consider this to be a weakness since it was clearly not designed for this gas type.
Conclusion:
I'll never use anything else. I own two (including one of the new Shocktech versions) and am looking to buy two more. A perfect design deserves a perfect score.
The CP is a great regulator, but give the 2K4 Gladiator a try. It is way better than the 2K3 and earlier ones (which were indeed very dirt sensitive) with an internal design very similar to the CP. Reliability is vastly improved and recharge rate is as close to instantaneous as makes any difference. I have run my E2 E-Bladed Evolution X at 23cps, and my front block pressure gauge doesn't even twitch (the air system output gauge was all over the shop!)
The CP regulator is available in four different lengths. These length variations come about because of different components used to assemble them, namely whether they have a built in macro line fitting or not, and whether they are threaded for pressure gauges or not. Two of the four CP regulator set-ups *are* fitted with outlet ports for a pressure gauge. However, even with the threaded ports, the reg is not actually fitted with gauge. You have to purchase this separately and fit it yourself.
There is a small screw on the side of the reg, towards the bottom. Turn the screw in to reduce the output pressure, turn it out to increase the pressure.
Last edited on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 11:45 am PST
