Tippman 98 - Although a comfortable fit in my hands, the 98 doesn't shoot as fast as the e-99, even when it's on Semi, but the stock 98 is more accuate then the stock Avant.
Spyder Xtra - The E-99 shoots faster and is more accurate.
Triton - This gun jsut doesn't have the looks of the Avant. The Triton is slower, but remarkably, seems more accurate.
Marker Setup:
Everything is stock
20 oz CO2
-I plan on upgrading this gun to it's fullest potential, but since I have a low budget, it will take time.
Recommended Upgrades:
New Barrel; the stock will make balls curve after about 25 yards.
Empire Reloader; a cheap Agitated hopper that can keep up with the guns 14 BPS.
For Full Auto Mode, get a ViewLoader or a Halo hopper. It would be worth it to save $20 more for a hopper that can handle Full Auto.
Strengths:
see below
Weaknesses:
see below
Review:
Before I start let me say this: After a full week of finding a gun that would be both perfect and unique in the field of battle, I decided to order a Spyder Rodeo from a website. A week later, I receive this gun instead, and all I searched for was lost and in vain; but I can say with confidence I'm glad they screwed up and I have this gun instead.
Strengths_
-Very Upgradeable.
-Comfortable
-Good looks; milling is unique
-3 Burst works fine without a new hopper
-Is quiet compared to other guns (I like loud though)
-Stock barrel works fine. Just find a good ball-to-bore match and it'll shoot straight. Trust me.
Weaknesses_
-The LED Lights make you a glowing target at night. Just put some electric tape inside of the trigger handle to hide it (just keep a small amoutn exposed so yo can see it).
-Stock barrel seems to curve after 25 yards (it's a stock barrel though)[EDIT] Never mind, the stock barrel is quite good.
-This gun NEEDS an electric hopper (not Viewloader 9v, the VL won't keep up, trust me) for Full-Auto mode. Unless your close enough that the broken balls will hit the opponent, then plan on spending $45-70 more for a new hopper.
Shooting Modes:
Semi- The trigger can keep up with as fast as you can pull your finger.
3-Burst- With a normal hopper, the 3-Burst can keep up, and is very cool when it hits your opponents. Since my friends and I play 2-shot death, this makes it very convenient for me to pull the trigger once and get that guy out.
Full Auto - I can't really say. I need to purchase a new hopper to see it's true potential. After the fourth or fifth ball is shot, every other ball start to break like mad. When I get a new hopper, I'll update this.
Accuracy:
After about 25 yards, the ball will curve. it's not a dramatic curve that will hit the targets mate who is 5 yards away, but is enough to to get pissed off over when the ball barely misses him. I fiddled with the velocity a bit and when it seems to be perfect, the ball will curve again.
I've played at night in the cold, and it shot fair.
After I get a new barrel I'll update this portion.
Range:
If I haven't said this enough: 25 yards. I'm both the guy who will hide in the mountains and the guy who will bumrush you. I was in the mountains and there as a guy across a valley (around 50 yards away). In order to even come close to him, I had to rainbow (arch) my shots. Only 1 out of every 5 would come close.
After I get a new barrel I'll update this portion.
Consistency:
Full tank- Very consistent; the balls don't land to far away from eachother when they land
Near Empty - The balls will go a shorter distance. Nothing to extreme, but just something you would notice when shooting from the mountains.
Gas Usage:
With a 20 Oz CO2 tank, I was able to shoot around 7/200 hopper (1400 paintballs) full tanks before I had to refill. From what I understand, that is very good.
Appearance:
This gun looks very sharp and will catch some eyes. The gun has uses a non-reflective paint so you won't have any worries in the woods. I have the green Avant, and it seems to get more attention then those pure black guns.
Maintenence:
After every round, all I have to do is clean the barrel and hopper, and wipe the bolt. Easy considering it's an electronic hopper. That or maybe I'm too scared to clean the internals. Ah well.
[Edit]: After a few hundred shots, the bolt will start to scratch the gun and the bolt itself, so I recommend sanding it down. Check otterscustoms.com for details.
Paintballs:
Blue Streaks - Work fine for $20/1,000
Super Swirls - These are a pretty good ball-to-bore match.
PMI Big Balls - Not my favorite, didn't work to well in the cold. Actually, they worked horribly in the cold.
Kick N It Paintballs - These balls in my opinion were the best, although a little small.
Battery Life:
This was one of the factors I was afraid of, but now I see no reason to be scared. The gun won't run if a battery is dead; neither full-auto or semi. Not to worry, the battery life should last anywhere from 10-12,000 shots according to the manual. And if the battery does die, just throw in any old 9v battery ($2) and call it good. It takes 22 hours to completely recharge with the wall charger, but only 2 hours for the uber-top speed of the car charger.
Conclusion:
All in all, the weaknesses are nothing to worry over after a few adjustmens. I'm glad I got this gun instead of a Rodeo or an Imagine. It's better then a 98 Custom and after a few upgrades, this gun shoots kick major amounts of ass.
I plan on buying a Lapco Bigshot and a Viewloader EvLution II (15 BPS!!), so when I recieve and test those out, I'll update on this guns greatness.
I hope this helps you on your marker-buying desicion. Maybe this will save you the hours I've spent on looking at guns.
Rating:
8 out of 10
Last edited on Sunday, February 22nd, 2004 at 1:02 pm PST
The LED is quite bright; however, a solution to this is the APP Spyder Stikeez Paintball Grip, which only leaves a small portion of the grip transparent. I would recommend lubricating the bolt after every game. Gun lubricant works well, but if you don't have any of that you can just as easily use cooking oil (not sure of any long term effects, if this damages your gun its not my fault.) I also recommend cleaning your gun inside and out after every game, paint has a knack for getting into the strangest places in paintball guns, especially if you have a break. Pertaining to the feed neck, you definitely want a new one, there are aluminum feed necks that I recommend purchasing. I had to saw off the top of my stock feed neck to get at the screws. If you buy the aluminum feed neck that I talked about earlier you still need to buy those plastic adapters, but those are cheap and easily replaceable. If anyone needs one of the aluminum feed necks i have one that is brand new and still in its package, just post a comment on this review and I'll respond ASAP.
quote:Originally posted by spyderlover6mil Stock 98 more accurate than stock avant? U STUPID?!?!? 98 has an 6 INCH BAREEL the avant has a 12INCH BARREL
