Tippman A-5 Vs Dragun T.E.S?

[Master-Duo]

Im planning on selling my old marker, (Tippman 98c w/ Response Trigger, drop Block) and getting a newer marker.

Ive looked at three different markers, read the pros and the cons.

(These are a few on the pros and cons)

Ive only experienced the A-5, seen it in action with only a 10'' Barrel upgrade. Supurb from what I've seen

Spyder E99 Avant -
Pro:
E- Marker
Worth the Price
Con:
Plastic Grip
Not so great Accuracy
Breakable

Tippman A-5 -
Pro:
No Chopping
Accurate
Fast
Practically Indestructable (Not including Cyclone Attachment)
Easy to Assemble/Disassemble
Con:
Loud
Weak Manual-cyclone spinner
Bulky
Heavy ( I didnt think so )

Dragun T.E.S (Tactical Electronic Sniper)
Pro:
Silent
Accurate
Nearly no chopping
Con:
Very breakable
Eye doesnt work with Dark paint
Manufacturing problems
Plastic Grip

So far I've ruled out the Avant, because I've seen a friend try to manualy take his appart and had it explode (losing a lot of pieces). The A-5 has had near to no problems, only thing I've found that I havent liked was the size and the bulky-ness of it. The A-5 is more geared towards Field-play while the T.E.S is geared towards speedball. Now I plan on playing both very frequently, and the 98 doesnt cut it for me during Speedball. (Im not trying to cut it down or anything, But that's just my experiences with it so far). I am wondering which would be a better marker for the money and for quality.

[Gothmog]

The A-5 is a tank and I love the hopper on it but it is quite bad at speedball type games. The T.E.S. much much better in speedball and just as good at woodsball provided you take care of it. Both would benefit from an aftermarket barrel and the TES needs a decent electronic(or q) loader.
There's really nothing wrong with the E-99. My first spyder "exploded", too. You've learned through your friend not to just pull out the strip pin so you can gaurd against it should you ever get a spyder.

Go to your local shop and try them out.

Alternatively, you can get Tippmann-like reliability and very good speedball perfomance out of a 'Mag. Look into those if you haven't already.

[spyder_king06]

I say you get none of those and go with the imagine. I love my spyder and the imagine is much cheaper than the e-99, but its much cheaper, and they both have the same performance.

[camoman5000]

I have yet to recommend a T.E.S, and I'm not about to.

Tippmann is a wonderful company to deal with, and they put out good products. The A-5 is a wonderful gun, however, i do think it is a tad bit over priced just for a mech blowback hyped up version of a 98 Custom.

Since the T.E.S is just a hyped up Spyder, I'd say just go with the Spyder or the A-5. I don't care about that eye, or the "20 bps capabilities"..I'm just not a Dragun kinda guy.

[Master-Duo]

Ive read a forum earlier a couple days ago saying that someone else should buy the 'Mag as well. I've never seen one in action so far, and haven't heard to much about it.

As for the Markers go, is it possible that I could keep this 'Mag under $350?

The only think that I haven't liked about the T.E.S is the plastic grip, is there something I could possibly fix that with? (and how much money if possible?)

The Tippman is a reliable gun, and its very hard to break, but its a bit to bulky for a speedball match.

As for the Spyder Imagine, which one of you have mentioned to purchase instead of a E99, how much did your marker cost and all of it's upgrades?
I know one other person with a Spyder Imagine, and He just bought a new J&J 10'' (or 14?) Ceramic Barrel.

[paintballr87]

I would say keep with your 98 custom, get a nice barrel for it, an cutomize it ( dont go for the a-5 all it really has is the cyclone feed which is a waste of gas and if you want fast loading get a halo tsa {highly recommended } or a emipre reloader). or for a different gun in the spyder clone range, you cna find a few nice spyder amgs on the forums here or maybe a pirhana evo which has break beam eyes so no chops ever.

EDIT: (didnt see his last post) you can find a very nice used mag for that price and mags are tanks like a tippman but even better with great customer service, and if you have a problem with it all that it takes is an oring or oiling to fix them ( I know from experiance I own one very nice) A mag would be my choice and to find some nice deal on then I would try the sale forums here at www.automags.org (http://www.automags.org/forums/) this site is also filled with mag info so good luck.

[Master-Duo]

The Bushmaster BKO has just come to my attention, as well the 'Mags. The Mags are a bit expensive, and the BKO is up there as well.

The BKO's seem to have better accuracy, durability, but sensitive to sand/dirt.

Not so sure on how to take these markers, but I thank all of you who took your time to read this thread and to vote (VOTE MORE!).

But it seems like the T.E.S would be my preffered choice, because I live near a shop called "GDX" which is also known as "Team-Activision". Their members have offered me the marker as well a custom tune up job on the trigger to increase the sensitivity of the pull. Hey, even a few of the players use the T.E.S, with massive mods on the barrels and feed systems.

If anyone wants a link to the BKO Threads on Quality and Price its here. (http://www.pbreview.com/products/reviews/1243/)

[loki1232]

Classic mag is 185 on paintballgateway. Just add a barrel and drop and you have an awesome gun for less than 300.

But the BKO is faster so it comes down to whether you want an electro or mech.

[nsto119]

I'm gonna have to reccomend the Imagine also. I know it's not one of your first choices, but it's much less expensive than the e-99, and just as good. With the money you save you can buy some upgrades, like a new barrel.

[paintballer42o]

My friend has a TES and its not workin out too well, and the A-5 blows away the avant.

[Master-Duo]

lol thanks for all the help, but i JUST got the TES.

So far No problems at all, very easy to use and so far the only problem is memorizing all the electric settings and stuff.

For 20$ i can get a twitch switch which is alot better, along with my boomstick, all i need is a ricochet hopper and im set :)

No balls exploding in the chamber so far :D

[jester33]

two of my friends have up'd a5s and another has a tes and the a5 is more for woods while my friend uses his tes for woods and speedball and it works well more for speedball though