What is so Bad About Blowback Markers?

[Evil_Empire]

What is so bad about blowback markers such as a Spyder Electra, Spyder TL-X, Spyder Pilot ect. What makes blowback so bad, what are the disadvantages of having a blowback system in your marker?

[Mentalmonkey10]

Compared to EP's...
More kick, higher pressure, lowder, rougher on paintballs (i think, because of the pressure), also, you have less control on tuning a blowback.

Also, now, you can find EP's (like the Ion) as cheap or cheaper than some blowbacks.

[soccerjacks12]

Well, Spyders suck:D
But BBs are beginning to die out, not technology-wise, but because of the low-priced EPs coming out. But BBs for the most part are easier to maintain, simpler and cheaper. So there's not much bad about BBs if you can get them for cheap.

[kwalski]

"blowback" refers to when extra co2 blows back up the feedneck and into the hopper, moving your paintballs around violently and usually breaking them. thats why those plastic spyder feednecks have little holes in them, and thats why you hear of people "porting" their feedneck

[Evil_Empire]

So would you waste money on upgrading a blowback, or would you just save for an EP? Because I am thinking of just buying a good hopper which I can use on my blowback and then on my EP and I can just save up for EP...I was just wondering if blowback markers are even worth upgrading...

[Mentalmonkey10]

So would you waste money on upgrading a blowback, or would you just save for an EP? Because I am thinking of just buying a good hopper which I can use on my blowback and then on my EP and I can just save up for EP...I was just wondering if blowback markers are even worth upgrading...

Get EP. BB's can be upgraded to be "good" guns, but after the amount of money you put into it to make it a "good" marker, you could have a used Timmy, Promaster, or uped Ion on your hands.

[CapnCrunch]

"blowback" refers to when extra co2 blows back up the feedneck and into the hopper, moving your paintballs around violently and usually breaking them. thats why those plastic spyder feednecks have little holes in them, and thats why you hear of people "porting" their feedneck
No, they're called blowbacks because the air blows the hammer/bolt assembly back.

[Evil_Empire]

Doesnt it do both?

[kwalski]

yes

[Mentalmonkey10]

Doesnt it do both?

Yes, blowback refers to the air blown up the feedneck and the style of a marker.

[CapnCrunch]

Yes, but its called a blowback because of its operation.

[stuntman]

As stated earlier, blowback refers to the mechanical action of the bolt. Dont think that all blowback guns arent good though, as some high end markers operate on the same basic principle, including Intimidators & Egos.
The difference is in the details, with the high-end guns using higher quality materials & manufacturing processes, as well as more complicated valves & trigger systems.
The nice thing about blowbacks (especially mechanical ones) is that they are very easy to clean, maintain & adjust, making them popular with new players who are just learning how to play and arent ready to plop down $500 quite yet. They use long proven technology, making parts cheap & easy to find.
So there is nothing "wrong" with guns like Spyders, as long as you dont expect them to perform at a level they werent designed too. (I keep a Spyder Rodeo in my gear box as a loaner / backup.)

[GranDream]

Shoot a blowback and then shoot an electropneumatic gun and it will answer the question for you.

[Elite virus]

Shooting an EP I virtually feel no recoil compared to a BB. But to me owning a blowback doesnt feel that bad at all.

[Ice Marine]

Yes, but its called a blowback because of its operation.

Exactly. They're called blowback guns because they used the extra air to return the bolt/striker into "ready" position not because air blows up the feedneck. While this happens on most blowbacks, it's not the reason for the name.

Look at the old automags and old guns. They were powerfeed because blowback up the feedneck was really bad. Having a powerfeed allows the air to escape w/out pushing the paintball back up into the hopper. Yet, an automag isn't a blowback -- it's a blowfoward design.

[comando345]

They don't require regulation or nitro to function properly and generally come with a poor barrel causing the illusion of inaccuracy. They are slower, but for woodsball players there really isn't a meaningful difference. In addition most blowbacks are manufactured with poor quality parts which leads to degraded performance. I would like to see real scientific study on the subject, but suspect I already know what the outcome would be.

[Sheps]

They don't require regulation or nitro to function properly and generally come with a poor barrel causing the illusion of inaccuracy. They are slower, but for woodsball players there really isn't a meaningful difference. In addition most blowbacks are manufactured with poor quality parts which leads to degraded performance. I would like to see real scientific study on the subject, but suspect I already know what the outcome would be.

I'd expect a Blowback made out of decent quality metal and well-machined parts to perform pretty well; it would probably still be noticably worse than a Timmy or something along those lines, but it would likely be a large step up from the average Kingman marker.

[comando345]

I would bet it would be just as accurate at any practical ROF, especially if the components were made of quality aluminum instead of cheap steel.