MisterMister
05-08-2007, 01:15 AM
Well I have been playing paintball on and off since the mid 1990s. Lately I have gotten back into the sport with a vengeance. Over the past 2 years I have spend thousands of dollars on markers, mods, and paint. One of my FAVORITE things to buy for my markers, however, are barrels.
I have literally owned DOZENS of different barrels, and have shot at least twice as many as I have owned (one of which I ended up buying because I liked it so much, but more on that later)...
Anyway, I thought I would share my past experience with you guys. I know there are about a billion "what barrel should I buy" and "what barrel is better" threads floating around and being started every day. So, I figured I would answer all of these threads and preemptively answer all the forthcoming threads all at once.
To make this easy on you, I will list the top THREE barrels of all time (IMO, of course). Keep in mind that these are listed in no particular order. All of the following barrels have their own strengths and I like them for different and varying reasons. ANY of which, however, would serve you VERY well as your primary or even your ONLY barrel.
First up is...
The Dye Ultra-Lite:
This is a GREAT all around barrel. It is very light (as light as aluminum barrels get. EVER.), and very sturdy. You can swing this around in the woods and not have to worry about denting or dinging it on the tree next to you. Of course because it's made by Dye you know it’s going to be a top quality product, but its more then the sum of its parts. This is a 2 piece barrel which shoots straight and doesn’t compromise performance for anything else. You don’t even really need to paint match this barrel... which is good because they only make 3 different sized backs. If you are going to get ONE back, stick with the standard .688 version. This will properly shoot just about anything you can throw at it. If you must, go ahead and get the larger and smaller (then the .688) backs, but they wont be used very much unless you use some really odd sized paint.
Of course, if you are the type who MUST properly size their paint no matter what, and wants every last ounce of performance out of their barrel, this one might not be for you. If that’s the case then you want...
The Deadlywind Whisper Carbon-Fiber barrel:
This has got to be the most accurate barrel I have EVER used. Given that it uses Freak inserts, you can properly paint to barrel match ANY size paint no matter what. Just select the proper size insert, slap it in the barrel and shoot away! You will be spot on every time with your shots. This is a barrel for that guy who MUST get EVERY last drop of performance out of his marker. Plus this thing is LIGHT. Even with the heavier (then the aluminum) Stainless Steel Freak inserts, its lighter then the Stiffi Carbon-Fiber barrel (which is super light in it's own right. Lighter then the Dye Ultra-Lite in fact!). Just how light is this barrel? Well, the entire barrel in 14" form, is LIGHTER then ONE Freak insert! That’s right, the barrel is LIGHTER then the INSERT! It's simply AMAZING. This barrel will also shoot through just about ANYTHING. 2 to 3 shots will clear it out to the point that its shooting like you never had a break. Oh, and one other bonus... you can swab this thing with whatever you want. Unlike every other Carbon-Fiber barrel, it won’t catch it's fiber weave on soft material swabs, making it unravel.
The only downsides to this barrel is the cost (100 bucks for the barrel + whatever you want to spend on inserts) and the fact that you have to constantly switch inserts to get the best paint to barrel match. If that’s not exactly your cup of tea then there is a better choice for you. That, being...
The Palmer-Pursuit Shop Brass Barrel:
This is the ULTIMATE "one shot wonder" barrel! If you only own ONE barrel, make it THIS barrel. It is a single piece barrel which doesn’t use any inserts or anything else. It doesn’t NEED to. This barrel will shoot as well as any properly paint to barrel matched KIT. You read that right, the PPS Brass Barrel will shoot as well as an entire barrel KIT, WITHOUT needing to switch out backs, barrels or inserts! How does it do this? The PPS Brass is "elliptically honed". This means that the bore of the barrel tapers from large to small and back again. This ensures that no matter what size paint you use it gets a proper barrel size match at some point. This allows the PPS Brass barrel to shoot just as well as any properly paint to bore matched, high end barrel. To top it all off, this can be the CHEAPEST barrel of the trio... by FAR. In fact, the least expensive version of the PPS Brass barrel only costs $45.00 USD! And the only difference between the least and most expensive versions of the barrel is only cosmetic! They ALL perform EXACTLY THE SAME! That’s right, the 45 dollar version shoots just as well as the 115 dollar version! The price adding options include the finish coating (the color of the exterior of the barrel), and porting (AKA "venting". The spiral drilled venting holes only decrease sound levels, and do NOTHING in terms of performance one way or another!).
The only down side to this barrel is it's weight. It’s heavier then the other barrels listed (by a lot by Deadlywind standards), but it’s not a super pig. It’s actually lighter then a Dye Hammer-Head barrel back! So unless you are SUPER sensitive to weight, have the arm strength of a 6 year old girl with leukemia, or MUST have the LIGHTEST marker on the block, this shouldn’t matter much to you. Especially considering what this barrel does for you!
Well, there you have it. My top 3 barrels, why I like them, why you should like them, and why you might not want them. I hope this helps some of you make that decision on "which is better" or "what barrel should I buy". I know if I had someone with my experience telling me this stuff 2 years ago, I would have saved a LOT of time and MONEY. That is for DAMN sure. I can only hope the same goes for you.
-joe
QUICK LINKS:
Palmer-Pursuit Shop Brass Barrel:
http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/online-catalog/barrels.htm
https://www.palmer-pursuit.com/ecom/index.php/cPath/60?
Deadlywind Whisper Carbon-Fiber Barrel:
http://www.deadlywind.com/
http://store.deadlywind.com/product/a52da757-bb49-4c95-891b-4e1953742e12.aspx
Dye Ultra-Lite Aluminum Barrel:
http://www.dyeprecision.com/productsmain.asp
http://www.pbreview.com/products/reviews/493/
I have literally owned DOZENS of different barrels, and have shot at least twice as many as I have owned (one of which I ended up buying because I liked it so much, but more on that later)...
Anyway, I thought I would share my past experience with you guys. I know there are about a billion "what barrel should I buy" and "what barrel is better" threads floating around and being started every day. So, I figured I would answer all of these threads and preemptively answer all the forthcoming threads all at once.
To make this easy on you, I will list the top THREE barrels of all time (IMO, of course). Keep in mind that these are listed in no particular order. All of the following barrels have their own strengths and I like them for different and varying reasons. ANY of which, however, would serve you VERY well as your primary or even your ONLY barrel.
First up is...
The Dye Ultra-Lite:
This is a GREAT all around barrel. It is very light (as light as aluminum barrels get. EVER.), and very sturdy. You can swing this around in the woods and not have to worry about denting or dinging it on the tree next to you. Of course because it's made by Dye you know it’s going to be a top quality product, but its more then the sum of its parts. This is a 2 piece barrel which shoots straight and doesn’t compromise performance for anything else. You don’t even really need to paint match this barrel... which is good because they only make 3 different sized backs. If you are going to get ONE back, stick with the standard .688 version. This will properly shoot just about anything you can throw at it. If you must, go ahead and get the larger and smaller (then the .688) backs, but they wont be used very much unless you use some really odd sized paint.
Of course, if you are the type who MUST properly size their paint no matter what, and wants every last ounce of performance out of their barrel, this one might not be for you. If that’s the case then you want...
The Deadlywind Whisper Carbon-Fiber barrel:
This has got to be the most accurate barrel I have EVER used. Given that it uses Freak inserts, you can properly paint to barrel match ANY size paint no matter what. Just select the proper size insert, slap it in the barrel and shoot away! You will be spot on every time with your shots. This is a barrel for that guy who MUST get EVERY last drop of performance out of his marker. Plus this thing is LIGHT. Even with the heavier (then the aluminum) Stainless Steel Freak inserts, its lighter then the Stiffi Carbon-Fiber barrel (which is super light in it's own right. Lighter then the Dye Ultra-Lite in fact!). Just how light is this barrel? Well, the entire barrel in 14" form, is LIGHTER then ONE Freak insert! That’s right, the barrel is LIGHTER then the INSERT! It's simply AMAZING. This barrel will also shoot through just about ANYTHING. 2 to 3 shots will clear it out to the point that its shooting like you never had a break. Oh, and one other bonus... you can swab this thing with whatever you want. Unlike every other Carbon-Fiber barrel, it won’t catch it's fiber weave on soft material swabs, making it unravel.
The only downsides to this barrel is the cost (100 bucks for the barrel + whatever you want to spend on inserts) and the fact that you have to constantly switch inserts to get the best paint to barrel match. If that’s not exactly your cup of tea then there is a better choice for you. That, being...
The Palmer-Pursuit Shop Brass Barrel:
This is the ULTIMATE "one shot wonder" barrel! If you only own ONE barrel, make it THIS barrel. It is a single piece barrel which doesn’t use any inserts or anything else. It doesn’t NEED to. This barrel will shoot as well as any properly paint to barrel matched KIT. You read that right, the PPS Brass Barrel will shoot as well as an entire barrel KIT, WITHOUT needing to switch out backs, barrels or inserts! How does it do this? The PPS Brass is "elliptically honed". This means that the bore of the barrel tapers from large to small and back again. This ensures that no matter what size paint you use it gets a proper barrel size match at some point. This allows the PPS Brass barrel to shoot just as well as any properly paint to bore matched, high end barrel. To top it all off, this can be the CHEAPEST barrel of the trio... by FAR. In fact, the least expensive version of the PPS Brass barrel only costs $45.00 USD! And the only difference between the least and most expensive versions of the barrel is only cosmetic! They ALL perform EXACTLY THE SAME! That’s right, the 45 dollar version shoots just as well as the 115 dollar version! The price adding options include the finish coating (the color of the exterior of the barrel), and porting (AKA "venting". The spiral drilled venting holes only decrease sound levels, and do NOTHING in terms of performance one way or another!).
The only down side to this barrel is it's weight. It’s heavier then the other barrels listed (by a lot by Deadlywind standards), but it’s not a super pig. It’s actually lighter then a Dye Hammer-Head barrel back! So unless you are SUPER sensitive to weight, have the arm strength of a 6 year old girl with leukemia, or MUST have the LIGHTEST marker on the block, this shouldn’t matter much to you. Especially considering what this barrel does for you!
Well, there you have it. My top 3 barrels, why I like them, why you should like them, and why you might not want them. I hope this helps some of you make that decision on "which is better" or "what barrel should I buy". I know if I had someone with my experience telling me this stuff 2 years ago, I would have saved a LOT of time and MONEY. That is for DAMN sure. I can only hope the same goes for you.
-joe
QUICK LINKS:
Palmer-Pursuit Shop Brass Barrel:
http://www.palmer-pursuit.com/online-catalog/barrels.htm
https://www.palmer-pursuit.com/ecom/index.php/cPath/60?
Deadlywind Whisper Carbon-Fiber Barrel:
http://www.deadlywind.com/
http://store.deadlywind.com/product/a52da757-bb49-4c95-891b-4e1953742e12.aspx
Dye Ultra-Lite Aluminum Barrel:
http://www.dyeprecision.com/productsmain.asp
http://www.pbreview.com/products/reviews/493/