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pbReview.com / Smart Parts Vibe / Smart Parts Vibe / Smart Parts Vibe / Smart Parts Vibe
Smart Parts Vibe Reviews
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Number of Reviews: |
43 |
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Average Rating: |
9.0 / 10 |
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Manufacturer Website: |
Click here |
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Suggested Retail Price: |
$140 |
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Low price, high performance. Entry level used to mean low performance, but once again Smart Parts changed the game. The Vibe brings the smooth, accurate, fast shooting performance of true low pressure electropneumatic operation to even first time players with its unbeatable entry level price. The new Vibe works flawlessly with CO2, Compressed air, or nitrogen so if you only have access to CO2 then this is a great gun for you. Check out the long list of features below.
Smart Parts Vibe Features:
Hammer free design means that even beginning players can now afford a marker with tournament level performance, durability, and simple maintenance.
Protection provided by the Vibe's all-new Max Flow R Vertical Regulator means that it is safe from the dangers of liquid CO2.
Weight (marker only): 1 lb. 11 oz.
Length (w/out barrel): 8.75 in.
Operating Pressure: 180psi
Gas Source: HPA or CO2
Anti-Chop System: Low force bolt
Trigger Pivot: Stainless steel pin
Ball Detent: Dual rubber style
Semi auto (11bps cap), Three Shot Burst (11bps), and Full Auto (11bps) firing modes
Max Rate of fire: 11bps
Field legal mode lock (Semi Auto)
Runs on one 9 volt battery
Standard ASA included
One piece 10 inch barrel
Feedneck: Vertical clamping
Aluminum receiver/bolt
Glass fiber reinforced nylon grip frame/body |
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| Product Availability | |
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| The Smart Parts Vibe is newer, so it should be commonly available, both new and used. Check out the Places to Buy links below for places to purchase it new. |
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| Places to Buy | |
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Dogg3r |
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Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 33 of 38 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Automag Classic, Phantom Pump, Ion, Shocker, Ego 07. The Vibe feels like a loose ION at 1/2 the cost. |
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| Marker Setup: |
07 Dust Black Ego w/ Zick
Pulse w/ RF Chip
Barrels
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| Strengths: |
Price, "Bolt-Out-The-Back" design, size and simplicity. |
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| Weaknesses: |
It is an Air Hog. Trigger Pull needs work. |
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| Review: |
You cannot beat the price and it's very simple to maintain.
If you want to play tournaments and hardcore speedball, then get an Ion/Shocker/DM/Ego or whatever. This is a great recreational gun for the price.
For under $150 you have a gun that is enough for how most people play.
The only upgrade I will say is a barrel.
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| Conclusion: |
If you're new to the sport, buy this gun and save a lot of money. Spend it on paint and learn how to aim. Buy a better gun next year if you need to.
For the experienced players, this is not a bad gun. Maybe something to give to a friend that you brought to play, or as a good backup to the recreational player. |
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| Rating: |
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krebs |
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Saturday, January 26th, 2008 |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 18 of 18 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Smart Parts Impulse - Very similar in design and function. Vibe is smaller and lighter though. The Vibe also shoots very well on C02. |
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| Marker Setup: |
Smart Parts Vibe - Linear Barrel.
Tippmann A5 - Empire Barrel Kit, Palmers Stabalizer, Lapco Drop.
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
1.) New barrel, the stock one is very large bore thus the paint seems to float around a lot upon exiting the barrel. Quality in barrels in this price range can't be expected from what I've found.
2.) Eletronic Hopper if you shoot fast. This gun has very little recoil compared to my A5 and most guns in its price range, so a gravity fed hopper doesn't really work perfectly.
3.) Anything else is really just up to your style of play. |
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| Strengths: |
Price!!!
Low noise
Shootability on C02
Excellent size and weight
Simplicity of design. |
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| Weaknesses: |
The battery that came from the factory died before I got through a whole hopper. |
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| Review: |
Here it is people.
This gun costs $140 new....keep that in mind.
It outshoots every other gun i've shot in its price range. I'm comparing this to Tippmanns and Spyders of course, they seem to be the dominating guns in this price range. It is quiet, fairly fast, easy to clean, shoots good on C02, looks pretty sweet in my opinion. However, the Vibe is by no means a top of the line, 30+ balls per second, borrow your rich Daddy's credit card, mulitple shot selecting, Compress Air only, work of metal art, comes with a sweet barrel, gun....
However, that is not what it was designed for. The Vibe was designed for people like me, people on a budget who need a gun that shoots well on C02 because thats all we can get. People who would like a small quiet light weight gun but could never afford it before. Seriously though, if you shoot guns in this price range this will be the best gun you have ever shot. Smart Parts is going to sell a million of these sweet little babies, and I'm just glad I got mine first.
Comparing this to my A5
- Trigger pull is lighter
- Half the noise level
- I'd say half the weight
- 3/4 of the size
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| Conclusion: |
This is a great gun, I'm going to buy another one. It really just comes down to your style of play though and also what your budget is. You also have to keep in mind that this gun will probably be fairly upgradable once aftermarket parts start coming out. If you want a great gun that shoots good on C02, is very quite, very compact, can shoot 11bps, and is extremely affordable this is the gun for you.
I'm going to give this gun a 10 because to me I think its the best gun you can get for $140. Its not heaven on earth, but for a $140 its at least pergatory.
I appologize for all my spelling mistakes, I'm no spelling B champ and spell check isn't working for me. |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 12 of 14 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
1st generation Shocker, Spyder Imagine |
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| Marker Setup: |
SP Vibe
SP 14"Linear Barrel
PMI Pure Energy 48/3000 HPA Tank
BT-4 Combat
Apex Barrel
BT Adj Carbine Stock
VL VLocity select force hopper |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
Barrel
Motorized Hopper |
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| Strengths: |
Quiet, Accurate, Price |
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| Weaknesses: |
None |
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| Review: |
I bought this marker because I needed a good cheap electro marker. I was very impressed with the Vibe. First of all this marker is very quiet. I got several people out before they knew what direction they were getting shot from. The marker has a 11 bps cap, but that is more then enough for most rec players.It has pretty good accuracy. I could get pretty good groupings with it. The marker can use both compressed air and CO2. I used compressed air. Remember that the marker is already set up to accept CO2 to change it to compressed air just open the grip remove the battery then put the battery back on while pressing down on the power button. The button will blink twice indicating it is set to HPA mode. If you are using compressed air and don't do this you will eat though your gas. It is pretty air efficent once it is set correctly. Finally I shot through a full case of paint, and did not break a ball with this marker.
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| Conclusion: |
This marker is great for all those rec ball players on a budget, or a player just starting out that wants to get a electro marker. |
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| Rating: |
| 10 out of 10 | Last edited on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 6:50 am PST |
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marco11 |
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Monday, December 31st, 2007 |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 9 of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Similar
Products Used: |
tested an ion |
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| Marker Setup: |
smart parts vibe
47/3000 compressed air
empire reloader ll |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
none |
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| Strengths: |
Price,size,nice body,runs on co2 or compressed air,quiet,and easy to maintain |
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| Weaknesses: |
No upgrades out |
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| Review: |
Ilove this gun its small which is perfect for me since i run the snake
it is cheap but works perfect for any rec player
i shot about 1000 balls the first day and didnt chop once
does not need any upgrades to play
but there really isnt any out anyway |
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| Conclusion: |
I love this gun it feels great on the field
if ur looking for a gun cheap and good look into a vibe |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 9 of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Similar
Products Used: |
tippman 98 ion |
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| Marker Setup: |
stock smart parts vibe |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
barrel hopper |
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| Strengths: |
Small 11bps bolt out back auto cocking |
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| Weaknesses: |
Feed neck needs tightend |
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| Review: |
I got this gun used off ebay and used it in a game and loved it. This gun is cheap and can get 11 to 15 bps. You need to get a better hopper that feeds faster. I thought the gun was quite and light weight. I would ajust triggerand feed neck |
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| Conclusion: |
This gun is for beginners or some one looking for a good gun cheap |
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| Rating: |
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Umgar |
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Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| 6 months | 8 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Ion
Impulse
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Ion with too many upgrades to list... |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
Barrel, compressed air, maybe a new feedneck [see review], remote line if you are even thinking about going CO2 [not recommended... see review] |
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| Strengths: |
Price ~ Performance ratio
Durable (maybe not the trigger).
Easy maintenance - bolt out the back.
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| Weaknesses: |
Stock barrel
Unreliable on CO2 [see review].
feedneck [see review]. |
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| Review: |
I purchased this gun as a backup marker to my Ion which loves to misbehave at the most inopportune times and also to have a 2nd electro to lend to friends who want to come play. The most obvious thing this marker has going for it is its great price - $140 for a high performance electronic marker by Smart Parts makes complaining about the thing difficult. If you are upgrading from a CO2 marker or this is your first paintball marker you will be very happy.
There are a few areas that this marker falls short, but they are easily fixed with after-market purchases if you so chose. In order of severity, here are what I see as the biggest shortcomings of the Vibe after playing with it on and off for 6 months:
1) CO2 performance is spotty at best. The gun will work on CO2, but it will not work well. You will easily be able to cause the Vibe to freeze up by shooting a few strings of quick shots. I first ran my Vibe with a 20oz CO2 directly attached and was appalled to find that a single 10-20 ball burst was usually enough to freeze up the gun due to liquid CO2. I had to pause for about 10 seconds to let the reg warm back up before firing again. Running the Vibe on a remote is not much better, you will get more shots before freezing but continued fire will still freeze up the reg. I highly suggest you run the vibe on compressed air, you will get more consistent velocity and better reliability in-game.
2) The stock barrel of the Ion is too short for most people. Not a lot of elaboration needed here - the barrel is very short [10 inches], not very high quality, and is just not adequate for serious play. Fortunately this is an easy fix - the Vibe takes Ion threaded barrels so pick up a good two-piece Ion barrel off ebay for $20.
3) Last gripe that is easily fixable is the feedneck. The feedneck on the Vibe locks with allen wrenches. That's fine if you leave your hopper attached to your marker at all times, but most like the flexibility to easily remove their hopper between games. If the feedneck is an issue for you buy an after-market clamping neck such a Q-lock.
There are other issues I could point out about the Vibe but let's refer back to my first point about this marker - it's $140. At some point, you get what you pay for. If you need a marker that shoots faster, has better electronics, or more shiny features then you need to look at markers at the true "high end" spectrum of electronic markers. |
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| Conclusion: |
For most players the Vibe is more than adequate as a reliable, fast, and accurate paintball marker provided you take my advice on compressed air and the barrel. You'll be hard pressed to find a marker less than $200 that out-performs the Vibe.
As a player who uses this as a backup I have to say this marker has performed it's duties admirably. I suspect it will be in my bag for a long time. |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 8 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
E-Trigger Spyders, Smart Parts Ion. |
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| Marker Setup: |
Smart Parts "Vibe" w/ 12'' Teardrop barrel,
Empire Reloader II,
Smart Parts grips,
20 oz co2 |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
Barrel, feed neck, trigger (I think trigger mods void the warranty). |
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| Strengths: |
Price 140 bucks. CO2 efficiency best I've seen. Smart Parts regulator. Bolt out back. |
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| Weaknesses: |
Needs six different alan wrenches to completely disassemble, |
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| Review: |
My friend bought this marker and, raved about it. I ordered one without shooting his. When it came, I gassed it up(I'm using 20 oz CO2), loaded it with paint. With just a little tweak of the velocity, this gun blew me away. I ripped an entire hopper on full auto. Not one chopped ball. The low pressure bolt really works. Oh, I was using "Wally World" paint. It proved to be very accurate and shot pretty far, farther than I would expect from a stock barrel.
The following weekend we played. I shot over a case of "Wally World" paint not one chop! Where has this marker been my whole life? I'm a working class guy. I can't and won't spend the money on a high end marker. Anyone who want's to play, but isn't funded by mommy and daddy, This marker is for you!
Everyone complains about it being capped @ 11bps. Big deal! Maybe not fast enough for speedball, Great for woodsball. If you don't think its fast enough, you probably need to improve on your game.
It's hard to get HPA where I live. So, a marker that runs well on CO2 is a Godsend.
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| Conclusion: |
All in all.... I love this marker! It runs good on CO2, It looks cool, does not chop, is affordable and, on top of all that it's Smart Parts. Buy It! |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 7 of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
tippmann A-5
proto m-6 |
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| Marker Setup: |
smart parts vibe halo v-35 hopper with rip drive
or tipmann A-5 with e-grip |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
barrel
a good hopper
lighter bolt too |
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| Strengths: |
Light
Quiet
Fast for woodsball
Easy to clean and maintain
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| Weaknesses: |
No eyes are my only complaint |
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| Review: |
At first i got the gun and I froze it from co2
so i was scared but later on the gun unthawed
after that the gun has worked flawlessly
i love the gun i would recommend it to anyone who doesnt have the money to buy an epiphany.
the gun does need a new barrel and the firebolt works amazing in it
if anyone has any questions ask me or a smart parts rep. in pbnation
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| Conclusion: |
i would buy it again in a heartbeat the gun is light and shoots fine stock
this gun is great and will be greater when upgrades come out.
Get it is all i have to say |
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| Rating: |
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 7 of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
Tippman 98/A-5- (heavy and cost more, but they still are good markers)
Spyder Pilot ACS- (larger body, heavier, ACS chops more than it should)
Spyder VS1- (board is faster, action is harsher, has eyes, bit more weight)
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| Marker Setup: |
Platinum Onyx Smartparts Epiphany
Blackheart board
Virtue eyes
Q-loc clamping feedneck
.689 freak insert
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
Barrel
Agitated hopper (Revvy would be great)
Firebolt, if you want less recoil
Just shoot it |
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| Strengths: |
Cheap for the Tech involved
Light weight
Durable
Select fire modes |
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| Weaknesses: |
Feels cheap
stock barrel is "ok"
Could be faster
No eyes
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| Review: |
The Vibe:
My brother picked this up just last week, and i have to say im impressed. For the price of a spyder, someone new to the sport can get the dependability and quality of a Electropnumatic. That idea just seems awesome to me. This thing shares many parts with its older siblings the Ion/Epiphany/and Eos, which is pretty much a tried and true setup. Now with that being said, its not exactly the same, just similar, the vibe has a completely different electronics board. The amazing thing is that the vibe is able to deliver all this performance without chopping, and it doesn’t even have eyes! Due to the new Low-force bolt tech, its virtually impossible to chop, Right now your reading this and thinking (oh great ACS MK II) NO, IT IS NOT THE SAME AS SPYDER ACS!! Inside the vibe are no springs, no delrin and the thing actually WORKS!!!
Using the crappiest hopper (and paint) that i could find (a 50 rnd brass eagle gravity drop off a talon) and firing as fast as i could to intentionally try and cause a chop...this marker generated nothing except for shots down range and a few dry fires. That is extremely impressive. Its not as good as having eyes, but really the only downfalls this marker suffers over markers with eyes is having a dry fire now and then. This is an annoying thing for someone who has become used to eyes, but then again its annoying to pull the trigger with eyes and get a no shot. the cure for both of these problems is an to get an agitated or force feed hopper. in all reality, not having eyes doesn't effect this markers preformance at all, a revvy on the top of this would produce near flawless results as far as creating maximum shot/paint ratio. So in light of this aspect i dont view the markers lack of eyes as a true downfall.
On the electronics board aspect, the new models are coming out with select fire. this gives people who pick up their new vibes the ability to fire semi-automatic, 3 rnd burst, and full automatic with the simple press of the power button. it switches modes faster, and easier than any other marker i have ever used...even the push button led spyders...its just easy.
(for any of you bummed out Vibe owners who don’t have this mode on your vibe, get a hold of smart parts. From what I have heard, the upgrade is free!)
The bad:
There are only a couple of things that bum me out about the vibe the First was that the bps count isnt much above 10. however i can see past this as the marker only costs $140 and is targeted towards first time players. For them, this marker is just right , since i have yet to meet a new player who can squeeze much over 12bps, and most new players dont shoot half that. In my mind a new player is more interested in reliability, and ease of use..as most new players arnt planning on spending hundreds to upgrade their marker. So i can see past this downfall. The other thing that bummed me out was the trigger, its made of the same material as the rest of the marker, however for some reason that material feels superiorly cheap in use as a trigger, but that again is no big deal.
The Good:
The benefits of this marker to a new player is: Low recoil..compared to a sear-tripper (spyder exc) their is much less banging and clanging, it is refined and smooth. EASY TO CLEAN: bolt out he back is just plain cool, it takes you seriously under 19sec to completely field strip this marker and add you SL33K (shocker Lube) to the bolt and you can put it back together. Next benefit is that the bolt is the same as an ion bolt, meaning you can throw a Firebolt into this thing and reduce your recoil even more. Another large benefit is that its low force bolt makes chopping a thing of the past, without eyes to clean/take care of. Its light, so just about anyone can easily take it onto the field, its made of the same material that most Law enforcement weapons are made of (need i say more about weight/to durability ratio? lol) and the best part is it runs off regular, (non anti-siphon) co2 (you can however, run HPA and Ant siphon co2 with this marker as well, the tank needs to be tipped for anti-siphon. For running Compressed air, you can change the markers dwell setting.(stock setting is C02, second setting is HPA))
One more for the road:
About the only down fall for this marker is that their aren’t a ton of upgrades for this marker yet, but its still young...and that the ion is now going for $164 in select places, meaning the real deal ion is only $24 more, however i think the vibe is a much better choice for someone who is just starting out. personally i would take this over a spyder any day (vs1 or no vs1)
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| Conclusion: |
I belive this is THE best marker for the begining player who wants a good, solid marker. Will it shoot (an advertised) 20bps like the spyder vs1...no, and i doubt if you are new, that you can pull that fast. Eyes? Nope, but in my opinion you dont need them on a starter marker. Low pressure? yep, 180psi, thats about 1/2 of a spyder's o/p (0pperating pressure). Electopnumatic? yep, not a sear-tripper like the VS1. Dependable? i shot my ion over 3 months without a clean when i got it (i was out of SL33k and it was on backorder) so with the ion having virtually the same internals, i would say yes. Ease of use, I DONT SEE ANY POSSABLE WAY THAT IT COULD BE ANY MORE SIMPLE. thats a yes by the way! (new player question) Does it have full auto? Yes, in select fire, you can put the marker to an automatic mode. (VS1 does not have this). So its a watered down ion; i think thats about the best idea for a new player that i could think of!
Why is the smartparts vibe THE best marker for any Newbie player? at its price they have little to worry about, no springs to lose (spyder), no eyes to break (split wires), its just a simple, light weight, dependable little marker which will make the next starting player confidant with themselves...after all only 1/2 of a good player is the marker, the other half is the player himself/herself. With that in mind, i would say this is the best marker under $140, giving it a best in its class 10 out of 10
i beleive i should make it a point to say this marker is not however an ION, thus dont rate it with the same standards in mind...but if you have shot an ion, and want an ion...get an ION! you wont be pleased with this if you want the ion. this is not a turny marker, its not a paint ripper, its an awesome beginners marker. |
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| Rating: |
| 10 out of 10 | Last edited on Saturday, March 22nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm PST |
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The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page.
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Period of
Product Use: |
| Less than a month | 6 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
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Similar
Products Used: |
PMR
Spyder VS1
Spyder VS2
Spyder electra |
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| Marker Setup: |
Marker - Vibe
Hopper - Tippmann ssl-200
Barrel - Redz pepperstick
12oz Co2 Tank |
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Recommended
Upgrades: |
Trigger - A little loose, the stock is fine for a beginner but a new trigger would make walking it much easier.
Feed Neck - Again the stock one is fine for a beginner though a cam-lock will be better for any marker without one. |
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| Strengths: |
VERY quiet.
Light
Relatively Small
Runs fine on Co2 while still being electric |
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| Weaknesses: |
VERY few minor problems. |
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| Review: |
In my opinion this is the ultimate beginner marker... heres why:
1. As it is electric and yet runs fine on Co2 new player do not have to worry about getting an air tank. So not only is this marker cheap in the first place, but when you take off the price of an air tank you start to see the benefit for any new player.. it leaves them with more money to spend on paint.
2. The Vibe is amazingly easy to maintain.. The bolt out back design makes it incredibly easy to clean and lube, all in minutes.
3. The added bonus that it is small and light is good on any marker.. weather it be for a beginner or an expert.
4. From the first time i fired it i could see how accurate it was.. with the pepperstick on it it shoots even better!
5. It's also super quiet, all of my club members were saying how quiet it shoots.. They say that all they can here is the paint flying over their heads!
I have only had two problems with this gun, And both of them are very minor ones.
1. A screw from the ASA fell loose and none of my many allen keys could get a grip on it to tighten it back up.. i just wated till it fell out and then found a new one to replace it (so easy to find that i took one out of the frame of my fridge, it fitted!).
2. I can reach 16bps on the Vibe, but when i shoot at that speed continuously for about 10 seconds the Co2 starts spreading to places it shouldn't and temporarily stopping the marker from shooting.. all i had to do to fix it was leave it out in the sun for 5mins to thaw! Obviously there is no problem like this when shooting air! I say that a beginner wouldn't be able to hit 16bps straight away and when he can, he should be thinking of upgrading to air anyway.
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| Conclusion: |
A great marker! Perfect for a beginner in many ways.
I'm rating it on a beginner scale, obviously its not a shocker and so shouldn't be compared with one. But i still give it a 10 for a beginner gun!
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| Rating: |
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