very small and compact, plus pretty cool-looking. very light trigger pull, and the feed for the most part is good. good internals, will work with any spyder parts.
Weaknesses:
can't get ahold of company (does one EXIST??), stock barrel sux, feed has a habit of losing balls when the bottom falls off (it happened to me, i don't know if it'll happen to you).
Conclusion:
pretty good gun for the money, i ended up getting it for $50 dollars base model, i wouldn't wanna pay much more than that. the stock barrel works, but the gun gets a lot more accurate and farther-shooting with a better one. easily upgradable because of sypder compatibility. overall good gun for beginners (as i was when using).
I used some practice paintballs off of www.paintballonline.com and I upgraded to a spyder barrel.
Recommended Upgrades:
I would recomend upgrading to a different barrel because the stock barrel gives the ball and awkward spin that makes it fly off to who knows where. I would also advise a dropforward for the CO2 because it isn't counter-ballanced by the tank.
Strengths:
This gun is durable (I dropped it several times in one game), it's fairly light, it doesn't chop too many balls (one out of 500 low-quality balls) and it's CO2 efficient.
Weaknesses:
The bolt will recock but not shoot fire when you pull the trigger sometimes. This can be solved by turning the velocity screw on the gun and then putting it back where you want it. The joker is loud, but that doesn't usually make a difference. You can't get ahold of the manufacturer.
Conclusion:
I would recomend this gun to anybody who has enough money. You get more bang for your buck. It is worth the money and it won't waste your paint.
Tippmann 98- Better in durability and accuracy than the Joker
Prolite- Better in durability..worse in accuracy than the Joker
Vulcan- Worse than the Joker
BEI Avenger- Quiter than the Joker, better accuracy.
Strengths:
It's easy to learn how to shoot with, it's sort of quiet, it's fun to calculate where you should aim the barrel before a shot, it looks cool.
Weaknesses:
It overheats easily. The first time I took it to an arena, the bolt wouldnt blow back and it kept coming forward and then after recocking it wouldnt fire paint.
Well, my gun is much diffrent than this model, but it kicks some serious ass in rec. paintball...i haven't played much in fields, cuz im way out in the middle of nowhere. But after each game it needs a good cleaning, and prolly 1 out of 100 Diablo Blaze balls break, but i fya use marbz, it is soo accurate for like 60-90 yards, i love the gun. Very nice trigger, i have friends that have spyder compacts, and my joker out shoots them just about every game.
Weaknesses:
The stock barrel is nice but, it is not too accurate. Sometimes is tough to take apart and clean, but helps a lot.
Conclusion:
Very nice, cheap, light, accurate (if good paintballs), and it looks good, that picture doesn't look anything like mine, my Joker has a metal grip and its all blue, and sweet, but its very reliable in the cold too, good for newbies...
-much more accurate than a Tippman
-more reliable than a Pirahna
-all aluminum
-never breaks balls
-looks cool
-mostly Spider compadible for upgrades
-easy to disasemble and clean
-CHEAP!
Weaknesses:
Some people say that they can't get the gun to work. That is because when you refill your CO2 tank and put it back on sometimes it won't recock automatically. So you have to turn the spring adjustment screw in untill it starts recocking and then turn it back in to where you want it.
Conclusion:
The joker is a great gun for the money. It has the same performance for the money as a Spyder compact plus it looks cool and it has a standard bottum line. If you have ever had your thumbnail torn off by the cocking pegs on the side of a tippman then you will appreciate the top recocking peg on the joker. The joker is worth more than you pay for and when I recently played a Pirahna pro gt3 I found it to be worth more than the 290$ that its owner payed for it. The pirahna broke more than half of the balls that it shot. He blamed it on the barrel, so we traded barrels. My joker still shot fine with his standard clear plastic barrel, but his broke balls yet. I think this is the best deal of any paintball gun available. It definitely deserves a ten.
-low cost
-All aluminum
-no weld scars
-used br(ass) eagle paint WITHOUT breaks over 500+ shots
-nice weight and balance good for smacking people or aiming(if you're into aiming)
Weaknesses:
-had a gas leak down the barrel after i opened it up but that was my fault and it is fixed now.
-comes uncocked occasionally while firing, just recock
-the stopper in the feed falls out but it is easily fixed - remove o-ring from stopper put a small strip of tape behind it and replace o-ring and put it back in
-may be too heavy fully loaded for a total wimp
-company is out of business you're on your own with it
Conclusion:
This gun works good enough without upgrades, its worth its price definately, i prefer it to my griffin and my ancient spyder classic. I would NOT recomend it unless you like improvising repairs and upgrades as the company is out of business. if you dont mind a complete lack of tech support go ahead and get one. i give it a 8 because it is cheap and effective without any tinkering. would be 9 except no technical support.
Four of us bought this gun and none of us have had problems with it. It shoots fast enough for beginners. Nice rubber grip. Braided hose not rubber. Neat colors. Very easy to feild strip and clean. One pin to push and its a part. The gun is surprising accurate with the stock barrel. It is easy to adjust the velocity with an external adjustment.
Weaknesses:
The worst part is that there are very few after market parts. You can't get a hold of the factory and it came with no owners manual. I recently sold mine to a friend and upgraded to a Spyder Shutter.
Conclusion:
The gun is a good beginner gun for the money. You may want to get a new barrel. This gun is good for you beginners that don't want to spend much money.
This gun is very accurate. It's pretty simple and easy to use. Looks cool. It has a very light trigger pull. Very nice grip and a fast rate of fire. Easy to clean.
Weaknesses:
It seems kind of cheap. It came with bad o rings in it. The stock barrel absolutely sucks. Loud, shoots about every other paintball strait. Hard to contact the manufacture.
Conclusion:
This gun isn't great. It's alright for newbies, but if you can afford it upgrade to a spyder or tippmann. It's enough for rec play and playing with friends in the back yard, especially when they all have talons and stingrays. I've been pretty happy with it. But there have been some problems. Very good for the price.
