Barrel is the only thing you need to replace, everything else is really a issue of preference and level of play.
Strengths:
easy to maintain. Super reliable. Very easy to upgrade.
Weaknesses:
Stock barrel.
Review:
The 98 is a great marker right out of the box. However I suggest a new barrel. A great thing about this marker, is that it has so many upgrades you can add on. This marker has the ablity to grow along with the player. The 98 is very easy to maintain and clean. Anther plus is that even new players can do all their own marker work.
Conclusion:
A great marker for every level of play. Is very consistent marker.
Rating:
9 out of 10
Last edited on Friday, May 21st, 2004 at 9:57 am PST
Strengths
~ DURABLE AS A MOFO! I heard someone ran this thing over with a car and it works still
~Light
~many upgrades
~easy to learn the internals and stuff
Weaknesses
~Heavy trigger pull
~takes long to strip
~the gun is really long
This is my cousins gun, its very durable, and is a really good starter gun. If you dont like to maintain your gun, this is for you.
Conclusion:
Its a very good gun, if you dont like to clean your gun out, this gun is for you.
Tippman Model 98 with Modded Trigger (1lb. pull weight and 1mm trigger pull)
14" Tear Drop Barrel
Recommended Upgrades:
14" Tear Drop Barrel
Strengths:
Very Durable
Fairly Accurate
Site Rail Not Obstructed by Hopper
Weaknesses:
A Little Bit on the Loud Side
Hard to Field Strip
Review:
The Tippmann Model 98 is a great, durable gun backed up by great service from Tippmann Pneumatics Inc. I love this gun. I had a Spyder Imagine before but once I got my Tippmann I would never use the Imagine unless I was forced to as a backup. The one factor that makes it so great is the sight rail. The hopper does not get in your way when trying to aim. Also, the gun's black color makes it great for woodsball or speedball. I would recommend getting a different elbow if you are going to play speedball though. The hopper sticks out more than a vertical feed gun, making it an easy target.
The weaknesses are very minor. The Model 98 is a little bit on the loud side. While this isn't that big of a deal in speedball, it matters in woodsball. The other weakness is that it is very hard to field strip. You MUST read the manual and familiarize with the parts first before taking the gun apart. Otherwise, you will open the gun up and springs and pieces will go flying everywhere. The standard stock barrel is fairly accurate but every now and then paintballs curve uncontrollably. If you have good paint, then this gun' s stock barrel should work fine.
I highly recommend this gun for the beginner and intermediate player. The first thing to do though is to do get a new barrel before you start playing in tournaments.
Conclusion:
A perfect 10 out of 10! The positives cancel out the negatives. When are you ever going to have to field strip on the paintball field in the middle of a game????
Model 98, 3-position collapseable stock, 14in Terminator barrel, remote line.
Recommended Upgrades:
barrel, electronic hopper
Strengths:
Reliability, lots of upgrades
Weaknesses:
None so far.
Review:
This is a good starter gun. It is very reliable and I never had it break down on me. I would definatly get a better barrel though ( the stock barrel is loud and not very accurate). I did have to shake the gun to to get the paintballs to fall down into the chamber a couple of times. This problem is easily fixed by getting even a slow electronic hopper. If you clean your gun and oil the moving parts it will be fine. If I had to buy this gun again I would. It's cheap and as I said before VERY RELIABLE.
Conclusion:
Great gun. If you are beginning paintball I would recommend buying this gun. Great gun especially for the price. The only reason I am giving it a 9 is because nothing is perfect. A must get for beginners.
Rating:
9 out of 10
Last edited on Thursday, September 15th, 2005 at 6:30 pm PST
Model 98
System X drop forward
48cu in Pure Energy Tank
Recommended Upgrades:
Barrel
Strengths:
Really stuff
accurate
Weaknesses:
can't shoot far
Review:
I just bought this gun and it rocks. It is really accurate and is black so no one sees it. The main thing I liked is that it is REALLY STUFF. Unless you take it apart and don't know how to put it back together, I don't see anyway you could break this gun. I would recommend this gun WAY over a spyder or rebel.
Conclusion:
This gun ROCKS.
Rating:
10 out of 10
Last edited on Tuesday, July 20th, 2004 at 2:46 pm PST
Which one?
angel ir3 fly-freak barrel(thats probably gonna change due to the g@y things SP is doing)-shocktech drop w/p&P drop-evu2(the egg)-pure energy 68/4500
black dragun(thats now my cousins)-AAback w/teardrop front, exp chamber-cyclone bolt/or my shocktech quickstrip-ricochet ak
Tippmann 98 custom-RT trigger-dead on pro drop forward-lpr setup-proteam stock-68/4500 pmi tank-site rail with a scope-flatline barrel(or my 26" barrel)
Recommended Upgrades:
new barrel, i would say the flatline, or be like me and get a 26" barrel to impale your opponent with!, e-bolt or RT, exp chamber, and a spare parts kit
Strengths:
lots to upgrade. cheap and inexpensive
Weaknesses:
couldnt hit an elephant 10/10 from 80 feet away,makes you deaf
Review:
find a used one, and get a flatline, since the accuracy isnt affected too much. get the HPA setup so you can run it off of nitro. get earplugs as you will need them. and get some extras for people you play with. this gun is fun to annoy people with tho
Conclusion:
good start gun, and good scenario gun. dont make this your lifetimes work on paintball
E-Bladed WGP Prostock Cocker, 16 Freak Kit, Evo 2, Crossfire 68ci Tank
Recommended Upgrades:
The barrel, I like the Smart Parts All American
Strengths:
Very durable can drop it and not have it brake
Weaknesses:
The barrel sucks
Review:
It's a very good gun to get because there are so many upgrades you can put on it. But the stock barrel is really bad but it still shoots fairly straight, but I recommend getting a better one if you can afford it. I really don't like the look of it, it just seems kind of boring compared to all the other guns out there, you can always paint it a new color if you want.
Conclusion:
Good gun to get for a beginner, and if you get better you can just keep upgradeing your gun if you dont want to buy a new one.
Rating:
8 out of 10
Last edited on Saturday, February 19th, 2005 at 9:55 pm PST
Tippmann Model 98
Flatline Barrel
Star Bold
Electronic Hopper
2- 20oz Co2 Tank
Recommended Upgrades:
Electronic hopper, and a flatline. This makes a huge difference right away. When i started with it i noticed i could easily and acurately shoot acroos the tapelines on huge feilds. I was getting more guys out and helping my team. Alot of people say it curves and is high matinence but it dosent, and its great.
Strengths:
Reliable, Feild Stip easy, dosent break, dosent chop, and very upgradable.
Weaknesses:
Decent Stock Barrel
Review:
I have used this gun three time full days. It is a great gun, i have never had to feild strip it, because it is so reliable. It has NOT chopped a ball yet wich is very good. My 3rd time goin there was a guy with an angel and a guy with an auto coker and i got both of them out, and that shows its true colors.
Conclusion:
Great Gun for any beginner or expert. It is very upgradeable.
texas storm cp barrel system x drop on/off revy,halo,egg depending on my mood and many other things i cant remember
Recommended Upgrades:
new barrel definately ultralite 14-16in is good all i can thgink of that u need
Strengths:
-never break
-super accurate with new barrel
-easy to clean
-great gun for begginers
Weaknesses:
-loud i guess...
-and sucky stock barrel
Review:
wow just wow... so many babies are upset because they do not know how to properly clean thier guns. ok this is one of the best guns if not THE BEST ive ever used it will never break a ball and never break itself u could through it at a rock and it would be fine also once u get a new barrel (i reccomend the 14-16 ultralite) it will shoot so straight u wouldnt believe if u do get sumthing stuck in the barrel just keep firing it will clean itself out as for cleaning the gun it is super easy if u know how to use an allen wrench. all around great gun nothing at all wrong with it except stock barrel but that aint a part of the gun i have a texas storm timmy right now but i still like using my model 98
Conclusion:
awesome gun great for begginers cuz u can do wutever u want to it and it will never give u problems get it now :)
A good sight is EXTREMELY helpful in woodsball. Don't be an idiot and rate a sight low because you play speedball and its worthless in speedball. A new barrel is very helpful I have found that Teardrop, J&J Ceramic, and lapco bigshot have gotten all very high reviews, and an x-chamber doesn't hurt.
Strengths:
Durable
Low trigger pull
Low percentage of chopped balls
Range and Accuracy
VERY customizable
Cheap
Weaknesses:
Field stripping
Loud
Bad stock barrel
Comes without any stock mods except crappy stock barrel
Review:
Well first I'd like to address soemthing that's been pissing me off. Do NOT get a sight for your gun if you play speedball! OF COURSE its going to be worthless! They take time to line up and shoot (although not as long as some people make it out to be, just a second or two).
OK, things pissing me off #2: Everyone is complaing about field stripping. I will say that its field stripping does not match that of a Spyder or other comparably priced blow-backs but it's not the day long activity some people make it out to be. Yes, the screws strip relatively easily but if your just mildy careful and not cranking them ASAP then you shoukd be fine for a few years. All in all if you've taken apart your Tippmann once or twice you generally will not forget how. It will take about 3-5 minutes to field strip it once you've done it once or twice. The people who say it takes 10-15 minutes are nuts. Although, if you just play rec ball in someone's backyard I highly suggest you just call timeout so you don't lose anything important.
Chops balls very little. I accidentally bought BE paintballs as my first bag and I broke only 1 out of 1000 in my stock barrel while shooting at high speed. If that's not amazing I don't know what is. But I still highly recommend you do not buy BE paintballs you'll have even fewewr problems with paint like Team Colors that is only $35 for 2,000 count and MUCH better quality.
Conclusion:
I'd say this is a very nice marker for the price and an excellent choice for almost anyone (excluding national speedball players and the likes). There's a reason its one of the top selling guns.
