The new Proto SLG includes patented Spool Valve Technology, which allows the gun to operate more consistently at a lower
operating pressure, giving you 1500 shots on a 68/4500-air tank. In addition, the new multifunction, self-lubricating Force Button allows clearing the bolt without tools, acts as a cocking mechanism, and prevents unsafe disassembly of the marker when gassed up. The SLG comes standard with the new Hyper3 In-Line Air Regulator featuring higher flow, more consistency, and smoother velocity adjustment. Regular maintenance and cleaning are easy with one-tool-one-screw bolt breakdown. The Proto SLG consists of solid construction using a hardened steel sear, aluminum body and bolt, and a reinforced polymer frame and trigger. All this adds up to a tournament grade package you can afford.
Features:
No Rise pressure feed neck
Single piece proto barrel
Anti chop break beam eye system
Orbital Rotating Sear - reduces wear
Compact lightweight body weighing only 2 lbs. 2 oz!
Stamped metal insert logo
Self closing valve 2 piece bolt
Multifunction self lubricating force button
Super low 145psi operating pressure
Adjustable reinforced polymer trigger
Ergonomic 45 grip frame
Hyper3 inline air regulator
Proto dual durometer injection sticky grip
Program with four tournament modes
Proto bottomline with dovetail
Product Availability
The Proto SLG 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.
The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page.
Period of Product Use:
1 year
3 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Paintball Experience:
2 years
Similar Products Used:
Spyder MR2 - No Comparison as this is a milsim
Dangerous Power G3 - The G3 works great, and has never, ever let me down.
Marker Setup:
Dangerous Power G3
Dye Rotor
Pure Energy 50 ci HPA tank
APE Upgrade Board
Recommended Upgrades:
New marker - The SLG isn't worth upgrading.
Strengths:
None - The gun has no strengths.
Weaknesses:
Poor overall quality, barrel too short, poor overall quality
Review:
A kid on my team bought a brand new SLG back in April. The gun never worked right from the day it was taken out of the box. You could pull the trigger once, and it would shoot.......pull it again, and nothing........pull it again, and it would shoot........pull it 2 more times, and nothing.........pull it again, and it would shoot........and so on.
Nobody could figure out what the problem was.......not even the gunsmith where the kid bought it. I went ahead and bought the SLG from the kid, so he would have the money to buy a G3 like the rest of the team. I had no desire to own this SLG, but this kid needed a gun he could count on in tournaments, so I bought it simply to help him out.
I sent it back to DYE, and they fixed it and sent it back to me in about 10 days. DYE customer support was great. When I got the gun back, I aired it up, turned the eyes off, and dry fired it a few times. It worked, so I put it back in it's box, and left it. I never took it back out. We compete in 2 tournament series, and have 2 matches a month, so I didn't have time to fool with the SLG. I really didn't want to shoot, or even own this SLG.....working or not.
I'm going to be honest with you, I had decided that the SLG is a piece of crap. Everywhere I went to try and learn about the SLG, and how to fix it, all I saw were people complaining about how their SLG didn't work, and never worked right from the day it was new, or worked right for a couple of weeks, then stopped working. My opinion of the SLG became that it is the worst paintball gun being made today, and that if you took a really big turd, and put a hopper on it, that you basically had an SLG...........that the SLG was just a turd with a hopper on it. Not something worth throwing your time or money away on.
I was sitting at the house yesterday, and was kind of bored, so I took out the SLG, put a tank and hopper on it, and proceeded to shoot a couple hundred balls through it. It worked fine. The barrel is so short that you really can't be accurate with it, but it shot just fine. I took a 14 inch barrel off my G3, and put it on the SLG, and it was pretty accurate. I actually had a little fun shooting it.
I told my kid about how well the gun shot, and he went outside to shoot it for himself. It shot fine for about the first 15 balls, then started "pinching" balls with the bolt. About every 9 or 10 balls, one would get pinched. And when it would shoot a ball or two, you would have to hit the button on the back cap to release air and "recock" the bolt into place. It took him about 40 minutes to shoot a hopper of paint. It does that every time you shoot.
So now that the board is actually telling the gun to shoot every time I pull the trigger, the bolt pinches the ball before it can make it to the chamber. Nice!
This gun is so gone. It isn't even worth keeping as a backup, because even a backup needs to be reliable.
I did a lot of research on this gun when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with it. What I discovered from sites like PB Nation and Tech PB, was that about half of the people who own an SLG can't use it, because it doesn't work. Then I came here, and seen that kids were giving it a 9 or a 10 rating. Do a little research, and you will see that this thing doesn't even deserve a 1, because it doesn't shoot enough to allow for a full review.
Conclusion:
SLG = Turd with a hopper.
Do not throw your time and money away on one of these. No matter what you pay for an SLG, it was too much. If someone gives you one for free, take it. But do not spend any money on something that won't work. You'll be standing around while others are playing paintball.
This gun totally rocks for the price of $200! Without a doubt, this is the BEST gun for the price!
Reliability
When I first gassed it up, it had a few issues, like the bolt sticking. Turns out, all the gun need was for the bolt to be pushed in and out a few times and some lube. If you take care of this gun properly, you will have NO issues and this will not let you down!
Performance
When I first shot this gun, I was like "Oh my gosh! This is so frickin' quiet!" The SLG has some kick to it, but hardly noticeable compared to a Spyder or Tippmann. It also comes stock with the Dye Hyper 3, which is a very consistent regulator. My shots had less than satisfactory groupings at 75 feet, but this was due to 8 month old seconds paint, which chopped a few times also. Given decent paintballs, this thing will shoot great!
This thing takes a lot of heat because it is a sear tripper. I would like to say that this means nothing, and I would still take over a "real" EP gun just because it offers great performance and remains so simple.
Aesthetics
This is a very nice looking gun. I actually prefer the looks of the 08 SLG over the 09. It looks more like a "high end". This thing also feels like a high end. The overall look of the gun is very nice. The only things I don't like are the trigger and feedneck. I would buy new ones immediately.
Conclusion:
If you are looking for $1,250+ paint-ripper to impress your friends with and so you can fit in with the "cool pro guys," I suggest you look elsewhere. If you want an amazing performing marker that provides you with awesome features for such a low price, you've found the right one.
Proto SLG
14" Lapco Snapshot
New Designz Slik Trigger
New Designz Pro Clamp Feedneck
68 4500 DXS HPA
Eggy III
Recommended Upgrades:
Trigger
Clamping feedneck
14 inch barrel
Strengths:
Board
Regulator
Speed
Size
Accuracy
Efficiency
Quiet
No kick
ASA
Weaknesses:
Trigger
Feedneck
Grips expose electronics
Review:
Opening:
I ordered the Proto SLG off of actionvillage and patiently waited for UPS. A couple days later it arrived. This was my first electronic marker and an upgrade to a Tippmann 98 custom. I couldn't believe the package I received could hold a paintball marker it was so small. It came in nice packaging fit snug in molded foam. This marker was so small I couldnt believe it! Under the top layer of foam revealed a crappy Proto battery, a terrible barrel sock, some allen keys, a package a dye slick lube, and some spare parts.
Experience:
Unfortunately I got this marker in the middle of September in the Upper Peninsula, so I needed to wait until AFTER winter to actually use it :( Well after the snow had cleared up I got some HPA and tried it out on some 6 month old paintballs. I was very impressed with the speed and grouping. Kick was almost nonexistant. With the new trigger I installed (heard it was bad so ordered it with the marker) I could walk the trigger very well with it. A couple days ago I played my first games with it. In the woods I was very happy with the looooow sound signature. I love this for woodsball and scenario games because of the size. I also played some speedball with it, and it held up really well. Fast and tight. This marker is really good for both woods and speedball. One game of speedball I played a cage-match against one of my friends. He was suppressing my bunker so I took one quick snapshot went back, was going to take another, but his hand was in the air and he couldn't see anything because orange was splattered all over his mask =D VEEEEEERY accurate. I can't say too much for efficiency, it seemed pretty good and will probably improve when I break in the regulator.
Now for the review
Strengths:
Board: The board for this marker is absolutely phenomenal for $200. It has semi as fast as you can shoot, psp three shot ramping (BIIIIIG +) millenium ramping and NXL full auto. You can adjust the rate of fire from I believe 8-30 balls per second, but realistically you can expect max to get 25 or so.
Regulator: The regulator seems to have gotten me some VEEERY nice consistency so far. +- about 6 fps. Not bad for not being broken in. The reg is also a very comfortable grip. It has a very natural feel in either my right or my left hand.
Speed: As said in the board, the speed is definitely fast enough for ANY person's needs. Nobody needs to shoot 25 bps.
Size: This thing is absolutely by far the lightest marker I have ever held, but maybe that just shows that I haven't seen many markers. It's slightly under two pounds with the stock barrel and battery, right around two pounds with my lapco snapshot barrel and battery. Great for scenario games, because who wants to lug around an eight pound marker for 24 hours? Great for speedball because the thing is light and tight around bunkers.
Accuracy: I believe this to be a veeeery accurate marker. Regulated HPA beats unregulated CO2 every single time.
Efficiency: Already said, I can't say a lot with how many shots exactly this gets me, but it got me through a little less than 3 bags of paint with one fill. Pretty solid.
Quiet: In a wooded environment, it is veeeery hard to hear this from anywhere farther than 20 yards away. In the woods if you wanna go ambush sniper, this might be a good marker for you.
No kick: Literally, there is just about no kick. Ripping at 13 bps, I could feel no discernible movement of the marker in any way. Very impressive for a sear-tripper.
ASA: A lot of people don't like this ASA, but I do. You can adjust this ASA to where it feels most comfortable to you. Personally, I don't see a need for an on/off.
Weaknesses: This marker is not perfect, obviously, at $200.
Trigger: The stock trigger is absolute crap. If you are looking into purchasing this, do what I did and buy a new roller bearing trigger with the purchase. It is very hard to walk with it.
Feedneck: The feedneck is a stove-pipe style feedneck, and is too small to even fit for my eggy 3, that's saying a lot. Again, just buy a clamping feedneck with the purchase of the marker.
Grips: I like the grips, they are extremely comfortable, but I wish they didn't expose the electronics in the back. I haven't had any issues with them so far, but I can forsee possible problems in the future.
Conclusion:
All-in-all, this is a superb marker for the price. It's not perfect, but for $200 it will serve the user well. I love it for both woodsball and speedball because of it's lightness. I would recommend this to anybody interested in upgrading from a tippmann, or as a dominant backup to the more serious players out there.
It is reliable, fast, light, small and good looking.
Weaknesses:
some of the early SLG markers came out with smaller bolts causing chopping.
Review:
it is reliable, fast, light, small and good looking some of the early SLG markers came out with smaller bolts causing chopping. if you are one of these guys just send it to DYE and they will send you a new one for free. i am repeating this because it is such a great marker for the price. not to mention it is DYE
Conclusion:
I recomend this marker to anybody. its cheap and graet if you have a budget you should get this instead of the smartparts crap
Black Proto Slg, 68/4500 Crossfire Air Tank, Black Proto 2 Piece Barrel, Smart Parts Q lock Clamping Feedneck and a Q Loader.
Recommended Upgrades:
A New Barrel, A Clamping Feedneck is a must.
Strengths:
-Light
-Very Efficent on Air
-Consistent Shots
-Accurate
-Reliable
Weaknesses:
-Feedneck
-A New Barrel
Review:
When I first got the gun and picked it up I couldn't believe how light it was. Then when I put on the Q Loader and my tank and shot it the accuracy and speed of the gun were phenomenal. With the Q Loader I was able to shoot about 25bps on PSP mode. I played at a local woodsball fields openplay day with the SLG and I't worked flawlessly, no chops, no double shots and the weight of the gun allowed me to play much longer than I would have been able to with my Spyder MR1.
Conclusion:
Overall after about 3 and a 1/2 months or Recreational woodsball and speedball I absolutly love this gun it's so reliable, accurate, fast and Air effcient.
Nothin really, well i used a Viewloader Prodigy e-grip
Marker Setup:
Red SLG
Low rise clamping reedneck
dye barrel set
normal steel HPA tank
Recommended Upgrades:
I'd suggest a new trigger, and unless you have a Halo then u need a clamping feedneck, the feedneck doesnt fit the EVO 2
Strengths:
Speed, very fast at 20 bps stock
the metal body
very accurate
SUPER LIGHT
Weaknesses:
The feedneck,
i hate opening the grip just to change the modes
Review:
Truthfully, this is a great gun. Great for woodsball, especially because of how light it is, you can go for long games, without tiring. Almost never chops paint. The regulator is great and the stock barrel is pretty accurate. for 200$ i can honestly say this is the best gun you can get at that price.
proto slg, pure energy hpa tank, pulsed halo, hybrid headloc feedneck, cp on/off,
Recommended Upgrades:
feedneck... hybrid or trinity
asa... cp is good
trigger... or adjust
barrel... j&j works well
Strengths:
Affordable
Light
Good board
Efficient
Weaknesses:
Feedneck
Asa
Trigger
Eats lube... need to relube every three games
Review:
The proto slg is a very good gun for the price. It is comparitavley priced with the ion, the epiphany, and the high-end spyders. But it is a better gun thanall of them. It is light and short so you can snap quick and stay tight. It is effficient, it needs to be filled every hopper and 4 pods ish... Which lasts me about two to three games. And it has all of the modes you need to play . The bad is that the feedneck does not it most hoppers and the trigger is very stiff, but if you know how to take the trigger out and how to adjust the trigger it can become a very good trigger. The asa needs to be replaced, i recomend the cp on/off becuase it is easy to turn and it has a self purge( and it will save your tank threads in the long run). And the bolt absolutley dystroys lube... I needed to relube the slg every three games to keep it going with the stock lube, i would reccomend the "slick stuff" lube as the best alternative because it lasts longer in the gun.
Conclusion:
The slg is a very good gun for the intermediate or beginer player and a good back up gun for the advanced player.
Rating:
9 out of 10
Last edited on Sunday, December 30th, 2007 at 11:47 am PST
EGO 8,Proto SLG, PE 68/4500, Vlocity Jr, 14 Inch Stiffi
Recommended Upgrades:
Feedneck, Trigger, and ASA
Strengths:
Very light, Shoots Fast, Great Price
Weaknesses:
Trigger, ASA, Feedneck, Eye's don't read very well
Review:
Well I just bought this gun the other day and when I first opened it I was shocked at how small the gun actually was. It was a lot smaller and lighter then a lot of the other Proto guns there. I went home and started to set the gun up to my settings and I started to notice some problems: The trigger is very stiff, the feedneck is very small, because of the orings, and the ASA could be replaced. These are small little problems that can be fixed with simple upgrades. The stock trigger can be fixed by taking out the spring, it makes the pull a bit more easier. I brought it outside and started to fire the gun and I noticed that the eyes weren't reading the paintballs very well, but I guess its a combination of the cold weather and bad paint that I was shooting that lead to the miss reading of paint, I'm going to try shooting with better paint and on a nicer day. But when I looked into the breach I noticed that the bolt was sitting further back and the ball was rolling back away from the eyes, I'm not quite sure how to fix this, but its not a big problem it only stopped reading the paint once out of a case of paint. Other thant that this gun is great and shot like a dream Out of a case I only broke one ball, but that was a barrel break. This is a great gun and I would recommend this gun to anyone! Great value at a great price.
Conclusion:
I recommend this gun to anyone just starting paintball, or seasoned players looking for a good backup gun. I would replace the Trigger, ASA, and Feedneck, then this gun would be good to go!!!
Rating:
8 out of 10
Last edited on Saturday, January 12th, 2008 at 9:05 pm PST
I just bought it but coming soon is a DXS tank and an evolutionIII
Recommended Upgrades:
I reccomend that you keep it STOCK!!
Strengths:
Trigger
Modes
Feedneck
Bolt
Barrel
Grip
Foregrip
Battery life
Accuracy
Weaknesses:
Nothing I love it
Review:
I got this gun a few days ago for free, i won it in the award ceremony at a scenario game i love it and the modes are great semi millenium psp nxl they are great and it can shoot up to 30 BPS w00t!! its a great gun and i suggest you buy it also the trigger is very adjustable
this gun is perfect and i HIGHLY reccomend it
Empire Timmy
cp bearing trigger
hybrid ram cap
hybrid contract killer grip panels
cp reg
Halo B with Victory Board, Rip Drive, Zenitram delrin drive cone
68/4500 screw-in tank
Recommended Upgrades:
New ASA (drop forward)
Reg adapter to allow you to use any reg you want as a spare
Strengths:
Small size
Light weight
Fast shooter
Low Price
Autococker threads
Weaknesses:
Plastic grip frame
Plastic feed neck needs tool to tighten.
Review:
First, a little background to explain my perspective. I have been playing recreational paintball on and off for almost 20 years now. (I had one of the original "Splatmaster" guns, if that helps date me.)
I was most active in the sport from about 2000-2005.
Then. life and responsibility set in and I had to travel a lot for work. I wasn't able to keep up with technology, etc.
Then, a year or so ago I went to a local paintball shop and figured I'd buy a "current" marker to see what they are like. I brought home an SLG and I am very impressed with it.
Having been accustomed to high-end Autocockers (before WGP sold out), Private label Timmys, Shockers, 2nd generation Angels and Automags, I was surprised at both the small size and small price tag of the SLG.
Upon getting it home and examining it's function, it appeared to be very similar to an E-mag, in that the spool valve is retained by sear pressure, and the sear is tripped via solenoid.
I fortunately had a tank that was still "good" for another couple of months before needing a hydro, so I gassed up the gun and dug out my old Halo hopper. After ripping a hopper full of paint through the marker in my back yard I have come to several conclusions.
1. The SLG is a far better marker than the $1000 - $2000 markers of 6 years ago. My Empire Intimidator was top of the line when it came out, but this SLG is far and away a better marker. I'm not sure about the current crop of Timmys, but I'd put the SLG up against any of the older "top of the line" markers with confidence.
2. I'm not spoiled with the current crop of super markers. I simply have no experience with any of them. The SLG does more, better than the best markers available when I was playing regularly. Unless the top of the line markers have improved dramatically in the last 5 years or so, I'd say the SLG's price-value beats anything produced. If I had one of these little guys back then, I'd have a top of the line tourney marker for the price of a spyder.
3. There is no electropneumatic solenoid valve. Big whoop. There is nothing wrong with a mechanical sear. All real machine guns use sears without issue. There is no compelling reason to over-engineer a gun to include an EPS valve when a sear will yield the same results downrange (lots of paint, quickly).
I was also happy to see that the gun used Autococker threads for the barrel. I had a Stiffi Switch kit lying around from my Timmy, and it fits the SLG, so that was pleasant. The carbon fiber barrel makes the SLG even lighter.
Finally, with age comes wisdom and humility. At 36, I don't care what's "cool" anymore. I don't buy name brand clothes or shoes, and my car isn't a chick magnet. I can look at this marker objectively from a standpoint of "what's it do that my old gear doesn't?"
For me, it does what I expect a modern tournament grade marker to do. Be small, light, fast, attractive and reliable. It does all these things at an entry-level marker price point.
Now for the "bad".
I would like to have seen them use regular ASA threads to attach the reg o the body. This means that you will need to buy an adapter to use any standard regs with the gun. I like to keep a spare reg with me when I play, because it's easier than a complete rebuild in the field. Since I already have a bunch of regs, there is no incentive for me to buy another one. I opted for the adapter.
Also, I'd prefer the grip frame and feed neck be made from metal, rather than polymer. It would increase the weight slightly, but I just like the feel of a metal frame. It's a minor gripe, mostly because I'm old-fashioned.
The stock ASA mounts directly below the grip frame. I'm used to running a drop forward. I had to attach a drop forward and a different ASA in order for the marker to feel "right", but since this is entirely subjective, some players might prefer the stock configuration.
None of these minor gripes should deter you from trying the marker.
Conclusion:
This marker is a fraction of the cost of top of the line tournament markers from 5 years ago. It's performance matches or exceeds those out dated tourney markers. Technology has advanced so much in the last 5 years that what was once cutting edge features and performance can be had for entry level prices. I'm very impressed with this marker.
I'm giving it a 10/10 based on value alone. For the price of a good tank and a good hopper, you can get a marker that flat-out rips.
