trigger frame new spring at least a 14" barrel x chamber
Strengths:
shoots hard looks decent
Weaknesses:
no double trigger inacurate(very) chops not to bad
Review:
it is a gun for beginers i wouldent really send any body out on the field with it.
its ok but i got it from a friend he only used it a couple of times it is a little to inacurate
for my likings i tried to shoot a pole when I first got it and it missed it three to four times and I am a decent shot and I was only 15 feet away so if I were you i would either buy this gun and get all of the recommended upgrades but you might as well save a little more and buy yourself a spyder victor that gun rules but if you dont have the money at leats buy a 14" barrel.
Conclusion:
dont buy it unless u plan on buying a barrel so save up and buy a jt or a victor
Stock electric Icon, and a Spyder with a drop fwd and gas thru grip as a backup.
Recommended Upgrades:
A barrel, better pins, a thinner velocity locking nut, and a better elbow.
Strengths:
Its cheap and not Brass Eagle. Its light.
Weaknesses:
The pins that hold the handle on are lame. Pin valve assembly flimsy.
Review:
Received as a starter kit. The gun was hard to cock by grabbing it but when you have air to it all you have to do is hit the cocking knob lightly with the barrel and it will cock itself. Did not like barrel. Played with the Dremel Tool some and got the barrel off of my Tiger Shark to work and that barrel was an improvement. Went to a game with it and it leaked a large volume of CO2. Disassembled the pin valve and found the pin had fell in and did not have anything to center the pin. Could only get gun to chronograph at 300 fps by taking locking nut off, grinding it to half thickness.
The trigger pull feels like and the shot sounds like the Brass Eagle Stingray
Conclusion:
Wish Zap had put an extra dollar or two, or at least a few more minutes on the production of this Paintball gun. After I put some effort into it I liked it.
I bought 3 of these markers (marker kits, actually) so that I could lend them out to friends when I go paintballing. My buddies are cheap, and they don't like the idea of renting a gun for just one day, so I lend them my spare gun(s) and they're happy and willing to come with me :) Plus, I keep one for myself as a backup gun, not that my spyder has ever broken down on me, but it's always good to have a backup, and it's kinda fun to tinker with it and see how much better I can make it without messing it up.
Anyway, upon disassembly, it becomes very obvious that these guns cost maybe $5 in materials to produce. I mean, the valve assembly is probably the most complicated piece on this gun, and that's not saying much. This is a good thing, though. People also complain about the plastic frames a lot, saying that it's a piece of garbage just because it's made of plastic. News flash man, that "plastic" is fiberglass reinforced nylon, the same stuff that tippman pro carbine handles and foregrips are made out of, and it's some of the toughest plastic in the world. Not only that, it's almost a 1/4" thick on both the handle and the main body of the gun! The thinnest spots on the gun are still 1/8" thick, which is plenty strong enough to take any abuse you can throw at it. This gun is just as tough as any spyder or tippman, maybe even tougher because of the sheer mass of plastic in this thing.
The biggest problem with this gun is ball breakage/chopping. This can be almost completely cured by drilling small hole in the feed elbow, right in the center of the outside bend. This allows propulsion gases to escape through the elbow when the gun is fired, preventing the gases from pushing paintballs back up out of the elbow. Most stock feed elbows have this feature nowadays, and it's there for a reason. Don't drill the hole bigger than 1/4" though, because it may weaken the elbow and make it prone to cracking under shock or stress.
The second biggest problem with this gun is accuracy. The barrel is too short, and the absence of a muzzle break creates HUGE inconsistencies in the spin and velocity of the ball when it exits the muzzle. I've heard/read that a few other barrels fit, some with modifications (ie; brass eagle raptor barrels, but they need a 1/4" cut off the threaded end so they bottom completely in the gun), some are just direct fits (Zap ZXS 600E's have the same barrel thread as the ZXS 400), but either way, anything is better than the stock barrel. If you can't find either one of these barrels, it's very easy to drill some ports in your barrel, for a muzzle break or spiral porting or whatever. Just lay it out carefully, and do the drilling in a drill press if at all possible. Remember that the muzzle break effectively decreases the length of the barrel in which the ball is accellerated, so you'll no doubt have to screw the velocity adjuster in a little farther to compensate for the muzzle break (not much though, maybe not even enough to notice). The increase in accuracy is worth it though, no more wildly curving shots!
There are lots of other small problems, most of which can be fixed easily with regular maintenance, ie; the ball detent is basically just a little rubber plug in a hole at the bottom of the chamber, which needs to be pushed up every so often so it does its job. Keep this thing oiled up, particularly the hammer and hammer tube (the steel hammer will wear the aluminum hammer tube out VERY quickly if you don't keep it lubed), and you should get some good use out of it.
Conclusion:
Basically, this is a good cheap gun for your buddies to use or for a backup gun. Sometimes it's just fun to use as a main gun, to test your skills and to see how much abuse it can take without breaking down on you (it'll take a lot!!). It's also an awesome gun to modify and tinker with, since it works basically the same as a spyder or pirahna or any other open-bolt gun on the market today. If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all, y'know? Anything you do to this gun, modificiation-wise, will theoretically work on a spyder, or whatever other gun you might have that you want to mod. It's a good risk-free way to learn basic airsmithing and gain mechanical knowledge about the way paintball guns work. I'd recommend this gun for newbies who are just getting into the sport, as long as they have some mechanical aptitude and are willing to tinker and mess with things. I'd even recommend this gun for seasoned players, just to go out there and see how good you really are, not relying on a $1000 gun that sprays paint like a garden hose to get you through the game. Hell, you could even put one of those junky little brass eagle 45 round hoppers on it and see if you can make it through a game with only 45 rounds of paint, now there's a challenge! Any way you look at it, it's guns like this that make paintball fun (for me, personally) and allow new players to get into the sport without breaking the bank.
Rating:
8 out of 10
Last edited on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at 2:53 pm PST
-cheap plastic (but if it wasnt it wouldnt be so light)
-non upgradable
Review:
It was my first marker and i recomend it for anyone just starting out, without a lot of money...It is very accurate and light wieght. After a few months i broke a o-ring inside the gun i went to take it apart and pieces went everywhere (at the time i wasnt very smart) it was only a very small problem but i just gave up on it and invested in a new gun!
Conclusion:
I would recomend this gun to anyone looking for a decent marker and not looking to spend a fortune on it. i had a lot of fun with it, so i highly recomend it!
The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page.
Period of Product Use:
Less than a month
2 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Paintball Experience:
6 months
Similar Products Used:
ZXs 800, zxs 200
Marker Setup:
ZXS 400, VL 200 RND hopper, 9 Oz Co2, soon getting a bigger one
Recommended Upgrades:
buy the pack, and you are set
Strengths:
Shoots REAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLY hard, and very accurate, give you more info in review
Weaknesses:
hurts to be hit with it lol.
Review:
K about how hard it hits, i shot a bucket, it bounced OFF the bucket, and blew up in midair. it was going straight up, and blew up, it looks AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! heheheheh.
about accuracy, i was about 20 feet away from the bucket, when a bee was flying around it. and i started shooting at it, within 2 very carefull shots, i nailed the bee from 20 feet away, killed it instantly.
Conclusion:
If you have some money, but not much, like about 80 bucks, then i would get this package or something like it. atleast get a zap, all zap guns i have tried are alot better than the spyders i have tried, i went up against a spyder with my pump and won, very sad....... and it was a spyder victor im going to give it a 9, because for an 80 dollar gun, its awesome.
a zxs 800e w/ 200 round hopper tank and stuff. (soon to get a tippmann)
Recommended Upgrades:
a mach 404 hopper.
Strengths:
good for close range play
Weaknesses:
regulator sucks
cant shoot very far.
Review:
Pretty good gun, even though it is plastic it is a real sturdy gun. zap is a good reliable company so i had no doubt in buying any of my zap guns. i bought this and it came with a hopper, a squeegee, 2 tubes and a thing to put them on your belt, and an elbow.
i think this is a decent gun but it has its problems. if you are light on cash get it but if you got a little more money get a zxs 800e or a tippman.
Conclusion:
i advise anyone who is a in need of a backup gun or is short on cash to get this one. i gave it a 7 because it is a decent gun, but i think they should have made it metal and with a few more upgrades.(there are a few like a tune up kit, and this thing that makes the bottle come out of the handle like regular guns.
Rating:
7 out of 10
Last edited on Sunday, July 13th, 2003 at 9:56 pm PST
new barrel, if there is one. same with bottom line.
Strengths:
Its very cheap, durable, and hasnt had any problems. This gun is good for newbs who only go so often, or are deciding whether to get into paintballing. co2 use is pretty good 2. this gun is very light.
Weaknesses:
This gun is cheap, though, almost impossible to upgrade. the stock barrel is 6 1/2 inches long, its plastic and i dropped it once, but only the elbow got cracked (but it wasn't serious) and it was on hard tiles. it isn't field strippable, or even able, though i haven't tried even to clean it and it still works great.
Conclusion:
if your a person who has only played like 1 or 2 times, i advise u get this gun. it is available at Wal-Mart, and is like 100$ (canadian) and comes w/ mask, hopper/elbow, gun, some reason it came with a windchester mask bag and a foam pad instead of a visor. also comes with two 100 or 150 ball hauler case and tubes. No co2 but u can by it seperate.
