This is a new bolt made by Smart Parts for the Smart Parts Ion marker. It is lighter, quiter, has better efficiency, has less kick, and is very inexpensive. The Firebolt weighs 16 grams, and has an milled center, much like the TechT L6 bolt.
Features
- Weighs 16 grams
- Allows Ion to cycle faster
- Quiter
- Better efficiency
- Less kick
- Very inexpensive
Product Availability
The Smart Parts Ion Firebolt 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.
Smart Parts Ion with SP Fire Bolt, Hybrid Clampin Feedneck, Shocktech trigger, Custom products Regulator,Smart Parts QEV, Halo B Hopper, 32 Degrees Drop Forward, NDZ Black Flame body Kit, Scenario Dreams T-Board with Dye membrane, Freak barrel kit, Smart Parts Sticky Grips, Air America 4500/68Ci Carbon wrapped tank with in line Reg with on/off.
Strengths:
It is Super light. Lighter than any other Bolt ive had the opportunity to hold.
Weaknesses:
Have not found one yet
Review:
The Smart parts firebolt is keeping in line with the same philosophy they used when they designed the ION. Make a high quality product for a price low enough that the average and entry level player can buy it. For $40 you get a bolt that not only gives you around 200-300 extra shots per tank, it also gives you less felt recoil which will help you keep that all inportant line of fire which is especially helpfull when trying to keep players behind bunkers. Lastly the new porting helps the felt recoil which keeps you hitting same spot every time.
Conclusion:
In short it is well worth the buy. Most other bolts are either way more expensive with the same or lack luster performance, or around the same price and dont show a noticable improvement. Great investment for the gun. I'd put it #3 on my list of upgrades behind #1 a barrell that fits your playing style, and #2 a quality QEV.
Rating:
10 out of 10
Last edited on Tuesday, April 25th, 2006 at 4:25 pm PST
Ion
VP Scythe
CCM No-rise Feedneck
NDZ COcker threaded breech
NDZ Spring Detents
Empire 16" 4pc Barrel kit
SP Firebolt
Strengths:
No kick
Better efficiency
No more concave face
Quiter
(SEE REVIEW)
Weaknesses:
Anno wears off
1 tail oring
(SEE REVIEW)
Review:
So I got my Smart Parts Firebolt in the mail. It was amazing. It was so damn nice and light. Another PBN thread for the Firebolt said the bolt weighed a simple 16g, 0.5g less than the L6. I used 2 different scales, and both came out to roughly 16g.
So I slapped a good amount of Hater Sauce onto the bolt. I fine tuned my gun to 45 dwell, running at 160psi, and 280-290fps. I didn’t have any problem with drop off, or anything like that. What amazed me was how I adjusted the Firebolt to 20 dwell clicks from the bottom, and it still cycled. I don’t think it would of done me any good, because I could see paintballs descending quite early, so I just stopped, but Im sure I could of adjusted farther down.
Some say this is a poor man’s bolt, but I wouldn’t say that.
PROS:
-Kick reduction. I had a terrible batch of stingers, and the kick increased the needed accuracy, along with the barrel of course
-Efficiency. I saw 1500 shots to a 4000psi fill. Good for no qev. I didn’t expect this, but I guess I wasted money getting all day air. I filled my tank right as I got to my 4th bag. Expect 1600+ with a Stage 2 and 360 QEV.
-The weight reduction. Amazing. It’s feather-light. Its as light as the L6
-Looks. I love it. Looking into the breech when it fires is awesome. You just see this red flash, and I think it looks cool
-Noise change? My Ion sounded different, I cant explain it, get one for yourself.
-If you haven’t already voided your warranty, the Firebolt will add on to it.
-No more concave face! I had a major problem with small paintballs rolling back to fit the face, allowing another ball to be force fed by my halo halfway in, causing ball breaks.
-GREAT PRICE. $40!
CONS:
-I’ve seen some pics, and even mine had this. Around the ribs, there was some anno scratches around the edge of the ribs. No problem. Just cosmetics, and you wont be seeing the bolt often.
- 1 tail oring. This means for all you people without stage 2's, you will not get as great of efficiency compared to the L6 with 2 tail orings. But this bolt still gets good effiency, so its good. The 2 tail oring wont make a dramatic difference.
-Anno wears off. I had the lube previously for pics for a review on pbnation. Missed a big spot, so I gently wiped it off(didnt press hard and wipe). A bunch of anno just came right off. Now my bolt front is a lighter red and has wear near the edges of the face. I only had used it once, and shot 2500 using it, lubing it at 1500 paintballs(I had time since some people were playing woods, and the teams just were sitting an resting). Maybe it's the same aluminum as the shocker's? Because my stock never wore....
-No performance flaws though.
I can easily compare it to a L6. I had mixed feelings about this bolt, being that it was sooooo cheap. It's worth the money, its not a poor man's bolt. Although the anno wear on my firebolt makes me sort of unhappy. Yes, I lubed it too, so dont bother mentioning it wears because I didnt lube it.
P.S. Don’t think that Smart Parts only paid for manufacturing costs. They hire real professional engineers, that work very hard on this. This costs a lot. So don’t be talking bad about them.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE PICS, refer to this thread, it has an L6, Nano, and Firebolt review in one big post.
http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=1505998
Conclusion:
Its good. I see better efficiency, and less kick, which means accuracy, but the anno wear on mine makes me sort of disappointed, although I'll be able to cope with it. If you cant afford an L6, just get this, you'll get about the same results. It gets a 9 due to cosmetics.
Rating:
9 out of 10
Last edited on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at 10:54 am PST
Lightening Bolt
orange Unicorn Ion Bolt
stock bolt
Marker Setup:
lucky stage 5 ion with firebolt lucky stage 1 spring sith frame evolve regulator and t board
Strengths:
Light
maximum air passages
works with lucky stage 2 and 5 kits
Weaknesses:
Anno is poorly done
some machine flash on bolt
Review:
I was using the lightening bolt before this and it is lighter 4 grams or so i like that the air passage is much larger as far as comparing the different bolts i did not notice any difference between the lightening bolt and the firebolt dwell and pressure did not change any
as far as the firebolt compared to the orange bolt the firebolt is much much better pressure on the org bolt is 180 and dwell is 16 the fire bolt is dwell 6 pressure 130-140
the firebolt kicks less than the stock bolt and the dwell and pressure are less
my firebolt had so so anno but i didnt buy it for looks anyway
there was also some minor machine flash on mine but not enough to need to sand it down
these are the first run so im sure these problems will go away
Conclusion:
This is the best bolt ive used it cheap very light and the more expensive bolts are not any better i really like the massive airflow passages
Black ION, 68/45 Centerflag Tank, Tear Drop, Halo B, Q-Lock No-rise, New Designz Detents
Strengths:
1. Light
2. Did I say light
3. Almost eliminates kick
4. Cheap
Weaknesses:
None so far. If/when I encounter any I will revise this review.
Review:
Got this bolt yesterday and put in my marker. I didn't mess with my dwell or pressure but just test fired in my back yard. I bought this because I wanted to reduce the kick of my ION and didn't quite want to lay out the money for a Orange Nano, or L6 bolt. Well it really, really reduced the kick. I would estimate more than half. So far I am happy with it and based on my limited observation I would recommend it. Don't know what it may or may not do for my efficiency but it was worth $39.
Conclusion:
Great bolt. Great price. Almost eliminates kick (not that a Stock ION has all that much).
