The new Gryphon marker is lightweight and incorporates numerous premium features, including: an internal gasline for a cleaner look, a rigid and ergonomically-designed front grip, a center-feed design to maximize mobility, a high-impact body, a blade trigger for a smoother trigger pull, a high performance and ported barrel for reduced sound and improved accuracy, and the legendary reliability of the Tippmann inline bolt system in a new body frame and loader position to provide a more balanced feel to the marker.
Product Availability
The Tippmann Gryphon is newer, so it should be commonly available, both new and used.
Places to Buy
No Stores
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Tippmann X7 Phenom with a 16 Inch J&J ceramic fult tilt and a nitrogen tank
Recommended Upgrades:
New barrel: preferably a J&J
Strengths:
Low Price
Fairly light weight
It comes in red?
Pretty Accurate
Ambidextrous cocking handle
Weaknesses:
Recoil
Durability
Lack of upgrade options.
Hard to take apart.
Review:
I got this marker because I wanted a cheap, light marker for my little sister and I must say that it fits both of those characteristics perfectly. She loves it to death.
However, I do want to point out a few things about it.
The good~
1. Price and performance: I was able to pick a refurbished version for $45 and it was an absolute steal, but even at $70 brand new it's still worth the money. It's pretty much comparable to a 98 custom in terms of performance on most things and only costs about half as much.
2. Weight: This gun is extremely light compared to any other gun I've ever held. My Phenom is about 4 pounds without anything on it and this thing is a mere 2 pounds. I could tell the difference almost immediately just by walking around with it for a few minutes. You'd be surprised how much a little bit of weight can matter.
3. Ambidextrous cocking handle: Not a big thing really, but I'm left-handed and am used to having the cocking handle of the left side of the gun( like with the 98 custom) ,so it was nice seeing a gun that had it on the top instead.
The bad~
Recoil: Now, I know that most of the important internals are the same as the 98's and that gun is known for having a relatively high kick( I have one, I know), but for some off reason it seems like it's a lot worse with this gun. Couldn't tell you why, it just seems that way.
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Durability: Okay, so this gun is cheap and light because it's made mostly of plastic, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself. However, it does raise questions about whether you could take it in the woods without worrying about accidentally bashing it into a tree and breaking the outer colored shell.
Even though this outer shell doesn't actually house the internals (They're in a separate hard plastic body underneath), breaking it could be a serious problem since it's the only thing keeping the linking arm in place. In my opinion, this is a serious design flaw, but oh well, they needed to cut costs I guess so if you want to purchase one then just remember to be gentle with it.
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Disassembly:
Alight, after having been the proud owner of a 98 custom for 3 years( rumored to be the most annoying marker to open up in all paintball history), I thought that I'd mastered opening up paintball markers and was therefore an expert in the area; I was wrong.
This gun has to be the most difficult one I've encountered yet. There are countless tiny little screws everywhere , plus, my personal favorite: sharp edges so you can slice your fingers into pieces. Basically, it's not fun to open up. I must have cut myself 2 or 3 times the first( and only) time I opened it up.
Lack of upgrades:
Pretty self explanatory, you really can't add anything to this marker besides a barrel and a new hopper.
Conclusion:
Basically, I did point out a lot of annoying problems that I had with this marker, yet even with all of it's faults I would still recommend it to any newer player looking for a cheap gun with Tippmann 98 custom like performance. Although, if you can afford it, then I would suggest you go with the latter.
-Tippman 98 C
-Flatline Barrel System / Quiet Riot 12" / SP Progressive 14"
-Dead On Paintball Powertube (I think it's aluminium)
-32 Degrees Hyperstar Bolt/Orange Howitzer Bolt
-Dark Horizon Titanium Hammer (Lite)
-Cyclone Feed System
-BT Folding Stock (hollow)
-Poished internals
-Maddmann & Trinity Spring Kits
-Red Dot/Holo Sight w/sight raiser
-Tippmann X7 Phenom (Electro-Mech hybrid model)
-Bad Karma Bolt
-Tippmann Straightline (Hammerhead)
-Apex Ready Lapco Big Shot 12" with Apex 1 tip
Recommended Upgrades:
None. Maybe a barrel if you plan on keeping it a while
Strengths:
Compact, lightweight, decent stock barrel
Weaknesses:
A little bit fiddly to strip, but nothing major.
Review:
If you're not fussed about milsim looks, this is definitely a superior entry level marker to the 98 in my opinion.
The 98 offers a multitude of upgrade paths and can fast become a black hole for money. I think many people, including myself have spent more than the 98's worth spending on in the the end. When I switched up to a Phenom, it cost me about half the price of what I'd spent on my 98 and was really twice the marker in every aspect apart from weight and balance.
The Gryphon is essentially a 98 inside; durable and dependable. The body is a tough polymer plastic as far as I know and will last well. The grip is excellent and the balance is nice. It's a great gun for fast games. It looks more like a 'sports' gun (Ion) than a milsim style such as an A5, X7, Tiberius, Armotech etc. model.
If you plan on playing paintball more, this is better solution than a 98. The barrel shares the same BT4/A5/X7/Phenom threading so all those barrels will work on this. You could carry that over to your next marker if you decide to later buy one of the above.
Expect every bit
Conclusion:
Probably the best entry level marker out there at the moment. Don't be tempted into overspending on a 98. This marker is very good. Exploit its lightness, simplicity and solid accuracy. If you paired a small, carbon fibre tank with it, you'll have a very light setup that will pay dividends when moving and snap shooting. It doesn't have a great rate of fire, but play tactically with this in mind and you'll reap its other advantages ;)
Lack of upgrades
Plastic recivers
Internal gasline
Review:
My freind has this marker and he loves it I have used it in about 5 games it takes a5,x7,BT4 threaded barrels and in my oppinion it has a nice felling trigger. The center feed is nice and is not normaly found on tippmann markers. It is the lightest tippmann marker I have ever felt because it is entirely plastic except for the internals whitch are mainly based of the 98 custom with the exception of the trigger assembly. The plastic shells are ok because it makes the marker lighter but I also don't like the plastic because it makes the marker feel chinsey. I do not like the internal gasline because it prevents the marker from being able to put in upgrades like an e-grip or response trigger. But this can be expected for a sub $100 marker but if these little things don't bug you it's an amazing shooting
Conclusion:
A good shooter in the sub$100 price range. The sub $100 bracket just got better.
Speedball: Empire Axe with Dye Rotor
Woodsball: Gryphon with Proto Primo
Recommended Upgrades:
Proto Primo Hopper
Strengths:
Accurate,
REALLY Light,
NEVER Chops,
Sits good in hands,
Blade trigger,
Good CO2/N2 "Port"
Weaknesses:
Long trigger pull causes slow rate of fire (about 8 bps)
Review:
This is an absolutely amazing marker. It only weighs 3.6 pounds with a tank and hopper on it! I shot 12000 rounds through it yesterday in 45 degrees and had NO chops. This gun is amazingly accurate. From 50 feet, I hit within 3 inches of where I was aiming for. Like I said, it does have a low rate of fire at 9 BPS. I recommend getting the Proto Primo as a hopper. Its, gravity fed, but puts out 10 BPS. Theres no reason to use an expensive electric hopper on a gun that can't keep up with it.
Conclusion:
Bottom line, this marker is amazing for a woodsball marker, or an entry level speedball marker. Plus its only 70 bucks. Buy this gun!!!
Rating:
10 out of 10
Last edited on Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 at 10:38 am PST
