barrel questions

[SPECIAL_K_06]

Is the CP two piece barrel any good for tournaments?

[Dayspring]

Buy a barrel based on the kind of paint you shoot.

If you play at ONE field, and they use ONE kind of paint, find one that fits the paint you shoot and buy that one.

If you play at MULTIPLE fields, and they all use DIFFERENT kinds of paint, you have 2 solutions- buy multiple barrels or buy a barrel kit to size your barrel to the paint you're shooting.

Length is personal preference. 12-16 is about the regular. Anything more than 16 is just silly.

[Rebel4life034]

If I were you I would buy the Freak kit so you have multiple bores sizes and the barrel is very relible and accurate

[Dayspring]

Freak kits are god-awful...

There are SO many other kits out there. The only reason people used the Freak at the beginning is b/c they were the only ones out. The alignment system is horrible, leaving a seam where the two pieces come together, they have an oring inside which can lead to improper alignment, the insert can spin inside the back, the measurements of the bore sizes are often WAY off and they are not NEARLY as smooth as many other kits.

This is not the case.

Look into the following-

Empire
WGP Kaner
Equation
Evil Pipe
Powerlyte Scepter (Personal recommendation)
Longbow
Custom Products

[marfish]

I have a FREAK! system and like it very much. Like Dayspring said, they're not the absolute BEST. Yes, it has O-ring suspension(I count it as a plus) that can get off-centric if you force it in when it's dry (hmmm...who wouldn't?...Uh, don't even go there, LOL;)). Just keep it clean and very lightly lubed (the O-rings. what did you think I meant?). Lets see,where was I?...oh yea, spinning inserts? I wish mine would do that! :) It could be a good thing, but alas, if you actually tighten down the parts, and the O-rings are in place, the insert pretty much gets locked down. Besides, there is nothing applying twist to the insert during play anyway.

There are some very good systems out there that have some advantages over the FREAK! like longer insert/back for better and more efficient ball accelerating. Even better bore finish giving possibly a better launch.(ever price one of these?) (Come on guys, I'm trying to be serious here;))

Still, there are several features that make the FREAK! a worthy contender for your dollar.
1. Eight color-coded universal inserts fit any FREAK! back. No need to buy a whole set of backs for each marker type. Just one each. One back for my Spyders, one for my Automag.
2. Universal tips even swap with other two-piece SP barrels, ie. All American for a custom look. I have a short silver teardrop tip and a longer plain black tip. Both are swirl ported.
3. Availability at a reasonable price. They have been around now for a while and you can probably get a pretty good deal on eBay or such from some guy wanting something else. Mine came used with a stainless Angel back which my local PB dealer gladly traded for and gave me a FREAK! JR. Spyder back w/insert. He even threw in some other stuff besides.
4. Quality control is pretty good. If it wasn't, insert bores would vary widely from piece to piece and one marked .687 could really be the same as one marked .684 etc... which they aren't. Btw, even if they were off, it really wouldn't matter to me as long as they were all different and I could size them to my paint.
5. They usually come in a pretty decent foam-padded case to keep it all together and dent free.
This is a very sound and trouble free kit that gives you all the sizing you need from Big Ball and Midnight all the way up to Anarchy and beyond.

I am not espousing the politics of the whole patent related stiff-arming thing that Smart Parts has recently been involved in, but they do have some very good products.

In summary, you could maybe do better and you could very easily do worse in a kit. If you want the BEST barrel, get your favorite barrels in all the bore sizes you'll likely need, and spend a grip of money. Lapco has at least three barrels (Big shot, Autospirit, and Microshot) to choose from. Each has a diffferent size bore and THEIR barrels are very tough to beat. But if you want to save some money (by getting only one barrel), never worry about the size of the paint at the PB store, AND have multiple options for multiple marker types, The FREAK! is still very hard to beat.

Hope this helps
marfish