Best newbie marker?

[boggerman]

One of my buddies if finally going to buy a gun. He has used a rented Inferno, a worn out old Piranha and my Mag. He keeps asking me what is best, but I only know about mags, I have never owned anything else. I was wondering what you all recommend as a durable, reliable first marker for someone who may not be the best at maintainence. I am leaning toward a Piranha G3 or an Illustrator, but I am totally open to suggestions. He is looking at $200 or less. I know you can get the TKO Classic Mag from paintballgear.com, but that is $269 and I am not sure a mag should be his first marker. I don't think he has the patience to learn the trigger and make the upgrades needed to run on co2, he needs a good setup right out of the box that will run on co2. Please help me out here. Thanks in advance for the info!

[Bartleby]

my personal belief is that a mag IS the best newbie gun. but if he doesn't want to spend the money just yet, even though it would be a good investment should he stick with paintball, recomend a shutter. they are durable, reliable and not too shaby with CO2. my friend has one and has never put a dime into it. no upgrades necessary, no maintainence, just some recball. now this kid's getting an impy 'cos the shutter just can't keep up with him.

[ProjectMag]

Tippman Model 98's are great starter guns - shoot nice and are very reliable/durable. I also believe Spyder's are good for the beginner although some would disagree with me. They are easy to maintain and are highly upgradable. Either one would be a good choice and will run under $200.

[Minimag4me]

tippmann 98,
+'s:its what i started with, has a nice trigger, shoots great, very durable, cheap, easy to upgrade, clamshell design(makes all parts accessable), basic

-'s:long, clam shell design(crap to take apart), not too much

spyders are ok but my little bros fell apart(literally) after a little more than a year and that sucks when u put money into it and take such good care of it

mags are really good but expencive (used are better priced) mine is great on co2 with stock cocker reg

f4's i know nothing about

pirahna=same as spyders

[FooTemps]

Mags are good newbie markers. They're expensive but they're for the whole range of players. The mag is all play and there's no stupid fixing and tinkering needed.

[DarkPhoenix]

I would personally go for either the M98 Custom or any of the numerous Spyder clones out there. Most are beat-you-up reliable.

[Phil]

Spyder TL plus. It has a expansion chamber and double trigger as standard. It is around $165.00. If he wants a tippmann I recomend a pro/carbine. The model 98 is a workhorse but it is a pain to clean due to the clamshell design and the paint tends to bubble off.

[DC Nelson]

Id suggest either a model 98, spyder, or f4 illustrator.

All are good starting markers. They can all run just as well on co2 or air. Are within the same price range. You can find parts for them relatively cheap. They can all stand up to a good amount of abuse and neglect.

What you should do is get him to go to a local shop that carries all of these.
Have him try them out... shoot them, try different setups (drop forwards, different size tanks, etc).
Let him see what he is comfortable with (shooting position, aesthetics, and price).
Ive seen someone buy a 1200$ marker, not like the feel of it, and sell it for 900$ after playing with it once. All because he went off what other people said alone, and didnt try it out himself.

I have owned a model 98 and my brother had an f4 illustrator. If you want any specifics on them, dont hesitate to ask.
Sorry i cant help you with the spyders.

"1... 2... 5... er, 3..."
DC

[PigSweat]

Tippmann 98 Custom, easily the best gun on the market for what you pay.

[tooslow]

When Tippmann brought out the Model 98 Custom earlier this year, the took what was undeniably the most reliable and durable entry level marker on the market and also made it the most upgradable entry level marker on the market.

I have sold tons of Infernos, Spyders, Piranhas, and Tippmanns. And I can honestly say that the first marker that I show someone looking for an entry level marker id the 98 Custom. And Tippmann customers are usually my happiest customers.

Second is the Inferno. Not as easy to upgrade as a Spyder, but built like a tank. The Inferno bolt has NO o-rings at all. This eliminates most of the problems that new marker owners encounter.

A distant third is a tie between Spyder and Piranha. Basically they are the same gun. Good value for the price, highly upgradable, nice looking. But, I find that, overall, I have too many first time Spyder and Piranha owners coming back into the shop with problems.

I know that when a customer leaves my store with a Tippmann, the next time I will see him back is when he needs more paint. And that makes the experience of buying a new marker a lot more pleasant for the first time buyer.

hope this helps you friend decide.

[Vegeta]

M98= Great on co2, trigger pull is not to shabby, and is tunable by adjusting the springs. Not the best looks, but tough as a tank, and you dont have to worry about scratching an expensive ano job. Powdercoating can be painted over too. CPX Valve, long lasting. Easy to grasp the concept of the internals: Blot, valve, powertube. Not complex at all. Shoots great, though I reccomend getting a new barrel if you play alot. The stock isnt bad, but it isnt great either. The most upgrades I think any gun has cept cockers. Flatline is the best. I haev had one fore 2 years and it has never broken. The most I have had to do to it is oil it. Customer Service is like AGD's- A+. Nice people, and if they think there could be multiple things causing your problem, or that you might need a part in the future, they will easily throw it in the box for you. Its free too. I ordered some new parts, I lost a spring while oiling once, they sent me a whole new spring kit, and sear, and bolt (lol) cuase I had mentioned my gun was the display model and how all of the 98's were sold out around where i live to compliment them. The lady said if it was the display model ppl might have dry fired it alot, so she was gonna give me nw bolt and sear parts. lol. It all came in 3 days. I think it was supposed to be overnight but my post office got mixed up and esnt an apology letter. it was postmarked the day I called. So thats about M98's


Spyders= some say poor customer service.. i dunno, but youll be needing it alot. Lots of upgrades. Many say they dont last long, I can agree. Do you see spyders as rentals at feilds? no. they are too much of a hassle. Cant say much more- i dunno.


Mags= Do I really have to say much? great guns. The only thing I can thik bad abou them is co2.. not good. If hes new he prolly wont wanna spend 150+ on n2. And the guns are a bit more complicated than the above.

Phirahnas= much liek spyders, not as many upgrades, but longer lasting. Still break easy. again i havent heard anythign great about the customer service.

[Vegeta]

cons about the 98 are- heavy. im not sure about what hte comparison to spyders are though. long too. its a big game/ scenario gun, not for bunker tourney play. but you dont have to worry baout dropping it.. ppl have dropped mine in water, snow, mud, concrete.. etc.. still works. The gun has reciever halves, nto tube design... so you cant feild strip much of it.

[Bartleby]

vegeta, spyders aren't used for rentals at some fields. but at cpx they use piranahs. so what does that say? i'll tell ya spyders are much better than piranahs.

[PigSweat]

No, they use Spyders at one of my local fields, Spyder Shutters.

[PowerFedMag]

I'd say, if yer bud is cheap - get a ProCarbine, or...*yuck* a M98

If yer bud wants a more long term, bad arse mutha fatha. Auto-Mag.

It won't break. It's a Mag. Get a standard feed if yer really cheap.

out

[boggerman]

Thanks for all the great info, gang. We went out today and played and one of the guys brought his Adrenaline Angel. My buddy shot that fell in love, I had to remind him that his wife would castrate him with a rusty butter knife if he spent $1500 on a paintball gun! Seriously, he could not get over how easy the Angel is to shoot fast. We looked around earlier tonight on the net and settled on a Piranha Pro G3 TS. Unfortunately, where we live, the only places to buy a marker are Wal-Mart:eek: or one small archery/paintball shop that only stocks Spyders($279 for a Shutter), so there is no way to try out anything that someone doesn't already own. I have heard that PMI is good on customer service(they're no AGD, but who is?) and hopefully the marker is pretty good, too. Thanks again for all the great input, I'll give feedback on how the Piranha performs/holds up, if anyone is interested.

[PigSweat]

I had a Piranha Pro TS G3 before I upgraded to my 'mag, and I loved it (for an open-bolt blow-back, of course). The trigger was crisp, fairly accurate and consistant, relativley queit, easy to maintain, no major problems. Plus IMHO it looks much better than a Spyder.

[boggerman]

I think it looks much cooler than a spyder, too. Plus the TS Pro comes with a Pure Energy vertical reg, that has to be a plus for only $20 more than a shutter!

[Drizit]

as much as I like the piranha (and I do) if he hasn't already laid down the money I would strongly suggest the custom 98. we dove over one with a pickup truck and then played with it all day just to see how it would really stand up. the only thing that went wrong with it was the cocking nob got bent. and as to the clamshell being bad for maintainense, it not for off field it makes getting at everything more convenient. however it does mean you can't field strip anything but the barrel, and the feed. then again you won't need to. if there ever was a gun that could go toe to toe with a mag for reliability it's the 98. and when he gets some more coin he can get the E-bolt and it will shoot like an Angel (just bigger and longer) or a response trigger and have his very own tommy gun. (it's really what it feels like)
just a note. I still run my Tippmann with the RT trigger on an anti-syphon CO2 tank with no expansion chamber.

[Vegeta]

yea the E-bolt system shoots like an Angel.. (Except- Satilite Uplink and LO-JACK not included.)

and the RT is.. well.. you ever see those 20mm anti-aircraft double barrel guns on Aircraft carriers that people sit on and pivot shootign at planes n those old WWII movies? well- it feels like that. I almost liek the recoil.

[wireman]

Most of the guys I play against use Tippman 98's. They are a very durable gun, work great in the cold, and are pretty simple in design. But from what I have seen with the Tippman upgrades they are hard to install and complicated. A Spyder has to be the second most upgradeable gun on the market, next to the cocker. I think that if you are going to buy your first marker, buy one that you can tinker with and make it your own. I have used my TL Plus for almost a year now and have never had it fail me in play. It is al in the maintenance. If I just had my Spyder trigger on my Minimag, ohhhh........

[MAGgot Man]

But for my money...I'd go with the ICD Alleycat or Thundercat series. They are pretty inexpensive but darn near bullet proof, and very well made. In fact Skanline has a whole package deal for less than 200 bux.

http://skanline.com/productspb/paintguns-combo-paks/PG_Combo_Paks_PB.html

[Drizit]

I've never used anything by ICD except the bushmaster, so I can't say there. and wireman what upgrade for the m98 did you see someone have trouble installing? unless of course they were trying to get a custom 98 upgrade into a Model 98 body... that could do it... the other thing is in a spyder what upgrades other then the booyahh frame realy increase your fire power?

[StevoC]

I've had many different markers and a few different spyders and none of the spyders have ever had problems. As long as you take care of it, the spyder will last forever.

Pirana's also seem to fair up pretty well. My local field uses them, and it's true what people say about newbies abusing markers...the people at my field bring the hurt with them....but the guns keep on going.

Just my $.02

[diehard]

I would go along with alot of the people in this forum... I think the Custom98 is the best gun to start out with. I played a local tourney with CO2 and used a TL... it was worthless, I hated it. The tippman has a nicer trigger pull and is more reliable than the spyder. Spyders suck. If you like spyders, then get a bruizer. Much more reliable. Otherwise, start with the tippman. Of course, if you have the $$ get the mag... so much more you can do with a mag. Your mag can grow with you!!

[JCP member #140]

No one has metioned this yet. At the field I play and ref at, we use Titans as rental guns. I like them and they seem to work well for people who come out and never have played before. They are also tough, considering what they go through as rentals. They work good on CO2 with both the vertical and bottom line models. You might want to look into one if you can find it. Plus they are resonably priced. They are made in Canada and I don't think a lot of dealers carry them, but they can probably order one for you. I forget who makes them though.

[PigSweat]

Titans are made by Mokal, and disrtbuted by PMI.

[Aliens-8-MyDad]

I got a Titan for christmas2 years ago.. played with it once.. it wasnt bad just was loud as hell! and sometimes whitestuff came out the barrel... i still got it and the tank and stuff that came in the package if anyone wants to buy it... but anyways bought my minimag from my friend when he got a shocker for only $340 (with 12oz co2 barrleplug oil hoper and vlbow) "Suker!" ok.... im finished