Faddy
07-15-2005, 06:36 PM
Been a reader for a while, but I mostly lurk here, rarely post. But I was thinking about something lately, and I'm wondering if anyone had been thinking about something like this also. Im sorry if someone has already brought this up, but with search gone, I can't look for it.
First of all, a few facts with regards to paintball technology. If I'm wrong here at all, please let me know.
1. With most (all now?) tournament series adopting a 15ish bps, there's no reason for a gun to shoot faster than that. (Not including Greenspanners, or people who want to shoot faster just for fun out of game)
2. Efficiency is reaching a peak. There are already guns out there that can shoot near a case of paint on a 68/45.
3. Loaders of today can easily keep up with 15bps without gaps
4. The lightest guns on the market weigh less than 2lbs. When you add a full hopper and tank, a couple ounces only accounts for a few % of the total weight.
5. Anti-chop eyes have all but eliminated ball chops.
6. Accuracy is basically at it's limit. This is due to well made barrels and consistant gun that rarely vary more than 5fps per shot.
With those facts (ok, they might not be 100% factual, but they should be close) what is the next big breakthrough in paintball? In my opinion, the guns have hardly changes in the last couple years. The last big breakthroughs were force-fed hoppers and ACE's. Making a gun shoot faster isn't going to help much. In most tournaments and fields you'll have to limit that anyway. People carry more than enough air to support just about any number of pods they carry, so air efficiency really isn't going to help that much. Not only that, but is there much that can even be done to increase efficiency enough to make a difference? Again, loaders can easily match 15bps...so no real breakthroughs on that end. Weight seems to be reaching alimit as well. Obviously there needs to be some weight. A few ounces you won't even notice once you put the tank on and fill your loader. Guns with ACE's don't chop...no new breakthroughs there. Guns are already very consistant.
So, what is next? Is there anything next? Or are we now in a stagnating industry? Something to discuss and think about.
First of all, a few facts with regards to paintball technology. If I'm wrong here at all, please let me know.
1. With most (all now?) tournament series adopting a 15ish bps, there's no reason for a gun to shoot faster than that. (Not including Greenspanners, or people who want to shoot faster just for fun out of game)
2. Efficiency is reaching a peak. There are already guns out there that can shoot near a case of paint on a 68/45.
3. Loaders of today can easily keep up with 15bps without gaps
4. The lightest guns on the market weigh less than 2lbs. When you add a full hopper and tank, a couple ounces only accounts for a few % of the total weight.
5. Anti-chop eyes have all but eliminated ball chops.
6. Accuracy is basically at it's limit. This is due to well made barrels and consistant gun that rarely vary more than 5fps per shot.
With those facts (ok, they might not be 100% factual, but they should be close) what is the next big breakthrough in paintball? In my opinion, the guns have hardly changes in the last couple years. The last big breakthroughs were force-fed hoppers and ACE's. Making a gun shoot faster isn't going to help much. In most tournaments and fields you'll have to limit that anyway. People carry more than enough air to support just about any number of pods they carry, so air efficiency really isn't going to help that much. Not only that, but is there much that can even be done to increase efficiency enough to make a difference? Again, loaders can easily match 15bps...so no real breakthroughs on that end. Weight seems to be reaching alimit as well. Obviously there needs to be some weight. A few ounces you won't even notice once you put the tank on and fill your loader. Guns with ACE's don't chop...no new breakthroughs there. Guns are already very consistant.
So, what is next? Is there anything next? Or are we now in a stagnating industry? Something to discuss and think about.