Is anyone else tempted to buy an ION?

[person1]

Man i just saw them for $199, then i saw a couple of vids of them. Im very tempted to pick one up, atleast for a backup or something, seems like a steal to me. Does anyone know if the triggerframes are plastic or metal?

[Chaos_Theory!]

The trigger frames are powdercoated aluminum. If you have any ion questions at all feel free to ask me.

Ions can be great guns with the right upgrades and can easily run with any other gun outt here if done right.

[MoeMag]

you can call it (ion) a tupperware death cannon. i love that.

That should answer your question. :D

I actually like IONs for some strange reason.

[Chaos_Theory!]

lol, theres nothign wrong with liking ions.

[paintman1142]

the deadly wind Red Isaria body is pretty sick

http://www.deadlywind.com/images/bodies/isaria/red-isaria%2Bcf-reg-cover_450w.jpg

my friend put the dye membrain buttons on his ion and the new boards are pretty nice.

[slade]

is anyone else tempted to buy an ION?
nope!

[Lohman446]

The Ion is an AWESOME $200 marker.

Then people put $500 of upgrades on them

The Ion is NOT an awesome $700 marker.

[SpitFire1299]

The Ion is an AWESOME $200 marker.

Then people put $500 of upgrades on them

The Ion is NOT an awesome $700 marker.
Can i buy your $700 ion for $300?






Yeah, im joking. :p

[Pyroboy597]

Ions are great. The stock trigger and feedneck suck, so expect to put down atleast $100 in upgrades to get a solid feeling marker. The stock triggers are as cheap as a cafeteria spork, so buy like a NDZ one or CP if you can.

[wjr]

Here is my experiance with the Ion:

I went to the paintball store one day and bought an Ion. I took it home and examined it. I compared its feel to the feel of my mag. I found that I like the feel of my mag better. I also thought it felt cheap, although I know now that it is in fact very well made . So I returned it, without even shooting it.

[Pyroboy597]

Here is my experiance with the Ion:

I went to the paintball store one day and bought an Ion. I took it home and examined it. I compared its feel to the feel of my mag. I found that I like the feel of my mag better. I also thought it felt cheap, although I know now that it is in fact very well made . So I returned it, without even shooting it.

Way to judge a book by its cover. You need to shoot the ion to understand that it is well worthy of the fame it has gotten. :argh:

[OEM Petey]

i personally, wouldnt buy one. Thats the basis off, "i might as well buy a high level marker because your gonna end up spending money to upgrade the ion anyways." But thats just me

But a $200 ion > $200 electro spyder

[Dark Frost17]

ha.....i would but i would hat to give up the exclusive factor of my mags at the field... :wow: .. i just dont see them.. :headbang: ...but i mean every 1 and there mom has ion.. :rolleyes: ...just dont like that.....but if i had the cash i would pick one up for my girl..... :D

[BD_Paintball]

just like Lohman446 said its a great stock gun for the price but dont put alot of money into it. that being said im not tempted to get one, i will stick with my proto

[p8ntball72]

Temptation ?

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8233/buddytom6kv.jpg

[minimag03]

The price would have to be around $100 for me to be tempted. I just don't like their feel.

[68magOwner]

the triggerframes are metal (the only actual plastic parts are the trigger itself, and the shell around the body, nothing important really)

anyway, yeah, sometimes i think it wouldnt be a bad idea to pick one up as a backup, because they really are nice little markers.

[deathstalker]

The price would have to be around $100 for me to be tempted. I just don't like their feel.
Used, baby. Used. It sucked for anyone trying to sell one right before the price drop. Great for anyone looking to save even more buying used. Plus, it's even easier to find them with aftermarket parts already installed (which may be good, may be bad :tard: ), helping you save even more money.

[ahellers]

ion would make a great backup. but a horrable main marker. the cuality control just isnt that good. but useing it as a backup once and a while would be fine.
t

[PnueMagger]

I was tempted so i bought a used '05 (pretty much new supposedly) for 199 with a CP reg, clamping feed, and qev. It gets here tuesday. I went ahead and boutght a roller trigger, a proto barrel, mini drop on/off, new grips, and a 5.5 powerlyte body. All in all it cost me ~$360 so far. I may get a bolt and or lucky internals in the future if I need better efficiency.

[Destructo6]

I was and did. I like it. You get a lot of features for not a lot of money, so what is not to like?

Yeah, I put a CP trigger, reg, unimount, and some other bits on it, but I swapped out most of the stock components on my mag, too.

[cledford]

just like Lohman446 said its a great stock gun for the price but dont put alot of money into it. that being said im not tempted to get one, i will stick with my proto

Any reason why you guys say this? I was thinking about building one of these up from scratch - I've seen some really nice bodies and frames. Along with an after market board and QEV, cocker barrel breach. new feed tube and roller trigger - what could still suck? The way I see it is that EVERYTHING that I changed on my Viking (and that most other people do on Angels, Timmies, Shockers, etc) will be changed on the Ion as well - but in the end I'll have <$600 invested for a gun that has Break beam eyes and is more effecient than a Shocker - so what would the draw backs to the fully upgraded Ion be? Keep in mind I'm not comparing a STOCK Ion to anything, but if everything (including bolt and dump chamber) were upgraded on an Ion (I.e building it from scratch) wouldn't we have a gun that could run with the DMs, Egos and other $1300 dollar guns for less than half the price?

Thanks,

-Calvin

[BigEvil]

If you can buy a brand new Ion for $200 and sink only another $100 into upgrades than its a bargain. If you are going to dump $300 inot upgrades then that is a waste. For $500 you can get a used PM5 or many other higher end guns used off of Ebay or the forums.

I just got a mint 04 Angel Speed for $325. Ill dump another $150 into a board and eyes and it will be all set.

[Lohman446]

Any reason why you guys say this? I was thinking about building one of these up from scratch - I've seen some really nice bodies and frames. Along with an after market board and QEV, cocker barrel breach. new feed tube and roller trigger - what could still suck? The way I see it is that EVERYTHING that I changed on my Viking (and that most other people do on Angels, Timmies, Shockers, etc) will be changed on the Ion as well - but in the end I'll have <$600 invested for a gun that has Break beam eyes and is more effecient than a Shocker - so what would the draw backs to the fully upgraded Ion be? Keep in mind I'm not comparing a STOCK Ion to anything, but if everything (including bolt and dump chamber) were upgraded on an Ion (I.e building it from scratch) wouldn't we have a gun that could run with the DMs, Egos and other $1300 dollar guns for less than half the price?

Thanks,

-Calvin

Ahh.. but I have no intent of comparing it to $1300 guns. I have full intent of comparing it to $600 to $800 guns (assuming new, retail prices). It is a good question though

[cledford]

If you can buy a brand new Ion for $200 and sink only another $100 into upgrades than its a bargain. If you are going to dump $300 inot upgrades then that is a waste. For $500 you can get a used PM5 or many other higher end guns used off of Ebay or the forums.

I just got a mint 04 Angel Speed for $325. Ill dump another $150 into a board and eyes and it will be all set.

Ah, I get it - the resale market. Don't go there or do that myself - but it makes sense. Outside of the used marker market - any other reasoning behind the logic that the Ion is waste to upgrade? For me personally, I just don't buy used - had a bad experience. I am however comparing a fully upped Ion to today’s high end markers and right I see a very cheap alterative with the same level performance for much less $$$. Plus, I think it's fun to build markers - so that is a win for me as well. I'm not willing to throw $600-700 into a built from scratch Ion unless it will compete with the current high-end markers available. Right now I can't see why it wouldn't.

-Calvin

[cpt]

I traded a mag for a ion just to try it. They are lighter, faster rate of fire, and more efficent. I like the feel. you do need a feedneck if you buy new. I found a Ion with feedneck, trigger, QEV, unimount, hybrid grip and membrane mod, cp reg and freak jr barrel kit and all stock parts for $260 shipped. Tap the tank on my other Ion and it fires the trigger is so light. I was going to sell my RT to finance this but I don't think I can let it go. I have had it for 5 years and never chopped or broke. The Ion is a pain in the a** to take apart and I have to replace a bumper stop o ring everytime I play. I know I will miss people asking what my marker is when I go out to play.

[Lohman446]

Compare markers, as you would use them Its only fair to compare new price to new price and not consider the better prices some of us can get. For the comparison I am going to call a "good" barrel equal to the proto barrel or better. Barrel choices, trigger choices, are all of course personal preference

Base marker: Proto PM6 $724.95 (Action Village)
On-off assembly: Included
Clamping feed neck: Included
"Good" barrel: Included
"Good" trigger: Included
Total $724.95

Cons: I do not beleive the PM6 comes with a ramping board (correct me if I'm wrong).

Base marker: Vision Shocker $599.00 (Action Village)
On-off: Included
Clamping feedneck: $30 (guess)
"Good" barrel: Included
"Good" trigger: Included

Cons: Vision eye system (though they seemed to work well for me) vs. Break beam. Faulty eye logic (eye reads ball dropping, rather than checking for ball at trigger pull, if ball bounces out of breech still reads ball as in it fully).

Ok... I'll get to the Ion at some point here. How much is an Ion by the time you have a good feedneck, good barrel, good trigger, good on-off assembly, QEVs into it. Does it take Lucky stage 1, 2, and 3 to compete with those above? Does it take a new body to allow you to service the bolt assembly as readily as the ones above to compete? A lot of it comes down to a matter of preference. If I was going to drop $600 into an Ion I would spend the money and get a Shocker/PM6/MINION (my choice). It depends what it takes to make an Ion "compete" If you are willing to cope with the tech issues it may just be barrel / feedneck / trigger. If that is the point you stop at, then a $350 marker to compete at your level with the others, is not a bad deal. If your going to spend $600 to $700 I would think you would be better advised to buy one of the others with a better resale

[BigEvil]

As usual, Lohman makes good point.

IF you are going to go for the $199 Ion for any reason, just keep this in the back of your minds; Smart Parts probably has something new up their sleaves. Buy one now and be prepared to either keep it or face a $50 resale value in a few months.


Shocker vs Ion? Vision or not, I still would take a shocker any day during the week and twice on Sundays. They just feel so much better to me than the ion.

[cledford]

As we work through this - let me state that I'm an upgrade freak - at least as much as most of the other paintaballers I know. Frankly - I don’t even think it's as much about upgrading is it is about seeing and assessing the latest offering from a vendor X, Y or Z. I have as much fun teching and fooling with guns off the field as I do playing – and sometime more!

- Anyhow, I haven't had a marker yet I didn't:

- Put a new trigger on

- Put a new bolt in

- Put an after market barrel on (usually a changeable breach version like a Freak)

- Put a new board in (sometime more than 1 new board)

- Upgrade eyes

And that's how it is. I've been paintballing since the Nelspot 007 days and have never bought a market I didn't expect or want to upgrade. That still goes for today - so even if I bought a new top-end gun (Dye or PE) I'd by dropping $$$ for a board, bolt (for Dye), barrel system, reg (I don't care how fugly it looks, Palmers or AKA regs are the only ones I'll use)

In my mind no matter how much I pay for a marker it's going to require some ups right off jump street - so the idea of a marker cheap enough to build from scratch is a good idea to me. It's how I built my mags and arguably the funnest marker I ever owned - a classic Timmy.

-Calvin

[Lohman446]

Perception. My upgrades tend to be on an as needed basis - even my Ion only got a feedneck (needed because I hate sanding hoppers) and a trigger (mine broke). My mags might be different, but those are for fun :).

If you are going to upgrade everything anyways and are doing it for the fun of upgrading then my comparisons based on performance and usefullness are of far less value to you.

[BigEvil]

Temptation ?

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8233/buddytom6kv.jpg

I spit out my coffee when I saw that one.

Priceless.

[buzzboy]

I don't see why more people own ions.. Even stock they shoot great. I mean they do come stock with eyes and some ramping thingy. I have a few freinds that got them as low budget Speedball guns and they perform great. With just a new trigger I have shot one up pretty darn fast. And they're not just fast. They also have little kick and shoot very smooth. At one point I almost bought one when I was looking for a new gun and the ONLY reason I opted out is because I got a good trade.

It seems as though many people have problems with the QC. I have seen/played with/played agianst/talked to many people with ions and nobody has had a single problem eccept that one of my teamates got his and the Internal air line wasn't pushed all the way into the fitting.

[Lohman446]

Why are so many people hating on Ions. Even stock they shoot great. I mean they do come stock with eyes and some ramping thingy. I have a few freinds that got them as low budget Speedball guns and they perform great. With just a new trigger I have shot one up pretty darn fast. And they're not just fast. They also have little kick and shoot very smooth. At one point I almost bought one when I was looking for a new gun and the ONLY reason I opted out is because I got a good trade.

And everybody hates the QC. I have seen/played with/played agianst/talked to many people with ions and nobody has had a single problem eccept that one of my teamates got his and the Internal air line wasn't pushed all the way into the fitting.


Show me this alleged "hate"? I really don't see it. As to the QC issues - need I get out my list of SP products I have bought and the problems I have had out of hte box with considerably more than half of them? And I support SP in most of these dicussions. Lax QC with them is part of life, at least for some of us. Funny that you bring up the hate of QC though, I don't see that anywhere here. Theres a jump to defensiveness it seems on issues that aren't even being discussed here.

[buzzboy]

The hate I describe isn't as much of a real hate but, ah nevermind. I, well I don't know. It just seems as though a lot of....Oh nrvm. I'm editing my post.

[cledford]

What I'm really trying to get at is whether the Ion, properly upgraded, can hold it's own (equal or exceed) the performance of the big dollar markers. I'm looking for details such as "mechanically the gun could never cycle faster than 20 bps due to design" or something similar. Otherwise, if it can shoot as fast, as consistently (this can only be verified after the fact and will vary based on air systems components as well), is as efficient and weighs in at a comparably physical weight to today’s ultra light markers than you've got yourself a cheap tourney gun. Some people will never accept that a $200 dollar gun (even with $500 buck worth of upgrades) can shoot as good as their $1399 gun – but *if it can* than I’d like to cram the fact down their throats anyhow – if it true.

FWIW, I'm not looking to go cheap here (I'm not the kid with a $99 dollar spider or $200 dollar tipmann who wants play in tourney speedball) - I just think that paintball guns have gotten retardedly expensive for LITTLE OR NO additional functionality that could be had 3-4 years ago - so I see the Ion as a stick in the "eye" of the man - if it can run with the big dogs in the right configuration.

-Calvin

[Lohman446]

What I'm really trying to get at is whether the Ion, properly upgraded, can hold it's own (equal or exceed) the performance of the big dollar markers. I'm looking for details such as "mechanically the gun could never cycle faster than 20 bps due to design" or something similar. Otherwise, if it can shoot as fast, as consistently (this can only be verified after the fact and will vary based on air systems components as well), is as efficient and weighs in at a comparably physical weight to today’s ultra light markers than you've got yourself a cheap tourney gun. Some people will never accept that a $200 dollar gun (even with $500 buck worth of upgrades) can shoot as good as their $1399 gun – but *if it can* than I’d like to cram the fact down their throats anyhow – if it true.

FWIW, I'm not looking to go cheap here (I'm not the kid with a $99 dollar spider or $200 dollar tipmann who wants play in tourney speedball) - I just think that paintball guns have gotten retardedly expensive for LITTLE OR NO additional functionality that could be had 3-4 years ago - so I see the Ion as a stick in the "eye" of the man - if it can run with the big dogs in the right configuration.

-Calvin

The PM5s were limited somewhere in the low 20s due to solenoid issues - I would guess realistically the Ions are very close to the same. Aside from ease of maintenance (I'm sorry I really have a problem with those little microlines) there is little question an Ion is capable for play today. Besides, with a ramping cap of 15BPS and very few if any people pulling beyond that, the Ion is fine at a cap of 17. I played for a few months competetively with an Ion against some pretty healthy competition, and a lot of people still do.

It shoots as fast (ok, might be a theoretical cap of 17 vs 22? but both don't attain it)
It has a proactive anti-chop system
It shoots as accurately
Its more efficient than some
It has all currently legal shooting modes (PSP and NPPL)
It's as light as them.
It has a similar profile.

The maintenance issue, if you want to make one of it, is nothing that will have to do with competing on field. The cosmetics have nothing to do with performance on field.

[person1]

I just bought one, with a new trigger and a QEV. For only $240 it wasnt bad. The only other thing im gonna do is toss a barrel on it. I'll prolly just use it while im buildgin my mag, then switch it to a backup/loaner after its done. But still i cant wait for it to ship, i love packages :D

[slade]

i love packages :D
keep that to yourself, man...

[minimag03]

i love packages :D

:argh:

[person1]

keep that to yourself, man...

Kids these days all have dirty minds......

[vonort]

Personally I would get a SF Trilogy before I bought an ION..


then again I still play speedball with a pump. :shooting: :cheers:

[Ishootyouinthewoods]

Last Castle my cocker went down and I ran w/ my teamates Ion. I belive the only upgrade was a trigger frame. In the end I just didn't like it. I thought the balance was off, and the trigger was too sensitive. I know that it is suppose to be like that but I prefer a crisp pull everytime. Then again considering the price there and what it is capable of, if it floats you boat, why not?

[jenarelJAM]

I think alot of marker selection is feel. When someone used to playing with a $600+ marker picks up an Ion, the answer will often be "it feels cheap." Most $600+ markers will all be able to shoot over 15 bps(which is the legal cap now, so faster doesn't really matter, unless you just like showing off), and they will all be able to get fairly good consistency over the chrono. Once you hit +-5 fps, you need to start worrying about sifting your paint, looking for ones with dimples to throw away :rolleyes:.

I like my viking because on the field, If I get a chop(which I shouldn't, eyes), I can take my bolt out, just pull it out by itself, and run a squeegie through the top bore of the gun, through the breach, and out the barrel, before putting the bolt back in with a snap.

Its things like this that give people their own preferences.

Plus... even if you take your $200 Ion and add $500 to it, It's still an Ion, and to a lot of people, that's all the excuse they need.

I'd go to several shops and just find the marker that you like best. Chances are you can get it for a good price, or find an older model that's similar for cheaper.

[person1]

I don't plan on putting alot of upgrades on it, just toss on a reg i have lying around a barrel and a new trigger. Im not really worried about balance, never really cared about that with whatever setup i had. Im kinda worried it will feel cheap though, im used to shooting angels, mags, etc. I don't care if people give me crap for it, the gun doesnt make the player. I dunno, im excited to get it and see how it is, if worst comes to worst ill just use it as a backup, because the re-sale on these things are ridiculously bad