185 Dollar Loader ?

[going_home]

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http://virtuepb.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Spire-White-Black-1024x626.png


http://www.virtuespire.com


Virtue Spire ?

I thought the Rotor price at 170 wouldnt be topped, but this ones at 185 ?

I dont see why.....



:eek:

[knownothingmags]

ill probably have to buy one. :rofl:

[Boltaction]

Why does it look like a duck?

[Arstron]

Kind of reminds me of the Apache hoppers. I never even gave the hopper a second thought until I saw these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjqGRjNIuzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rhez6_McOL0

Still, I think it is over priced, I might pick up a used one in a year or so when the next greatest hopper is released and they sell used for half the price. ;)

[knownothingmags]

the dumbest test video i have seen a long time.

terrible.

[OPBN]

white one looks like the front of the monorail tram at Disney. Sorry, Ill stick with my $45 used HaloV35.

[BTAutoMag]

white one looks like the front of the monorail tram at Disney. Sorry, Ill stick with my $45 used HaloV35.

agree, agree, like

[luke]

I haven't looked at hoppers for several years, this looks pretty cool. But I'm curious why there was nothing on feedrates, reliability and not a single test shot string on a marker.

At $185 is it made in the USA or China? That would be the big sell point for me. ;)

[renie]

I haven't looked at hoppers for several years, this looks pretty cool. But I'm curious why there was nothing on feedrates, reliability and not a single test shot string on a marker.

At $185 is it made in the USA or China? That would be the big sell point for me. ;)


No doubt made in china like the rest, thought they would of undercut the price of a rotor
Thing looks fugly I'll be sticking with my rotor.
It does kinda annoy me the price they charge for cheap plastic moldings

[knownothingmags]

I haven't looked at hoppers for several years, this looks pretty cool. But I'm curious why there was nothing on feedrates, reliability and not a single test shot string on a marker.

At $185 is it made in the USA or China? That would be the big sell point for me. ;)
second that.

[Sniper Steve]

I wouldn't buy one because it is next to impossible to get a hold of anyone at Virtue lately. I was trying to get a board fixed and I sent a dozen emails and tried to call more than I emailed and I could never get anyone. I used to swear by Virtue products but now I don't trust them.

[GEE TEE]

If those videos were the best idea Virtue can come up with, the marketing team need a swift kick up the arse. That promo was so lame, poorly produced and stupid I am stunned to be honest. If they are seriously expecting players to part with 185 bucks, they need to try a lot harder to sell the product in the first place.

As far as I'm concerned they can stick it where the sun don't shine, and I'll carry on using my tried and 'properly' tested Rotor, Halo's, Empire Reloaders, Vlocity etc..

[Arstron]

The things that impressed me in the videos I posted was the hopper being submurged under water and still running and being shot by a shotgun. It was nice seeing a hopper take an impact like that and not crack or break. I am sure if it was a halo there would be cracks all in it. I will agree, every single thing else in the video was pathetic. I would of loved to of seen my dalmation tear into the hopper though, now that would of been a good test. :rofl:

[wetwrks]

Well...I watched the vids, looked over the website...and come to the conclusion that this must feed 1 ball every hour and a half. They certainly haven't pushed the speed capabilities of their product and have completely glossed over that entire subject so one must conclude that their product is slow.

[luke]

Agreed.
I want to see actual feed tests.
And how about unloading 200 paintballs at the loader at say 15 feet away.

[evil]

I bought my halo when they first came out and were geared instead of a belt for 150ish iirc, a few weeks later I sent it back to them and had it converted to belt drive and red shells. That put the total over 175$ and that was 10 or more years ago. I still have it, all original and its my main hopper. I just replaced the shells a couple months back. I see no point in these new hoppers boasting 30+ bps when almost all tournies these days are capped somewhere between 12.5 and 15bps. Ill stick with my halo.

[GoatBoy]

http://uncrate.com/p/little-guy-trailer.jpg

[L3MUR]

The white one looks like a speedboat. I can't believe the prices on stuff. They should have charged less than the rotor.

[Justus]

Agree, they missed a good opportunity to 1) market the thing correctly, and 2) undercut the price of a Rotor. Of course, the Rotor only has 2 pitfalls - how loud it is when it's out of paint, and the price. It looks like the Spire fixed the "sounds like a jet taking off when out of paint" with different loading logic. But they failed on the price.

Take that, along with the fact that you can't see anything with regard to durability and actual performance, and I've come up with the conclusion that I will NOT be an early adopter. I'll wait until someone makes a true Spire vs. Rotor test and posts it up on YouTube. Actually, DYE might want to do that....

[skipdogg]

I saw one being used yesterday. The guy using it liked it and I know it worked fine all day when he played with it. I dont think there are any feed rate issues with it. I believe he had it on a demon.

[Flatliner333]

Kinda looks like a stealth fighter...at that price it should deflect paintballs like radar signals.

[E30bimmerman]

Yeah I must agree with most everyone in here. I'm not impressed. Ill stick with the rotor. But there are videos on youtube of them being used on markers one of which they claim to be running it up to 30bps... or so they say.

[sQuidvision]

wow... am i alone in thinking that these are hideous?

[Justus]

wow... am i alone in thinking that these are hideous?
No. Someone said that the white one looks like a speed boat. I agree. And I don't like it.

If the performance was there and the price was LESS than a Rotor, I would probably buy in. Looks aren't that important if the thing works. But the way it is now, it's 0-for-3. Price too high, no video showing its performance, and its ugly.

And we still don't know anything about the durability, but I'm shying away from that lid/cover because it looks like the brittle pieces of plastic found in some versions of hoppers. Maybe it's not brittle, but they don't do anything to let you know otherwise.

[E30bimmerman]

Well in the videos that going_home put up the dude shoots one with a 12gauge and it didnt break or crack. None of the bb's even went through

[djinnform]

i hope it can resist bird flu

[MeÐiCX]

i hope it can resist bird flu

Sure can! It can also baby sit your kids, perform CPR and even has a virtual dog whistle.

But can it feed paintballs??

Meh but it has an app that can tell if your family members are birds!

[GEE TEE]

The things that impressed me in the videos I posted was the hopper being submurged under water and still running and being shot by a shotgun. It was nice seeing a hopper take an impact like that and not crack or break. I am sure if it was a halo there would be cracks all in it. I will agree, every single thing else in the video was pathetic. I would of loved to of seen my dalmation tear into the hopper though, now that would of been a good test. :rofl:
Yeah.. now you mention it. I forgot just how often I've been playing underwater while being peppered with shotgun pellets. Or been mobbed by bacon frenzied dogs and chickens on the field, and thought to myself... I really wish I could find a hopper that could handle this :rolleyes:

[going_home]

Dont know why but I decided I had to have one of these star trek hoppers.

I must say, the Rotor sounds like a whirling dervish when it runs out of paint and thats quite annoying.

This doesnt do that.

I'll post some thoughts next month after I use it for a couple days play.



:ninja:

[skipdogg]

Dont know why but I decided I had to have one of these star trek hoppers.

I must say, the Rotor sounds like a whirling dervish when it runs out of paint and thats quite annoying.

This doesnt do that.

I'll post some thoughts next month after I use it for a couple days play.



:ninja:


I think you will like it.

[StygShore]

They are like 240.00 with a speedfeed :)

One of my buddied bought one and used it for a few weeks, concluded his Rotor fed just as well, and didnt have a problem loading paint into the hopper. He said when he used the speedfeed he would really have to shake the tube into the hopper to keep it from bunching up on the top of the spndle.

As far as a speed rate, it will keep up with anything you are shooting with it, there is a cool reball video of it on constant cycle with it feeding paint right back into itself.


Styg

[going_home]

I did some trading for the Spire.
So I don't have too much in it.
But I don't do speed feeds anyway.
Too much junk from trees and such can get in there.
I have a high capacity Rotor now, don't know why I had to have a Spire.

[PsychoMag]

I'll keep my VLocitys. They have never let me down.

[Lohman446]

So what. Thats like $80 for the hopper and $100 worth of intimindation factor?

[2BAD4U]

http://uncrate.com/p/little-guy-trailer.jpg
PUNCH!!! :rofl:

[going_home]

Used it for one day of play.
I do like it, it doesnt make a loud whining noise when empty like the rotor, the light just blinks red.
The guy at the Virtue booth at World Cup week ago saturday showed us the new upgraded $45 dollar spring action speed feed, personally I dont use them.

But I did ask him about a high capacity cap like the rotor has and he said one is in the works.

;)

[going_home]

Well after using it for 4-5 weekends play, I can honestly say I do like the Spire loader.

Its it a huge improvement over the Rotor ?

No.

I do have to disclose I got it in a trade, and the Rotor too.

Would I pay retail for either of them ?

No way.

Am I keeping the Rotor and the Spire ?

Yes.

Either will keep up with any marker on the market.

;)

[The Dawg]

My favorite part of that video was how it never mention performance. It just said "very efficient" that is qualitative data and cannot be compared with any other hopper. As a science nerd I and less than impressed. I will hear a ton of amazing reviews (like 25, for hypocrite protection) before I consider shelling out the cash for this hopper.

[going_home]

Had to send mine back to Virtue.

Wouldnt stop pulsing.

It does that normally when empty but it was doing it all the time.

They said they repaired the motor, not exactly sure what that means.


:confused:

[sQuidvision]

After watching hustlepaintball's review I will be sticking with my rotors... They, like mags, are just bulletproof and work work work.

[Freedy500]

Looks like a boat :p

[BigEvil]

Got to see a couple in action... worth every penny!

[Nobody]

loved the one i borrowed. no hiccups, no problems. then i went to my Cheetah Halo, and it broke a ball and turned everything to soup. 5 minutes to take apart, clean and put back together, versus the 20 minutes for a Halo.

i loved my Halos, but Halos are like the carburetor, the Spire is like Electronic Fuel Injection.

[mpsd]

So, after all. If one of you would buy a new hopper. Rotor or Spire?

[Toasty]

Dang, for that price, i could almost get to brand new tires for the whip. These things better ripp. sip and tip.

[cfos00]

I love mine, and actually have two now. I haven't run into any feeding problems, and it's worked consistently well. I most recently had it on my Evil Ehm, shoot it all day, and it had no trouble keeping up.

[sQuidvision]

http://www.virtuepb.com/Spire-Toy.jpg
http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae349/arsonsniper/SPIRE.jpg

[disturbed_rt]

Love mine and I would pay for the larger capacity one if they decide to go past testing and sell them.

[halB]

MFW my proshop showed me how easy it was to open. :wow:

It's like the freaking future is here.

[going_home]

So, after all. If one of you would buy a new hopper. Rotor or Spire?

I wouldnt pay new prices for either honestly.
Battery life is way way better in the Rotor.
Although it looks like a blimp sitting on top of a marker I do like the high capacity cap for the Rotor.
My rotor has been trouble free, the Spire has not.
But I use them both.
Hard to say which I prefer, but I'm leaning towards the Rotor.





:ninja:

[mpsd]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm really not considering buying new as a $200 price tag seems to be way too much anyway. But it's good to see what people have been through with both hoppers, especially considering that the two loaders that I like the most in my collection today are the Torque (I really like it :)) and the Magna, believe it or not. The VLocity is still lightweight and fast and has served me well but how big is that thing!? Just look at it on my signature pic! It's almost the size of my head! LOL

Anyways, thanks again. I just wish someday they will release a smaller capacity shell for one of these. I still dream of a 100 balls fast, light, small hopper.