One-piece barrels vs two piece------PROS/CONS....

[ScoobYSnax]

Hey all, I was wondering what everyone thought of one piece barrels (such as a Lapco or CP) to two piece barrels, specificially the All Americans and DYE Boomy/ultralite. I was wondering what the pros/cons of each are? I was originally a one-piece barrel only guy, but now I feel 2-piece may have more advantages. What do you guys think? 2-piece (such as boomy/ultralite or all american) or one-piece (such as CP or Lapco). Let me know, thanks!

[Croix71]

I don't know what the pros/cons would be but as long as the barrel performs well it doesn't matter to me whether it's 2 piece or 1 piece. :D

If your trying to decide between certain barrels, narrow down the listand then do a search on those specific barrels. See what everyone has to say about them and try PMing AO members who made those comments if you have specific questions. I've found this to be the fastest way to get some questions answered.

[magatron]

one peices are my prefered. 2peices wont be as accurate in most cases due to the staged part, being as to where a one-peice is one cosistant bore all the way through, a 2peice will not be usually. that setp may create a small space for the air to get around the ball and slow it down, and cause more turbulance at the end of the barrel when th ball is at an exiting point. if your looking into a boomy, i would suggust maybe looking into possabley a 32* carbon fiber or a tear drop. that is also a big reason i dont like the freak system eather.

[soilent green]

I prefer a one peice its more gas efficient in most cases and accuracy is close however a 2 peice is generally more consistent as the acceleration is cut off sooner so their is less likly to be velocity fluctuations

[ScoobYSnax]

Well I was thinking 2 piece might be more accurate because if the paint is fitting just a little tight in the first section, the second half (slightly larger bore) will fit it much better and help the ball fly straight out of the barrel compared to the curved balls produced by too tight of a fit in a 1-piece...

[lazyrider77]

i always found a 1-piece barrell just as, if not more, accurate as a 2-piece. especially the teardrops and progressives from smart parts, they also seemed to break less paint, but i think the difference is neglible because the focus is now on 2-piece and the technology there is always being pushed to make them better.
i think the type of gun you are using matters as well, i like a 1-piece for my Carbine, but for my shocker, it really doens't matter because the gun jsut doesn't break paint.

[FatMan]

Scoob,

I think there is more mythos surrounding barrels than anything in paintball. I think, in the end, anything that works well for you is fine. It is interesting that step-bored (two piece) barrels seem to be by far the most popular. Also, not all once-piece barrels have a consistent bore - I believe Glenn Palmer uses an "eliptical" bore that is tighter at the ends than the middle. My Typhoon with one of these was one of the best shooting markers I've ever owned.

There are those who contend that at the step the air rushes past the ball and the balls stops accellerating. There are also practical experiments that say otherwise. To me, I have a hard to believing that the ball stops being pushed by the rush of air, even though some pressure is slipping past. If anything it would reduce the accelleration curve, but not stop it. I think that is probably a good thing with respect to consistency and stability when the ball leaves the barrel, but I have no hard evidence of that.

Porting is another matter. Again, almost EVERYONE uses a ported barrel. I think for the same reason, you want to drop the pressure off before the ball leaves the barrel - plus many folks like a quieter barrel. I have heard of tests that show that extensive porting right after the step (as in the SP AA barrel) DOES reduce velocity. I tend to prefer a barrel with the porting at the END of the barrel - and if there is porting farther up - then very little of it. For example the Boomie has a little porting early on, and more at the tip.

The Freak is based on the SP Teardrop, which has the porting down at the end of the barrel. With a 12" or so barrel you get about 6" of tight bore, another 3" of loose bore, then 3" of ports. That seems to be pretty good (you'll find lots of evidence that any more than 10" or so of barrel is probably a waste).

Some of the really long AAs have 8" or so of tight bore, but then 8" or 10" of heavily ported loose bore. Those barrels are overall too long for my liking.

I currently own a Lapco and a Dye one-piece, a SP AA, and a SP Freak. The Lapco and Dye are awsome if the paint fits. The AA is a good all around barrel. What I use though, is the Freak. It matches any other barrel I have, plus I'm guaranteed a good fit.

I think the answer is most any of these will work fine - the question is what works best with your marker, your paint, and your style of play? No one here can answer that. Something like the Freak will almost certainly work well, because you can tune it to your liking. If you don't want to lay out that kind of money, the cheaper barrels like the Dye and Lapco will work well, but you ought to try them out before you buy. See if you can borrow one.

Best of luck to you.

FatMan

[cphilip]

Originally posted by FatMan
the cheaper barrels like the Dye ...
FatMan

Never heard the words "cheap" and "Dye" used in the same sentance before! :D

[Croix71]

Interesting read Fatman, thanks. :D


Originally posted by cphilip
Never heard the words "cheap" and "Dye" used in the same sentance before! :D

hehe, too true.

[FatMan]

Originally posted by cphilip


Never heard the words "cheap" and "Dye" used in the same sentance before! :D

yeah, you got me there. My Dye AL was about $75, I'm seeing low 80's these days. That doesn't compare to some others - but its a lot lower than a Boomie or a Freak.

FatMan