OMGWTFBBQ! Someone make a hopper shell that doesn't BREAK!

[shadow462]

OK. Let me me brief. I've been playing paintball for 12 years. I've seen pumps go semi, semis go electro, electros go ramping. I've seen VL200s get batteries and become Shredders (yeah, they actually called them that at one time). Then I saw Halos push paint down faster than gravity, then I saw the Warp Feed totally give gravity the middle finger. Shop goggles are now thermal lenses and soft flex ears and triple-density foam. In 25 years, paintballs have gone from marking trees for cutting and cows for slaughter, to one of the fastest-paced sports on the planet. Why, in the name of all that is good in the world, after all of this rediculous technological progress, why is my hopper shell more brittle than my grandma's osteoporotic hips? The plastic used now is WORSE than in the pre-Brass Eagle Viewloaders. How did we go backward?

I know the simple answer: business. Hopper shell breaks, hopper company makes $35 on another shell. Fair enough. So, how many times do we all have to repurchase a faulty, overpriced product before doing something about it. The companies that make the hoppers will never do it, because they've got a nearly perfect business plan.

Imagine the money lying out there to be made on this idea. A hopper shell (presumably compatible with Halo/Reloader style hoppers) that doesn't break. It can't be that hard to figure out. The materials exist. Who's going to cash in? You could essentially charge whatever you want for the end product, because I know most of us are fed up with overpaying for garbage product.

I don't understand why no 3rd party has come up with something here. If anyone has any ideas, toss them out. Materials, mods, manufacturing methods. 90% of breaks are at the neck, maybe the rest of the hopper could remain essentially unchanged. mI'm too tired to rant any more. Help me out!

John

[personman]

My Ricochet Apache seems like the plastic is pretty high quality, and I think ive heard stories about people who have broken shells getting free replacements from Ricochet. I cant picture mine breaking at all though.

Try a rico?

[3pac]

How about using the nalgene material? Tends to be unbreakable. Would make for a great hopper because it wouldn't break . If you were able to break it, you should be able to get free shells just like they used to do with the water bottles.

[StygShore]

coat it?

http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/other/03/index.html

Probably not legal, but might help keep it from being so fragile


Styg

[shadow462]

That Nalgene looks incredibly promising. I have a bottle made of it, I can't believe I never made the connection. I wonder what it would take, manufacturing-wise, to try that out. It seems like something we'd have to have made by an existing Nalgene product manufacturer. Is there anyone out there with more information and insight into the Nalgene possibility?

That coating is also interesting, but I see a few problems. First, as you said, is legality, since neoprene covers are already outlawed. Second, if you coated the outside, most loaders wouldn't fit into standard feednecks. If you coat the inside, especially in Halos, I don't think you could fit the loader back together, not to mention that would change the ID of the feed tube. Finally, I'm not sure that coating would have the stability to complement its flexibility, and the under (or over) lying plastic would likely be as brittle as before.

Anyone have anything else to toss at the drawing board? Obviously, an ideal concept is one that could be prototyped by end users like us, rather than something that would require a large company's backing and involvement (which I fear Nalgene may be).

Thanks to everyone, I hope we can finish this conversation with some real results.

john

[StygShore]

unbreakable my left toe!

We could make it out of whatever those feed neck adapters were made from armson and others that were supposed to be unbreakable...

Hmmm wait, how many of those stupid things did I have to replace through the years before vert feed


Styg

[BigEvil]

Actually, the tooling costs JUST to make the molds are incredibly expensive. So if your a business that makes shells, you want to sell as many as possible in order to recover the start-up costs and then eventually make a profit. You make them just as strong as they have to be so you dont have to replace them for free due to them failing under normal use.

[91Foxtrot]

Nalgene bottles are made of polycarbonate (Lexan, if you want a common brand name). Same material your mask lenses are made of. I think it costs nearly twice as much as ABS, which is what I think revvy shells are made of. Not sure what Halos, eggs are made of.

[slade]

Actually, the tooling costs JUST to make the molds are incredibly expensive. So if your a business that makes shells, you want to sell as many as possible in order to recover the start-up costs and then eventually make a profit. You make them just as strong as they have to be so you dont have to replace them for free due to them failing under normal use.

what he said.

an aftermarket manufacturer would have to sell a lot of shells to make a profit, so its not necessarily all that profitable... especially since, if it works, you wont have any return customers.

lexan isnt too expensive at all, although it costs more than other plastics. the expense comes more from the mold and it may be harder to form than other plastics (im really not sure)

although, i actually have to agree with this idea. lexan is pretty damn strong, the 3/16" piece of lexan on my bot didnt break after taking a hit from a 50 pound pneumatic hammer

although remember, that lexan (and a nalgene bottle) is just one solid piece. a hopper shell has a lot more thin/small parts and edges to break.

[3pac]

Slade presented a good point about the many edges to break and such. Then you must factor in the geometric strength of shapes and such.

[Rudz]

cf?

carbon fiber? idk ive been thinking the same, we need stronger shells, but i believe hybrid has a lifetime warranty of they're shells, if they break, you get new ones.

[slade]

carbon fiber? idk ive been thinking the same, we need stronger shells, but i believe hybrid has a lifetime warranty of they're shells, if they break, you get new ones.

are you kidding me? do you know how much it would cost to make a true carbon fiber shell? just take a look at a halo shell and all the thin edges, the joints, and the shape of the holes it has.

[Pacifist_Farmer]

The Carbon Fiber wouldnt work, too many stress concentration points, as stated by Slade.

On the other hand if one is that obsessed with getting a lexan shell, make one your self.

Get a large block of wood, and hog out an area shapped like the negative of the shell you want to make. Get a sheet of lexan from your local hardware store, and a heat gun, and melt that puppy into shape. Of course it's not quite that easy but that should hypothetically work.

Actually a heat resistant epoxy or molding agent would allow you to take a direct cast of the actual shell you wanted to reproduce.

[>><<]

[Rudz]

illegal

jeez, i was just throwing carbon fiber out there, no need to rip my throat out, and the proflex thing would probably be illegal.