Do you "upgrade" your marker any more?

[punkncat]

I have probably asked this before. With markers coming truly tourney ready out of the box in mid and high end now, is there really any reason to change anything?
I find once you have a barrel you like and an ASA there is not much left to do to truly change things enough to make the upgrades worth while. Especially when you consider that in most cases you can't get half the price of the supposed upgrades back in resale. Most of these upgrades don't actually do anything anyway, and in some cases actually harm performance.

I have to say that only playing tourney ball anymore, all I am looking for is a marker to legally ramp at 13.3. If it won't I do have to buy a board that will. I don't look at that so much as an upgrade as outfitting it to meet regulations. Given a cheaper option I would flash or reprogram the stock board. The only other thing I look for is a large bore barrel and a decent clamping feedneck. All the rest of it makes me no nevermind.

[Zone Drifter]

Honestly, the only "upgrade" I really see anyone needing is a faster loader if you'll be shooting that much. I'm not one to really use electro markers, but I do own one and honestly, I never use it. i could get a better hp reg for it, but there is just no point. Honestly, I've seen a big decline in trouney playing and an increase in scenarios. I like playing on the speedball field here and there, but in woodsball i just have more fun, and upgrades are more less cosmetic to suit the players comfort or desired look.

[Toll]

At this point, markers don't need it because the manufacturing and design are leaps and bounds ahead of where it was when it started.

Think of the cheap spyders that came out. You upgraded them with an expansion chamber to stabilize velocity. A spring kit to stabilize velocity. A barrel that didn't have burrs in it. A new valve to increase air flow.

You don't need to upgrade an expansion chamber, everything has a reg on it.
You don't need a spring kit. It comes stock with the marker in most cases
You don't need a new valve, because the valve you have in there isn't a problem
You don't need a new hammer because the hammer you have in there does its job.


Realistically for all the crap people give Ions, there's nothing wrong with them. A very minimalist marker that can shoot as fast as required...Done and done. Sure the feedneck sucks and impulse threaded barrels are stupid but thats far and away from when you were buying updated bolts and hammers so you could get over 250 fps.

Besides. If I'm going to spend 400$ or more on a marker should I really need to put ups into it?

[punkncat]

snip

An Ion is one marker that I will say truly benefits from being upgraded. Sure it works out of the box, but throw in a new feed, decent barrel, trigger, and a qev and it TRULY improves it a great deal.

But given that I was talking about a slightly higher end marker than that it is really beside the point.

[Hilltop Customs]

But given that I was talking about a slightly higher end marker than that it is really beside the point.

if something is high end doesnt that mean that it should be top of the line when its fresh out of the box? Saying something is high end and then saying it needs to be upgraded is an gigantic contradiction.

also, not a single paintball NEEDS to be upgraded, its all comes down to what the owner wants.

[sffudapparel]

upgrades are still there, just not like they used to be.

Instead of a new spring kit, you buy a new board
instead of an expansion chamber, you buy a lpr/hpr
etc etc.

[kruger]

Need and want are the two things that should be discussed here. No marker "needs" any upgrades. IF it will shoot a paintball at around 280, then that is really all you need. All it takes to get a kill is one ball. Now, what you want is another story. Are you comfortable with certain parts or certain enhancements on your marker? Are they more convenient for you to have them? Are you wanting more BPS? These are questions that you have to ask yourself. The other question that you have to ask is Do you need this part to play? Or, do you want it, just because.......

I do upgrade my markers, simply because it pleases me. Some upgrades are just my personal preference, some help me be more efficient with that marker. Some are just because they help achieve a certain "look" that I want.

Paintball could actually be played with slingshot. The whole idea is to mark your opponent to eliminate him from the game so that you can complete your goal, whatever that goal happens to be.

[MAGslinger]

That's why it's gonna be a cold day in hell before I part with my Mag's. I love going onto the field with my Minimag, because I know it will never fail me. When you got that amount of trust established between you and that gun, nothing will stop ya in the next paintball shoot out. You can always afford to be outnumbered, but never outgunned.

[going_home]

I havent bought a new marker in years (besides the Vibe which I sold immediately).
I'd rather build a custom mag.
I've never been interested in tournaments. In fact speedball bores me to no end.
Play for 5 minutes (if that long) and then reload air and paint for 10-15 minutes.
I still play it once in a while to switch off playing styles from woods ball but the
fun to be had playing a friendly game of woods cant be beat.
And thats always been the only reason I've ever played
paintball for. Fun !
When its stops being fun, I'll stop playing. Until then.....wheeee

[ThePixelGuru]

Not really, but I don't own any electros these days and the newest marker I have is a PGP2k1. I tend to tinker rather than upgrade because I've got more time than money and fiddling with my marker setups gives me something to do. My latest "upgrade" was modifying a pair of Phantom feedgates for my Sheridans. To answer your question, I guess I tweak components I already have rather than buying new stuff. Actually, I'm not sure if that's a yes or a no, so I guess that doesn't answer your question...

[seekandestroy78]

i'm with them.

not so much buying upgrades as much as buying parts.

spending money on a ule body is only an upgrade if you had a body to begin with. but since i didnt it was just buying a part.

actually, i just upgraded from a minimag valve to an x....

is there an "im a retard" smiley, i know the one is supposed to be a tard but thats more of a "did he just say that", and not what im looking for.

[michbich]

I can't really answer your question either. I don't buy new markers, simply because i don't feel the need to get one. I don't like following the mainstream trends. I do like to add parts to my old mags and I love to tinker with them as well.

[TeamJackal37]

Everyone has different taste, "You have need and want", just like Kruger said. I started out with 68 automag then I upgrade to what I can afford, bought used ULE Body, then later to a Intelliframe, then Xvalve, Gas thru,Then what I need was orings,bumper etc...Now My mag is whole lot lighter than before. I'm very happy I did it. You'll always have that in paintball. Its start with "I want" then "I need", also even if you don't need upgrades, Its good to know its out there, Mag Owners, Ya'll know we like to make our guns look pretty.

[punkncat]

Where mags are concerned there really are only a few upgrades available as far as I am concerned. The X valve or RT valve is an upgrade from the classic in certain respects, the LX bolt is an upgrade, and a few other things that we could all have differing opinion of. But a ULE body for instance is not really an "upgrade" by way of inhanced performance, it lightens the marker no doubt, but really doesn't do anything to how it shoots.
When I think upgrade I mean more along the lines of real or claimed improvement in performance. Like back in the day a venturi bolt was supposed to be an upgrade as it was claimed to improve performance. The LX bolt is a true upgrade as it does exactly what it claims. A different drop forward is more of an ergonomic choice as it may make it more comfortable, but makes not difference in performance.
See what I am saying?

[ultralight]

i just picked up an SLG.

i find that it really "needs" nothing.

i will be replacing:

barrel: Ti boomstick

feedneck: lever clamping

ASA: bleeder on/off

trigger: roller bearing


none of these are "needed" the marker functions without them. however, they will all in their own way increase the markers ease of use, and coincidentally, make the marker uniquely mine.