Reviews on the new ion.

[WARPED1]

This is the typical response that I expected from the pro SP people. The author asked for reveiws. I gave him my expereinces with this gun. Beleive what you want. But once again from what I have seen it is another junky product from SP.

And yes we replaced all the o-rings. And checked the batteries. The guy that runs the shop knows what he is doing around markers. As do I. And its kind of hard to get pics when the guns have already been sent back to SP. Along with a note that they will not be getting any business from him in the near future.

This reveiw has nothing to do with the fact that I do not like SP and their business practices. I'm just trying to keep new players from making a $300 mistake.

IMHO Wait for the 05 BKO to come out or buy a Wrath.

Funny, thet you're just about the only one who says thier Ion broke down. You are most likely a diehard AGD fan, so any other company that has a gun that is maybe better than the mag, you get your panties in a twist. Offer us some proff and pictures, get us an extremely detailed explanation of everything you guys did. Frying a board doesn't happen without user error. How many times has a Bill Gates PC's board fried without the user doing something stupid?
I won't believe a single word you say until you offer proof and photos. And also, he asked for reviews, I gave my first impression. I'll give a more detailed one when I buy mine.
One word of advice to the guy asking for reviews, when you get it, the ONLY thing you should change is the barrel, and that's not even needed, since SP barrels are top notch.

[vonort]

Quick correction Mr. panties in a bunch. I like most all of the Pb products out there. I do like AGD. I also like Palmer, Bob Long, Worr, ICD. Pretty much the only one I don't like is SP.

And I will agree with part of one of your points. Switch the barrel.. Because SP barrels are some of the worst ones in the business. Get a nice J&J or Longbow,, even a CP barrel would be a good choice.


PS. I did not break the gun. The people at my local shop did. I didn't even touch the POS. And if you would read Warped1 (mr SP) the guns have already been sent back to SP. Just because you are under contract by them, does not mean you have to attack anyone that says something bad about them. My expereince is that 3 out of 3 guns broke down in under an hour. That is my reveiw of this "great new revolutionary gun" from sp. Just because your stuck using inferior products doesn't mean you should attack everyone else. I wouldn't take an SP sponorship on a bet.

To the author.. If you have $300 to throw away then buy one of these. If you want a decent marker wait for the ICD 05 BKO to come out. Thats all I have to say about this.

PPS.. One other thing to consider when reading any reveiw about an SP product from Warped1. SP could come out with a Triangular barrel for round paintballs and he would tell you its the greatest thing since Air. Why because he HAS too.

[WARPED1]

Try listening to the majority. MANY good reviews, 1 bad review................
even the illustrious mag sucked in it's first release. It doesn't anymore though!

[CrimsonGhost]

I have mine ...have had it for 3-4 days now. Ive shot a case through it (back yard drills and I am happy with it.
So far...the Best $300 I have EVER spent in this sport.
I have taken the ION apart after each session to check for any issues(new markers sometimes have bits of debris in them) and have found none so far.
Taking it apart is fairly easy...just be careful with the wiring harness.
I have a 70 ci Crossfire HP stubby on it and the stock barrel...With a halo b v board I shoot consistant strings and the chronoing speeds are VERY tight +/- 3 ish fps on a stock reg...not shabby.
I want to see if putting my 2 liter on it will tighten it up even more.

I am not a pro SP person.
Im not an Anti SP person.
I judge a product on my own personal use of the markers...not by what others have seen or say...or what a shop says for that matter...most shops have an agenda that may or may not be in the best interest of the customer.
I think its DEFINATLY WORTH the $$$ and hope the aftermarket companys support this little gem....and hope SP ups the quality of the wiring harness.

[WARPED1]

Hmmmmmmmmmm, another good review...........

[Glickman]

Gun 1 was taken out of the box and aired up and leaked like a siv. The gun was taken apart as per the intsructions and lubed and still leaked.

Gun 2 was lubed up and taken out on the feild by a tourney level player. After about 1/2 hour of use the gun failed to function period.

Gun 3 was treated as the first two. After about 1/2 hour of use the board was fryed.

So no it wasn't incompentence. It was POS guns produced by POS company. Like we are used to in this industry. Especially from SP.


ps. What a suprise that a guy who is sponsored from SP didn't have any problems.. what a shocker... (yes the pun is intended.)

im assuming you used nitro?

what was the pressure you were operating it at?


and btw, ask any tech, 9/10 smart parts marker's problems are due to incompetance...




also. why does it seem that only fields are getting "faulty markers"? and not just one. ALL of theirs are "bad." call me crazy, but has anyone seen a poor review of the ION from a single person?

[WARPED1]

has anyone seen a poor review of the ION from a single person?

Nope.

[JimmyBeam]

me either

[Lohman446]

I like SP markers for there features - there quality control, in the past has sucked to me.

However, they have been "minor" issues for the most part - some shavings left here or there, regs set way out of place.

Of the several SP markers that I have owned, and teched for the shop I work with I have only seen two that had a condition that should have been sent back. One was my own shocker that had a milling issue in the threads of the marker where hte endcap screwed in. I, through creative engineering, was able to force it out (it involved two lag bolts and channel locks), clean the threads (one was folded forward), replace the endcap and good to go. The other was a private label impulse that the owner ended having the private label manufacturer repair - but is that even SP's fault?

I will get my Ion today, Im going to the shop and will test the couple he ordered. I'll tell you what I think this evening

[punkncat]

Sorry, but I have to jump in on this one.....

To say that people aren't getting what they pay for in the Ion, or ANY Smart Parts marker out there is false. SP markers represent a great value in a marker and generally hold their value as well as anything out there. Performance is about the same in ALL mid-higher end markers, its really just about bells and whistles, and how it look/feels to the user.

I own an Impulse now, and am very impressed with its rock solid reliability. Sure I see lots of people having trouble with markers. All of them. There are lots of SP markers out there in the hands of inexperianced people who do not know how to properly treat or maintain a marker. This bad wrap people are trying to give their markers over displeasure with recent business practices is pure bogus. It can't hold up. I don't see anyone ragging on Angels. They are the ones responsible for the reduction in programmable boards, and aftermarket grip frames from certain manufacturers....I guess its all in the PR?

First runs have bugs. Give them a minute and it will be up to par. Assuming(?) that it isn't already. For $300 I personally feel its a gem. Don't like it, won't own one, but I can see the value.

Vonort.
I am not trying to call you out or flame you. You have stated your opinion on this subject. We all get the point. Do yourself and others a favor and leave it be. Let others speak out on it.

[Lohman446]

I picked up my Ion today from the store - I ordered it last Thursday and as it missed the initial Friday shipment it went out on Wednesday.

First thing I noticed is the two left at the store - mine I took serial # 3520, the other one was 27XX. Thats a lot of Ion's.

First let me tell you what I honestly expected:
1) I expected the reg to be junk on this thing and to have to replace it, in fact I had a Bob Long Torpedo ready to purchase if need be.
2) I expected the barrel to be junk - I have a Freak kit and expected to need an impusle back for it.

First impressions:
1) I have a CCM no-pro feedneck ordered for it, because of how the body sits by the feedneck I think I will have to modify the body to make it fit, this does not look like its going to be a big deal.
2) The packaging is nice, darker colors and less color than I would have used, but reasonable. It even has a handle and could be suited to store the marker in.
3) No drop, at all. I like micro drops and am going to have to do something about this. The marker is LONG.
4) Trigger pull is a little longer than I like it stock

5) Getting it ready was my first step - I shortened the trigger pull to what I like, the magnetic resistance is how I like it to, very walkable trigger to me, may be a bit stiff to others.
6) Changing modes and settings is easy. Rather than counting beeps and holding a combination of buttons you change the mode you want to change - there is a orange and red ligth that blink in certain ways to tell you what form of programming you are in (dwell, firing mode, etc).
7) I did not have a chrono, I put my halo on it and fired at a target about 50 feet away. Very good on target consistency, I was very surprised by the reg and the barrel on this I expected these shots to be all over.
8) The plastic body is pretty solid plastic with the rubber around it, I expect it to hold up very well.
9) Theres a programming issue here - those breaks in the video are not HALO related. What i mean, is with no paint those short pauses, perhaps a ball or two, are there about every five seconds while in rebound mode.
10) The marker does not degass itself when the tank is unscrewed, you have to pull a couple more shots.
11) I really like the feel for the frame and reg, more than I would have thought.
12) The vision "logic error" is not there. If you drop a ball and then remove it the marker will not fire - it is actually detecting the ball when you pull the trigger.

Lastly) The shop is retailing them for $275 holy thats nice marker for that price

Overall
Very nice marker for the price, I expect when my CCM feedneck gets here to have to whittle down the plastic a bit, no big deal I think. I'll let you know how it plays when I try it.