Doubt is creeping into my mind.

[teufelhunden]

I'll say an Excalibur is smoother.

It's cute that you have such a woody for that gun.. ya know, it's really not the be all to end all. Or close.

[TDonovan]

I'd take the speed out of those two. Vikings are efficient, fast, & reliable, but they aren't for me. Just a little too big for my tastes.

[Conversekidz]

i am getting rid of my proto, i hate it, even has virtue.

I am sticking with my 04 viking with a tadao board, the viking will shoot a true 23bps with the tadao board (sound verified) and gets twice the effeciancy that the proto gets.

Yes the viking is no longer made, but aka is still in business and there are still a number of places you can get your yearly tune ups on the viking.

[68magOwner]

i dont see why people are pointing out that the viking is no londer made, buecause neither is the 04 speed, so, that dosent make a difference, both markers can still be readily teched if need be, and both still have upgrades comming out for each

with the arrival of tadao for vikings, aka owners are getting re-hyped (i personally will not be picking up tadao unless i get spare cash, because my pandora board is fast as hell and has the psp modes i need as well, so, i see no need, but, thats just me)

[tony3]

i am getting rid of my proto, i hate it, even has virtue.

I am sticking with my 04 viking with a tadao board, the viking will shoot a true 23bps with the tadao board (sound verified) and gets twice the effeciancy that the proto gets.

Yes the viking is no longer made, but aka is still in business and there are still a number of places you can get your yearly tune ups on the viking.

A true 23 bps will really help you, wait no. You will never shoot that fast legally. efficency on protos really isn't that bad. You get 1200ish on a 68/45 fill which is about standard. Vikings dont get 2400 on a 68/45. Why does it matter so much anyways. Most decent fields have pushbutton fill stations which take about 1 second for you to fill.

[WARPED1]

The whole point of the Viking not being made isn't that the Vikings no longer made, but that the guys who invented it and stuff are no longer with the company. And STD's site seems to no longer exist.

[Banshee23]

http://www.stdindustries.com/

Seems to work for me :)

Oh, & between those two I'd take the Viking.

[WARPED1]

Seems to work today, last night it wouldn't. Odd.

[rkjunior303]

How's the warranty with WDP?

Lifetime warranty with my Viking.

Good reason to buy one, to me..

[Banshee23]

Angels only come with a six month warranty... But the Vik's warranty is only good for the first owner. If you're getting it used & the warranty card was previously sent in then you have to have it recertified first at one of AKA's techs, costs around $50 I believe.

[magman007]

not at all, 04 vikings can be had for ~$700 now with some ups, and, i am in love with mine, it is the smoothest marker i have shot (less kick than teammates DM5, really), most consistent thing i have seen (+-2 all the time), super fast (unless i have to play in psp mode, no fun), feels really nice in my hands, just not enough good things i can say about this marker, now, my team has had 3 other vikings, none of which performed at the level of my current one, so, mabey i just have the god of all vikings, but, right now, i wouldnt rather shoot anything else

well, you must have a really odd idea of perception, because it is physically imposible for a hammer riven marker to opperate smoother than a spoolvalved marker. your team mate must be a complete retard, and either A have his dwell way too low and his lpr too high, or you just suck at having nerves.

yes i have shot vikings with mightymaxes and perfectly tuned, still alot more kick ( which really bothers me) than my dm5, or my dm4, or my toxic matrix. or any shocker i have ever shot.

[barrel break]

Or an Ion for that matter (In "kick")
I think Protos are a great deal right now.
Of those two I would go for the angel, I just love speeds.

[onedude36]

Also kick does depend on what kind of drop you have. My friend shoots a timmy with a duckbill and a 68/30 which doesnt kick. Others report noticeable kick. Longer is less kick.

BTW: I would pick the viking. They are just sexy to me.

[WARPED1]

You can't go wrong with the Proto now, look at those prices.

[dahoeb]

oh gosh...."it is physically impossible that it has less kick, blablabla". whatever

i've never shot a dm4/5 so i'm not gonna comment on their recoil, but i have shot most other markers, mags, angels, timmies, what have you, and the viking takes the cake in every case. its got less recoil than any of those markers, is more efficient and more accurate (due to less kick, not the gnomes).
before you go saying a spool valve has less kick, blablabla, think about this; a mag has one significant moving object, the bolt. now we all know the bolt is small and is light, but we also know that mags (more notably, ule mags in my experience) have more kick than quite a few markers. a viking has a lot more parts moving back and forth inside than a mag but still less kick...odd isn't it? but its true for my mags.

maybe its the weight, which is what i think. a lighter marker isn't gonna be quite as stable as heavier one. my old all steel mag had little noticeble recoil i remember. but when i got my xmag i was suprised at that kick. if you have a steel barrel, that will also make a difference.

and if the marker is longer, again, you'll probably have a little less noticeable kick.

so just think about the setup of the marker before you go off and start a flame war saying this has less recoil than this or that marker.

and to answer this thread: i was thinking about getting an angel before the viking, but i decided to go ahead and give the viking a chance. this has been the best purchase in paintball i've made yet. its thoroughly exceeded all my expectations in every categorie. people that own vikings show that they've got a style and class of their own and aren't afraid to be different, so that just gives it even more points. sure its ugly as sin, but once you get out there and start hammering on that trigger, the milling on your marker isn't gonna win the game for you. plus you can just get it annoed or milled later if you want. then you'll truly have a unique marker, you won't just be the run of the mill angel or dm4 totin player that we've all seen before. plus, you can always sell your viking and get an angel if you don't like it, but if you pass up the chance to get a viking, you may not ever get another chance at using one. theres good reasons that viking have high resale values and are in high demand, its cause they have outstanding performance. they probably have some of the best bang for the buck. at dbnpaintball.com you can get used vikings for 650-750. i bought my brand new 04' from there, with pandora and eyes for 750, they're definatly not 1500....