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So you've finally decided to stop renting a paintball gun and to buy your own! Congratulations!
First off, no matter where you look, you'll find enthusiasts of various paintball guns. Everyone will have plenty to say about
each paintball gun, both positive and negative.
Choosing what's best for you will be a trial and error. You should try to stick to a budget and find what is most comfortable
for you. Some may like the slightly bulky and heavy feel of a Tippmann 98 which is an excellent paintball gun, it can take
a beating and will barely take a scratch on the surface. Spyders and Clones (spyder style guns) are also very popular for
their light weight, lighter trigger pull, compact bodies, and ease of disassembly.
Under $100
Nowadays, there are plenty of great choices of paintball guns for under $100. Most Spyders and Clones will go for under $100.
Sometimes you can find discontinues electronic markers for under $100 which is a great bargain! All of these markers are extremely
light weight, light trigger pulls, and very simple designs resulting in easy maintenance, disassembly, and reassembly. I have
owned many Spyders and Clones in the past and still ocassionally play with a few of them. They're very reliable and easy to
fix if trouble comes along because of their simple designs.
Recommendations: 32 Degrees Icon-BL, 32 Degrees Icon-X, Black Dragun Basic
Under $200
Your choices are still about the same as above but now you have the option of various Tippmann, BT, and other similar brands
as well as several Spyder and Clone electronic markers. Both types have their pros and cons. Tippmann style markers are relatively
weighty, approximately 3LBS and up without any additional equipment on them. Spyder style markers are typically about 1LB.
Tippmann style markers are extremely durable on the surface and very upgradeable. They're the #1 choices when it comes to
modifying a paintball gun for military simulations. Their main con is that they're trigger pulls are relatively heavy. Spyder
style electronic guns have relatively light triggers and many of them are adjustable to where you can drastically lower the
travel of the triggers rest position to firing position (meaning you'll get a higher rate of fire).
Recommendations: 32 Degrees Icon-E, Diablo Mongoose 2, Spyder Imagine, Spyder Pilot ACS, Tippmann 98 Custom
Under $400
Basically, you can get almost any marker you want out there. Many of the markers within this range can perform just as well
as the paintball guns near or above $1000. Gennerally when you go up in price, it also results in extremely light trigger
pulls, adjustable triggers, and very little maintenance. The amount of kick is also lowered. If this isn't the case, some
of those features are normally substituted for rugged use or military simulation looks.
Recommendations: BT-4 Assault, Diablo Wrath, Smart Parts Ion, Spyder Imagine ACS, Tippmann A-5
$401 and up
All of these markers will fire almost exactly the same. The main differences will be the look and feel of the marker. Different
materials are also used. Paintball guns normally treading around the $700-1500 range generally require very little maintenance
and can take severe beatings. Bodies are very strong and are scratch resistant (under normal play conditions). These markers
are usually meant to be played with right out of the box, not needing any upgrades. Generally the upgrades for these paintball
guns are only cosmetic upgrades.
Recommendations: Bob Long Intimidator, Proto Matrix, Smart Parts SP8, WDP Angel Speed
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