Are High-end Guns Still Worth It? 

The Paintball industry isn't ready for this video

Honestly a lot of new players need to watch this video because when i was first starting out i thought higher priced guns made you “better” or they shot more accurate…2 years later i have 2 tm40’s,170r and a mini gs and honestly they all shoot very similar expect for the air efficiency and ergonomics i play the exact same with my mini gs (360$) then a do with my tm40 (1600$)

Back in 05’ I was playing on a team with a CCM Autococker. Bringing back good memories.

As someone who owns a LOT of high end markers? No, shockingly. What matters is that what you have works well for you and that Players have *Fun.*

Started off with a Tippmann and some how managed my way up to the NXL in 2007. Returned after about 12 years off to play rec and the mech-10 man stuff. Back in the heyday, yes, the more expensive guns mattered because it was simply more reliable, better on paint and also faster (when speed mattered). Fast forward to today, spool guns are so refined now one could hit the field with a $400 Etha 3 and the only thing limiting your success would be your gun fighting and play making skills. What I see the more expensive guns offer is the maintenance process is more refined, efficiency and consistency improvements (pretty marginal from what I can see) and the guns are sleeker and materials used makes the guns feel better in your hands. Since the early 2000's, as the game evolved from the bushes and trees, fashion also became important factor of the game, which began the rise of colorful and flashy guns. The guns offered today, no matter the price point, are simply awesome.

The rise of the mid price point is half the reason I'm considering getting back into paintball. When I played in the early/mid 2000's, it was exactly like you described. Either you dropped an absurd amount of money, or you were playing a tippman, maybe with some upgrades. I tried to go the automag route which was a mid price point offering and eventually it just stopped working, while my brother's tippmann pressed on. Paintball is too expensive and time consuming for the average person to justify spending even 1k on a base setup, but for $300 to $500, it's enough of an investment where it will make you want to use it, but not feel sick if you end up not playing enough.

I love the way 2005 is referred to as back in the day. I stated in 1988 with a 10 shot splat master pistol that took 12g co2 bottle that lasted 20 shots. Moved to a Diablo pump when they came out then to a Bud Sniper pump, a bud auto cocker and finally an Angel and ultimately quit both tournament and rec playing in the sumer of 2000 . Seeing these new guns with screens and settings blows me away.

I recently just started buying and restoring some of my all time favorite "classic" markers instead of buying new. If you take your time with the search, you'll have a mid priced marker that shoots great and looks more unique than most anything being produced right now.

My brother had an Ion and I had shockers. My older shocker(the one right after the box shocker,dynasty shocker era) was better than the ion for sure and my newer one was exceptionally better but here is the rub, his ion NEVER malfunctioned. I would have to sit games out ever couple of months or weeks just to work on my gun to get it back to pristine function. He would have no idea what to do if he had to fix it but he never needed to. That was a pretty big selling point for me trying to get new people into the game. I think my last high end marker buy was a dm9. Unfortunately I sold all of my stuff in the military and never got back into it, this gives me a bit of hope that if I wanted to it wouldn’t be as wallet busting as I thought.

Back before covid blew up prices one of my favorite hobbies was buying broken markers and fixing them. What amazed me during this process is how they ususally werent really broken and how most of these markers that stayed in my collection have been trouble free since. The majority of paintball players in my experiance just dont clean their equipment or have no idea how to read a manual. I litterally just bought an Adrenaline Luxe at a reduced price that came with 2 extra adrenaline shocker asas and was sold as still having issues why.... Because there where wrong orings in the wrong spots on the bolt and in the regulator and the case of those leaking broken asa's they had sliced in half oring in one and the other was missinf the oring all together As for me why do I still buy new markers. Because i like to collect shiney things. Because otherwise i could have stopped with just my first two used markers after I bought a spyder new as my first marker ,my Adrenaline Impulse and my 2001 Black Magic with full CCM internals want to talk about reliabilty that Impulse has turned on every time i put a new battery in it for the last 19 years ive owned it (20 this december). Reliability is for the most part is in the hands of the owner and how they maintain the equipment. Obviously there are some outliers im looking at you Psychoballistics and your horrible chinesium knockoffs.

I have the Etha 3 and have also tried out different high-end guns from other players. I told them "yeah it's better" but really I didn't notice much of a difference except the weight and easier programming with the screen.

When I had my cs2 I tried my buddies etha 3 and was very very impressed. Same shot, same reliability, same everything. Only difference was the slightly less comfortable ergos which could be very subjective, and the lack of a screen. Which usually doesn’t get touched after setting the gun to 10.2. If you are getting into the sport I just recommend picking up a used 170r for 400 to 500. If you are scared to buy used buy an etha 3.

So I'll add my 2cents here: I bought my Etha 3 in Dec. of 2022. It's a brilliant marker and I have very little, if any, problems with. I wish it had a screen for changing between modes but that's really not that big a deal. I used it every weekend for about 6 months before a teammate let me hold his M3+. The ergos on the M3+ were what convinced me to pick up my own DSR+, being that the grips are the same. My DSR+ is actually a little lighter than the Etha3 and I think that is owed to the all aluminum body. I know my wife was happier with the DSR+ when we went to play a scenario game a few months ago. To sum up, the DSR+ is lighter, feels better in my hand, the shot is a little smoother, and the all aluminum body makes custom anno's much easier than the Etha 3. But that's all just one man's opinion.

Used guns were always my answer. I'd probably prefer a used Geo4 to anything new right now. Loved your entrance @1:45 btw.

I really needed and appreciated this video. I have an Etha 3 and have the mech frame too but was looking at 180Rs and other "higher" end markers. Seems like really the main difference will be how much I'm paying LOL! Thanks for keeping some dollars in my pocket!

I'm sending this to my buddy that recently started playing with me. He currently rents or uses one of my autocockers. I told him you don't need to speed a fortune to have fun. Great video.

i use my Etha 3m and Etha 2 more than my 170r by far. i mean, yeah, they're advertisement pieces for the parts i make, but still. they're also super reliable, i don't have to worry about banging them around, and they shoot just fine!

It's also good to note that buying older high ends can be just as cost efficient, if not more efficient, than buying a new midrange marker.

I haven't played paintball in years so it was super cool to stumble upon this. I still have my old ion, with every decent mod you could throw at it. It would be really interesting to see how things have changed.

we perfected guns decades ago... so it actually a shame earlier markers were not better

I just upgraded from my mini gs, and after looking at all guns at all prices ranges, I decided on the etha 3 due to the exact conclusion from this video. Thank you! All my friends have CS3's and TM40's 🤷

Yep. I’ve been saying this for a few years now. Got back into competitive play and picked up a shocker because I couldn’t justify the price of the others. I just want dependability and good ergonomics. I like a screen but I havnt changed a setting since I set it up. IMO, eyes and bore matching barrels have been the biggest upgrades to pb guns. We are/have reaching peak tech for markers.

ive had hi end cockers forever, always loved the hands on mechanical feel, almost like they had a mind of their own that you needed to understand to be able to use capably, fast forward to when PE dropped the emek, i cant get over the weightlessness, the simplicity, and just overall indestructableness of them.

I have been playing paintball on and off for 20 years and I have an Axe2.0 and an A-5 with some modifications to both. I feel that anything beyond $600 has severe diminishing returns. Spend your money how you want but my $500 Axe2.0 with a redline board and FreakXL barrel kit hangs just fine with the CS3s and Luxes of the world for 1/3 the price.

Great video, I came up playing competitive paintball during the BPS wars. Luckily I was sponsored and was given an OG matrix and an Angel LCD to play with. These days im perfectly happy with my Etha2, its reliable and super low maintenance. I no longer feel the need to spend between 1-2K on a marker in order to not be out gunned (in rec ball these days, tourneys are long behind me haha).

I’ve been playing for 23 years and had a ton of guns.. cockers, timmy, angel, PE, lux and shocker and I still haven’t found that “perfect gun” that does it all. So I try and pick what feels right in the hand because they all shoot pretty well.

always stoked when a new PBRML video drops!

I sold my Luxe and have a Dangerous power G5 shoots great and not expensive .

I found a used M3+ for $800 and it only had 8,200 shots put through it. Super clean body and grips too. Shout out to CPX Bros Paintball for that awesome deal!

I just got smoked in a 3 man tournament by some dudes using empire axe’s. I have a tm40 and my teammates all have PE’s. It comes down to the players ultimately. And occasionally, the weather.

🔥🔵🔥 DM5 MENTIONED 🔥🔵🔥

Has a rec player that only plays three or four times a year now. I agree 100%, that being said. I've never really been a high end guy, my nicest guns where a wgp autococker, etek3 and a PM 6. I mostly use a KP3 pump and Tippmann 98 these days. I've got 3 98s that I've got maybe 100 bucks tied up in.

This question almost doesn’t matter anymore because the mid range market is gone. Everything in that range is 900 or more. And if you want an axe or etha, you’re still spending 100 bucks to get a decent hopper and a tank that’s worth anything. So many kids come to my field excited they got a mech spider knock off on Amazon and then it breaks after a day. Then their next option is more than twice the price

I still rock alot of marker from the 2000s they all are useally pretty cheap now and still shoot great. =]

I remember playing on a speedball course with our woodsball kits (fairly upgraded Tipmann A5s) a few times at a field we weren’t familiar with against locals and doing pretty well.

Wow what a throwback. The Ion was my dream gun when I was a kid.

Planet Eclipse Ego 05 was $850 CDN taxes included and shot just as good as my Timmy Alias at $1600, other than the unique sound of the EGO. For me it always comes down to Ergos which leads to better handling and confidence on the paintball field. This is the only reason why I preferred my Timmy, The 45 degree grip angle with that nice palm hump shape was per gold.

Back in mid/late 2000s my friend sent me a link for a 69$ autococker karnivore and we put a 30$ pump kit on it. I had more money in the stiffi barrel than the gun setup. It was a great time. Saved money on paint and had so much fun when you ran people with Bob longs and angel setups.

After playing tons of times, against people with way more expensive markers, ( I run an etha 3) all 3 games i played last weekend vs multiple m3+ and my team won every game, its not the marker, its the player.

Still rocking a DM5 or DM6

I had the dynasty ION and it was my works horse for everything

high end might be coming ... to an end. the rate of diminishing returns is about to hit paintball extremely hard in the next few years.

Bought a brand new Etha 3 at World Cup and played with it this past Sunday. Shot no different than previous high-end guns owned ball on ball accuracy out of the box.

I still play with my original Gtek and Pinocchio works fine.

Imo alot the high end guns these days are used as a flex. Most of them use a copy of the same bolt with minor differences to avoid copyright infrigment. The design of paintball markers has pretty much hit its peak, for better or worse.

In my opinion, so far only the Dye DAM and others that are similar is worthwhile for its versatility. It’s basically a DSR with mag and first strike capability AT THE SAME TIME. I’ve played it as a long sniper both mag and hopper. Extremely OP in it’s versatility. Currently have it set up as a snub nose pistol for indoor ranges during winter. I played the invert mini for ten years, which I still have, it’s 100% stock and it was great for $300. I went from the 98 custom, to the phenom, invert mini, and now the Dye DAM. I didn’t want another speedball gun because the mini is still great while yet the DAM performs similarly to the DSR. For the same price as a M3 you get the versatility to use first strikes and hopper fed at the same time. In the long run I think it saves money to have one marker that does it all. I wouldn’t spend 1K on a DSR or 1,600 for the M3 cause they’re all the same speed guns with exception for the screen.

Excellent video! Most players won't pay full price for their high end markers. Their field or team will get them at cost. That's why there are so many marker reselling businesses - they buy the used high end markers from the tourney guys (who paid cost) and then they flip them (for below brand new price) to the players who aren't on decent teams. This video is great for the newer players or novice players who are just beginning to dip their toes into tourneyball. They are the ones who are tricked into thinking that they'll make the team or "be as good as the pros" if they buy the high end markers (brand new or used). Let's be honest though, the paintball industry is run by uneducated and unprofessional people who are out to scam players.

Sp ion was the quietest paintball gun i ever owned. Absolute ninja. As for the prices of marker, i remember in the 05' era, every year the high end companies would re release their guns as new models. It was like car dealerships do. Dye dm 5,6,7, etc.

I traded my geo 4 for a cs3 because I wanted something closer to the feel of a geo 3.5 but I think I will have my cs3 for awhile unless planet eclipse comes out with something even closer to the geo 3.5. Having shot a decent amount of high end markers, they all some what feel the same to me it just comes down to personal preference.

My primary gun is my 170R and use an Etha 3 as a backup electronic and an M170R for bad weather or mech only events. Imo, performance and reliability is where it truly counts so as long as that mid range marker is keeping up with high end markers there's really no reason to spend an extra $500+ if thats all you want out of your marker. However, other factors such as ergonomics, e-board, etc are personal preferences that vary from person to person. So if you're picky about that kind of stuff (which I'm not) then that would be the only reason I see to go high end.

It’s why I shoot an lv2, it’s the only poppet valve marker that’s hoseless, but again is it twice as good as an lv 1.6, no. But the ergonomics are worth it and there’s only one of its kind. No one else is making poppets these days, looking at you guys field one/bob long.

When I was but a wee lad my dad and uncle played at SC Village in the 80s. We were young so we got smashed instantly. Fun fact about that place, look up Lethal Games. My dad and uncle were in that movie as extras getting shot, filmed there. Pretty cool memories.

I think it's great! Paintball marker technology is clearly reaching maturity, which means pretty much any mid to high end marker from the past half decade or so can compete against the best markers. When I first started playing, if you could only afford a couple hundred dollars of gear, your options were a Spyder or a Tippman. If you were willing to pay about 5x, you bought yourself a HUGE advantage with an Angel. Now that advantage is maybe a few percent in performance, and mostly just convince and reliability features, which if you're a casual player, isn't too much of a concern.

I am running a EGO LV1 that I bought new in 2014. Has around 300000 shots on the counter and runs pretty good. In 2014 she was worth the money imo cause the gun delivered some innovation. If I ever need a new gun before I retire from Paintball I think I will go with a used PE gun for around 600 bucks!

When I started paintball, it was mech. My second marker, Tippmann M98/Flatline was $650. That was 99-2000. Then a Classic Desert Fox, 68Automag, lots of Spyders n clones. Still have em all and still use em. I have a couple higher. Couple Ions, ICD Promaster, PE Ego8. But I don't use them. I still rock the M98, 68 Mag and the Fox. When I get a chance to play now it's with rental players and I like showing my museum equipment. I like woods ball and old school. Not high rates of wasted fire and playing pro was ruined by Adam Gardner after watching the Reno '94 footage. The only win that's worth it to cheat is life or death.

Quality has been the biggest change, as someone who started in 03. I bought a cs2 in 2017 and its had zero issues since day one.

Machining differences matter too. Took my amp out yesterday to a pretty muddy day, the grips and asa let in quit a bit of mud and moisture, so much so that my air transfer oring in the ASA was covered in and absorbed a fair amount of mud, causing a leak. I’ve never had mud make it’s way into the asa/frame gap on my cs2 🤷🏼‍♀️

Can’t agree more! I have a fully inceptions designs upgraded emek and recently sold my FF Trix as it doesn’t shoot all that different. High end guns are statement pieces only. The resell market is crazy for all these private label markers, but most people keep their emek unless they’re leaving the sport. My worry is that PE and other manufacturers will try to continue their business model of phasing out parts for planned obsolescence instead of investing in a single platform. My hope is that the industry has major buy-in for the emek line and other “beginner” markers as they shoot as good as anything. Also praying that mechanical markers will take over the tournament scene as they are simpler and better than electro markers in my opinion

I think it comes down to where you are in your life. For me I'm 41 and have a Cs3. This will be my last marker. I will use it till I can not play anymore. I call it my retirement Marker.

I use high end guns, just from a different era. I have 4 Shoebox Shockers, in various configurations and they are by far the most reliable marker I have ever used. Every few hundred thousand shots maybe replace o-rings in the Maxflo regulator and you are fine. I mean I did replace the board in most of them so that I could have a shot buffer and modern fire modes, but the one I have with an original turbo board still works just fine. If weight and efficiency aren't a concern then new markers are kinda worse, because I can put my tank and foregrip anywhere I want, and have left, right or vertical feed, single or double trigger, 90 degree or 45 frame, new markers ergos are fixed and I hate that. Also, the paint handling seems somehow better than any modern marker I have tried, I assume due to the lack of ball detents and lack of blowback up the feed tube.

Even if I played tournaments I still don’t see a reason why I’d buy anything more than a etha3. Or used, a dsr+ or 180r. The flagship markers just have nothing going for them other than prestige or bragging rights

I want a newer marker when I started getting back into paintball, but when I realize all I do is play on the local field in semi auto with my buddies I figured to rebuilding my tippmann 98/A5 was a better value and would suit me just fine.

Good points. As a mechanic of 25+years I find the same thing happening with tools. Not a terrible difference anymore between the truck and the quality mid range stuff.

Rocking the original dsr (fully modded except for the feed neck) and the only markers shot that compares is the LV1.6/2. I found no real additional value in the force, dls, cs2, etc. I would love to not have to use so many 9v batteries though. Have you looked into rechargeable batters lately?

I honestly remember the ion being introduced by smart parts as "the first $300 high-end marker". I remember this being in either late 2004 or early 2005 because this was right before I got my first Intimidator, an alias Intimidator in mid 2005, and the ion was released just before that. And I still tell people to this day that the ion's performance was very comparable to other high-end markers. It just had some really crappy stock Parts like the ASA and feedback, and maybe even the trigger, oh and the stock board which wasn't even tournament legal unless it was a semi-auto only tournament since the ramping mode on it was not regulated for tournament specs LOL. But boy could that thing shoot ropes LOL

just got a etha 3 instead of a 170r/180r. after weighing options and looking at how much i plan on playing, an etha 3 and a s63 barrel system is all i really need. its not like i constantly change firing modes and settings all the time so why do i need the nicer display? Very similar bolt system and features. i love the way it feels in my hands and its super lightweight. all the stuff i bought to have a full setup and some other stuff was about $1300. so buying an etha made it much more affordable vs almost $1600-$1800. idk... maybe after being in the sport, leaving for awhile, and getting back into it made it easier for me to settle on less. but the market and product changes made it so much easier to settle for the less.

Your a real one! So happy to see the paintball world more accessible to more people!

So I played paintball for the first time in Nov 2023. As a rental I was battling guys who had speedball weapons. As a soldier, I thought they were out shooting me balls per second. So Lol, i said ill be back and came back with a Tippmann Stormer Elite but I used the hopper. Works GREAT. But i felt like I wanted the mechanical gun because there is no electronic weapon in the military that we carry. But i also wanted an electronic to keep the guys with speedball at bey. So I bought the EMF100 and Etha 3. Needless to say I LOVE both, but I find myself using the EMF magfed or Stormer with hopper against rentals. Like most say we want them to want to come back. Plus there was no need to spend $1800 on a CSR when Etha 3 can compete rec play.

Same with Televisions. The human eye can only see so well. 5k vs 10k resolution is a moot point. Eventually there is a law of diminishing returns.

i was new to the sport last year and realized this immediately. probably easier for someone to see this whos new.

I feel ya! I played a lot in HS/ college from ‘03 to 2010. Every thing was so high end luxury. I had an Ion and a new DM07, DM’s were just “sexier” but did basically same things! Now that I got a son might get back into rec ball. As you mentioned, what’s a good marker for that $500 spot ?

I have a 20 year old pro lite and it's more reliable than my gmek idk man there is a psychology to owning expensive shit

i just bought a LV2 i havent play in over a decade ( im 30 ) i bought because i think its pretty historical you know being macroline free Ego. might get a emek as backup, love the vids man!

I myself am all mechanical all day. I see time and time again electronic markers failing on people for x reasons, and they just cost SO much money upfront. Not to mention how much paint you'll use!! Sure the fire power is great, but you BURN through ammo like CRAZY. With my T-15, I only need a bag of 500 rounds on MOST occasions, whereas a speed ball player needs 4x as much ammunition on most occasions to last the whole day! All I need is clever decision making, aim, and skill. 😊

The Etha 2 was 300ish dollars. Best marker i ever owned and i owned a CS2 and top end Dye markers because why not... but the ion, proto rail, and markers like that were perfectly fine. All markers are capped in BPS and FPS so as long as it shoots straight and doesn't suck air you can play at any level no problem.

I still have my original GTek, and I can't see a reason to replace it. It can do literally everything the CS3 can do, is just as soft on paint, and is just as ergonomic for my bigger hands that have been used to macroline for decades. Plus the mechanical slide frame I think feels better and with DW making their valve work with it now, it just checks every box I could care about.

I own a high end gun and it's worth every penny. Air gun designs: Automag 😅.

something that i also find interesting is that most high end paintball guns especially twister and project guns, cost more than high end firearms 💀

Marker electronics have come a looooongggg way since say 2005. Back then they were borderline afterthoughts in marker design; a few companies were starting to get it right but many were putting out whatever they could as fast as they could since the market was growing and changing so fast.

From 2 decades of play....nope. The max I spent was 900 for a slightly used 11 Ego. Never regretted it. The next fav is a tipman a5. Just unbreakable. These days there is no point past the 600 mark. The really weird part is you end up playing pump and that's it.

I have a 180R because I had a 170R and wanted something new that feels similar. Sold my 170R and yeah, it works. I'd justify the jump from etha 3 to 180r just because you can get something that's the color you want but if you don't care about that (or you have aspirations of getting a custom inception upper) then yeah, no reason to get anything higher priced than that.

I had an Ion and played with like 4 other ones, those things couldn't shoot full field distance like other guns could. I had to shoot in 4 to 6 ball bursts too so the regulator could shoot all the balls with the same amount of force. The Ion did not keep up unless you got close to who you were shooting.

Great video as always. To answer your question: Why? Same reason why someone buys a BMW instead of a Camry. Cars both run well, get great MPG, have a touch screen, seat 4 people, have automatic windshield wipers, seat warmers, etc. But do they drive differently? Is the comfort level or sound system THAT much better? Not.. really.. unless you’re an enthusiast and get excited by cars. If you do, then: yes - they are quite different. If you’re not, then: to your point, there’s no point. At the end of the day, there’s always an opportunity cost. If purchasing X prevents or deprives you of Y, are you okay with that?

Still rocking my 2011 G6r. I bought it used about 8 years ago for 350 bucks with tank and hopper lol. Haven't found a need to buy anything newer. IT's tiny, lite, fast, dependable has no screen to burn out, and parts are still pretty darn cheap. I haven't seen anything that's an all around better gun honestly. It doesn't win in any single category but it's at the top of every category.

as an OG baller who just got back into it, It seemed to be too easy to find used markers that competed at the highest level for under $750. a year ago I got a shocker amp for $800 and the only reason that I spent the extra $100 on it was I loved the anodizing. It took me about 6 months to reeducate myself on markers as I've been out of the loop since 2008.. I have yet to see anything that competes at higher levels with these five to $700 markers, That's worth it. everything over $1,000 seems to be older markers that are just worth it because of time. old Timmy's and Auto cockers that are rare and in great condition deserve these prices but if you want to compete at the highest levels, $350 on eBay will get you where you need to be and that's a beautiful to me.

I got a white ion somewhere around my house lol. Never used it somehow ended up with from a buddy. They seemed like a decent marker for beginners in speedball.

Afaik, Etha is made in Taiwan. CS3 is made in UK. The latter is a more expensive manufacturing method, but also allows faster revisions and easier QC.

This is what I've been theorizing about for YEARS! Paintball had an iPhone problem

I bought 2 mini gs package deals thats with redline board put in both guns and a few other things. My point .. is i bought a 2 package deals for the price of a one high end marker. something i could afford. And from the reviews and research on the mini i went with that package deal. And btw im just getting back into paintball after 24 years. But im just like everyone else when it comes to narrowing it down everone has their preferences on what they like and what they wanna spend i guess. Be safe everyone.

I've got an etha 2 (the first gun I bought when i started playing again) and later purchased a tm40. As far as reliability the etha 2 is on par. I got a tm 40 because it feels better in my hands, the settings are easier to change whenever i want to do that and the toolless features make cleaning it much less of a pain in the ass. Cleaning the etha 2 became pretty annoying for me. The TM40 isn't a must have but I play often and I like the feel and convenience of it. Another way to do the math on it is Get an etha 3... addin the cost of a freak barrel and a couple of inserts. that's your cost. How many times could you go play paintball in terms of paint and entry fees for that money... is it worth it to you? If you play regularly you might find that the answer is it is worth it.

Everyone wants the new shiny toy… I’m perfectly happy with my Shocker Amp. It shoots just as good as any $2000 gun

My biggest mistake in paintball was buying a Timmy. Actually, scratch that. My biggest mistake in paintball was buying my SECOND Timmy. Also, this video ignores a HUGE market of used markers. Markers that were $1,500 brand new two years ago can often be bought on the cheap, second hand. Plus, the folks who are buying then flipping high end guns, typically take decent care of their gear.

I think your high end guns today are a just luxury items. I bought a CS3 just because I wanted something different and top of the line. The CS3 is fantastic gun but in all reality I didn't gain much in performance upgrading from my EGO 11. It certainy wasn't $1700 better. I love paintball and I just wanted the best that PE has to offer. I can easily afford it so why not.

Im just now coming back into the sport after a 10ish year hiatus, doing my rounds on research to see who has the latest and greatest just to find... Almost nothing has changed at all. Every "high end" feautre available today was available then (minus bluetooth to your phone lol). From what ive seen, the Axe Syx 1.5 @ 499 seems to get you everything youd want (Good shooting marker, oled screen for programming, reliable etc) so much to the point of this video, what would the extra 1k usd be getting you in a "nicer" marker? Id wager not much more preformance. This is nice in a way tho as the sport , which will always be costly due to the nature of it, is at least a bit more accessible if you really want the "high end" features.

I have a wall of Empire Vanquish 1.5s. I wont shoot anything else anymore. I have shot or tried every marker made since 1986. I come full round back to the Squish. I had a player with a Luxe Idol tell me recently that my 1.5 shoot better than what he just purchased. Newer is not always better. Squish for life.

Sadly there are no mid-range stacked tube markers being made anymore. It's either a high end PE, or a cheap and likely to break Spyder.

i ought a mini gs when they first came out and you worked on it it just didnt work then like 3 years later i threw a tank on it and it worked

so glad i still have my 160r. i just dont play enough to justify another 1000$ gun. i also feel the same about the barrel systems, still using the original freak barrel and inserts

I still use my Angel SB (over 200k shots) - I can play nearly all day and shoot just under a full case without filling air… dead accurate with a LARGE standard barrel back. not sure why efficiency isn’t a factor anymore (or low pressure systems), yes new guns “work” but at twice the cost and half the efficiency and requiring many barrel inserts. Weird… inflation aside I paid 800 for my angel at the time and will continue using for rec ball.

thats how i feel, i have a axe 2.0 and it shoots amazing for a way cheaper price, not it feels a little stubby but it shoots really nice and i have not had a problem with it at all