Elite Paintball Guns

So here’s the Reloader II review I promised. The differences with the Reloader Hopper are mainly in the body design. The shell is made even stronger so you don’t have to worry about it breaking up. The lid is now magnetized and you get a contained battery door so you won’t loose it. Other than that the performance and reliability have not changed – the thing is good, but can’t compare to the latest pricier upgrades. Here’s what the manufacturer has to say about their product:

“What’s the deal with a sound activated loader? An optical sensing loader “prevents” misfeeds while with the Reloader they simply don’t happen. While an optical loader basicaly acts like a regular gravity fed loader until it senses a misfeed and then rotates the paddle, the Reloader never waits for a misfeed to happen. Instead it loads a ball everytime the marker is fired, able to load up to 14 balls per second.”

This time being heavy is not the only thing people are complaining from. The magnetic lid I mentioned earlier is the other downside they point out. It’s actually a good feature, if only the magnets were strong enough to keep it in place. You have to be careful about that when playing or you risk loosing paintballs. The price of the Reloader II is around $45. The difference is not that much, but the upgrades are really not that worthy, too. Actually I find the previous one better. It’s up to you though. I think you’ll be happy with any of them.

So that’s from where it all began. You’ve seen how it evolved - first into Reloader II (you’ll get that review next time) then into Reloader B until it becomes the Reloader B2. There’s no point to compare the Reloader B and B2 with the original Reloader as they’re way ahead in their making, but the original Reloader does have one advantage – the price. You can now get it for around $35 and that’s of absolute no comparison to the prices the other two hold. You should also know that the price should be the only reason for you to choose this one before the more upgraded and expensive Reloaders. Here are its features:

•    Sound activated hopper
•    Auto-adjusting sensitivity
•    Auto turn off after 30 minutes
•    Operates on two 9 volt batteries

The ting is pretty reliable though, and also pretty tough made. Although it’s claimed to hold 210+ balls the 180-190 is probably the correct amount. Of course you can stuff it up, but it will only cause malfunction, so you better don’t. It keeps a pretty good pbs rate though (at least for a base model) – 14-15bps. That’s plenty for many players. It’s a little bit on the heavier side and that’s something that hasn’t changed in the upgraded editions, but it’s something you’ll get used to. So if you can’t afford some of the newer and more expensive hoppers I think this one’s gonna be pretty satisfying for you. It’s something you can rely on and for the price it holds I think it’s great.

It’s pretty obvious that the Empire Reloader B2 is the upgrade for the Reloader B. Not too many has changed, but there are some things I thought you should know about. As a start, the thing is way more sensitive than the regular B, and now you can use it with absolutely any kind of high-end gun no matter how quite it is. The board is way easier to work with than the old one used in its predecessor. You get less jams and the bps is a little bit higher. The B2 is just as small and light as the Reloader B so no changes there. Here are the features:

•    Polycarbonite diamond body construction
•    Reinforce feed neck
•    Soft-touch micro power switch
•    Adjustable sound activation sensitity
•    Spring driven, true force-feed system
•    Built-in RIP drive system

•    Standard Colors
Clear, Smoke, Black, Blue, Red

•    Diamond Colors
Clear, Smoke, Black, Blue, Red, Yellow

Currently you can find the thingy for about $130 depending on the place where you’re getting it. This is about $30 more than the current Reloader B price. It’s not a small amount of money for a loader, but it is the best on the market right now. And if you’re spending $100 on a Realoader B anyway what’s the $30 for its upgrade. Both are good loaders, I just can’t deny that the B2 is better.

The Reloader B Night Loader is especially designed for those “glow in the dark” paintballs. There is a light inside the hopper that charges up the “glow in the dark” paintballs so that they glow as you shoot them. Its made mainly for people that play night games and like using that kind of paint. And don’t worry that the light can give away your position - the hopper is opaque, which means you can’t see the light coming thru it. It possesses all the qualities of the Reloader B (check out the previous review if you haven’t) and is really something to be considered if night games are you type of games. Here is the given description for it:

“When you are using glow in the dark paintballs you will need a hopper that will activate these paintballs. This is the hopper that will do it! Plus this hopper has considerable speed as well. All of the standard features of the standard Reloader B hoppers.”

Just like the Reloader B the Night Loader is also pretty heavy, but again all it takes is some getting used to and you’ll be just fine with it. It’s also a little bit pricier as it costs $170. It’s a good loader and if you like it and can afford it you should get it. It’s simply the coolest thing to be able to rip a lazer beam of paint streight at the guy behind the 50 and then watch him glow green with envy (and paint).

The empire reloader is a very fast feeding hopper using force feed ways.This hopper has a given feed rate of 22+ and absolutely keeps up with it. It’s really an amazing thing to have and if you decide to get it you’ll absolutely love it. The loader is very reliable one. Rarely jams and causes any other problems. It comes with some great features like the sound activation that eliminates the need of an eye and allows the use of any paint – especially when it comes to darker shelled one. Because of it, it also seems to be a bit gentler on the paint. The other great thing is the Rip-Drive – you can read about it in the features. The loader allows you to use either 6 AA batteries or 4 AA ones. The difference is that with the 4 AA the thing gets a little lighter, but also a little slower on the bps rate. So here are the features:

-Sound Activated, no problems with dark shell paint. Also able to work through ball breaks in the hopper which would interfere with the eye sensors.
-Auto Turn off allows you to conserve power .
-Low Battery LED lets you know when to change batteries.
-Able to work with 6 AA or optional 4 AA batteries. The board adjusts the power to the motor depending on the batteries used. Using 4 AA batteries will make for a very light hopper.
-Stainless Steel Hardware
-Glitter Flake in shell
-See Through drive case you can now see the belt and gears work.
-Rip Drive Installed - You can now Un-Jam paint. Manual feed balls at chrono. And have a back up system if your batteries ever die during a game.
-3-Speed board.
-Achieves up to 22+ bps with any color shell paintball.

The only downsides people point out are the weight and the price. And yes the thing is heavy, but once you get used to it and see how great it works, weight won’t matter that much. As to the price, which is around $150, I think it’s pretty fair. It certainly is a lot of money to put on a loader, but the quality and performance of the Reloader B totally deserve it. If you can afford the thing don’t hesitate on getting it.

So here’s a loader for you that’s even better than the previously reviewed Draxus Pulse. It’s a little bit more expensive, yes, but if you can spend those extra $30 this should definitely be your choice. It’s a great looking loader…it’s a little on the big side, but has great sleek design and actually manages to keep a pretty low profile. The thing is amazingly fast and you won’t have any problems with that. Noise and vibrations are also not a problem with it. With the new technology Empire is using the noise level is significantly reduced. The loader is very strongly built so don’t be afraid of hits or bumping into things. Here are the features for it:

•    Magna-Drive™ - Magnetic Clutch System (Patent Pending)
•    Proprietary RF Capabilities for Wireless Activation (Patented and more Patents pending)
•    Easy Acess Battery Pack (No tools required)
•    Magnetic Lid (Patents Pending)
•    Durable Polycarbonate Body and Reinforced ‘laminated’ Feed Neck System
•    New Reduced Profile Body Design (Patent Pending)
•    HALO® Rip-Drive™ (Patents Pending)

The problems that occur with the Draxus Pulse loader can’t be found here. The lid closing is again magnet one, but with the Magna-Drive the magnets are really strong and are set not on the front, but on the back end of the loader which makes the closing even tighter. You also get some spare magnets just in case the ones that come stock are not enough for you. The cleaning and maintenance is also pretty easy and won’t take long. It really is one of the best loaders on the market right now and again if you can afford spending so much money on the loader itself (the price of the Magna-Drive is around $180) you should definitely consider getting it. It will sure ease your game make it nearly flawless.

We’ll make a huge jump from the super cheap to the super expensive loaders with the review for the Draxus Pulse Loader. The thing is priced around $150 and it’s not something anyone can afford. But for those who can and hesitate whether to buy it or not, keep reading. The common opinion about this loader is that it’s simply amazing. It does its job perfectly and almost flawlessly. The thing is not a small one, but it sits low enough giving you the low profile you want. It’s extremely fast and you won’t have any problems with it keeping up with your gun no matter what you’re using. The battery live is pretty good. You also get the option for 6 AA’s or 2 9v as both ways work just fine. As to the durability – this thing is made strong. No worries about breaking up on you or not being able to protect the paint anymore. Here are the features as given form the manufacturer:

•    Magnetic Lid for easy quick loading
•    Removable Drivetrain
•    Fast & Easy Cleaning Access
•    Recessed Feed Cone
•    Gentle drive fingers for brittle paint
•    Interchangeable Battery Kit
•    6 AA’s or light weight 2X9V Option
•    Low Profile Feed Neck
•    Faster Block-Free Performance
•    Wireless One-Sync Pulse Technology
•    Marker & Loader Communicate & Function as One for Max R.O.F.

There are some downsides for the Pulse, but certainly not something to worry too much. Some people are complaining about noise, but I can assure you the Pulse is probably one of the quieter high end loaders out there. Sometimes it can jam, but this is something rare and if it happens the jam can be fixed very easy – there’s a little button on the bottom and all you have to do is push it real fast, and it reverses the drive to get rid of the jam. The thing is a lithe heavy, but that’s to be expected since it’s an electronic loader, right. Probably the biggest downside is the lid. It’s a magnetic one and Draxus state that it closes really tight, but the magnets are not that strong and it takes just a little shake for the lid to open. There’s an option for a tight fit – you just have to snap the lid all the way down. I advise you to use that…it works btw. Maintenance is a kid’s game with this thing. Cleaning it is the easiest job ever - you just pull the internals out without any tools and your entire hand can fit into the loader with a cloth/paper towel. So there you go. There’s really nothing much to be said about it. If you can afford this loader get it without any hesitation. You’ll pay all that money for it, but it will pay back great.

I know it’s a Brass Eagle, but still I’ll review this thingy. It’s again one of the cheapest hoppers you can find on the market right now and again you get what you pay for. Starting with the good things (yes, there are one or two of them), first of all the Pocket Hopper is really a pocket hopper. It’s so small you can easily carry it around in your pocket. It’s also very light and keeps a nice low profile. And those are just about the good things. On the other hand – being small means the thing can’t carry lots of paint. It’s said to be a 50 count hopper, but the maximum you can get from it is 30-40 paintball. If filled entirely it completely jams. And while we’re on the jam theme – it does jams sometimes, although there are worse hoppers, when it comes to that indicator, out there. Also the thing is really fragile. It’s not a big target, yes, but take my word, it rarely takes more than one hit. The clear color can also be put as a downside since it attracts attention, but that’s easy to fix with some spray. You can get the thingy for under $5 (or should I say under $3 cause $5 is way too much for it) and if you think you can deal with it being so small, slow and fragile, go for it. in the end here are the features given from the manufacturer:

“BE Pocket Hopper is a 50 count hopper. Comes with some Brass Eagles low end markers, and is also available for purchase.”

Don’t be fooled – the E-tron in the name of this hopper has nothing to do with the fact that it’s electronic or something. The thing is nothing but gravity fed and this is just another company trick of attracting customers. Actually judging by the performance of the Avalon Spinloader E-Tron tricking you is probably the only way they can make you get the thing. Or at least should be as the thing is not worth even the $5 you can get it for. Not only it’s ugly, it’s also a complete disappointment. And in the manufacturer’s description jet again you get nothing but lies:

“The E-tron is a revolutionary new hopper that is the new alternative to tubes and e-hoppers. It will feed approximately 10 bps. They make spills very rare if ever because you don’t have to use tubes to dump into the hopper simply pull out the next E-tron from the harness and put it on your gun and flip the dump switch. These hoppers use treaded elbows so you don’t have to worry about the hopper falling off the gun.”

The bps rate rarely goes above 5 balls and the fact that it can only hold 130 rounds doesn’t help it. Jams are an often sight and I know they’re normal for every gravity fed hopper, but jamming every 3 min is a little too much for my nerves. If you really can’t afford something pricier get the Archon Tacamo Hopper. It’s pretty much the same money, just a lot better not only in performance, but also in looks (in my own opinion). The Spinloader E-tron is simply not worthy, unless of course you like to be miserable.

Yes, it’s another gravity fed hopper, but this one is a lot better than the previous one reviewed. The price is somewhat the same. You can get the thing for around $5and I don’t know how Archon did it, but their product can’t even be compared to the Allen Paintballs. It’s not that it’s fast, but it gets the feed level up to 9-10 bps which for a gravity fed hopper is pretty good. Many of you won’t like it, but it’s pretty good for woodsball players where shooting ropes isn’t necessary. Of course, the thing jams sometimes, but give me a gravity fed hopper that doesn’t. The difference is that this one jams a lot less than the others of it’s kind. As to the manufacturer’s description this time most of it is true:

“This hopper can feed up to 11.6 BPS . No batteries to go dead, No electronics to go bad, No motor to burn out & No noise! This hopper works with dual feed ramps inside the hopper allowing the paintballs to feed into your marker without any down-pressure from the paintballs above, this also doubles the “catch area. Unique “Triple Secure Lock” lid Archon has incorporated into this hopper design. This is a new hopper lid design that latches on 3 sides for a much better seal.”

It’s not the best looking hopper out there, but you can’t really expect it be for the price you’re getting it. The thing is it works well. So if you’re tired of batteries and noise, want something cheap and can deal with the fact that it’s not too fast and will jam from time to time this is the hopper for you. From all the gravity fed hoppers this is the most recommendable one.