Dye Assault and Proto Fighter 08 Harnesses

New from Dye for 2008, the Dye Assault Pack is the most high-tech pack so far. It was designed by a team consisting of employees of Dye and some of the best professional players in the world. The main issue that players have had with harnesses in the past is that they are too heavy. Dye knew this, and did everything they could to cut weight off without sacrificing durability or comfort. The result is a pod pack that is about 5 ounces lighter than any other pack Dye has made. Dye used a stronger type of Velcro on the straps that hold the pods in place that can withstand up to 55 mph winds, or the equivalent force, so they will never accidentally open up when you dive or slide. The 2008 Assault Pack is the first to feature a plastic frame at the bottom of each pod loop to keep it open at all times. This makes putting the pods in and getting them back out much easier than ever before. The materials used in this pack are designed with as much ventilation as possible to help keep you cool on the field. This, combined with the design of the pack itself, gives the most comfortable setup for a pod pack so far. The Assault Pack comes in a 3+4 configuration and a 4+5, which will allow you to carry up to 7 or 9 pods on the field depending on which model you buy. The Dye Assault Pack starts at $74.95 for a 3+4, and the 4+5 sells for $79.95.

For players with a smaller budget, Proto also has a new pod pack for 2008, the Proto Fighter Pack. The Fighter Pack, like the Assault Pack, was designed with an emphasis on reducing weight. It does not have all of the extras that come with the Assault Pack, but it is a very well-built pack at a lower cost. The Fighter Pack starts at $34.95 for a 3+4, and the 4+5 sells for $39.95.

Viewloader Dynasty VLocity Paintball Loader

The Dynasty VLocity is the newest high-tech loader from Viewloader. It uses a VLocity Jr shell so it is smaller than a regular VLocity. Viewloader teamed up with Dynasty, one of the best teams in paintball, to make this the best loader ever made.

The Dynasty VLocity features Adjustable Select Force technology with 4 different speed settings. The battery life is increased around 30% from the standard VLocity. The Dynasty VLocity has instant auto anti-jam with 3 different settings. The programming was also redone to improve the loading consistency and eliminate stuttering. It uses a new 4 eye system to detect when it needs to feed even faster than before, virtually eliminating the delay between when you start firing and when the Dynasty VLocity starts loading. The electronic improvements make the Dynasty VLocity extremely fast.

Viewloader also made some physical changes for the Dynasty VLocity. The biggest change they made is using the new “Ninja” drive cone paddle to speed the loader up. The new paddle, combined with the electronic improvements, allows the Dynasty VLocity to feed up to 25 balls per second on-gun, and up to 35 balls per second free-fall. It also comes with a SpeedFeed stock, and has a giant mouth lid so you will be able to reload quickly without spilling paint. As a finishing touch, Viewloader also included a Dynasty sticker sheet because everyone loves free stickers.

The Dynast VLocity sells for $159.95, and can be found at EVPaintball.

Refurbished Guns -- By Richard

When shopping for a gun most people have a specific budget that they have to follow. One good option to get more for your money is to look into getting a refurbished gun which will give you the same marker for up to half the price. Refurbished guns are guns that have been returned directly to the manufacturer because they were defected, or just returned in a Big box store. The company then takes the guns and repairs them back to new or better then new performance. Each gun that is refurbished is tested to ensure it's the same quality as a new gun and even carries the same warranty.

The biggest difference between a new gun and a refurbished gun is that refurbished guns come in white or brown boxes instead of fancy packaging. All the parts that came with the original gun are also still included with a refurbished gun. Sometimes there will be minor scratches or scuffs on refurbished guns but nothing that is going to damage performance of the gun. Refurbished guns are going to be a better deal then a used gun because they are going to be set up by the factory from the people that know them the best to work like new.

Most major companies provide refurbished models including Spyder, WGP, Brass Eagle, and JT.

Spyders:

• Pilot ACS Red Fade
• Pilot ACS Blue
  
• Fenix
• VS2
• VS3
• E-MR1
• MR2
• MR3

WGP Autocockers:

• Trilogy Sport
• Trilogy Competition
• Trilogy Pro

Brass Eagle and JT:

• Avenger Red w/ Foregrip
• Avenger Red w/out Foregrip
• Avenger Blue w/ Foregrip
• JT 3.5
  

Dye Meta Gloves -- By: Richard

Dye has consistently been the leader in the paintball products for many years now and has recently introduced the biggest change in paintball gloves EVER. One of the most common things players do when they get a pair of gloves is cut the first two fingers off to improve mobility. The new '08 Meta gloves are fingerless right from the start but include padding on the back of your hand where it really matters. Made of Lycra the Meta fits like a second skin and is one of the most comfortable and natural gloves to wear. If your looking for a glove that isn't going to slow your fingers down the 08' Dye Meta glove is one of the best choice out on the market today.

Camouflage: Ghillie Suits

One of the most common forms of clothing when playing paintball in the woods is camouflage. Camouflage helps break up the shape of your body and reduce the chance that you will be spotted by your opponent. A step beyond camouflage is a ghillie which breaks up your shape to an even higher level with blending your whole body into a consistent color scheme. A ghillie suit is usually colored to match your environment and textured to blend in while taking away the shape of your body.

The main things to look for in a ghillie suit are mobility and comfort. The Ghillie suit from Major Paintball and survival provides a very comfortable option. Coming in 3 pieces, a Hood, Jacket, and Pants the ghillie suit fits to your body unlike a poncho that just drapes over. Since the ghillie suit is worn like any other pair of pants and jacket mobility is not hindered at all. The jacket is well vented and will stay cool on even the hottest of summer days.

Included along with the suit is a camouflaged ghillie gun wrap to keep your marker covered as well as your body. Affordable and comfortable this ghillie suit is the number one choice in my opinion for woods ball player (A must for a sniper).

Virtue Upgrade Boards - By Eric

One of the biggest performance upgrades you can get for any electronic paintball marker is a new board. A new board will allow you to adjust every little detail about how your gun shoots. They also usually have more firing modes than the stock board. There are many different aftermarket board companies, but one of the biggest and most popular is Virtue.

Virtue makes upgrade boards for most of the popular guns on the market including the Dye Matrix, Bob Long Intimidator, Smart Parts Ion, Planet Eclipse Ego, and many more. The Virtue boards feature an unlimited rate-of-fire, which is only limited by the physical capabilities of your marker and the speed of your loader. Virtue boards are designed to be legal in any tournament you will ever play in, so you will never have to worry about not being allowed to use your marker. Along with the different firing modes, Virtue boards will also allow you to adjust the dwell, eye sensitivity, anti-bolt stick settings, and any other gun-specific settings you might need.
All Virtue paintball boards have 7 different fully adjustable base modes: Semi-Automatic, Ramping, Breakout, PSP Ramp, NXL Full-Auto, Auto Response, and Full-Auto.

· Semi-Auto is the basic 1 shot per pull mode.

· Ramping Mode is a special mode that adds shots after you start pulling the trigger at a certain speed. It can greatly increase your rate-of-fire and is fully adjustable so you can set it up exactly how you want it.

· Breakout Mode will make the first trigger pull after you turn on the gun Full-Auto for as long as you hold the trigger. After you release the trigger, the board will go into Ramping Mode based on your Ramping settings.

· PSP Ramping Mode makes your first 3 pulls Semi-Auto and starts Ramping on the 4^th pull. After the trigger has not been pulled for 1 second, the 3 shot count starts again. This mode is meant for PSP style tournaments.

· NXL Full-Auto is similar to PSP Ramping, but it goes into Full-Auto on the 4^th pull instead of Ramping.

· Auto Response Mode makes your marker fire on the pull and release of the trigger, doubling your Semi-Auto rate-of-fire.

· Full-Auto will make the marker shoot at your maximum rate-of-fire, or as fast as your loader will feed until you let go of the trigger.

Each of these modes can be modified, which gives you thousands of different possible modes. Virtue made their programming as simple as possible so anyone can use their boards and set the modes up exactly the way the user wants.

Virtue also makes an upgrade chip for the Viewloader VLocity loaders. The chip upgrades the speed of the loader and also improves battery life. Virtue's VLocity chip has many different settings to adjust to make your loader perform at it's maximum potential in any circumstances. It is approved by Viewloader, so it will NOT void your manufacturer’s warranty!

Virtue is so confident in the performance and reliability of their product they offer a LIFETIME warranty on all of their boards. All Virtue boards, except for the special edition Russian Legion Shocker board, cost $134.95 so you can upgrade the performance of your gun for much less than simply upgrading to a new gun.

Smart Parts Ion XE - By Eric

The Smart Parts Ion XE is a new gun for 2008. It is based off of the original Ion, but Smart Parts made some improvements over the old design. One of the biggest complaints that people had with the original Ion’s design was that it did not allow the user to clean the bolt without taking the gun completely apart. Smart Parts fixed this problem with their new Bolt-Out-Back design. This allows the user to quickly remove full bolt and valve assemblies with one allen wrench. It is now possible to disassemble, clean, and put the marker back together in 2 minutes instead of 15. Smart Parts also redid the styling of the marker for a better visual appearance. The Ion XE operates the in the same basic way as the original Ion and has the same modes: semi-auto, Rebound, full-auto, and 3 round burst. It offers the same tournament level performance at an affordable price that made the original Ion so popular for the casual player. The Ion XE retails for $225, which is $75 less than the original Ion when it was released, and is in the same price range as the Tippmann A5 and Spyder VS3.