Empire Magna Hopper Overview

Friday December 7th, 2007 -- By Richard
Empire recently released their new entry into the hopper market at the 2007 World Cup.

What really sets the Magna apart from it's competitors is it use of a new drive technology. Utilizing a magnetic clutch system a player can adjust the pressure that is put on the ball during feeding to help reduce breaks. How the systems work is a series of magnets that you can adjust in a tray under the drive cone. The more magnets that you put in the tray the stronger the force will be, with less magnets the force will be lower. What the magnets are doing is serving as a clutch system that can slip if a jam occurs helping to not continue putting pressure on your paintballs that could cause a break in your loader.

Reballs feed flawlessly through the Magna's clutch system. The option of increasing the tension allows the Magna the extra force that reballs need.

Featuring RF capability the Magna can sync with your guns board and make sure it's feeding perfectly in sync with how your shooting. The RF chip is sold separately from the hopper but is really a worthwhile accessory to go with the Magna.

Featuring a feed rate of over 30 balls per second on gun and around 180 ball capacity it is comparable in feed rate/size to a Vlocity or Halo with V35. The Magna comes standard with the Halo Rip drive to help feed if you run out of batteries or undo a jam (Which shouldn’t be a problem with the new drive system).

The profile of the body is shifted back to expose less height of the hopper for the opposing team to shoot at. A magnetic lid just like on the V35 provides easy open, easy close when throwing another pod in. The body feels really sturdy and the feed neck is a reinforced laminated construction that is built to last. Operating on six AA batteries the Magna in my opinion has the best battery door on new age hoppers. Opening the door requires no tools, it just slides open and the battery carriage fits in easily unlike the original Halos that you would always have to try to remember which direction you put the battery block in.

In short, a Magna is a great option for a loader that’s like a barrel kit, you can change for hard paint or brittle; it gives you incomparable customizability from rock hard paint to the most brittle paint you can find.