Paintball

[kynan]

Get an etek 3, it's an 08 ego with a little less milling but no qev for $500-$600 new depending in LT or AM.

[grande]

Etek 3 is nothing like a Ego 8 when you compare them on the field, with actually playing with them both. Ego is a tournament marker, Etek is a budget version and it shows, without going into technical details the feel alone is totally different.


To the OP:
Coming from a background of shooting the Etek2 (for sponsorship reasons) I swapped teams and bought one of the first 09 Geos as they became available. Until Planet Eclipse came out with the GST (Geo Soft Touch Kit) I wasn't able to shoot the most brittle paint reliably, but the gun was performing superbly. It wasn't like having sex with your fingers with each trigger pull but it was a nice solid, well built, reliable gun.


After the GST installation the whole marker changed. You are able to shoot paint so brittle it'll break if you look at it wrong, plus the sound signature changed for better too. It feels like a different marker and I still keep my 09 as a back up (shame I never get to use it because my main gun hasn't failed yet). The 09 Geo has transformed from a super fast shooter to a smoother, slower cycling one with the upgrades. GR2 slowed down the bolt speeds to prevent the actual loading procedure from breaking paint and the GST just made it that much more gentle on brittle paint.



Had the pleasure of attending one of PE's tech classes in Manchester and each tech built a Geo2 from ground up, you just had a box of parts in front of you, just like Lego but better. I fell in love with the ergonomics of the Geo2 right there and then, the grip frame is located further back than on the o9 version, leaving more room for your front hand to grip around the reg. Also the gun sits a bit lower and it aims more naturally. This is one of the first guns I can run and shoot and actually have the paint flying where I want to. First tournament I attended with the Geo2 we played against a really hard core D3 team and I ended up shooting 4 opponents out of 5, so my love for the gun only got deeper.


Sound signature is more quiet on the Geo2. When I play woodsball it makes a big difference when you can have the target stay still as the balls are on their way down range. When plying with Ego just dodge as you hear someone shooting and you'll still be alive. Also every time I'm playin in the woods people come to me asking what I shoot because they cant hear it. The Shaft 4 stock barrel is plenty good and does not need replacing. I have a full freak kit and a Dye UL set but I only use the stock barrel the most on this baby, ball on ball accurate. Trigger on both o9 and Geo2 are nice but I prefer the Geo2's trigger. Its ridiculously easy to shoot it fast on semi, set it up to microswitch or eye operated, adjust the pull to your liking and get it shooting!

Maintenance of both guns is easy, only on the Geo2 you dont need allen keys to take the bolt out, everything can and should be finger tightened. Open the back cap, pull the bolt out, wipe the parts clean, re-lube and slap them back in. Basic maintenance takes from 1 to 5 minutes even if done metaculously and from my experiences cleaning / lubing needs to be done between every 3 times you play. I've taken the gun to extremes and yes it will eventually leak if the inner can o-ring is coated with paint and other particles such as dirt, lint etc. Wipe it clean, re apply the lube, slap it back together and shoot. Settings can and should be kept to factory settings unless you want to have some fancy firemode, its that simple.

Geo2 has a regulator that you can, according to PE designers, shoot with a LP tank or a HP tank without the FPS varying at all. Also a nice feature with the Geo2 is you're able to shoot deeper into the tanks air capacity with proper shots before running out of air, the only downside to this is the gun will not warn you its running out of air by gradually shooting slower, it just stops shooting after the tank is dry (the 09 for example will start dropping FPS when tank is running dry, so you know when to stop shooting to keep those few extra shots for that last suicide run.

Comparing the two gun types, I'd have to go with the Geo style for woodsball play just because there aren't any openings to get dirt or water in to. Sure you get more shots per fill with a poppet design, but I like the feel of a single tube marker so much more. The only bad thing about the Geo2 is that it feels almost too good, you dont want to play with any other marker after you give it a go.

If you want my opinion on which one to get,
Geo2 if you can afford it, it wont let you down, promise.

http://contour.com/stories/finnish-n...gue-div-3-clip Low division speedball game (I know I know,move when theres an opening)

http://contour.com/stories/sissosarena-2-clip Woodsball action just for fun..

http://contour.com/stories/sissosarena4-clip More woodsball action.

The gun sounds a bit loud due to the camera being attached directly on the barrel.



EDIT:
Added pictures and video links for more pleasurable reading experience.

[seriouslysilly]

Awesome write-up! Thanks for that info.

I recently was able to shoot my first spoolie the other month and now the "bug" is biting me to get one.

Been doing some research on the Geo2 and people are quite happy with theirs.
However, there are some on the poppet side (namely ego11) that state that the ego11 is as smooth, if not smoother, than the Geo2.
I find it hard to believe myself, but what do I know?
The most recent marker I've had the pleasure to see on the field is an ego09

[minimag03]

Originally Posted by L.I Caretaker

Save some $$$ get an 07 Ego its one the best one's they made..You can get 2 07's for less then $800..

Have you tried the Ego11? I use to feel the same way about the 07 until I shot the new one. Their new noid setup is amazing.

Originally Posted by seriouslysilly

Been doing some research on the Geo2 and people are quite happy with theirs.
However, there are some on the poppet side (namely ego11) that state that the ego11 is as smooth, if not smoother, than the Geo2.
I find it hard to believe myself, but what do I know?

The kick is non existent, unlike any poppit marker I have shot..

[BattleSpam]

if you are playing scenario/woodsball, i'd recommend the EGO10 (haven't shot the 11 yet....), I've shot Ego's in all sorts of nasty woodsball situations, and my Ego is a tank! Dirt, sand, mud, rain, my Ego is like the mailman: mother nature can't stop it. Not to mention it's more air efficient, meaning I'll stay in the game longer. If you are more focused captaining/commanding rather than shooting volumes of paint, then the Geo should work to.