Paintball

[r90t]

I swore i would not shoot this stuff again after a bad case or two in 2008 and Hollywood Sports was using it as field paint (rocks) around that time. It got a bad reputation as a very hard paint. However, things changed, and I bought another case in December, after Phil, the owner of PSH Paintball in Los Angeles had told me PWI had reformulated the fill and shell, and that experienced pumpers were shooting it. Boy, he wasn't lying. Truthfully, I was looking for Ultra Evil, but couldn't find any reasonably close by in So. Cal.

I compare all paint to Ultra Evil, as this is my gold standard for pump guns.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT THE FIELD PAINT THAT HOLLYWOOD SPORTS WAS USING A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. THAT STUFF WAS LIKE BLUE STREAK.

Drop test: Ball would break with very light toss from waist high, and when they hit the ground, it would break, usually on the first try, most no later than the third. Similiar to Ultra, but was breaking along seam. I shot 500 balls without a barrel break out of a CP .682 without rollouts; 285 fps.

Fill: Bright Orange, and about as thick as Ultra Evil. The shell would literally stick in the fill when it broke. Ultra Evil Orange is still harder to wipe, slightly brighter, though I think the Ultra Evil Orange is now no longer available, due to staining tendencies.



Accuracy: On par with RP Premium/WPN Toxic/draxxus bronze and other decent mid-grade paint. Still not as accurate as fresh Ultra Evil, which gives ball on ball accuracy. This stuff is on a plate size target from 20 yards.

Cost: about 35/case.

Overall: I was playing pump and OK with the performance of this paint. That says a lot when you only get one shot during your snaps and your laning is about 5 shots before they make their bunkers.

Smoking Dragon is a mid to upper mid grade paint at a decent price. This stuff is a lot better then a couple of years ago. It is better than the mid grade WPN that is the same price, and a heck of a lot better than the white box/shrapnel or seconds that you get for a couple of bucks less. I am a pure pump player, and will always shoot Ultra Evil as my choice of paint and that is what I hold all others to. This stuff was a surprising 7-8/10 overall. I thought I'd be shooting re-balls all day long, and instead, I had a bunch of semi players walking off of the field.

I am always looking for a substitute for ultra when I can't find it, like this past December, and this stuff is worth a shot.