The ION is the newest member to the Smart Parts arsenal. At only $299, this marker is just about everything you will be looking for in a tournament grade marker.
The box is full color, suitcase style with cut foam inside to harness the marker. The ION is basically ready to go out of the box, the left side of the grip comes open so you can pop the battery in, make any adjustments to the speeds and firing modes, screw the grip on and go!
Out of the box the ION is set to about 10bps (adjustable rate of fire up to 17bps) in regular semi auto mode. The trigger is reverse magnetic (pushes and pulls against the frame increasing speed!) the trigger has both backward and forward adjustments for travel. The ION also comes equipped with a rebound mode (ramping), burst mode and full. The ION marker was set up on rebound mode at 17bps for testing. A 4500psi high pressure bottle and empire reloader where also used for testing.
The marker comes on in a force mode that will not let it fire unless there is a paintball in the breach. First 3 shots at the chrono where 288, 289, 288. With the eyes of and the ION ripping out paintball's at 17pbs, the ION managed not to bust a single paintball with a full hopper.
In our opinion, the ION is worth the $300 msrp. they are being sold for.
Pros:
- Quality, well finished metal parts
- Composite parts are of good craftsmanship with nice rubber trim
- Comfortable grips on frame and regulator
- Small, light, and compact
- High flowing internals (minus the bolt)
- Customizable (shells are replaceable in minutes)
- Consistency with the stock regulator
- Eye logic works well
- Efficiency is good.
- Feedneck securely holds hopper, despite being a non-clamping feed
Cons:
- Trigger can be tight
- Stock barrel needs to be upgraded
- Non-Clamping Feedneck
- The membrane button is hard to work with gloves on, generally stiff
- LED is difficult to see in bright light
- Modes of fire can be confusing to change
- Composite parts may not be appealing to some.
- Duckbill not intended for long drop setup
Manufactures Specifications:
- 17 balls per second
- Semi-Auto, 3 Shot Burst, Full Auto, and Rebound Firing Mode
- Improved ball detents (last 10 times longer)
- Break-beam Vision eyes (mounted on a separate board for perfect alignment)
- 1000-1400 shots from a 68ci, 4500psi bottle
- Stock feed tube with O-ring seals--Fits a wider range of hoppers than most markers in this price range.
- 1/8" Allen wrench is all you need for primary disassembly--and it's included, along with trigger and velocity adjustment wrenches and a handy parts kit.
- Impulse barrel and feed tube threads
