Biggest paint and barrel test ever
The biggest paintball test of all time is here
Our readers have been suggesting for many months that we ought to not simply compare a few barrels to each other with one brand of paint, but rather all barrels with all brands of paint.
The wait is over. We are in the process of finishing up our test and posting the results. Over 14 barrels and 5 different brands of paint were tested. The results are absolutely unbelievable. All barrels all paints, one test.
To our immediate knowledge nothing like this has ever been done with the recent offering of paintball barrels and paints. We hope that our test and results can help fill a major gap.
More details on the testing procedure will be provided when the results of all products or individual products are posted. Add yourself to our updates list to receive update information. See our sidebar on the right to add yourself.
Before we begin we need to clear up a few anomalies. If you don’t see a certain barrel or type of paint, it’s because the manufacturer elected not to participate in our test. We contacted the majority of the manufacturers and requested products. Almost all complied. Call them and complain.
Barrels:
The barrels we tested include:
Freak All American 14″
Freak Teardrop 12″
Smart Stainless
J&J Two Piece 12″
J&J Two Piece 14″
J&J Ceramic 14″
J&J Pro 1 12″
DYE 10″
PMI Razzor 14″
Bob Long 14″
Lapco Bigshot 12′
Lapco Autospirit 12″
Lapco Autospirit 10″
Danny Love Two Piece Special 10″
Paints:
PMI Marballizer
PMI Big Ball
Zap Performance Plus
Zap Tequila Sunrise
32 Degrees Team Colors
Direct Hit
The one regret we have is that DYE opted not to send in any of their barrels. We have included an older aluminum DYE barrel that we had lying around. We feel that many players use Dye barrels, and hence hope to include their barrels in the future.
We also regret to inform you that as of print date Diablo has not sent in any products to be included in our test. As you may know, Diablo paintballs are used by many high end professional and amateur teams. We regret to inform you that Diablo will not be covered.
If you are a manufacturer and want your products included you have to call immediately. The testing process will be completed by the end of this week.
Amazing results for biggest paint and barrel test ever
Rumors have been flying. Stories have been told. Secrets have been kept. Myths have propagated. Results were leaked. People are drooling. Wow.
Well, the results are in! It may have taken a little longer than was anticipated, but we had to make sure everything was accurate.
Of course, accuracy is the name of the game. All of these barrels and paints aim to improve accuracy.
Please read the entire report as well as the intricate product details carefully to get a better understanding of how each product performed.
Findings:
We were very amazed with the unbelievable results that we found. We have been able to shatter many myths and clear up many misconceptions.
Myth #1
The first myth we wish to shed light on is the myth that the barrel matters more than the paintballs. Unfortunately, it just isn’t true. With a 90% degree of confidence we can now state unreservedly that the paintballs matter more than the barrels. Our recommendation is to buy a good barrel and then spend all the rest of your life earnings on buying good paint. Paint will improve your performance more than any single barrel.
Myth #2
A paintball is paintball is a paintball. Au contraire, not all paintballs are the same. They are made differently and hence, perform very, very differently. Shells differ, roundness differ, ball to ball size differs, and weight differs. All of these factors affect breakability, flight, distance, distendability, trajectory, and visibility before and after breaking.
Myth #3
Weather conditions do not matter. This is by far the second most important factor (after paintball type) that affects your accuracy. Different weather conditions affect paintballs in different ways.
Myth #4
The longer the better. This was not the case. Different length barrels performed differently with different paints.
Myth #5
Variable bore barrels are the best. Not in all circumstances. Variability adds variability and gives less overall consistency. Why? Parts move, shift, and will wear over time. Further, you can never guarantee the exact same fit every time. But they did perform very well.
Myth#6
A barrel is a barrel. Not true. No two barrels are the same and they don’t all do the same thing. We found many differences in performance. No generalization can be made about ported vs. non-ported, or longer vs. shorter, or aluminum vs. steel, or two-piece vs. one piece.
Myth #7
The barrel to paint match is important. Wrong! The barrel to paint match is more than important, it is dire. You have to have an adequate match. The match doesn’t have to be perfect or close, but it has to be adequate. With some barrels, we found that the tighter the better, with others it did not have to be as tight to work well.
The Test:
On the test date we used a Minicocker (mini autococker) running on compressed air from a Max Flow (made by Smart Parts). The Minicocker was a Danny Love special with an input pressure of 375 psi. We also used a Black Magic Autococker with an input pressure of 220 psi. Both markers were bench clamped to a non-movable bench at the target range of Toledo Adventure Games. The barrels and paintballs were shot through each marker and an average rating taken. The scores you see are an average of both markers.
The temperature and humidity varied. We conducted our testing on three separate days and took exact measurements. We used a digital scale to take temperature and humidity measurements, and later verified the readings with the local weather service.
For the bore measurements and paintball size measurements we used a digital caliper with accuracy up to 0.0005 inch.
We chose a target 55 feet away and controlled the velocity to be between 260 and 295 fps using a handheld Radar Chronograph manufactured by Glove Radar Inc. with a tolerance of 2%. We shot 200 paintballs of each type through each barrel.
Warning:
Our markers use lower pressure than most rentals and other types of markers. Further, weather conditions in your area will be different than our testing conditions. Hence, we do not claim that your equipment will produce the same results.
Click on each product below for a statistics sheet and an in-depth report.
Barrels:
Freak All American 14″
Freak Teardrop 12″
Smart Stainless
J&J Two Piece 12″
J&J Two Piece 14″
J&J Ceramic 14″
J&J Pro 1 12″
DYE 10″
PMI Razzor 14″
Bob Long 14″
Lapco Bigshot 12″
Lapco Autospirit 12″
Lapco Autospirit 10″
Danny Love Two Piece Special 10″
Paints:
PMI Marballizer
Zap Performance Plus
Zap Tequila Sunrise
32 Degrees Team Colors
Direct Hit
Conclusions:
Purchase a good all around barrel if you are a recreational player and take good care of it. Also spend extra cash on better paintballs. That will definitely improve your game.
If you are an amateur or professional grade player, invest in a few different types of barrels and then spend everything else on great paint.
If you don’t care to get a better barrel, just buy better paint.
