Bob Long Defiant 2 Review
By Andrew C. Syren
Bob Long has made a huge name for himself in paintball and being nicknamed the Godfather of Paintball, he deserves every bit of respect given him these days. With his initial creation of the Intimidator Bob Long launched paintball into a world of speed and power.
Having a small understanding of how Bob Long changed the face of paintball with the introduction of the Timmy I can say with confidence that he has once again, changed the face of paintball for the second time. Only this time he has done so with a whisper compared to the loud shout in marketing made by the Intimidator when they hit the store shelves. The all newly designed Bob Long Defiant 2 is as remarkably fast as the Intimidator, as light as the Planet Eclipse Ego and nearly as small as the Smart Parts Shocker.
When I originally received my Defiant 2 for review, I was not surprised to find that the packaging was no different than any of the Intimidators I have bought. The box was the typical Bob Long favorite with a decent foam bed for the marker to rest on and a foam cover placed neatly over the Defiant 2 keeping the barrel and accessories from nicking the marker while in transit. Simple yet effective, the packaging was satisfactory and did the job necessary for keeping the marker in perfect condition from the time it left BLAST to the time it reached my hands. All in all, I would like to see a few changes but nothing more than a nice die cut foam for the placement of the marker and barrel and perhaps a place for the accessories separate from the marker itself. Since the present packaging works, I doubt we will see any changes here in the near future.
After inspecting the packaging, I then slipped the Defiant 2 out of the box and into my hands. Locating the barrel, I screwed it into the breach and was amazed at how light the marker was. Looking at the milling, I can say two things, vague and yet very clean. The cuts along the Defiant 2 were made for simplicity and they deliver just that. With clean cuts and a very deep anodize, the Defiant 2 comes to you with a simple design that makes it easy to clean. Looks don’t win tournaments, so they have never been priority for my reviews, but I will say that the quality of the Defiant 2 was all there and it impressed me far more in person than in the pictures found everywhere on the web.
Standard features for the Defiant 2 are the 12 inch Bob Long Assassins Barrel, LED Grip Panels, Clam Shell Trigger Frame, White Delrin Bolt, 3 Way Adjustable Trigger, Anti-Chop Eye’s, Front LPR and the newly revised reverse threaded Torpedo Inline Regulator. The most exciting feature however is that the Defiant 2 comes fully equipped with the LED version of the Frenzy 127.4 board (aka: Frenzy 127.4T). The electronic features include Capped Semi, Uncapped Semi, Capped Ramping, Uncapped Ramp and Full Auto capped at 15 balls per second.
After my initial inspections, I whipped my hands of any anxiety and continued on. I grabbed my Halo-b with V35 installed and my 45/4500 Crossfire tank. With a full fill and a full hopper, I began testing. Turning the Defiant 2 on is easy. With the press of the on button located at the back of the trigger frame the marker was ready to fire. Unlike some of the older Bob Long products that may have included an LCD screen, the LED Frenzy 127.4T board is ready to rip at the touch of a button. No boot up times makes this a much more user-friendly marker on and off the field.
With the eyes on and the hopper full, I began to rip. The best way to describe this marker is to say that it is insanely fast and extremely fun to shoot. I decided to run a few more pods through to secure my thoughts on the eye logic built into the Frenzy board and all went well. No chops and no problems mechanically. This marker absolutely screams and can be labeled one of the simplest in design. Running the Halo-B with a V35 board and having set the Defiant 2 up for uncapped ramping mode I was simply in love. For most of those reading this that have been signed up with the Paintballtimes forum know that I myself am a Timmy guy through and through. So to hear me say that if your looking to buy a Timmy you should look no further than Bobs second incarnation, the Defiant 2 is a little tough to swallow! After testing this marker though I can safely say that it is one of the hottest markers to come of the assembly line at blast and I dare say it is revolutionary in it’s concept.
After running paint through the Defiant 2 and whipping the drool from my mouth I went on to calculate the finer points such as accuracy and efficiency. Accuracy was measured using medium bore paint through the stock Assassins barrel at about 20 feet from the target. The results were ball on top of ball accuracy and nearly zero spread over 3 inches in diameter. The efficiency was perfect and resulted in similar readings to any Timmy. I was getting about 790 shots off my Crossfire 45/4500 tank and was rather pleased at these results. Markers found with less shots per fill using the 45 tanks tend to bother me as I like to play front position and try to keep my gear small and tight. The Defiant 2 along with my setup described here is a perfect marker for any front man and is my personal recommendation for anybody seeking a small, lightweight package to get the job done.
After I completed the testing and calculation of the results found I took the marker inside to be cleaned and lubed. Lubricating the Defiant2 is simple and is fully illustrated in the online manual. Bob Long has finally made use of today’s technology and put together a wonderful manual for both his Intimidator line of markers and the new Defiant 2. I am assuming that in the near future, users will be receiving a professional copy of this manual with every marker purchase. I downloaded mine from the web and can say that I am impressed with the details and ease of following along with the instructions.
In maintaining the Defiant, it is most important to lube three major areas within the shots given in the manual. Every marker requires lube after so many shots and the Defiant 2 is no exception. Lubing the inline regulator is simply done by removing the bottom half of the regulator while the marker is degassed and lubing the inner piston. It is a simple rendition of the Bob Long Torpedo so maintenance is simple. The LPR needs to be lubed fewer times than the inline but is just as simple to do. Remove the cap and internal piston and lube. Replace internals and cap and your done. It’s just that simple. The ram on the Defiant 2 is not at all like the Intimidator and takes a little more effort to lube but in the end it is still one of the more simple rams to maintain. After running through the fantastic instructions found in the manual I was satisfied in saying that the Defiant 2 is one of the easiest markers to lube and prep for the next game.
All in all, the Defiant 2 is a well rounded marker and can be an awesome investment for anybody getting into a higher league of paintball play. It’s not necessarily built with the woodsballer in mind but for recreation and tournament ball this marker is hands down the best bang for the buck. Lightweight, simple design, easy to clean and faster than nearly 95 percent of the markers out there for a small price tag of around (and even fewer than) 695 dollars. You just cannot beat a deal like that and considering that this is the initial run for the Defiant 2 I would expect there to be a few private label versions for the future and perhaps an LCD version to come. If you want top performance without the premium price then the Defiant 2 is going to put you right up that alley and without breaking the bank.
