I used to play a ton back in junior high-early high school (1999-2003ish) and have only gone half a dozen times since.  We went last September for my buddies bachelor party, and we're all slowly collecting equipment to get back at it once the weather gets better.  

I need an updated marker.  I have a 2003 Autococker that was nothing but trouble during the bachelor party.  I was lucky and the field had an autococker nerd there that helped me with it a ton, but I'm done with that shitty reliability.  I wanted to jump into something newer with a nice e trigger.  I don't want to spend a grand for a high end Empire or Dye or Planet Eclipse marker, but I want something that's decent quality.  Finding Empire Axe's, Empire Mini Gs's, Dye Proto Rail, and GoG Envy or some shit markers within my price range.  Any advice?

I randomly got a Dye pod pack for Christmas, which is insanely nicer than the old Redz pack I used to use.

Thanks guys

I used my Tippmann A5 last time I played a couple of years ago.  It's a cheap reliable marker.



My brother rocked my VM-68.  

Have you tried eBay? PbNation classifieds? You can get some of the older Egos and Dyes pretty cheap. They are not going to be as light as the new ones, but they still shoot just as fast since you will likely have a BPS cap at any commercial field.

I have a soft spot for WGP Autocockers, but I really fell in love with a Smart Parts Shockers when I still played.

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Talk about a blast from the past!

I haven't seen one of those in a LONG time!

He had at least three guys ask him what it was.  Old school!





 

You can get a decent used Ego for a few hundred bucks.  Same with the DM line... I've been trying to get back into it for years but just can't make the jump.

Have a few options I'm seeing.  Hunt PBNation and craigslist for a used DM or Axe, or grab a new Gtek.  Unless I can find a used DM14 or DM15, I'm thinking the Gtek is my best option.

A couple questions you need to answer first before I can offer advice (20+ years in paintball from playing recreationally/professionally/ran and owned retail/worked in "Industry")

A) How often do you think you'll play??


B) Are you someone who maintains their equip? or you prefer fire and forget?


C) Having recently played and having played many years ago, what's your preference in terms of playing  style? are you more aggressive, or prefer hanging back and being more defensive?


D) What format do you prefer? woodsball or speedball??


E) You mentioned getting a pack recently, will you be needing everything else like hopper? and air source?? Most markers require compressed air, and thus Co2 is basically non existent, and obviously, the cheaper gravity feed hoppers won't cut it.


F) What would be your ideal budget for everything, should you also need a hopper and HPA system??


If you can answer those questions, I'd be happy to point you in the direction of options and you can do a little further digging to get others prospectives/suggestions.


Regards.

PS
and PM me with info on your 'cocker, and a couple of pics if you can provide, and if you decide to upgrade, and want to get rid of it, I may be able to help you as I'm an Autococker fan and do still own many examples of that brand and am always looking to purchase more, in addition to finding specific guns for customers who are in the market.

Answers in bold
If I were to just buy everything today, I'd grab a Planet Eclipse Gtek, Virtue Spire hopper, Ninja low PSI air system, Virtue mask

Sounds like you've done a little researching!

Sounds like the Gtek is a good fit for you, the price of $549.00 is fair given how reliable/durable PE markers are and the maint. on the Gtek and Etek for that matter, are a breeze. It's laughable whenever I open a PE marker case when showing customers what they're getting and you see the ridiculous amount of orings they give you, seeing as you rarely if ever have to replace them provided you're cleaning/greasing/oiling on a regular basis. As far as bang for the buck, I have three markers I typically recommend in the $450-$550 range, and those are the Gtek, Etek and Axe.

The Spire is an outstanding hopper but if you've got a Rotor, you're good to go, unless you just want something new, but honestly (and I own both) the Rotor is just as capable, the only real difference between the two, is that the Spire has a nice wide mouth and you don't lose much in the way of paintballs when refilling, whether it be using the OEM lid or a speedfeed, and the capacity is closer to manuf. claim rather than being shy like the Rotor (non high capacity shell).

You can't go wrong with Ninja, they make excellent product and the regulators will last forever, provided of course you maintain it on a regular basis, and their shim system for raising and lowering output pressure is right on point, and the Gtek can use a standard high output or lower pressure output preset HPA tank with marginal efficiency gain.

As far as goggles, I'd recommend (if you haven't already done so) checking out other brangs of goggles, I personally am not a fan of the Vios, as they seem to sit too close to my face, but otherwise they're comfortable and I get great feedback from customers who have purchased them. I'd go to a local shop if you have one and try on the various goggles, and see which one fits better and is comfortable. Vforce Profilers and Grill goggles are amazing, and their thermal lenses work great, if you have an older pair of JT Spectra series (Flex7, Flex8, etc) and the foam is in good condition, I still find those to be the most comfortable goggles and the thermal replacement lenses are still available.


Glad you're getting back into Paintball, I've seen an increase of folks who got out of the sport 6-10 years back and they're filtering back in and that's a good thing. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to help in any way I can, and remember to let me know about that 'cocker

Regards.

That's my current hopper.  Sure, paintballs bounce off of it (as the goal with the design), ricochet right into your goddamn goggles.  Completely unreliable, batteries randomly stop working while they still have a charge, doesn't feed fast enough, it's time for something new.

Roommate is still sleeping downstairs where all the paintball stuff is, I'll get you a pic and details at some point.

Thanks again for all the help.

I had a bunch of Valken Proton LE markers that I bought online for a good deal.  I've used plenty of high end guns (Dye, Proto, Intimidator, etc) back in the day but strangely enough this one is the most comfortable one I've held.  Not that expensive either and it looks to be well made.

Goggles?  I use Vforce Grillz.
Tank? Ninja
Hopper? Halo Too (but would rather have a rotor or spire)

Normally I play pump with an Empire Sniper.  I find it a lot more fun than blasting away with an electronic marker.

I use a 1999 KAPP water autococker and a Dark LED Angel that has been upgraded to take 9v batteries.  

Go old school.    There's nothing better than the ka-chunk ka-chunk ka-chunk of an autococker  ;)

LOL.... This is old school

I still have a P68.  Always wanted a PGP just because.