text: Etek - Paintball Forum - Paintball guns and gear forums
  July 10th, 2012, 07:48 PM #1 (permalink)
  Hi I currently own a ion xe that I bought from a friend who never used and got a ton of stuff with it for a good deal. Im looking to upgrade though by the end of the year because I'll have some cash then. How much do you think I'll be able to get a maybe an etek 3 used for near the end of the year or beginning of next year or will some good deals be coming soon with I heard of the release of the etek 4 coming? Thanks
  July 10th, 2012, 09:23 PM #2 (permalink)
  id expect the 3s to be in the $300 range very soon if not already (i have not really kept up)
  July 10th, 2012, 09:43 PM #3 (permalink)
  Are you sure you want the etek look around more and test a few different guns out before you decide for sure
  July 10th, 2012, 09:54 PM #4 (permalink)
  sounds Prty good I'm looking at the end of the year or beginning of next yr to buy a new marker in the 300-400 dollar range thts good and offers a lot of features would u recommend the Etek or no?
  I'm not for certain but I've heard a lot of good stuff about them and looking to buy a marker at the end of the yr or beggining of next yr in the 300 dollar range thats good and offers alot of features and it doesn't have to buy knew got any tips on some markers in that range
  July 10th, 2012, 11:48 PM #5 (permalink)
  well i got one as a secondary/backup/loaner so i say none of this as a fan boy because its not even my primary
  for the money they are fantastic markers, all the performance of the ego line in a budget shell, they are true high ends, duel regulated electropnumatic poppet. about the only 2 things i would change are the trigger guard to be a little bigger, im not saying its bad, i just prefer my frames to be slightly larger. and to get rid of the T-mount on the bottom of the trigger frame, if you are never going to use another ASA its not a big deal but for me, i like to use drop forwards and i had to custom make a mount so i could mount to the T.
  beyond that they are fairly smooth, VERY efficient, lightweight, maintenance is easy and programing is about as easy as it gets short of having a screen. one of the best bang for the buck markers currently made
  July 11th, 2012, 10:37 AM #6 (permalink)
  ETEKs are the Toyota Camry of paintball.
  They're nice, viable markers that do a great job just...being paintball markers. Honestly - the only upgrade I stumbled across worth a damn was the trigger. Outside that, maintenance was a breeze:
  Use it, wipe the bolt down, dry fire w/ lube, wipe the marker down, put it back in the case... and when it gets weird... clean the bottom tube. If it stays weird, clean the regulators.
  I have no sincere "love" for mine...but I can't see myself getting rid of it. It has no personality, but is awesomely reliable and does a great job at being a functional, reliable, and break-resistant marker.
  July 11th, 2012, 12:57 PM #7 (permalink)
  Look at macdevs drone dx they are in my opinion the nicest guns in that price range
  I think macdev has made some of the best guns in painball
  July 11th, 2012, 01:14 PM #8 (permalink)
  drone is a FASOR, a mid range marker and basically a dumbed down version of a EP poppet, why get the dumbed down poppet when you can have a full EP poppet for the same money?
  in fact as far as i know and im no mcdev expert but i believe all of their markers are the FASOR design and nowhere near the price of the rest of the mid range markers out there. im not saying they are bad, just overpriced
  Last edited by Trbo323; July 11th, 2012 at 01:20 PM..
  July 11th, 2012, 01:17 PM #9 (permalink)
  HUH?? Drone is an unbalanced spool using a simplified (read, unbalanced) version of the Clone VX drivetrain to hit a lower price point. It's not in any way a poppet.
  Essentially, the Drone DX is to a Clone VX what a TechT L7 bolt DM is to a normal DM.
  July 11th, 2012, 01:27 PM #10 (permalink)
  oops, unbalanced spool, but that still makes is mid range and personally i dont think any US marker should be over around $400, its a pretty simple platform only needing one regulator and a 2 way noid
  July 11th, 2012, 05:38 PM #11 (permalink)
  Thanks Trbo uve answered a lot of questions 4 me on this forum. Btw what do you use as your primary.
  Well good it ill go good with the corolla s haha
  July 11th, 2012, 06:53 PM #12 (permalink)
  DM6 with some upgrades.
  working on replacing it with a more up to date matrix. secondary is a etek 3, project marker is a cocker which i just finished some crazy work on (pics are in the paintball chat section, just look for the thread started by me) and then i have a SP shoebox shocker as a nestalga marker
  July 11th, 2012, 07:29 PM #13 (permalink)
  FASOR, a mid range marker and basically a dumbed down version of a EP poppet
  AZN likes FASOR markers
  AZN will also say that he has not paid more than $200 for one, so it can be a good deal depending on your price range
  To get back on topic, the Etek3 is a great choice, and the Etek4 is not worth the extra price over the 3
  If at all possible, try and get the Etek3 AM (because it has a better board IIRC), but the LT is not a bad shooter by any stretch of the imagination