Field Review: Danger Zone Paintball

Danger Zone is located in Pensacola, Florida. It is close to where I am at the moment, although most of my gear is back home (sadly). For the first time in my life, I had to rent a marker. Thankfully I had a mask and a couple other small items. This is owned by MWR (Military Welfare & Recreation) and as such is technically a military base, so be sure not to use your cell while driving etc.

Danger Zone has a good amount of bunkers around the "front" of the field, but only a few in the "back." This makes it a very challenging field to play. To be honest it really makes me miss New England where a tree was large enough to use as a bunker. There are only a few here that work like that. The bunkers in the front are arranged in no particular way, but still makes for a fun day of play. Once you learn the field a bit, it becomes more fun. The rear has a couple "forts" which are a couple small (around 15' by 10') plywood bunkers.

Gameplay and the people are the best parts. Many of the fields I have played had the crowd who felt the world would end even if they lost, even on rec days (that may be a small exaggeration). There was a small amount of people today, around 20 tops. The caliber of the people were excellent though. I played with fellow Navy, Marine,  Air Force and civilians. Everyone had great sportsmanship, played honorably and had a great time. The field has a very laid back feel to it.

Now for the bad: The whole "laid back feel" transfers right into safety. Safety was almost non-existent. I say almost, because the players were adamant on policing each other. A player who tilted his mask back to see better was immediately told to pull it back down by a teammate. Another who was walking back to the staging area was told by another to put a barrel condom on and did so without complaint. The good thing is barrel condoms were abundant. If someone didn't have one, they were promptly given one without a second thought.

In all honestly, this is one of the few places I can see the above (safety portion) working. No one had problems when told to correct an issue, and did so without arguing.

Rental equipment was not too bad. As said, this is the first time I had rented in my life, so bear with me. There was 70+ Tippmann 98C's; some older, and some the newest versions. They were kept in relatively good order and when I had a problem I was issued a new marker without complaint. The masks didn't seem half bad, though I used my own (wouldn't play without it).

Pricing:
Admission: $15
Paint: $50 Per case (Premium), $15 for 500, and prices in between.
Compressed air fills: free with admission*
Co2: Unsure as I used CA with the rentals all day, most likely well priced

The field has a very laid back/old school feel to it. This is not only its downfall (safety), but it is also the best part. The caliber of customers could not be better. I haven't played since September and I could not have asked for a better time today. No overgrown ego's, just relaxed people and players having a good time.

*Compressed air tanks can only be filled to 2000 PSI as they are filled out of large tanks, not a compressor

Note: I also found another review on www.pbreview.com that sums this field up very well. If you would like to search type in "32508" as a zip code in the field finder.

RTR Gargoyle Review

I recently picked up "The" purple gargoyle (I didn't check for serial #, but it is the only purple one, so that should sum it up).

 

It just so happens that Rodney lives a couple towns over from me (well, from my hometown anyway). I am in the Navy, and was going home for Labor Day weekend, so I had the pleasure of picking this up directly from Rodney in person. 

We met locally, and he showed me everything I need to know about the marker and more. The list of features is astounding. So begins my review. 

Note: I would just like to say I have only used this once. Although I didn't put it down once that day. I had a new PMI 1 I planned on testing out as well, but I could not put the Gargoyle down. 

Trigger & Trigger Frame:

The trigger is extremely smooth. It is without a doubt the smoothest slide trigger I have ever used. The grip frame is comparable to the "Titanium" anodized Carter Buzzard that many have seen floating around MCB at one point or another. It has the "hump" on the back with makes it extremely comfortable to grip. The grips are comfortable as well. I have no complaints here. I plan to switch them out in the future for a different pair, but not for comfort by any means. Honestly it is just to personalize the Gargoyle that tiny bit more.

The trigger is fully adjustable so if you feel like having an almost "mouse-click" style trigger pull it is capable. I found that I enjoyed the trigger pull as it was tuned from Rodney. 

My Experience With The Gargoyle:

Now as said, I was only home for labor day weekend, so we played all day on Saturday in the woods area my family owned. We didn't have a chrono, but a fellow member from MCB (greenmtnphantom) had the following readings in his review: 

Temp - low 60's

Total shots taken - 34

Data -

Chronograph speeds - 288, 297, 291, 000, 309, 273, 289, 279, 285, 289, 276, 303, 278 285, 301, 286, 288, 290, 282, 280, 300, 271, 280, 260, 276, 277, 259, 244, 237, 206, 000, 000 

000 means I did not get a reading. 

I was using Brass Eagle 12 grams all day (supplied by a friend), as I was not able to order better 12ies on such short notice and when I would only be playing over one short weekend for now. I don't remember how many shots I was getting out of each 12 gram, but I changed them after each game just in case, and was only carrying a 4 ten round tubes on the field with me.


Overall Feel: 
The tolerances are no less than perfect with the Gargoyle, it was machined with precision. Each part fits seamlessly where it belongs. For weight comparison, is heftier than a phantom (comparable to a Buzzard IMO) but feels better in my hands than both the Buzzard and Phantom. I have never owned a Phantom, only used for a couple games. I owned a buzzard though for a few months (it wasn't for me I found).
Overall, I have not one complaint. It pumps like a nelson, so don't expect to compare to your T2's pump stroke. Although I was told the pump stroke would only get better with use. I have no complaints about the pump stroke as is anyway.

A couple of my favorite features:
This deserves a special mention:
As you can see in the embed youtube video, the gargoyle is easily broken down and put back together in seconds. It would not be hard to take out the internals, give it a clean/lube and be back on the field in a couple minutes or less.









Also, the feed cap had an unexpected twist. If the stock ball retainer failed for what ever reason or went missing, the feed cap has a ring milled into it. A bit of it is milled all the way through. This way, an O-ring can be inserted into the groove as a makeshift ball retainer. Another way to keep you out of the staging area and on the field.

Not only does this make cleaning and breaking the marker down incredibly fast, but think of the possibilities for add ons in the future ;]

Customer Service
Rodney is great with this. As soon as I walked up to him he hands me a 20 dollar bill for picking it up instead of shipping. That caught me off guard (didn't even realize he factored it into the price. It was a excellent surprise.
As he was showing me all the features of the Gargoyle, he realized he had forgotten the O-ring around the barrel and insisted on getting me one by the end of the weekend. I wasn't worried about it, but I got a text and a message on MCB asking where to send/meet. I still need to reply to that (Sorry, I have been busy, I will PM you soon).

There is so much more to this gun, but for that you can refer to Remember The Ronin and check out the features. Another excellent source for information is the RTR Gargoyle Q/A's.
This is the first marker I have owned out of 28 that I can give a 10/10 and I could not be happier.

All in all, I am proud to say I now own one of my dream paintball guns. It is everything I hoped for and more.

I will update the next time I manage to get back home to play. Sadly it couldn't come back to FL with me at the moment...

Something neat to dress up your forum signature:

This is something that a paintballer on MCarterBrown posted a while ago:
Achievement Generator

It can be used to create custom "video game" style achievements for anything. You input what ever you want.

You can create anything you like, here is an example I did:

Just follow the on screen instructions.

Enjoy.

Empire E-Vents (08) Mask Review

An important note on buying a new paintball mask:

A paintball mask is not just another piece of equipment in your gear bag. Not only does it protect your eyes and ears and face, it can be the deciding factor in enjoying a day of paintball. Before you buy a paintball mask, TRY IT ON. This is the best advice one can give when you are shopping for a new mask. A mask will fit everyone differently, I may like a mask that you hate, but that does not make it a "bad" mask. A paintball mask is personal preference, get out to your local Pro-shop or paintball store and try it on before you buy. 

Some background information: 

I have used numerous paintball masks including:

-Many "lower end" masks (Examples are Tippmann/Scott etc.)

-V-Force Grill

-JT Proteus, Proflex

-Dye I4

-Vents Avatar

I bought the E-Vents when they came out for around 90 dollars. I was primarily using a V-Force Grill before I bought these. I used these for easily over a year.

How does it look?

This is something you must decide for yourself. Personally, I believe it looks good. If you don't, that's fine too. This is all a matter of opinion.

Field of vision and fog issues:

The E-Vents have a great field of vision. It is comparable to many of the other "high end" masks out there like the I4's and Proflex's. I have never had a problem with the field of vision on a "higher end" mask. This mask fogged once on me over the whole time I used it. It was an extremely hot summer day (100+ Fahrenheit) and the humidity was awful (to the point I was dripping in sweat). Other than that day, I never had issues with the lens fogging or not being able see.

Weight and Overall Comfort:

E-Vents are by no means heavy, though I have never had a problem with the weight of a mask, this is just something I hear many people complain about. It makes sense considering the weight does affect how the mask feels on my head though. For comparison, it is not as light as JT proflex's, but it is not far behind. I found it to be more comfortable (for me) than the Grill, but not as comfortable as the Proflex.

Ventilation and Sound:

In both aspects this is a top performer. Simon did a very good job making sure when you are breathing hard the air is still directed out of the mask. When yelling there was no "echo," and I could hear teammates talking to me fine as well.

Changing the lens:

Some paintball masks can be slightly time consuming and annoying to change the lens. This is one of the places where the E-Vents come into their own. It is extremely easy and fast to change the lens, I could literally do it in under 30 seconds with ease.

What does it come with?

When you buy a set of E-Vents, they come with a Microfiber bag, single pane clear lens, and a dual pane smoke/black tinted lens, which also comes in another a small microfiber bag for the lens.

A cool plus about the bags that they come in, is that they can be used to clean the lens, and work VERY well. Microfiber is the best material I have found to clean the lens after being "gogged."

Overall Quality:

I never had a chance to doubt the quality of the E-Vents. They never failed me, never fogged, the foam never tore or became unglued etc etc. Overall 10/10 in this category.

Other Information:

This is the same as the Vents Avatar mask, but with soft ears. You can buy different soft ears, different lenses and straps to customize the way you want it. You can also swap some of the parts (the pieces that retain the lens and have the colored Empire logo on them) with other colors if you want even more of a different look.

Should you buy E-Vents?

The first paragraph of my review has this covered. Try a set on and see for yourself.

A couple pictures of me using E-Vents with a mirror blue lens: