After popping in the Dye tent at World Cup to see the new DM9 , Dye had this new hopper front and center in a array of colors.  The new Hoppers Name I guess is the ROTOR.  Over all initial impression?  Total POS.  Don’t get me wrong, its pretty looking, which is what Dye does, they make pretty looking junk.  I tell people buying anything DYE is like Buying an Audi.  They are design first to look pretty, functionality and reliability come in line 3rd.  Not knowing what second is.  That goes for VW too.  Back to the Rotor.

So this thing is small, really small.  Much like how Dye or Smart parts adds a plastic layer or trim piece to their guns to add color, Dye did the same on this Roto Hopper.  So its small to begin with, and it has a thick wall.  It looks like if it can get 140 paintballs in there, it would just barly fit.  I tried to take a picture of the inside of the hopper, but for somreason the flash didn’t want to go off.  The inside was as normal as it could get.  Standard impeller system, with super cheap feeling plastic.  I saw nothing new what so ever.  So priliminary thoughts are Dye just made this hopper pretty becuase they know you will by it becuase it says Dye on it and looks pretty.  The consumer thinks it quality, and its the opposite.

Here is a customer review of a Long Bow Titanium Paintball Barrel Kit.

“The barrel comes in a simple case that holds the three backs and the front. The kit comes with .684, .687, and .690. I put .688 balls thru the .684 and had no breaks. With the right size balls, the barrel shoots very accurate. The asthetics are simple but the barrel is built with high quality. In comparing the smoothness of the internal boring to other barrels, the TI is mirror smooth.
Pricey, but you get what you pay for.”

Warpig.com did a great video interview with the Designer of the Magna Paintball Hopper.  You can check it out here

The Magna has a TON of features including variable speeds, variable ball capacity, paintball reserve, clutch system and more.  All of these are a first for paintball.  Empire Really out did themselves with this hopper.

Check out the New Designz Mini Upgrade bolt. Its like night and day how much lighter it is over the stock Mini bolt. The Delrin bolt is almost weightless. I installed the delrin bolt in my gun, off the bat there is no kick tot he gun at all. The bolt is the only thing that really moves inside the Mini, so when you install a bolt that weighs almost nothing, you don’t feel it move back and forth. I installed the bolt dry (no lube on the bolt). We’ll see how it goes. So far its way worth the $19

We just got some cool looking Events Paintball Goggles  in stock. They are digi camo and come in a few cool colors. They provide great anti fog properties and come with a clear and smoke thermal lens.  Plus they are super comfortable.  You will love these goggles!

www.warpig.com reviewed the Tribal Stix barrels.  Their conclusion was “Operationally the Tribal Stix barrel performed as one would expect a well honed, ported barrel to perform. It’s light weight conveniently was not a burden when carried on the test marker (Matrix LCD.)”  We think its an incredible value at the $39.99 price range.  You can read the whole WARPIG Tribal Stix review here.

So after a good 4 weeks of breaking in the Invert Mini and at least 5 cases of paint, it purrs like a kitten.  It first it was a bit of a struggle with chopping balls during the break in, but as I went threw case by case I noticed a considerable difference in the way the gun sounded and handled the paintballs.  During break in, I also stuffed a possum tailed squeegee into the barrel and dry fired (to save paint).  I’m not sure if that was factory approved, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.  Most paintball guns do not need to be broken in, however the Mini is one of the rare exceptions, and its because of the revolutionary design of the valve.

Over all, the gun shoots fast, is quiet and pretty air efficient. I have been shooting a 14″ Tribal Stix paintball barrel with it and the gun has a nice flat trajectory and even has a decent long ball to it.  Once you get the gun broken in for the ease of use and performance the $398 price tag I think is worth it.  Not to mention the gun itself fits in the palm of your hand.

Here is a review of the 07 Ego by 68caliber.com its a decent review, with a few pictures of a beat up ego. With any $1000+ gun of course it will shoot well, and fast. That’s basically what your paying for, that and size of the over all marker. Check out more pictures of the EGO 07 and other Planet Eclipse guns.