In ancient cultures, while the armament might have received all the glory and attention, there was a reason that a warrior’s armor was passed down from generation to generation. Having a set of armor that is molded to the warrior, designed to move where he needs it to move, breathe where he needs it to breathe, and able to meet every need he might have on the field of battle was essential, and that’s no less true today. The new Broadsword IX vest from Special Ops Paintball is meant to be that perfect set of armor for today’s paintball weekend warrior.

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With the ever-increasing number of mil-sim style markers which have been flooding the industry over the past few years, markers are looking more and more like actual military equipment. For many players looks aren’t everything--but they are still important. BT kept both looks and performance in mind when they created the TM-7.

The marker resembles the German assault rifle, the MP7. BT was not only extremely successful in recreating the look of the MP7, but they also took producing an “off-the-shelf” marker with great functionality to the next level. Borrowing the proven technology of the Invert Mini gave BT a fast-track to getting tournament performance into a Mil-Sim style marker. Take a look at the schematic in the TM-7 manual, and you’ll see most the guts of the Mini hiding out in the shell of the TM-7. A proven, high performance design inside a great looking body. What more could you ask?

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I’ve gotten to the point where when Brian “MOATI” Russell tells me something new is coming out of the soft goods department at SpecOps, I start giggling uncontrollably. Even as a fairly dedicated Pacman, I’ve got a deep appreciation for the amount of thought and design work that goes into the SpecOps soft goods lineup, and I’ve become a walking and talking poster child for their Fusion pants and Dagger vests. So when MOATI mentioned a new podpack coming out designed specifically for woodsball players, I knew I had to try it out.

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The newest product in the V-force line of goggles is the V-Force Grillz. Acting as the new flagship of a line of paintball masks long loved by woodsballers, I recently put the Grillz up against my trusty pair of Profilers to see which mask would make the cut. And much to my surprise, my Profilers have now taken the backseat in my gearbag. Here are a couple of reasons why.

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Why spend the dough on specialized paintball pants when a set of BDUs from the local thrift store or Army Navy Surplus are plentiful and cheap? What makes all the difference? As a recent convert, I’ll point out a few reasons why specific paintball pants might be the right purchase.

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I was recently asked to review a new product from Special Ops Paintball, one that I was told refined their Longbow line of markers to an entirely new level of functionality. As both a former “paintball sniper” and an engineering student who was given a very firm grasp on kinematics (thanks, Dr. Ruskell), I was skeptical. Only after visiting with the players at Special Ops Paintball who not only swear by their products, but personally use them weekend in and weekend out in the woods, did I really understand what had everyone so excited. Soon thereafter I had one of the first models off the line in my hands, and a beautiful weekend to put it through its paces.

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Like many players, I took a quick interest towards the concept of the Forge vest. After all, who wouldn’t want their own vest that is more or less personalized for that low a cost? My interest was really drawn as I noticed a stock class back-half.

I checked with the bank account, and made myself an early Merry Christmas—the zip front and stock class back, in Omnipat.

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A preview of some new gear from 2008.

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Dangerous Power charged onto the paintball scene in late 2006 with their affordable and head-turning Fusion marker, and has continued to pursue a strong reputation as a manufacturer of affordable, high-value electro-pneumatic paintball guns. DP continued with this approach throughout 2007 with their limited run, experimental Threshold marker and the well-received Fusion F8 model update. Since most woodsballers seem to emphasize bang-for-the-buck (pun intended, of course) when marker shopping, RECON has volunteered for the mission of examining Dangerous Power’s latest offering, the G3 marker.

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When the 2006 SPPL champion team Smart Corps showed up to the 2007 finals with a new marker in their hands, it started a buzz throughout the woodsball and scenario community. This new marker, the Smart Parts SP-1, was labeled by some to be merely a dumbed down Ion. Others, however, quickly noticed several of the advantages offered, particularly the easy bolt removal and maintenance, abundant rails, and the single trigger, a longtime favorite feature of woodsball players everywhere. Whatever the criticisms and complements, the on-field performance of the SP-1 soon spoke for itself, powering Smart Corps to a repeat SPPL championship. Ever since it’s subsequent release to the public, the SP-1 and it’s sleeker cousin the Vibe have been providing similar performance for players around the country. Here is the lowdown on one of the newest entry-level makers to enter the paintball scene.

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