Tippmann Flatline Barrel
by Jordan F. Ricks on May 20, 2007
The price: $119.95
A. Tippmann Flatline Barrel for the A-5
B.
It used to be that all barrels were created equal. Those days ended with the rise of the Tippmann Flatline. The Flatline turned the paintball world on its ear by giving a twenty to thirty-percent range advantage to anyone who was smart enough to own a Tippmann A-5.
If you’ve ever seen a ping-pong player put backspin on a ping-pong ball, then you understand how the Flatline works. The barrel is roughened and curved and this causes the paintball to pick up backspin as it speeds out the barrel. Backspin, in turn, causes the paintball to "float" noticeably further than a paintball from any other barrel. Instead of flying in a parabolic arc, as with any other flying paintball, the Flatline-fired paintball flies relatively level, then plunges to the ground when it runs out of momentum - way the hell downrange!
Ah, but there are prices to pay for all that distance (other than the cost of the Flatline barrel.) Each paintball is slightly different, so the Flatline affects each ball just a little differently than the last ball. That translates into decreased consistency and decreased accuracy. Standard paintball barrels put the paintball in the same place with greater frequency than the Flatline. Also, the Flatline’s roughened interior surface is slightly more apt to shred weak paintballs than smooth-bore barrels.
Since the Flatline puts backspin on your paintball, you’ll need to tune your Flatline before you play. The top of the barrel needs to be exactly on top of your gun (or the backspin becomes some version of a curve ball.) The Flatline replaces the threaded barrel lug that comes stock on your A-5. To install the Flatline, you need to loosen all the allen screws on the front half of your Tippmann, remove the stock barrel lug, then push in your Flatline. Once all the allen screws are re-tightened, you need to fire you’re A-5 and gently rotate the Flatline until your balls stop curving to one side. Prepare yourself to be amazed at how much further the funky float causes your balls to fly.
In the end, the tradeoffs make sense depending on your field position. A Heavy Rifleman or a Heavy Gunner, who shoot a large volume of paint from longer distances won’t mind the inconsistency of the Flatline (and will dig the range advantage.) A Light or Medium Rifleman, on the other hand, will miss the short-range accuracy and will probably stick with a standard barrel.