Comparison of Kingman Markers

Price - Prices were obtained from www.paintballgear.com on June 2, 2003. What is important to note is the differences in price, not necessarily the prices themselves. They can and will change with time as new markers come out. Some markers don�t have prices since they are no longer carried at that retailer. I�ll try to find another that has a larger selection. I have no affiliation with paintballgear.com.

LPC (Low Pressure Chamber) - Really, an unnecessary part unless you want to run at lower pressures.

VA (Vertical Adapter) - Not a necessity, but is nice to have for mounting an aftermarket regulator there.

X-Chamber (Expansion Chamber) - Nice to have for running CO2 as it will help keep liquid CO2 out of your gun.

Gas Through Grip - Just gives you a forward grip to hold on to.

Bottom Line - Moves the gas bottle from mounting directly to the body of the marker to mounting on the bottom of the grip.

Drop Forward - Moves the gas bottle slightly forward and lower for better balance.

Regulator - Regulates the gas pressure going into the gun. CO2 pressure will fluctuate as liquid turns to gas. This will cause fluctuating paintball speeds and inconsistent shooting. The stock regulators are generally regarded as ok, but not as good as aftermarket ones.

Ball Feed - Vert (vertical feed) or Power (power feed). Really, I don�t know much about power feeds, but I�m told they can only feed balls so fast (8 balls per second I think). That�s why vertical feeds are used exclusively on the electronic markers that are designed with much higher rates of fire.

Cocking - A personal preference detail. I don�t like rear-cocking markers. Some don�t like side cocking markers. Left/right refers to which side the cocking knob is on when looking at the back of the marker. Vizion is a sort-of rear-cocking system where the bolt is exposed, but still contained within, the back of the marker and you cock it by pulling back the bolt. Pump means that the marker is a pump-action. You have to pull the grip back to cock the marker EACH TIME YOU FIRE.

Double Trigger - Another preference detail. Double triggers allow you to pull with one or two fingers. You can also �walk� the trigger and alternate your fingers to get a higher rate of fire.

Trigger Frame - Refers to the material of the frame. Metal frames are heavier, but strong. Comp (or composite) frames are lighter, but have a tendency to break.

E-Frame - Electronic frames use a small pushbutton to activate a solenoid that fires the marker. The advantage is that the solenoid can be controlled by electronics that can do rapid fire for you. Disadvantages are that you could end up with a dead battery in the middle of a game and not be able to shoot. Also, they are not sealed and may be damaged by rain/streams/whatever that you are playing in.

Display - The display will tell you what mode you�re in, what your rate of fire is (for multi-round modes), and if you have a low battery. Standard LED displays provide this info with color-coded LEDs. The advanced LED display actually has a numerical Led display for rate of fire and an individual LED for each mode. LCD displays also show how many balls have been fired and a game timer.

Modes (S=Semi-auto, 3=3-round burst, 6=6-round burst, T=Turbo, F=Full Auto) - Semi is your standard pull trigger, one paintball is fired. Burst modes fire that many rounds with each trigger pull. Turbo mode fire on trigger pull AND release. Full auto fires paintballs as long as you hold the trigger.

ROF (Rate of Fire) - Very simple�how many paintballs are fired each second. The number listed is the maximum the electronics will allow.

Operation - The operation is how you change mode and rate of fire on the marker. DIP switches are a series of very small switches on the grip of the gun. They can be difficult to change during a game. I think buttons are self-explanitory.

EM1 - The EM1 is not like all the other Spyders. The EM1 is an "electro-pneumatic" marker and operates in a different way than the others. The other Spyders are called "blow-back" markers. Electro-pneumatics are considered to be superior to blow-backs.