Ricochet Development LLC ApachePeriod of Product Use: 2 Years
Paintball Experience: April 1997 - Present
Similar Products Used: Valken V-Max, Odyssey Halo B, Draxxus Pulse, JT Velocity
Strengths: Interesting Design, Not A Bad...
Similar Products Used: Valken V-Max, Odyssey Halo B, Draxxus Pulse, JT Velocity
Strengths: Interesting Design, Not A Bad Price At The Time.
Weaknesses: Cheap Plastic Shell, Cheap Lid.
Review: When this product came out in the early 2000's, it was well received by those moving from mechanical markers to electros as it could keep up with most non ramping guns. With ramping being more and more common, the hopper was just unable to keep up with the new markers of today. Along with the plastic shell being cheap, it always felt like it was one drop away from breaking in pieces.
Conclusion: As stated, when I was moving into the world of electros, this was a great purchase, as it wasn't overly expensive, but at the same time could help me transition into electros.
Rating: 6/10
This review has been rated:
Currently 5/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC ApacheNowadays everyone would accuse this of being a Pinokio rip off. The Apache was the premiere hopper from Ricochet.
The sleek design supposedly helped create bounces, and allowed paint to even roll...
Nowadays everyone would accuse this of being a Pinokio rip off. The Apache was the premiere hopper from Ricochet.
The sleek design supposedly helped create bounces, and allowed paint to even roll along the edges, making it splat on whatever was behind you. The feed design was a similar wheel like what was found in a Revy, but it used a ribbon like today's Pinokios.
Pros: Lightest hopper, similar to VLocity
Fast. 20bps
Cool, unique look
Cons: The feed ribbon would tend to become less responsive over time
Weak plastic means after a few poor slides, the shell is toast.
This review has been rated:
Currently 5/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC ApacheI bought this loader because i heard it was a tank, and could with stand anything. Well that wasn't the case for me. Very first game i sprinted to my bunker, back left, and didn't even slide. When i...
I bought this loader because i heard it was a tank, and could with stand anything. Well that wasn't the case for me. Very first game i sprinted to my bunker, back left, and didn't even slide. When i started to shoot i noticed that the loader was gone. I looked back only to see it on the ground with a broken feedneck, splitting out every ball it had. It was about only 10 feet from the starting board. I believe that i cant call it reliable, because it lasted me about three seconds.
I called ricochet only to find out that they are out of business. So all in all i would not recomend this loader. 20 bucks for a loader that lasted three seconds, not a reliable or good investment at all.
This review has been rated:
Currently 5/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC ApacheI have returned to paintball about a year ago while at a work related paintball outing and felt it was time to get some nice gear again. I had bought a Spyder MR3, very unreliable, but when it...
I have returned to paintball about a year ago while at a work related paintball outing and felt it was time to get some nice gear again. I had bought a Spyder MR3, very unreliable, but when it worked I needed to get a fast hopper to keep up with the marker. As I looked around the Apache was cheap and fast. At that time I was not willing to spend the $150 for a top of the line loader so the $35.00 seemed to be a bargain for a fast loader. As it turns out the Apache is a great hopper. It can go through at least two boxes of paint before changing the battery. I have taken it apart once to clean and see the internals. The rest of the time I just stick a rag inside and wipe it down after a day of playing. I have used the Apache consistently for over six months and not once have I had a jam in the hopper. The tab in the loader makes for a reliable feed rate into your marker while shooting.
And now for the cons: IT's HUMONGOUS! This thing sticks out about like a sore thumb when your behind a bunker. I have had more hopper hits with this thing than I can remember. The lid is a bit hard to open and close. The feedneck on my Apache is the one without the o-rings but I always have trouble making it fit on any clamping feed neck. LOUD as hell! The motor can be heard after every shot whirring around. The Apache will do about 15bps but at times it can be inconsistent in its feed rate if your walking the trigger in semi and very inconsistent if your ramping.
I am about to upgrade to a force fed loader but will keep this for a backup. Overall it is a good hopper for the price. With its ease in maintanieance and its great reliability I will have this loader for many years to come.
This review has been rated:
Currently 5/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC ApacheI won a set of them in a tournament in 2003 and I tried it before I sold it, one of the worst loaders ive ever used it was hideous to start and the tab feed system work like very poorly, the lid...
I won a set of them in a tournament in 2003 and I tried it before I sold it, one of the worst loaders ive ever used it was hideous to start and the tab feed system work like very poorly, the lid broke the first time i used it, i was very happy to be rid of it.
This review has been rated:
Currently 4/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC ApacheI first got my Ricochet way back in...jeez...2005ish? I got mine right when they came out.
I was in the market for a fast hopper, and i was a little wary of using a halo with my brand new (at the...
I first got my Ricochet way back in...jeez...2005ish? I got mine right when they came out.
I was in the market for a fast hopper, and i was a little wary of using a halo with my brand new (at the time) Dye dm3. My captain showed me this little box waaaaay in the back of the display case and said that I should try it out. Hello, apache.
Appearance - Ok, lets not beat around the bush, this thing is a ugly beast. deflection technology is apparently a function over form design. I probably could make mine pretty presentable if i just cleaned it, but I sorta want to see how much abuse this thing can take. Not much else to say here. I used to pay my captain back for making me buy a nice but ugly loader by yelling "DEFLECTION TECHNOLOGY!" everytime I got a bounce off the hopper. It happened quite a bit, and became a team inside Joke.
Performance - Haha talk about an underdog. This thing is a pretty fast and consistant little loader. Its sorta loud when it feeds, but it spins everything you pull the trigger, so your gun shooing will give you away. It uses a different sensor that other hoppers. Instead of an eye or a microphone, it uses a small tab that is pushed back by the incoming balls down the feedtube. Everytime the tab is bumped, it loads. That means that dirty paint or not, this thing will feed no matter what. Quite reliable.
It looks like an eggy on the inside, and small ball tray that pushes the balls down the stack in what I like to call "force feed lite." As stated it will hit around 20 bps, which is more than enough with today's 10 bps cap in psp.
Reliability - Holy friggin crap. This thing is a tank. Here's the miserable existance of my apache. It was used rather unthoughtfully for two seasons, untill I finally bought a halo. No maintaince work other than semi-regular cleaning was ever done to it. It was thrown in a bag and forgotten for about a year, then taken out an played with again. I got shot directly on the rear of the loader, right smack dab on the LCD screen. It went blank. ****. I turned the loader off, turned it back on, and it performed like new. Screen turned back on and everything. It sat for another year in my old teamates bag outside in the cold Chicago winter, and last summer I finally got it back from his theiving ***. I let my noob work friends use and abuse it, and they have, resulting in probably 100 hopper shots, several fall-on-your-***-land-on-your-loader incidents, and it was even laying on the ground (grass) and my boss dropped a N2 tank from standing height right onto the Apache. Everytime something bad happends to this thing, its like Rocky...It gets back up and beats the **** out of those Russian bastards.
The one thing I dont like about them is the feedneck. Although I have never broken mine, I get the feeling that its not as tough as the other loaders. It uses some orings on the neck to be better gripped by your feedneck. This also can affect how it is held by the feedneck, making it slightly prone to wiggle around unless you have that ***** clamped on there really tight. If I had the spare time and money, I would like to reinforce the neck just to see what it would do.
Value - Apparently you can get these for like 30 new now. Wow. Yea, thats not a bad buy. Sure, people will make fun of you for having the ugliest loader possible, but its sure is light,fast, and reliable. Isn't what the end goal is? make sure you have a clamping or adjustable feedneck.
This review has been rated:
Currently 3.3/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC ApacheThe hopper is pretty good. and pretty quick too. With My sp1 I can out shoot it with just semiautomatic. pretty good for a back up hopper though.
Great hopper just makes the gun a little top heavy but hardly noticable.
This review has been rated:
Currently 0/5 stars.
Ricochet Development LLC Apacheso i got this a while ago, it said 17-20bps and i had a stock ion at the time so it was perfect. plus psp was at 10 back then i think. people say the deflection stuff was BS but it saved me more...
so i got this a while ago, it said 17-20bps and i had a stock ion at the time so it was perfect. plus psp was at 10 back then i think. people say the deflection stuff was BS but it saved me more times then any other hopper would have. yes it was big and bulky but i managed to play r front with it. i still have it today and i will always have it because i have broken numerous halo b's and this thing keeps truckin. obsolete today but still fun to have kids staring at it on the field as i light them uo
