[Illusionballer**]

After 6 months of owning my Independence, I feel I can give a solid enough review. Since my team will be using them for the 2010 season, you may see some more of these threads popping up in here.

Packaging - I'm one of those people that don't keep the box, and just throw my entire set up together and haul it where needed be. I didn't mind not having the extra accessories as I own allen keys and printing the manual doesn't take any longer. Saves money in the end, and keeps the marker at a low cost price. The box was a cardboard exterior with a foam interior, did its job.

********* Pre-Tuning/ November 22, 2009

First Impressions - I noticed how thin the frame actually was, felt perfect. With a rotor and 45/45 I was set. The anodizing was flawless and with the low rise feedneck I had quite the small set up. The marker is light, sleek and stunning.

Milling/Anodizing - Perfect and appealing, I couldn't see anything wrong with it. A matte dust Black anodizing covers my marker that's held up to a winters worth of Xball nights.

Barrel - The barrel is a .689 bore single piece Mayday. Decent porting and light. I've had no concerns with it, shoots just as well as majority stock barrels. I'm pleased with the sizing.

Asa - After losing my Eclipse OOPS knob a few times in random areas I was pumped to see an un-removable knob on my Independence. It bleeds perfectly and airs up the marker as is suppose to. The size of it is perfect, doesn't take up much more space than needed be.

Regulator - Very consistent and comfortable design. Easy to tune and set up; with disassembling it looks to be rather simple.

Grips - Sleek panels grips cover the wires/board/battery on the Independence. Their tacky which help with grip even with bare/oily hands.

Trigger - Critical designed, it's very easy to set up to your liking. I personally love the shape and feel. With the extra room inside the grip frame for your fingers, even the largest of fingers can feel loved.

Bolt - 2 o-rings cover the bolt with a soft rubber face. The air inlet hole at the bottom is curved 45* to direct air flow more efficiently.

Detents - Spyder detents are intact inside the Independence. 2 red rubber detents at the cheapest prices known. Mine have lasted case after case, no concerns or reason to change.

Eyes - Green laser eyes sit in your breech, they work great and are very easy to clean; if you ever manage to chop a paintball.

Board - LED board. Very easy to program, there's so many options available to set up the board to your liking. If you have the time just sit down for an hour or so and take a peak at some of the options.

Feedneck - With the low rise feedneck milled with the body, your loader sits as low as possible. With a Rotor, my loader is flush with the Rotor body and the top of the feedneck. Excellent!

Sweep System - As Jack said, what I saw was flat streams of paint. I had no problem putting paint where it needed to go. In turn at the end of the night, I feel safe knowing maintenance is not on my to do list.

Consistency/ First shots - Consistent right out of the box with a +5/-5 using DXS Xball Bronze. The marker shot great, very little kick. There was not a lot of noise for a brand new poppit valve marker. Very impressed in general after switching from my chainsaw (SL74)

Maintenance - With the simple design of the Independence, maintenance is barely seen. With the sealed rammer, paint or dirt is impossible to enter the rammer assembly. Both regulators should see re-lubing every so often. I have oiled my marker once in the 6 months I've had it. No problems.

********* Tuning/ April 5, 2010

After sitting for 2 hours tuning my Independence, I decided to sacrifice efficiency for a smoother shot. I'm extremely pleased with the end results. Consistency has peaked to a +2/-2 and no noticeable kick.

********* Xball/ April 18, 2010

Compared to a friends Luxe today, they were par if not the Independence had a tad less kick. Noise has decreased also, I'm truly impressed with Jack Rice's creations each year. The Independence worked great at Xball, not chopping a single ball. Efficiency was approximately 3 pods and a loader per 2600 psi on a 45/45. Keep in mind the stock settings will see a jump in efficiency compared to my own.

[MoneyMaker17]

Thanks for the review, it's helped me to decide what my next marker will be

[Illusionballer**]

Glad you enjoyed it! I added a maintenance section on there also as I forgot.

[Jack Rice]

As you say, Glad you enjoyed it.
I especailly liked your reference to the LUXE, as I was on th field saurday and had a player with his DM hold his gun in one hand and 2010 ND in the other and enjoyed seeing his surpise to feel that the kick (or lack of kick) was very similiar. I havn't done that with a LUXE but the ND has a bit of a tap and the DM has a bit of a thud. Seemed like the ND 'tap' was earlier in the cycle than the DM thud. I can understand that tuned for consistancy and a quiet shot there would be less kick than a Luxe.
Anyway thanks for the time spent and I do so appreciate the comments and I'm very pleased you are enjoying your ND.

[Illusionballer**]

It's still breaking in more and more. I've maybe thrown 10 - 12 cases in through it now. I'm enjoying it more than any other marker I've owned. Thanks Jack!

[ruschinrocket]

Originally Posted by Jack Rice

As you say, Glad you enjoyed it.
I especailly liked your reference to the LUXE, as I was on th field saurday and had a player with his DM hold his gun in one hand and 2010 ND in the other and enjoyed seeing his surpise to feel that the kick (or lack of kick) was very similiar. I havn't done that with a LUXE but the ND has a bit of a tap and the DM has a bit of a thud. Seemed like the ND 'tap' was earlier in the cycle than the DM thud. I can understand that tuned for consistancy and a quiet shot there would be less kick than a Luxe.
Anyway thanks for the time spent and I do so appreciate the comments and I'm very pleased you are enjoying your ND.

Now if you could just manufacture something to get him some skill as well Jack our team would be set........

[kekjagung]

Originally Posted by ruschinrocket

Now if you could just manufacture something to get him some skill as well Jack our team would be set........

LOL...!

[asianman831]

thanks for the review.

[PO-BOY]

i need this freaking gun!!!! hey jack do u have a payment plan....... kidding, but not really...

[kaboose01]

Originally Posted by PO-BOY

i need this freaking gun!!!! hey jack do u have a payment plan....... kidding, but not really...

yea he does infact...pay him the money and then plan on receiving it

[shawney]

Ok so i just got one of these and did some stupid stuff to be honest, I have owned bob long and PE markers as well with just about everything out there lol. Now I know this is a review thead but I would like to stress the fact that you have to do no maintenance. I got this thing and was going to play at our first event of the series we are playing in.

When i got the gun i was checking it all out and saw some dark looking lube on the ram so I wiped it all off and lubed it with lube I had of the same consistance, at the event my marker was acting horrible my velocity was so inconsistant + or - up to 30fps , I was pissed and blamed it on the gun since I just "properly" maintained it as far as other markers of this sort are concerned well I learned dont, leave it alone. People complain about not having allen keys and orings and extras in the box YOU DONT NEED THEM with this gun.

I know alot of people are gonna read this and think what a idiot becuse not only is this posted in the wrong spot but it was a really stupid move but it had a great impact on my first impression and I think it will help people, and im willing to get laughed at if I can prevent someone from going throuugh what I did. The gun is great now I cleaned it up and im shooting it dry stock settings and im + or - 5 at the most. Dont think twice about buying one of these guns just get it, super smooth, quiet, thin, and fast. It has do be the nicest gun in 2010 keep it up Alien thanks for the great customer support and helping me fix my screw up.

[MstrKey]

Originally Posted by shawney

Ok so i just got one of these and did some stupid stuff to be honest, I have owned bob long and PE markers as well with just about everything out there lol. Now I know this is a review thead but I would like to stress the fact that you have to do no maintenance. I got this thing and was going to play at our first event of the series we are playing in.

When i got the gun i was checking it all out and saw some dark looking lube on the ram so I wiped it all off and lubed it with lube I had of the same consistance, at the event my marker was acting horrible my velocity was so inconsistant + or - up to 30fps , I was pissed and blamed it on the gun since I just "properly" maintained it as far as other markers of this sort are concerned well I learned dont, leave it alone. People complain about not having allen keys and orings and extras in the box YOU DONT NEED THEM with this gun.

I know alot of people are gonna read this and think what a idiot becuse not only is this posted in the wrong spot but it was a really stupid move but it had a great impact on my first impression and I think it will help people, and im willing to get laughed at if I can prevent someone from going throuugh what I did. The gun is great now I cleaned it up and im shooting it dry stock settings and im + or - 5 at the most. Dont think twice about buying one of these guns just get it, super smooth, quiet, thin, and fast. It has do be the nicest gun in 2010 keep it up Alien thanks for the great customer support and helping me fix my screw up.

So what was the actual problem? Did you load the rammer up with too much grease?

[ruschinrocket]

I have mine tuned, and I got about 2 pods and 3/4 of a Rotor off of 1000psi, in my 56/45, with virtually NO KICK! This is by far the BEST Alien I have ever shot, I can't thank Jack enough for taking a chance on our team this season! There is a reason I have supported and shot nothing but Alien markers since late 05, and this is why!

[Illusionballer**]

Originally Posted by ruschinrocket

I have mine tuned, and I got about 2 pods and 3/4 of a Rotor off of 1000psi, in my 56/45, with virtually NO KICK! This is by far the BEST Alien I have ever shot, I can't thank Jack enough for taking a chance on our team this season! There is a reason I have supported and shot nothing but Alien markers since late 05, and this is why!

Fixed. Yes, thank you Jack!

[shawney]

Originally Posted by MstrKey

So what was the actual problem? Did you load the rammer up with too much grease?

You dont have to grease the gun just leave it stock call alien and get a little of what ever it is they put on the ram and in like ten cases put a light coat on it. My problem was the lube was causing havoc. Iwiped it off and put the marker together reset my lp and hp and just like that it was working perfect. It was my fault i just know that I had about fifteen people telling me at the event. "Hey did you lube it, I think it needs lube or something." So as far as I knew being un framiliar with the marker they were right.

[kaboose01]

Originally Posted by shawney

You dont have to grease the gun just leave it stock call alien and get a little of what ever it is they put on the ram and in like ten cases put a light coat on it. My problem was the lube was causing havoc. Iwiped it off and put the marker together reset my lp and hp and just like that it was working perfect. It was my fault i just know that I had about fifteen people telling me at the event. "Hey did you lube it, I think it needs lube or something." So as far as I knew being un framiliar with the marker they were right.

you should have done a little research and practiced with the gun be for you haul it off for a event. helps ya become familiar with the guns quirks (if any) and helps with maintenance.

[MstrKey]

As a general rule.......I never suggest anyone bring a brand new never used gun to a tournament lol. It's always a bad idea.

[shawney]

I agree 100% lol, I sold my ego and had no other choice.