chris_the_spaz
08-24-2007, 11:23 PM
I've heard a lot of criticism regarding the Mini. People all over the place are dogging it. Especially players who spent hundreds more on their marker, who insist that they would never be caught dead on a tournament field with a Mini.
I've been shooting my Invert Mini for a few months now. I've got a few things to say to the critics.
I've heard:
"It's untested and the company that makes it is unknown."
Well...I had problems with uncontrolled leaking when I received my mini. I called their tech support people. I got a live operator after 1 ring. Their staff was courteous and knowledgeable. They tried to help me fix it over the phone, but when I started running out of air, they offered to fix it at their factory. They emailed me a FedEx shipping label, I shipped it to them, and they got the gun back to me 2 days later. It has worked flawlessly ever since. The problem ended up being a velocity adjuster issue, which they fixed rather easily. I was so impressed with their customer service, I bought a second Invert Mini for my wife.
"It chops paint."
Let me first say that I don't even have the second revision circuit board in my Mini's, because I bought them shortly after they were released. I've fired several cases through each of my Mini's. I fired on semi-auto, ramping, and full auto with a VL Egg 3 hopper. I've only ever broken 1 ball, and that broke in the barrel. I have asked several people about their experiences, and all have said that if you keep the eyes clean, you'll never have to worry about it. The eyes are positioned below the feed neck (just like on any marker with anti-chop eyes). If you get a break in the hopper and paint touches the eyes, your anti-chop circuit is rendered useless. That goes for any gun out there. The Mini is not the only gun that can suffer from this type of malfunction.
"There aren't any custom upgrades available for it."
That's what the first Autococker owners probably said. The Mini currently has no glaring weaknesses that would require significant upgrade. There are already aftermarket bolts, triggers, circuit boards and barrels available. What more do you need? A drop forward is the only legitimate gripe that I have heard, but it is only a matter of time before that happens. I have always shot drop forwards on my Cockers and Angels, but the Mini is so darn small and light, you don't even really the drop. The weight of the tank and hopper are all that you feel, so the balance of the gun is right where you would have it with a heavier marker using a drop. A drop would definitely make the gun more appealing to a wider variety of players, so I don't think it will take very long for the folks at Empire to conjure something up.
"The ASA is huge and clunky, and there's no on/off."
The ASA is not huge and clunky. In the photographs it appears that way, because the entire marker is ridiculously small. The reason the ASA is as large as it is (not much larger than a typical dovetail ASA with an on/off built in), is because it has a regulator and a filter built in to it. As for the on/off, you don't even need that. The ASA on the Mini releases the bottle without blowing out the bottle o-ring, because it has a built-in purge. They incorporated a vent that will even depressurize the gun through the ASA rather than blowing up your solenoid if you somehow over-pressurize the reg. Threading the tank on or off the gun is almost effortless even without the on/off.
All in all, the Mini is a very good marker at a very good price. The customer service is fantastic. The gun is light, efficient (I've gotten 1200 to 1300 shots out of a 68/4500), easy to maintain, comes with very nice accessories, and is as fast as any other "high end" marker out there. I'm not ashamed to say that it is now my primary marker. "Pro" players have shot the Mini. They've loved it. They still claim they won't put down their Angel, Ego, or Timmy in favor of a Mini. To them I say..."whatever, man!" When you get to a certain age, you realize that name brands and glamour don't always mean you're buying the best product. I'm not saying those more expensive markers are bad. They're all great. I'm just saying that they offer very little that you can't get with the Invert Mini.
It won't be long before you see this marker becoming a favorite among tournament players. Of course, that would require them to pull the stick out of their you-know-what and drop the dollar sign mentality that has made the $1300 marker a tournament necessity. Either that, or it will require the entire paintball world realizing what a great marker the Mini is, and the demand will drive the price up high enough to draw the attention of the materialistic crowd.
Thanks for reading. This commentary was written by Chris the Spaz. I am a 15 year veteran of the sport. I've played tournament ball with many teams (APL and NPPL) over the years. I'm not a newbie. I'm a grumpy old guy with bad knees that keep me from going out there and gogging you young punks with your iMac hoppers that spill paint when you run. Don't laugh. If you keep playing paintball, you'll have bad knees someday too.
I've been shooting my Invert Mini for a few months now. I've got a few things to say to the critics.
I've heard:
"It's untested and the company that makes it is unknown."
Well...I had problems with uncontrolled leaking when I received my mini. I called their tech support people. I got a live operator after 1 ring. Their staff was courteous and knowledgeable. They tried to help me fix it over the phone, but when I started running out of air, they offered to fix it at their factory. They emailed me a FedEx shipping label, I shipped it to them, and they got the gun back to me 2 days later. It has worked flawlessly ever since. The problem ended up being a velocity adjuster issue, which they fixed rather easily. I was so impressed with their customer service, I bought a second Invert Mini for my wife.
"It chops paint."
Let me first say that I don't even have the second revision circuit board in my Mini's, because I bought them shortly after they were released. I've fired several cases through each of my Mini's. I fired on semi-auto, ramping, and full auto with a VL Egg 3 hopper. I've only ever broken 1 ball, and that broke in the barrel. I have asked several people about their experiences, and all have said that if you keep the eyes clean, you'll never have to worry about it. The eyes are positioned below the feed neck (just like on any marker with anti-chop eyes). If you get a break in the hopper and paint touches the eyes, your anti-chop circuit is rendered useless. That goes for any gun out there. The Mini is not the only gun that can suffer from this type of malfunction.
"There aren't any custom upgrades available for it."
That's what the first Autococker owners probably said. The Mini currently has no glaring weaknesses that would require significant upgrade. There are already aftermarket bolts, triggers, circuit boards and barrels available. What more do you need? A drop forward is the only legitimate gripe that I have heard, but it is only a matter of time before that happens. I have always shot drop forwards on my Cockers and Angels, but the Mini is so darn small and light, you don't even really the drop. The weight of the tank and hopper are all that you feel, so the balance of the gun is right where you would have it with a heavier marker using a drop. A drop would definitely make the gun more appealing to a wider variety of players, so I don't think it will take very long for the folks at Empire to conjure something up.
"The ASA is huge and clunky, and there's no on/off."
The ASA is not huge and clunky. In the photographs it appears that way, because the entire marker is ridiculously small. The reason the ASA is as large as it is (not much larger than a typical dovetail ASA with an on/off built in), is because it has a regulator and a filter built in to it. As for the on/off, you don't even need that. The ASA on the Mini releases the bottle without blowing out the bottle o-ring, because it has a built-in purge. They incorporated a vent that will even depressurize the gun through the ASA rather than blowing up your solenoid if you somehow over-pressurize the reg. Threading the tank on or off the gun is almost effortless even without the on/off.
All in all, the Mini is a very good marker at a very good price. The customer service is fantastic. The gun is light, efficient (I've gotten 1200 to 1300 shots out of a 68/4500), easy to maintain, comes with very nice accessories, and is as fast as any other "high end" marker out there. I'm not ashamed to say that it is now my primary marker. "Pro" players have shot the Mini. They've loved it. They still claim they won't put down their Angel, Ego, or Timmy in favor of a Mini. To them I say..."whatever, man!" When you get to a certain age, you realize that name brands and glamour don't always mean you're buying the best product. I'm not saying those more expensive markers are bad. They're all great. I'm just saying that they offer very little that you can't get with the Invert Mini.
It won't be long before you see this marker becoming a favorite among tournament players. Of course, that would require them to pull the stick out of their you-know-what and drop the dollar sign mentality that has made the $1300 marker a tournament necessity. Either that, or it will require the entire paintball world realizing what a great marker the Mini is, and the demand will drive the price up high enough to draw the attention of the materialistic crowd.
Thanks for reading. This commentary was written by Chris the Spaz. I am a 15 year veteran of the sport. I've played tournament ball with many teams (APL and NPPL) over the years. I'm not a newbie. I'm a grumpy old guy with bad knees that keep me from going out there and gogging you young punks with your iMac hoppers that spill paint when you run. Don't laugh. If you keep playing paintball, you'll have bad knees someday too.