Good first gun?

My sister has recently shown interest in paintball and I want to help her get
into it. She's played a few times and now wants to purchase her first gun.
What is a good starter gun that she can stay with for a while? She wants to
stay below $300.

I was thinking maybe a Spyder of some kind, but I'll wait for other opinions
on the matter.

Edited by FarSeer - 22 September 2008 at 1:26am

There are many different markers out there that would fit the bill. Is she wanting to spend $300 total on ALL her gear such as a mask, pods, carrier, hopper, tank, and marker or just the marker itself?  That will make a big difference one what marker to get. 

The link in my signature has a guide I wrote on how to go about finding that "first" marker and most new players who have read it told me they found it useful.  She may want to take a look at that. 

The basics of course are that Tippmanns are rock solid and as far as reliability are hard to beat.  Spyders require more maintenance than Tippmanns to maintain reliability but are still solid markers.  Neither will have a great resale so if you're worried about her not sticking with it and thus needing to sell her gear you're going to take a hit.  Thus finding a marker with a higher resale value might be important to you.

If it HAS to be electronic and HAS to run of CO2 get a vibe. They are perfect for the first timer and are cheap. Plus you can get a virtue board for them in the future.

XDG SCORPION wrote: Maybe a SLG or a vibe

I would reccomend the Vibe. I have one and it is great. It has a valve in the gripe so if Co2 gets in the circuts it will just vent the Co2. It is very cheap as well.

I'm going to suggest something different. A Spyder VS2. It runs on HPA only...BUT paintballgear.com has VS2s for $89.95 right now. That includes a free body kit. The Vibe runs about $150. If you get a VS2 you will have extra $$ for a new HPA tank.
I just brought a VS2 and the gun is great. It feels as solid as my BT4 and M98c, and I have had NO problems with it. The stock barrel is really good. I did mention the free body kit...its just for looks but it may be something your sister likes.
VS2 link

Edited by CarbineKid - 25 November 2008 at 9:33am

cant agree personally.  I have never shot a spyder that i liked.

Forget the Spyder and either get a good used or on sale Ion or a 98 Custom.

Can't hardly go wrong with either!

Really??? Come on! tippmann 98! no question. ZERO maintenance, just clean it. a million mods.. if she is new you know she will get it dirty,drop it, forget it for six months then pick it up and expect it to work. no bateries to die. no questionable valving to oil every couple uses. if she wants different tell her to get mods. full set up brand new $100.00 plenty left to get mods to be different than yours or even better. sell her on that. Dont forget a aftermarket barrel.!

wht tippman do you have

i gotta say     smart parts vibe, great gun my wife has one and loves it