Good Entry Level set-up?

Well welcome back to the sport first of all.  As far as the setup I would not reccommend that initial setup.  The best Idea is to first go to a proshop near you and hold some of the guns.  If you want to stick to Tippmann they are the 98c A5 X7 and Alpha Black.  If you get the 98c you will not be able to use that hopper unless you upgrade to the cyclone feed or get an A5 or X7 (those both come with the cyclone) that hopper is made only for the cyclones.  Next instead of getting the shroud I would first suggest a nice barrel.  The best for the price are J&J (my personal favorite) and the Lapco barrels (also extremely good barrels).  After that is when you want to start worrying about the other upgrades.  As far as the CO2 goes pure energy is a good CO2 tank.  You will get close to 1000 shots from one 20 oz.  Maybe more its been a while since I have used CO2.  The shroud you have on there is also pretty bulky just to give you a heads up.  Now if you have the money to spend on it now I personally reccomend HPA over the CO2.  If you do go that route spend the extra $$ and get a 4500 psi tank since they are much lighter.  A 68/4500 is a good size for gun on.  The grips and all of that jazz can come later.  If you have any other questions or want to know specifics post them up.  If I dont know them I guarantee there are about 100 other people on this forum that will know the answer.

Err,... oh no. Just so it gets said early on... snipers do not exist in paintball.

Your package... you cannot use that "low profile cyclone hopper" unless you have a cyclone loader. They come stock on the A-5, and X-7. They do not come stock on the Tippmann 98, you would have to spend an additional 50 dollars for one, and then install it.

So:

Tippmann 98 Custom: $150
Cyclone Loader: $50
Cyclone low profile hopper: $14 (useless without the 50 dollar loader, which you did not factor into your budget)
CO2 Tank:$30 (severly overpriced)
Shroud: $70 (useless cosmetic upgrade)

Total Cost: $314

As to a good entry level setup... I would not buy any of those. You did not select a single performace upgrade and want to spend 300 dollars on a simple entry level blow back.

for that amount of money would get:

ICD Promaster ($140)
Macroline/ASA/ Dropforward, etc ($20)
72/3000 HPA tank ($60)
HaloB (used at trademygun.com = $60)
Vforce profiler mask ($60)

Total price = $340

Much better gear, better performance, and a mask for only $26 dollars more than what you were looking at (including the cyclone loader price).

Edited by Commander_Cool - 07 March 2008 at 3:27pm

True you need an ASA, and the feedneck is too small to fit a halo w/o sanding it down, but its still a better gun, at a better price (even with the need for ASA) when compared to its rivals,... such as the Ion.

One thing that should be noted... only use a bushmaster/ ICD threaded feedneck.... do not buying anything that says Smart Parts, Ion, Impulse & ICD on it. There is a sight difference in the threading that might strip the feedneck threading on your gun.

As fort he $140 dollar price... I just read on pbnation that on first call's ebay store the promasters that are $140 or best offer... that people are offering 100 dollars and first call has been accepting the offer. I don't know if thats true... but a new promaster for $100 if they actually are accepting a 100 dollar offer is a pretty good deal.