i have owned a 98 custom and a a-5 the 98 is more reliable,lighter and has a smaller lighter design,the cyclone craps ouyt every once in a while

98c way better

98c

wow all of you who just voted for the 98 are morons...for one thing, do you think tippmann would make a gun that wasnt as good as the one that came before it! they made there design better, they made a better gun. a stock a-5 will out shoot a stock 98 no problem, even tippmann said that. and as for the cyclone "crapping out" i've had my gun for over a year, not once has the cyclone "crapped out" and i've never heard of that happening before. as long as you take somewhat care of your gun, you'll never have a problem with the cyclone. its just like having an electric hopper but less of a chance of the balls chopping. and if you want to upgrade it, do what i did, put an e-grip on it, drop forward, double trigger, and dye ultralite on it or some other barrel of your choice and the a5 is an awesome gun. you'll be firing 15+. if your a serious player, the upgraded a5 is easily your starting gun and not the back up. the only reason those peole said 98c is because their jealous, and they couldnt afford one. dont be fooled by posers thinking they know what there talking about, tell you what, shoot both guns if you can, i guarantee you'll choose the A-5

i just dont get how someone could say a 98c is better, well unless they dont know what there talking about

f@ll3n 5nip3r wrote: i have owned a 98 custom and a a-5 the 98 is more reliable,lighter and has a smaller lighter design,the cyclone craps ouyt every once in a while 98c way better

I find it hard to believe that you'd come to that conclusion after owning both guns. How long did you use each one for? I've had my 98c for nearly 4 years and my A5 for about 2 years and I would definitely take my A5 over the 98c if I had to choose one. Because of how I have them setup I might choose the 98c in certain situations but that's because each gun has different upgrades and is better in different situations. Without upgrades though, the A5 will perform about the same only it's much easier to maintain. The only difference in performance would be in the feed rate because the A5 has the cyclone which, in my experience has been very reliable. The second update hadn't come out yet when I got my A5 so I was using outdated parts and my ratchet still lasted almost 2 years. I'm not sure how long the new ratchet will last but if the old one was good for 2 years then this one must last for quite a bit longer. The cyclone also never crapped out on me until the ratchet wore down. Before that it worked flawlessly every time, even when I lowered the pressure to about 600 psi.

About the 98 being lighter and smaller, I'd have to disagree with that. While the 98 is a little lighter, it's less than a pound. According to tippmann the A5 weighs 3.5 lbs and the 98 weighs 2.9 lbs. If that extra 0.6 lbs is even noticeable in a game, it's probably time to join a gym. My guns weigh around 5 lbs or more probably with all the upgrades and I don't even feel it when I play and I'm no body builder. Now, about the size. The 98c is 19.625 inches and the A5 is a whopping 20 inches . It must take an incredible amount of time to adjust to that change. Length is virtually the same and height is about the same (holding them side by side right now). The only difference would be width due to the cyclone but it only sticks out about 2 inches from the gun.

The hopper also doesn't stick up as high as normal hoppers do so while you'll stick out more on the right side, you'll stick out less on the top which is very helpful for some. A lot of people point their guns down when behind a bunker, not realizing that the top of the hopper is sticking out the side a little. These people then learn the hard way when they see paint breaking on it. With the A5, the hopper is a few inches lower on the gun and it's easier to keep it behind the bunker with you when you're aiming down. It also blocks less of your vision while shooting. You detect movement the best out of the corner of your eye which will usually help you catch somebody trying to hit you while your attention is on something else. With a big hopper in the way, it's hard to notice this sometimes. Since the hopper on the A5 is lower, it's easier to see around it and that let's you see more of the field.

I'm not saying that you can't prefer the 98 over the A5 for whatever reason but the A5 is definitely a better design. You can upgrade or clean the A5 very quickly while the 98c forces you to take out 6 screws, not including the two on the ASA, for any kind of upgrade or cleaning. The only thing the 98c has on the A5 is the ability to take the elbow off quickly. However, for less than a dollar you can buy a thumb screw at a hardware store and replace the screw holding on the cyclone with that. Then if you break a ball you can quickly pop off the cyclone, similar to how you would remove the 98 elbow, and squeegee through the breech. I think tippmann probably should have thought to do that but it's easy enough to add that feature yourself.

98 C ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!

A5player wrote: wow all of you who just voted for the 98 are morons...for one thing, do you think tippmann would make a gun that wasnt as good as the one that came before it! they made there design better, they made a better gun. a stock a-5 will out shoot a stock 98 no problem, even tippmann said that. and as for the cyclone "crapping out" i've had my gun for over a year, not once has the cyclone "crapped out" and i've never heard of that happening before. as long as you take somewhat care of your gun, you'll never have a problem with the cyclone. its just like having an electric hopper but less of a chance of the balls chopping. and if you want to upgrade it, do what i did, put an e-grip on it, drop forward, double trigger, and dye ultralite on it or some other barrel of your choice and the a5 is an awesome gun. you'll be firing 15+. if your a serious player, the upgraded a5 is easily your starting gun and not the back up. the only reason those peole said 98c is because their jealous, and they couldnt afford one. dont be fooled by posers thinking they know what there talking about, tell you what, shoot both guns if you can, i guarantee you'll choose the A-5

15+bps??? please. the cyclone cant feed faster than 15bps.

a-5s are much heavier, and much more bulky.

hes also looking for a gun just to customize and food around with. 98c is much better for those purposes.

i vote 98c

alright enough, the A-5 is better, thats all that has to be said....it is just as upgradable as the 98c. the 98c weighs 2.9 lbs and the A-5 weighs 3.5, but the A-5 is also more balanced with the cyclone on it so it feels like it is lighter. as for bulky...the cyclone feeder is the size of the bottom half of a pop can. the only thing the 98c has on the A-5 is that it is cheaper. Everything else the A-5 is better than it. It is more reliable, easier to maintain, and has a higher rate of fire...the most a 98 can ever do is 13bps...not that much in paintball terms.

and as for A-5bunkering saying that the A-5 cant shoot more than 15 balls a second, upgrade it and you'll find out that well your wrong! ITs 15+

OK, i am going to answer all of the questions about the A5. People say its a gas hog, BS! it takes more gas that the 98 because of the cyclone but add the comp-air like i did, and put the pressure at around 350psi, and its more efficent than the 98.  barrels, they're the same ones as far as performance, and good aftermarket barrels are not very expensive for either weight has already been discussed but as Tippmanns were designed for long scenarios more than short speedball, weight really doesn't matter unless your're a guy like i know that complined of a stock 98c weight when i had a much heavier fully upgraded A5.  Price wise, if you are going to put it through hell, why not get something that will last through it, i mean the A5 is alot more durable than the 98c.  Rate of Fire is 15+ on the A5, i had an electro shooter get 20bps on the stock A5 then I got the Egrip for $115 and it made a ROF up to 25bps, with the 98c it takes a $300 upgrade to match the A5, plus having to get a good electonic hopper to keep up with it. Balance, it really depends on the upgrades on both, My dad owns a 98c which for a long time had a folding stock, and the entire gun started leaning, which is suicide for a FLATLINE shooter.  the A5 would do that too, but the Cyclone system keeps the weight balanced, keeping the FLATLINE accurate.  Modification wise, the A5 matches the 98c in every shape and form available and surpasses it in the easiness of installing the upgrades bought, and the A5 is just starting to get there, soon the 98c willstart to fade from the availability to put new upgrades on it, and so it will pass into history.  The ability to Mil sim it is also handed to the A5 on a silver platter because not other gun that can perform as well as the A5, the 98c included matches the looks of a firearm quite as much as the A5, saying that without the barrel, the A5 looks just like a MP5 in every shape form and fashion.  Price wise, if you are going to upgrade it into the best potential for itself, the A5 beats the 98c barely but decisively with the A5: Stock A5 no upgrades added= $230, Egrip= $115, Comp-Air= $125, Mad Man Spring Kit (for efficency)= $10, RVA= $25, Freak kit like I have= $180, HPA bottle= +/-$100, total= $+/-785; now the 98c:  Stock 98c no upgrades= $130, Comp-Air= $120, E-bolt trigger= $295, Mad Man Spring Kit= $10, RVA= $25, Freak Kit= $180, HPA bottle= +/-$100, total= $860.  Should I go farther?

I have a 98 and it's light, durable, and supposibaly shots 12BPS.

Get the 98C

pballa818 wrote: 98c...trust me

Why don't you give him a reason to? People supporting the A5 have given plenty of reasons to back their opinion yet only maybe one or two good reasons have been given to pick the 98c. If the 98c really is so much better then why is it so hard for everybody to prove it?

A5player wrote: and as for A-5bunkering saying that the A-5 cant shoot more than 15 balls a second, upgrade it and you'll find out that well your wrong! ITs 15+

buddy, dont preach to me about an a-5s speed.

 ive owned one of the most upgraded, speeball orientated a-5 on this forum.... so dont tell me about an a-5s speed.
  just for testing i took the trigger that was custom made for me and put a ton of bounce on it... still 15bps... why? cause the egrip is capped at 15bps. nothing you can do about it.
 why is the egrip capped at 15bps? so it wont outshoot the cyclone.

I have had extensive use of both the 98 Custom and the A-5.  I myself own a 98, and my friend across the street owns an A-5.  Although both are excellent markers, the 98 would be the better choice.  Why?  Durability and price. The A-5 has too much plastic on it.  Although the Cyclone feed is a nice addition, a revy will easily suffice.  So...if you buy a 98 for 140, and a revy for 60, you end up with about 20 or 30 dollars of extra spending money.  Now....don't get me wrong....I love the A-5, but the 98 is the superior gun.  durablity+cheap=better.

 If you were wanting one as a back-up speedball gun then get the A-5. Then get the E-grip with a jcs trigger then you can walk the dog. Then get an All American with a Palmers Stabalizer.

A5 no question. You 98C fanboys have me laughing.

LoneWolf42 wrote: I have a 98c and i can tell you its just about the most reliable gun on the market. When you pull that trigger you know that its not gonna break a ball or jam. its like the ak47 of the assault rifles,  very reliable.

buddy, hate to break it to you, but ak-47s are reliable, guarrented to miss anything your aiming at...im not saying the 98c is that inaccurate, but it definately comes up short compared to the A-5

my friend jared has a 98c and it leaks like a calf's a**hole...my a-5 hasnt skipped a beatdown no matter what i do to it

-- A-5 with Flatline and redneck autotrigger 

Get the 98c Glassjaw, wit that marker you dont have to worry about puttin a ton of money on it to make work good and look good....dont flame cus, Im still getin the A5 for myself and yes I will be replacing the Cyclone when I get mine

Klaus said,
buddy, hate to break it to you, but ak-47s are reliable, guarrented to miss anything your aiming at...im not saying the 98c is that inaccurate, but it definately comes up short compared to the A-5

my friend jared has a 98c and it leaks like a calf's a**hole...my a-5 hasnt skipped a beatdown no matter what i do to it

Yes the ak47 is at far ranges inaccurate but when your shooting a few hundred meters you can hit somthing, If you seen pictures of the US Military, some are useing Ak's cause the m16 lack of reliablity and ammo. Its ovious you never been shot at wit a ak. and also my 98c hasent leaked or skipped .....