Is the sp-8 better than the a-5? It seems like it comes with better features than the a-5. The sp-8 is now $299.95 at county sports.  While the a-5 is still around $229.

SP-8

the SP8 is an ion with a new body, the A5 in your sig is prolly better

if you get a APE or WAS something like that in your egrip and the A5 will def. be better

plus A5s are more reliable

The SP-8 looks mondo bulky, not to mention you still need HPA as well as a faster hopper. Just put a new board in your A5, and you'll be set.

Snake6 wrote: I would never get an SP-8. All it's just an Ion with a body kit. I would spend $100 less and get the Ion thats lighter, and smaller.

Well it's a little different from the ion because it comes stock with a max-flo vertical regulator(same as shocker) while the ion doesn't.

you can always get a new reg

Die-Trying wrote: remember an SP8 still needs HPA, and a fast hopper. since you already have a pretty well upgraded a-5 why not stay with that? but yes and SP8 is much better then an a-5.

Wait.  The sp-8 needs hpa? I thought it was low pressure like the ion(even though it can take hpa)

ok first just think about those things before jumping to a conclusion

1 does the sp-8 as a flatline no, that means you get far more range with your a-5

2 how many upgrades is there for the a-5? there are litteraly thounsands of upgrades for the a-5 compared to the few upgrades there is for the sp-8

3 is the sp-8 as reliable as the a-5 no

4 the sp-8 cost is way higher than the a-5

5 do you think the guys at specialops paintball would use the A-5 as there "main" gun if there any guns that can beat the a-5 in woodsball? no

6 smart parts is an speedball marker maker they dont have as much experience in the woodsball field as tippmann

7 the a-5 can run on c02 while the sp-8 needs hpa and a expensive hopper

and last they have the same rate of fire

to me its clear the a-5 is better

autorifle wrote: ok first just think about those things before jumping to a conclusion 1 does the sp-8 as a flatline no, that means you get far more range with your a-5 2 how many upgrades is there for the a-5? there are litteraly thounsands of upgrades for the a-5 compared to the few upgrades there is for the sp-8 3 is the sp-8 as reliable as the a-5 no 4 the sp-8 cost is way higher than the a-5 5 do you think the guys at specialops paintball would use the A-5 as there "main" gun if there any guns that can beat the a-5 in woodsball? no 6 smart parts is an speedball marker maker they dont have as much experience in the woodsball field as tippmann 7 the a-5 can run on c02 while the sp-8 needs hpa and a expensive hopper and last they have the same rate of fire to me its clear the a-5 is better

I’m not saying the a-5 sucks, I mean I still like it and everything but the sp-8 performed better than my a-5.

1. Flatlines give you more range but are very inaccurate.  I had one for my a-5 and sold it once I realized the poor accuracy.

2. The a-5 does have a lot more upgrades than the sp-8, a lot of them being body kits.

3. The sp-8 is pretty much an ion but different body(and a couple of minor things). The ion is pretty reliable.  The internals are seal so dirt can’t get in the marker which means I don’t really have to clean it.

4. The cost of an a-5 on most sites is about $230 and the sp-8 $300(I got it for $290).  It’s a $70 difference but the sp-8 comes with better features stock than an a-5, like a max-flo vertical regulator, its already electronic, 14 inch barrel and its low pressure.  While the e-grip for the a-5 is an extra $100 and a regulator(for ex. Palmer stabilizer) is around another $100.  If you want you’re a-5 to be low pressure, it costs an additional $115.  So the a-5 can turn out to be around $545.

5. So I guess if the specialops guys don’t use the sp-8(or any other marker), its not good? The main reason they use the a-5 because all the body kits that are available to make it look like a real weapon. By the way, they have the sp-8 for sell on their sight.

6. That’s true, smart parts doesn’t have really any experience in woods ball.  But a speed ball gun in the woods is still fast…….but maybe more vulnerable to dirt, I don’t really know.  Actually, I really don’t see where your going with this one.  Smart Parts makes extraordinary markers and barrels.

7. The sp-8 can use nitrogen, compressed air and co2.  It says so in the manual and directly on the asa on the marker. It does need an expensive hopper though. I would probably have to spend $60-$70 on a hopper if I didn’t already have one.

And they do both have the same rof at 17 balls per second.

To me its clear you didn’t do your research.

MilSimBaller wrote: the a5 is much better. if you get the ion its 70 dollars more.  plus you have to account for the fact youll have to get an HPA tank and an electric hopper to keep up which puts you at close to $700.  just get an a5 and slap a e-grip on it and your ready to go.

You obviously didn't read any of the replies above.............

I have an SP-8, a 98c, and have used an a-5,here are the facts without any bias (alot of people, expecially on a forum for a specific company have brand loyalty)

To dispell myths and stupidity:

autorifle wrote: ok first just think about those things before jumping to a conclusion 1 does the sp-8 as a flatline no, that means you get far more range with your a-5 2 how many upgrades is there for the a-5? there are litteraly thounsands of upgrades for the a-5 compared to the few upgrades there is for the sp-8 3 is the sp-8 as reliable as the a-5 no 4 the sp-8 cost is way higher than the a-5 5 do you think the guys at specialops paintball would use the A-5 as there "main" gun if there any guns that can beat the a-5 in woodsball? no 6 smart parts is an speedball marker maker they dont have as much experience in the woodsball field as tippmann 7 the a-5 can run on c02 while the sp-8 needs hpa and a expensive hopper and last they have the same rate of fire to me its clear the a-5 is better

1. Why does it matter if you have a flatline barrel? Many other guns don't necassarily use them. The the bonus from added range is negated due to a decrease in accuracy (since the ball has to travel further and is thereby subject to more variables such as friction/ resistance/ wind/ decrease in velocity), and a decreased velocity when is actually hits the target, sounds like an awesome reason not to buy a gun,...the barrel....not.

[If you must have a barrel that increases distance just get an Apex, they are just better]

2. As stated alot of A-5 upgrades are cosmetic (and thereby refering to them in a discussion on gun perfomance, which is better, is simply stupid). The SP-8 has ALOT of upgrades also, almost all them having to do with performance. Since the SP-8 is basically an Ion, the upgrades are interchangeable (except for the feedneck).

....0 for 2

3. The SP-8 is a reliable gun, Can you run it over w/ a car and have it work....no. If you treat your gun w/ respect as you should any piece of personal property it will work fine. Of course you can't do that to an A-5 either since the cyclone feed will break.

Of course the SP-8 having a plastic frame is going to be easier to damage than an A-5, but you shouldn't be doing anything that could damage it, and the internals are not something you should worry about on either gun.

On the note of reliability....I say the SP-8 comes out on top. While the A-5 is equally as reliable, but probably has the more durable body, the cyclone feed is a detriment. If it breaks on an A-5 you can't switch on another hopper.

4. As stated: SP-8: $300 A-5: $220, but to make the A-5 perform like the SP-8 you have it put in more money to the A-5 driving up the cost past that of the stock SP-8. (I believe someone said a number in the $500's?)

Factoring in the cost of a tank, and hopper/ loader should increase the price of to 700 for an SP-8. (get a steel tank: 75cu 3000psi = $75, or WGP 55cu 3000 PSI = $55/ Loader get a clearance Evolution II w/ y board ($60), or even a Revy ($40-$50) will suffice).

so wait: that makes the total cost of an sp-8 setup..... $435 - $395

(yes I found a revy for $40, it was a tripod at my local store).

5. I think SpecialOps.com would market whatever they thought would sell to their demographic...in this case milsim/ scenario oriented rec ballers, they like perfomance, but are willing to sacrifice it for the coolest new look.

6. They make speedball guns? What is that supposed to mean....they make high performance guns w/ technology that is better than tippmann's, but they look flashy? Simple fact is speedball and woodsball when refering to guns is commonly used to refer to the stereotypical person, location, and situation the gun might be used in.

Shocker for speedball, tippmann or other cheap blow back for woods, since performance is not as important. That does not mean you should sacrifice performance if you play in the woods. All the markers serve the same function and "speedball" markers work just fine in the woods......its all just marketing towards your target audience.

If people like to play in the woods, do scenarios and be a weekend warrior they will market their product that way (tippmann does it, and SP is doing it w. the sp8), doesnt mean it is specially suited for that style of play.

7. Refer back to Question for, it is hardly expensive. The SP-8 can run on CO2, but it isnt recommended. I hardly think 50 dollars for a cheap N2 tank, at least on a temporary basis is the reason not to buy a marker.

The SP-8 is capped at 17 bps, so you do not need anything more than an Evolution II, hardly an expensive loader now adays.

Now that I basically said that the SP-8 is better IMO there are some reasons to consider not buying one.

1a) the shell is plastic: while not major concern if you ever break your feedneck, you will have to completely strip the gun. The part of the gun the feedneck is in is held together by 2 screws....which are screwed directly into the plastic and removing them basically strips the plastic. The end cap holds it in place though, and you are only supposed to remove them to replace the feedneck. Even then the screws will still sort of hold it together, just not as well. (The end Cap goes over the back of the marker, in effect holding it in place regardless....it is removed and that is where the stock would go).

2a) The quick release for the regulator cover (looks like a clip/ mag) is right next to a trigger so its easy to hit while playingand losing the cover. It is simply eye candy though and costs 20 dollars to replace.

Using electrical tape on the cover so if u hit it, the cover wont fall off, or sawing the release down so its harder to hit all solve the problem.

2a)SP customer service is horrible, I have been trying to order a replacement regulator cover (looks like the ammo clip/ mag) since may 2006....(I see US military gear.com is finally selling them...thx god.)

tallen702 wrote: As a personal issue, I don't support Smart Parts and won't buy their equipment due to the AKALMP fiasco years ago. That said, Everything in the above responses are absolutely worthless unless you tell us what it is you want to do with your marker. Are you looking to play nothing but woodsball? Do you want to get into some speedball as well? What is you style of play? Etc. All of the posts above have pretty much been a flame war between fan-boys on either side. Let us know what it is that you want your marker to do and we can give you a better idea of which marker would be better for you in the long run.

...actually I hate Smart Parts, and regret buying the SP-8 (not a bad gun, just..well...customer service is bad)....I just felt that the its not woodsball, and you need a tank and loader arguments were innaccurate.

Simply put if he wants to shoot fast and use a true electropneumatic gun, get the SP-8, just know the customer service is bad, and it wont take the punishment the A-5 will. Also do not expect to use it in speedball...its too darn big (not heavy thought due to the cheap plastic contruction.

and the A-5: good gun, but i feel nowadays tippmann over charges for outdated technology, since either people knew to paintball buy them (they do have a good reputation), or people that buy into the woodsball, 1 shot 1 kill,durability instead of performance mentality. The A-5 is a mediocre gun for the price...if they dropped it to 175, it would me awesome, and nothing in that price range could beat it (as it stand now, its more expensive than an ion).

That does not matter of course since he already had an A-5 (probably made up his mind, I didn't notice this was a semi-old thread when i restarted it). I would suggest getting the SP-8 since its a better performer for the price when compared to your marker (and as stated previously needed upgrades to compare to the SP-8), but keep the A-5, since that is a good gun as well, and would make a good back up lest something unfortunate happens to the SP-8 (and a good loaner). 

If I was choosing a gun in that price range for perfomance and quality, I would go for an ICD promaster. 

And in addition, I do not believe the SP-8 comes w/ a max flow regulator....I am pretty sure mine just as the same lame one that the ion has.

Tippmann A-5, 4 Life

But then again; ITS THE PLAYER NOT THE GUN.

The last time the creator of the thread posted, it was june.

So, the thread is pretty much dead.

MeanMan wrote: The last time the creator of the thread posted, it was june. So, the thread is pretty much dead.

Says you, I'm bringing this thread back to life...