Stiffi barrel question

sure if you buy bigger bore paint then yes it should be no problem.

I'm pretty sure PMI Premiums would work fine in those.

which is?

Well, your going to be buying a less acurate barrel than your bigshot then.  I don't see why you'd want a stiffi in the first place, the A5 is a tank and the stiffi isnt going to help much.  Paying another $80 for a less acurate barrel makes no sence, and the lightweight of it isn't going to be that benificial on something like the A5.

Edited by Yomillio - 22 April 2007 at 8:39am

I played with PMI premiums yesterday and they were actually a little too big for my Stiffi (.691).  That's the first paint I've found that I could say that about, but it was a very warm day so perhaps the paint expanded.  If your field only has .689 diam. all the time, then there is no sense in getting in the Stiffi, though, because it does like big paint.  Cheapo Monsters (.692) and Big Balls (.691) work great for mine.  Don't own a Bigshot yet but everyone raves about them, more so than Stiffis, if that means anything.

Bruce A. Frank wrote: I though Stiffis came with a front and a set of backs.

That's the kit, but they sell individual barrels too.

Bruce A. Frank wrote: So they sell barrels that do not have interchangeable backs? Why on earth would one buy such an overpriced piece of equipment without that advantage of interchangeable backs? (The barrel is PLASTIC that is easily scratched when you clean it with a squeegee!!!)

My Stiffi [insert joke here] isn't plastic and only cost $30.  The reason I bought it is so I could go short, which you can't do with the two-piece.

Okay, looks like you all could use some more points for consideration.

Fact: Anu quality name barrel (J&J, Lapco, Smart parts, PPS Brass, etc) is not going to be any better than another quality name barrel if they are all matched with the best fitting paint.

Fact:  This barrel is made out of Carbon Fiber (or the Mamba's which are the same except they have some kevlar added to the mix for color options), with an epoxy coating (on the inside).  They are not made out of plastic (the viewloader 'carbon fiber' barrels at wal-mart are plastic with a 'carbon fiber' sticker but, not the stiffi's, the deadlywind whispers, etc).

Benefits: 

Lightweight and strong (compared to aluminum of the same weight).   A Stiffi will be much lighter than any non-carbon fiber barrel out there.  For Tippmanns(especially the A-5/X7) this isn't a big deal, for a Mini, an Ion, or any other lightweight gun, this is a big deal.

Quiet.  Given the same amount of porting, a carbon fiber barrel will be quieter (noticably but, I wouldn't say radically, especially on a blowback) than any other barrel- the non-homogenous nature of carbon-fiber tends to attenuate sounds that get transmitted through the barrel walls.

Very capable of self-cleaning.  I've never shot a chrome, a J&J ceramic or a brass barrel but, this barrel blows all aluminum barrels out of the water in terms of being able to shoot through a break.  For example, I recently picked up an 11" Freak Tactical front and even with SPs 'ceramic and teflon' coating, I couldn't shoot through a marb barrel break (caused by my mistake of using too small of a back).  I had to use a squeegie before I would get a shot to fly straight (even after 20+ shots).  With the Stiff-Tip, I could shoot straight within 2-5 shots, I wouldn't have the perfect accuracy I had before the break but, certainly good enough to keep someone from advancing.

This barrel is at least as scratch resistant as an aluminum barrel.  My stiffi's have no scratches in them even though I've used them more than any of my other barrels.  Maybe it's just luck that a grain of dirt hasn't gotten into these barrels and only into my aluminum barrels :-S Just make sure you do two things:

1. Clean it with water and rubber/silicone type squeegies.  Never clean the inside with any type of cloth or woolly material.  If you do, you will not 'scratch' the barrel, you will create a 'burr' at one of the port holes.  This is due to the fact that the fiber in the cloth or woolly will snag on the carbon fiber ends exposed in the port holes and pull them up and away from the hole.  They specifically tell you this in their product documentation and on their website. 
2. (My own input) never allow paint to dry in the barrel (like not squeegieing a barrel break out at the end of the day and letting it sit for a night or few).  I did this once and the paint kind of 'etched' the surface like it could do to your goggles if you didn't clean them.  No performance hit but, self-cleaning went down noticably.

So, there you have it.  Some of the reasons why carbon fiber barrels are popular.  Then again, some people just like them cause it's carbon fiber and it matches their other gun accessories, or they just like the look of a carbon fiber barrel...

Carbon fiber (and Kevlar in some) is the material of which the Stiffi barrels are made. The barrel is fabricated from a two component PLASTIC resin commonly called EPOXY bonding/encapculating the fibers.

The resultant bore IS SOFTER THAN ALUMINUM...easily scratch from both the paintballs and the squeegee (the slick/shiny interior is EPOXY). The misleading advertising copy using the word "diamond" has NOTHING to do with the hardness or durability of the bore. Carbon Fiber barrels sold under the brand name Stiffi are a gimmick more than anything else. Their accuracy and, so called, "stiffness" offer nothing that is not available with a dozen aluminum barrels on the marker.

Fact is that an anodized polished aluminum bore barrel if 50 times harder and more durable than a Plastic Stiffi barrel. But, I must add, disregarding all the logic and technical info I could muster on the subject, my son asked for a Stiffi kit for his Angel for his birthday last year and I got it for him! 

It is a great accurate barrel, but not better than others we have...but it looks cool, which I think is it primary reason for its selling as well as it does...and the prestige of being able to say "I had the money" to waste.

BTW, I received an Email answer from SITE (the manufacturer).

Good Morning Bruce,

Unfortunately, the barrel that we sell for the Tippmann 98 custom or A5 starting bore size is .691.  We don’t manufacture any bore smaller than that for those specific barrels. I apologize for any inconvenience, but we haven’t had much need for that. Thank you for your interest in our product.