92
getting the snot
beat out of it on a
regular basis without much in the
way of hiccups.
Until now Machine Paintball has
been known primarily as a marker
manufacturer. With the introduction
of the Gear, the company is looking
to dive right into the high end hopper market. It joins the DYE Rotor
and Virtue Spire in a relatively small
market, but one that is currently
dominated by the offering from DYE.
It’s normally a no-no for a review to
include a comparison of the product
being reviewed to another company’s product, but in this case it’s almost a necessity in order to properly
illustrate the pros and cons of the
Gear. In this case, I’ve been using a
DYE Rotor since 2008, with a short
time of using a Virtue Spire, which
was eventually sold in deference to
the Rotor. My Rotor in particular
is a workhorse, rarely jamming and
August 2014
Given my long
experience with
the DYE product,
I was curious as
to how the Gear
would stack up.
Initial impressions
were good, since
Machine obviously spent time and
money on the box
the Gear arrived
in. It includes a
sleeve to keep
everything together, and the box
itself is nicely decorated with graphics while protecting the hopper in
transit. There is no owner’s manual
included, but there is a card inside
the box noting the 6 month warranty on the hopper.
The Gear is made out of polycarbonate material, giving the hopper
a shiny finish,and I would assume in
the future would open up the option
to make the shell out of different
colors. Obvious attention to detail
was given to making the molds for
these parts, with nicely done radii
for critical points on the hopper to
ensure strength and durability.
Out of the box, it took me a few
minutes to figure out how to disas-