Paintball x3

When Smart Parts released the Ion several years ago, they brought true electropneumatic performance to the paintball marketplace at a price that had been unheard-of to that point. For prices similar to what players were used to paying for a mechanical or electric sear-tripping paintball gun, they could now obtain a basic but effective low-pressure tournament paintball gun and a massive number of players put their money on the counter. After years of watching other companies upgrade their Ion to improved levels of performance, Smart Parts has released a new, upgraded Ion called the XE that retains the low price and features that made it such a success but improves upon the platform to offer an even greater value for each dollar spent.

At first glance, the Ion XE looks very much the same as the basic Ion that came before it. A colorful plastic and rubber shell is wrapped around the metal body of the gun, and sits on top of a black, one-piece lower receiver that houses the electronics and battery, while a very basic “duckbill” bottle adapter is bolted to the bottom of the grip frame and sends air to the vertical, inline regulator fore-grip via macro-line. The barrel is Smart Parts threaded and a simple, one-piece aluminum tube with a few holes drilled near the muzzle. The power button still sits above the wrap-around grips at the left side of the receiver.

While the XE looks very much like any other stock Ion, the difference and improvements are in the details. The XE is able to be field stripped much more easily via a bolt-out-the-back feature, the vertical feed tube is now a low-rise model with much stronger threads to prevent stripping or breaking during rough play and the plastic body is a bit more stylish, with holes cut through at the top to the metal body beneath. The Ion XE is a more stylish, user-friendly Ion, so much so that Smart Parts has made the Ion XE body available as an upgrade to current Ion owners.

While inexpensive, the Ion’s list of standard features is nonetheless a good one and the XE builds on that quality. In addition to the XE’s improved bolt-out-the-back receiver and an upgraded vertical bottle adapter, the Ion operates at low pressure and features anti-chop eyes, helping drastically reduce chops and otherwise broken paint, while the standard double trigger offers a snappy, tight pull with little side-to-side play. The stock barrel, while very basic, is actually well-honed internally and sends paintballs towards bad guys fairly well.

While most things about the Ion and its new brother the XE are very good, some things could use improvement and will likely be the first things upgraded by a new owner. The basic duckbill bottle adapter is inadequate in a world of inexpensive on/off adapters and screw-in compressed air bottles, so it will likely be almost immediately replaced. The vertical feed neck is a decent one, with o-rings holding most hoppers in place securely, but it is not as user friendly as a clamping feed neck and the simple power button used for switching the gun on and off is frustrating. An aftermarket button or membrane pad is worth much more in convenience than its retail price. While the Ion’s stock barrel is adequate and performs decently, even a fifty dollar aftermarket barrel like those from Smart Parts or J&J will greatly improve accuracy and overall performance. Finally, while the standard in-line regulator performs well, adjusting velocity with the included wrench is not as convenient as doing so with Allen keys as can be done with an aftermarket regulator. While these upgrades greatly improve the performance and user-friendliness of the Ion XE, it should be clearly stated that the stock gun shoots well and offers excellent performance for its price.

Out of the box, the Ion XE delivers solid performance. Velocity is consistent to within an excellent five feet per second with quality paintballs and compressed air. While Smart Parts states that CO2 can be used with the Ion XE, this is not recommended. Thanks to the XE’s impressive consistency, anti-chop eyes and low pressure, no paintballs were chopped during testing and accuracy was good. The stock feed neck fits most hoppers well and breaking the gun down for maintenance is simple. The trigger pull of the Ion XE is snappy and light, allowing even newer users to ratchet up their rate of fire easily, with enhanced firing modes like bursts and fully automatic available on the electronic board.

For any player on a budget, the Ion XE is a must-see, a solid performer with marked improvement over its forefather.

Manufactured by Smart Parts

Website: www.SmartParts.com

Shop for this and other paintball products at: Ultimate Paintball