 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
     |
Sexy in dust black with clear silver parts or a sharp dust green with tan parts, the SL74 is the latest flagship in the Ego line that took tournament paintball by storm a scant two years ago, propelling Planet Eclipse from a custom house to a top-tier manufacturer in record time. Team after team has come aboard the Ego bandwagon, from XSV and the Bushwackers to Infamous, the New York Hurricanes, Saint Louis Avalanche and the latest NXL champions, X-Factor. As if the affordable ETek wasn't solid enough and the twelve-hundred dollar Ego7 wasn't opulent and successful enough, Eclipse had to go the rest of the way, carving gram after gram of aluminum from the Ego7 receiver, inline regulator, on/off bottle adapter, low pressure regulator housing and barrel to create one of the lightest paintball guns ever, the SL74. At a shade under two thousand dollars retail, the SL is also one of, if not the, most expensive production paintball guns ever. The question that this shock and awe-inducing price tag naturally inspires, however, is whether the list of features and more importantly, performance, measures up to a price some players would be willing to finance at a local bank. While every Ego I've reviewed so far has proven worth the money, this sucker had a long way to go to prove it was more than just a pretty, anorexic face. The SL74 starts from an elevated platform, incorporating most of the features of the Ego7 into its design, like a lever-locking low-rise feed neck, high and low pressure regulators, a Delrin, quick-release bolt, low pressure operation, on/off bottle adapter, nine-volt battery operation, LCD information screen with three-button interface and Autococker barrel threads. Building on these features, the SL includes a two-piece aluminum barrel with three backs and two fronts, in bore sizes from .685 to .693 for shooting golf balls. Even the barrel has been trimmed down to reduce weight, though that's only the beginning. Every gram of extra metal has been shaved from the SL's receiver in an attractive pattern, while the low pressure and high pressure regulators have been cut down, along with the housing of the on/off bottle adapter. Red, break beam anti-chop eyes and an upgraded ram are standard on the SL74, while both a high and low pressure valve guides are included. The high pressure valve guide can be installed to raise the operating pressure of the gun for increased air efficiency, while the lower pressure guide, creating an operating pressure well below 200psi, is installed in the gun from the factory. The Cure anti-chop bolt is standard on the SL, as are dual, swivel QEV's for increased air flow and rate of fire. Dual ball detents are standard too, along with a smooth, dual-bearing trigger that can be adjusted in a myriad of ways. Both a micro switch and optical switch can fire the SL, while the trigger can return with the help of a spring or a magnet. Electronically, the SL features every tournament firing mode needed to compete anywhere in the world. PSP, Millennium and CFOA ramp modes, NPPL semi and custom user-defined modes are all standard on the board, which also features capped and un-capped rates of fire. A tournament lock button located within the grip frame can be used to prevent the user from switching modes during play, while velocity is easily adjusted through a recessed nut at the bottom of the inline, vertical regulator with an eighth-inch Allen key. All tools necessary to break the SL down are included with the gun, as are plenty of spare o-rings, a bottle of oil, one of the best owners' manuals in the world and instructions for swapping valve guides. The SL comes packaged in a sharp aluminum case that is better built than some bargain paintball guns. Every expensive car with a long list of features looks great in the showroom. It's on the road that they prove their real worth, however. With that in mind, I broke out the SL and down the road I went. I didn't get five steps away from the trunk of my car before the paparazzi closed in, asking to see the SL the way Stevie Wonder would see it, shoot it and generally stare enviously in its general direction. Everyone was blown away by the weight of the gun, some even going so far as to comment that their hoppers weighed more than the SL 74. Speaking of hoppers, I experimented with many different models, finding that the HALO made the light SL a very top-heavy piece. Tossing that aside, I bolted a VLocity to the SL, a combination I found to be very light, but a little taller. To see the ultimate in low weight, I even tried a Spyder Fasta hopper, the lightest of the bunch, and threw on the lightest bottle I had, a DXS 4,500 system. The game-ready SL 74, with hopper and air bottle attached, is a bit back heavy, with the point of balance somewhere over the rear grip frame screw rather than the grip frame area. While this is of no serious concern considering how light the package is, a new owner will require a few games to get used to this before snap-shooting and laning will end up right on target. For anyone playing long enough to remember Automags and Autocockers with 114 air systems and VL3000 hoppers, wielding the SL74, even with a bottle and full hopper attached, the package seems mysteriously light, as if something were missing. However, this feeling rapidly dissipates and is replaced with the almost sexual realization that even after ten or fifteen points of XBall or a long day of five or seven-man scrimmaging, tennis elbow or arm fatigue will no longer be issues. Spinning the on/off adapter's knob to the on position sent air to the gun, but also produced a loud hiss that was quickly traced to the macro-line fitting. Pushing on it and moving it around immediately silenced this minor nuisance and it was on to the chronograph. DXS paintballs were rolling out of the .685 barrel back so results weren't surgical, but nine out of every ten shots stayed within a five foot per second window. Out of the box the SL 74 required no adjustments, as it immediately chronographed at an average of 287 feet per second. As I'd already taken the liberty of switching the gun from its stock, semiauto mode into CFOA ramp, shooting fifteen balls per second wasn't a problem, with velocity remaining solid and shots landing splat on top of splat at close and even medium ranges. At long ranges the groups opened up a bit, but still remained tight enough for devastating laning or sweet-spotting of critical bunkers. Snap shooting with this gun is a joy, as it is so light. Controlling the SL 74 in the hands is effortless and it points naturally onto targets near and far thanks to its low weight and ergonomic, comfortable grip frame. Even with the lower pressure valve guide in place, kick wasn't a factor, as the ram jabbed back and forth at the valve creating a tangible thud but nothing that would move the gun off target, impressive for such a lightweight piece. Adding to its impressive performance was its anti-chop system, which prevented the SL74 from chopping a single ball all day. Furthermore, efficiency was stellar with well over 1,200 shots recorded from a 68, 4,500psi bottle. All told, the SL 74 is a remarkable paintball gun. Packed with every amenity a player on any level could possibly require and weighing less than almost anything else on the market, the SL 74 performs at an amazing level. It cannot be said that it equals or rivals its peers, because at its price range, there are simply no other paintball guns. This, however, also adds an intangible asset, the fact that few at the local field will have anything like it, something most paintball players truly enjoy. At its price the SL 74 isn't for everyone, but those in search of a unique, amazing paint-shooting machine will not be disappointed in their purchase. |
