It’s Back. The Shocker.
The Shocker brand has been in paintball, longer than most of you reading this (myself included). The Shocker was one of the guns that started the electronic low-pressure movement in the mid-90s. The Shocker has morphed along the way, from the SFT to the NXT and now SP is brought us the RSX short for resurrection (not to be confused with the Empire Resurrection).
- Padded, water resistant exterior prevents incidental damage to your marker in storage
- Microfiber interior absorbs any residual moisture and prevents scratches
- Fold-flat construction allows use of bag as a work surface to keep oil and paint from making a mess
First, let’s start with SP Paintball. SP Paintball is an offshoot of GoG Paintball, like DLX. GoG paintball was created by Adam and Billy Garner the owners of Smart Parts when Smart Parts filed for bankruptcy. So, now we have SP, which stands for Shocker Paintball.
Now to the meat and bones of the whole thing. The Shocker RSX, the RSX is a gun that Shocker owners have been waiting for. Although it may carry the same name as previous guns there are a lot of differences.
Looking back to the past, Smart Parts had a gun called the Ion, the Ion was great. It was targeted at entry level tournament players. It shot well but had a lot of odd little quirks: Banjo fittings on the inside, plastic body, a trigger that broke etc. But the thing just worked.
SP knew that the Ion was a great gun but it could be improved. This is what they did with the Shocker RSX, they made a crazy version of the Ion. That in someway may seem to be a knock on the RSX, but on the contrary, I think it’s a great idea. The Ion was super reliable and simple. While the Shockers of past were anything but, you could get a great one that worked awesomely or you could get a bad one that had all kinds of issues.
The RSX has been in the works for three years tweaking a tuning all the fine points and it shows. The RSX is put together very well, the build quality feels right up there in line with Eclipse or Bob.
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The first thing that everyone notices about the RSX is how small and light it is, and it is! The RSX is extremely light, it is without a doubt the lightest high-end or midrange paintball gun on the market. SP has taken great pride in making the RSX as light as possible in their own words using the latest 3D modeling, engineers have removed every ounce of weight without compromising strength. For comparison, the RSX weighs 1.70 lbs and the Planet Eclipse CS1 weighs 2.17 lbs. The numbers may not look dramatic on paper (or in this case screen) but in the hands, the difference is immediately noticeable.
While the Shocker RSX may be similar to the Ion it much different.
The RSX shoots much smoother and has a different sound signature. The smooth shot and quieter sound signature are both due to its electronic pneumatic solenoid, something that the Ion was missing. The solenoid allows air to be shuttled around much faster allowing for a much snappier shot. The solenoid on the RSX is also adjustable allowing the end-user to control the cycle rate of the gun, thus increasing or decreasing cycle times.
Much of the other features that the RSX has have become standard on modern mid-range to high-end paintball guns: Lever feedneck, OLED screen, On/Off ASA, Hose-less design and a high-quality barrel.
The barrel is one thing we really like. The RSX comes with a freak barrel with one insert (.687) the freak barrel kit is one of the most popular barrels on the market so it’s great that the RSX already comes packing a great barrel.
The RSX is a nice gun, it shoots smooth, is air efficient enough (expect 1500 shot from a 68/4500) and comes with everything you’d expect. But that’s the problem, it comes with things you would expect. It doesn’t pack anything that makes the gun stand out. The best part about the gun is how quick and easy it is to remove and install the bolt, but is that really a big deal?
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Maybe the best part of the RSX is the price when it comes down to it, it is just as good as many of the high-end guns on the market.
If you are in the market for a great gun in the 700-800 price range you have two choices, the RSX, and Axe Pro. We would still choose the Axe Pro.
