An old mans review of the Gtek... a long story and some real world findings. The first time I played paintball I was 13, in 1996. I had a rental ProLite, shake and shoot hopper, and was on a field with a creek. Naturally, I dove into the creek, went all "Rambo" neck deep in the water, snuck behind the other team and shot 3 in the back. Been addicted ever since. (I'm still chasing that adrenalin rush from that first time.)



I stopped playing in 2005, film career got in the way. Just got back into the game 2 months ago when I realised my crew ALL play paintball. In a strange sense I'm "new" to the modern sport, despite having 10 years of experience and being an adopter of early hyperball/speedball in those days.



So here what I think.



I ended my play career with a decked Angel LCD. It was the absolute pinnacle of technology at the time, fastest son of a B*tch on the block and had all the goodies. It was smooth, quiet, efficient and deadly accurate. When I got back into the game I was determined to get my old angel up and running, not only for nostalgia's sake but I was pretty convinced that the old Gun of my dreams could smoke anything today's offerings could put up. Got it fixed by Brad @ East coast angel, and while it had a few bugs, minor leaks etc.. it shot like it used to. After a couple weekends, i took it out this past sunday, and well, it failed. Regulator exploded, and it was down after after a game. I had already spent nearly $500 fixing it up, and wasn't about to spend more. But, it did feel like it used to when it was working.



Post game frustration kicked in and I walked into the field pro shop last sunday. I had been eyeing a Shocker RSX, because well.... look at it.... I had also heard of the Gtek, and its price was better so I figured let me look at it too. But i was pretty dead set on a Axe Mini GS just cause of price. It was going to wind up costing some dough to get the new problems on the Angel diagnosed and fixed, why not just get a gun that seems ok, for $350 and resolve my self to the world of "good enough" or weekend play.



Sitting on the wall next to the GS was a Gtek. I had heard they just came out and are rather rare. The shop owner said, take a look at this, handing me the Gtek. It felt right in the hands. I'm 6' tall have big hands, and the Mini GS just felt like a water pistol compared to the brawn of the Gtek. I said "F*** it.... gimme the Gtek".



Opened the box, gassed it, locked in the Z2, and filled it with paint. 275 out the box on chrono. Not just 275... but 275, 277, 270, 275, 277..... Even my angel at its prime had a +-4 and that was after 100's of cases of paint. Holy sh*t.



First game, I sent about 20 balls 4 feet over a guys head way in the back of the field... Why didn't the shot drop? It's a new gun... must have climbed in velocity. I called my self out to re-chrono. 276, 274, 275. Holy sh*t. Its shot characteristics are purely insane. It shoots lasers. The shots don't drop, and just sail forever. The Angel started to feel as old as it is. On to game number 2. The next odd thing I noticed was that the Gtek has no muzzle climb and hardly vibrates. Now, I don't have anything to compare to, at this point, i've only played extensively with Spyders, Automags, Autocockers, Angels and now the Gtek. So the smoothness was almost alien. Don't get me wrong, the Angel is smooth as hell, but it's essentially a poppet valve, so there is a distinct "ping-thump" in the grip. The Gtek shoots without thinking, it just happens and the ball flies exactly where you look automatically. I barely even aim.



The feel of the gun is significantly awesome, its ergonomics for a guy my size, natural pointing ability and unbelievable light weight make for a nearly immediate second nature feel. Coupled with the nature of the shot, it is basically a laser gun. Just point, and they go out. With the Angel and mag, you become a expert at the drop shot. Gauging distance and arcing the ball onto your opponent. With this thing and it's absurdly low 135 psi operating pressure and gentle three stage bolt, the paint seems to float further. In fact, the one problem I had was bounces. It is so gentle on the paint in the breech, that I was getting lots of bounces. Even off the ground. It seems it can handle Evil or Marbalizer no sweat. Paint I wouldn't dream of running through an automag, and was only reasonably well fired through a standard pressure angel. Back in the day, pros would LP their angels, cockers to fire the Evil all star. The only gun capable back then was the Shocker as it was closed bolt and only 180 PSI to operate. I wouldn't hesitate with the Gtek. I'm assuming the Geo can handle it just as well as would any new high end marker that is extremely low pressure.



The trigger feels good. I'm personally not too picky on trigger feel. For me it is more about the natural pointing ability and muzzle flip ( or lack thereof).



Efficiency is another matter I'm not too picky about. In my day, you just filled up every other game, regardless. I could literally play 4 games and still have 1500 left. I got about 8 pods in plus a full hopper to start, and still had just under 1000 PSI left. Will make big games and scenario play way easier, as I know I can load up my pack with 8 pods and when i'm out of paint, it means i'm out of air. The angel would get about 1000 shots per 68/4500, It feels like the Gtek is getting 1300+. Yay good engineering!



So in the woods its great. Shoots flat, far and straight. Then we took it to a speed ball (really Hyperball) field. This is where it amazed me. In the woods I tend not to shoot too fast. No real point, 6bps is good enough and games are slow. Played against two well organized teams, 10-12 vs 10-12. Now this is my first gun with anti chop Eyes. This is where I realised what real speed means. Granted my angel can cycle 24 times a second, but no loader has ever really let me go above 13 or 14 realistically. Even a Rotor, or Z2 will occasionally produce a gap, that throws the feed timing off, and CHOP. No eyes. So despite all the fire power it has, I can only shoot fast in short short bursts when the loader is at its optimal 50% full. With the Z2 and Gtek... my god. Shot ropes of paint with everything I had. NOT A SINGLE CHOP. I saw the occasional gap in the stream, but it never broke. Just waiting a fraction of a second, then the onslaught continued. On the break I ripped a lane, and snagged two off the break. Its funny, many people these days dont shoot so fast, or maybe they never learned the technique for high speed semi. Most tournaments allow a capped ramp so learning how to throw 15bps in semi is not so important. The other team was a bit caught off guard by the torrent I threw at them especially in 1v1 shoot outs.



So in conclusion, the Gtek is a beautifully designed piece of engineering. It really changed my game, and it feels "right" in way i have not experienced yet with a paintball marker. For $550 i can't be happier.



-Timur Civan