Reviewer: Lonnie "Grendel" Colson, Hellions SFG Company Commander and Team Captain.
Manufacturer: Tippmann Sports, LLC., 2955 Adams Center Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46803.
Description: "The X7 Phenom with FlexValve Technology is the first electro-pneumatic paintball marker to offer the combination of improved air efficiency, superior accuracy, manual or electronic mode firing, and the flexibility of CO2 or compressed air usage. The new FlexValve operates below 300 PSI for improved air efficiency allowing you to get over 1,400 shots from a 68 cubic inch 4500 psi tank. Also, due to its Spool Valve design, recoil is virtually eliminated for improved accuracy."
Period of Product Use: Approximately one month
Paintball Experience: Almost 20 years (1990)
Similar Products Used: Tippmann X7 with E-Grip
Marker Setup: Stock X7 Phenom (pre-production model, serial no. v31)
Recommended Upgrades: HammerHead barrel; Air-Through Stock
Strengths: Electro-pneumatic grip means no more leaving the field due to dead batteries; Cyclone has been improved to include softer paddles (see images 3, 8 and 15, below); internal gas line eliminates the heavy, rubberized line running from the magazine to the bottom of the grip in the standard X7; external velocity adjustment is the most player friendly feature on any marker (see image 20, below); light weight but durable design makes it the least bulky, non-pistol, mil-sim marker on the market. Another strength that is often overlooked is that it is made in the United States of America. That means something to me.
Weaknesses: Still looking for one. If I have to list one it would be that the stock 9.5-inch barrel is, well, a stock barrel.
Review: Right out of the box you could tell it was smaller and lighter than the X7 (see images 2 and 3, below). The first things you see are the external velocity adjustment wheel on the back and the lack of a big black gas line running from the magazine to the grip. Ours were missing the X7 Phenom name plates to preserve the secrecy, but they were noticed by quite a few players at the Viper's Deadlands event at Sherwood Forest where we first tested them.
It was easy to add a single point sling on the back. I wanted to test the stock version, so I avoided changing the barrel or adding on any of my X7 mods. At the chronograph station, the external velocity adjustment came in very handy. No matter how many times I chrono, my old age will kick and and I can never remember for certain whether I need to turn it clockwise or counter-clockwise. The X7 Phenom has a + and - sign next to the dial. Even I can't screw this one up.
The first shot was a surprise. Rather than the gruff sound that I was accustomed to from firing previous Tippmanns such as the A-5 and X7, the X7 Phenom was radically quieter and had almost zero recoil. It had more of a "punch-punch-punch" sound on semi-auto. Every shot went right where I aimed it--right on top of each other. When I flipped the selector switch up to auto, I could see the green light begin to blink in the front hole of the grip. I opened up and emptied a hopper. Firing at the four-inch plates on the range, almost to a paintball every shot landed on target (about 25 feet away). If I had to give it a name based on that brief test fire, I would have named it the "Nail Driver".
On the field, it was noticeably lighter (with no mods) and easier to wield one-handed than any marker I have ever used apart from the TPX. I was able to move around freely in the bunkered areas and make shots that I probably wouldn't have made with my primary X7 (MP5SD mod). At medium range, it was very accurate. At longer ranges with the stock barrel it seemed to drop off quickly.
Night play with the new electro-pneumatic grip was great. As it was single-fire only after dark, I didn't have to worry about a blinking light giving me away or a dead battery sending me back to the truck early (see image 19, below). Whenever it is on semi-auto mode (marked "F"), it is entirely mechanical and the internal board turns itself off and the little green light in the grip stops blinking. If I were to switch it back to the auto mode (marked "FA"), the green light starts blinking again and your firing rate is increased electronically depending on the programmed setting (20 BPS factory). The picatinny rails on the front grip allowed for the addition of tactical gear. One teammate utilized an infra-red tactical laser to give him deadly accuracy with his night optic device (NODs), better known to many as night vision goggles. Those without NODs were able to mount flash lights or vertical hand grips.
It was easy to add on current X7 mods such as collapsible stocks and barrels such as the HammerHead Straightline. For barrel upgrades, a plastic collar has to be removed from the inside of the front shroud (see image 14, below). That is in contrast to the one that often falls out of the current X7 shrouds because it is simply slipped onfrom the front. Additional images of the rest of the team can be viewed in the Deadlands photo gallery to see some of the X7 mods used on the X7 Phenom.
Over the course of the weekend event, I only broke a couple of paintballs in the barrel. I consider that remarkable as the temperatures were in the 30's and 40's most of the time. An X7 would need after-market soft paddles in its Cyclone to avoid chopping paint in that environment. The X7 Phenom has much softer paddles than past evolutions of the Cyclone, which made it much gentler on paint in cold temperatures.
Conclusion: The X7 Phenom is the hands down best marker that Tippmann has ever produced. It's low velocity gives me significantly more shots per tank and the new electro-pneumatic grip and searless technology eliminate the battery issues that used to send me to the car at the most inconvenient times. It will now become my primary marker.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10.
For More Information:
Tippmann Sports X7 Phenom
Photos: Images of the pre-production model of the X7 Phenom used to conduct this review.
