If you've played paintball in the last year or two, and you're fairly observant to other player's gear, you have probably seen a good amount of people use what's called a "Speed Feed" on their hoppers while playing. A Speed Feed is a very simple product for your hopper/loader that attaches at the top, replacing your lid. The obvious reason for using a Speed Feed is to load and HOLD paintballs in your hopper without having to open/close the lid during games. Virtue just released their version of the Speed Feed, cleverly called the Crown, at this summer's 2008 Chicago PSP Open.

If you run out of paint during a game, it isn't exactly convenient for you to open your lid and pour a pod of paintballs in your hopper then close it. Today, paintball is getting so aggressive that (good) players specifically look for the exact moment where you retract into your bunker to refill paint so they can move up the field (or worse, bunker you). The Virtue Crown also keeps your paintballs from flying out of your hopper, for those "extraordinary" situations (see video below). The innovation behind the Virtue Crown has been widely accepted by most paintballers today because they're relatively cheap ($20 retail), and can ultimately help you win a few more games with your team.

Key Features for the Virtue Crown

* Ultra Fast Lid-Less Feed
* No Rise Low Profile Option
* Secure Locking Ring w/ Thumbscrew
* Durable, Memory Resistant Elastomer Will Not Crack or Get Brittle
* Available in Ultra-Soft or Standard Elasticity Versions.
* Extra Paint Capacity (with optional, including, extension collar) - HALO only
* Compatible with HALO, Magna, Revolution, Force, Eye Force (Vlocity versions coming soon)

Paintball Sports Promotions and Virtue (or should I say ******?) are teaming up together to start a brand new apparel line (clothing).

Virtue has now made the new clothing lineup available online and also available to interested dealers and proshops. The deal, which has Virtue attending all of the PSPs, has been in effect since the start of the season.

The clothing itself isn't half bad. Virtue has been to all of the PSP's past events so I had a chance to try out the new clothing line. The fabric and material they use is nice, but again, nothing special. I think they did a fairly nice job using colors and designing graphics. If it looks good, wear it - that's my motto.

You can check out more of their clothing line here.

So I was thumbing through PB2X magazine and saw that there's a "Paintball Cruise" provided by Carnival and sponsored by Kingman, Virtue, and Xhaled. The deadline was June 1st, so you missed your chance. But Ollie Lang, Matty Marshall, Nicky Cuba, Bea Youngs, and Lisa Harvey are all planning to be there. Don't get me wrong, a cruise sounds great - But I think it will flop. I just find it hard to see how out of all things, a cruise is chosen for a paintballers vacation. Paintballers are one of the poorest athletes out there, and they're asking for each person to cough up $500 a ticket. So I'm not too sure what the point of having a "paintball cruise" is, but whatever floats your boat. Check out PaintballCruise.com if you'd like to read more about it.

Introduced last year, the new Shocker NXT takes much from the design of the original SFT Shocker. Included in the new setup, is a standard for any high-end marker today, break beam vision. Another big plus included in the setup is its integrated rail and Smart Parts on/off ASA. The new NXT Shocker comes stock with a different regulator than the SFT. Any SFT Shocker owners can tell you that the bottom of those regulators can cut like razors. Not only is does this new regulator take a different look, it is has an increased flow rate which makes for the highest velocity stability. Because Ion/Impulse threads are becoming so popular, the new NXT Shocker contains these barrel threads.

The new line of Shockers also brings some more noticeable new features, such as the new stock snatch grip and the new body which is milled with a multi-axis CNC mill to make for very intricate designs. To prevent your feedneck from snapping when you slide into that snake, new stronger feedneck threading has been added. Just like those next-gen consoles I know all of you own, loved, then sold on Pbnation, the new NXT Shocker is also backwards compatible. So, if you bought a Virtue board for your SFT Shocker, you can transfer it over to your NXT Shocker no problems.

Mostly I've only spoke on appearance and just added features, but this new gun on the high end market does what you expect stock. This thing rips right out of the box, you could pay the extra 300 to 500 dollars on those highest end markers, but this guns shoots with the best of them. Because of the extremely accurate milling, the ball detents fit like a glove. When they need to be removed however, its easy as pie. Just like the SFT Shocker, accessing the bolt and the rest of the internals is an incredibly simple task. You will be especially please if you've moved from an Ion to this. The new trigger walks like a dream. Sometimes I just walk through the house walking the gun. This triggers ease of use is made possible by being able to fine tune it with its 4 point adjustable trigger. Keeping with the extremely accessible theme, all adjustments can be made outside of the gun.

As much as I love my NXT Shocker, there are some flaws to it that I've never had with my SFT Shocker. The first, and my biggest problem, let me stress BIGGEST problem, is that even though I paid 700 for this gun, is that it comes with a waffle feedneck! That's right, I didn't say the awesome clamping feedneck q-lock made by SMART PARTS was on there. It has a waffle feedneck. Nobody was really all that shocked that the Ion came stock with that not so up to par feedneck, but when you purchase a high-end gun like this, you expect an up to par feedneck like in the SFT Shocker. My next beef with the gun is that it doesn't perform its best in cold weather, but if you get that sweet spot with your trigger and board, you'll be fine. The last thing I really didn't like about it was that other guns have got better air efficiency. It does however get decent air efficiency.

My conclusion is that if you want a high end gun that rips out of the box and you don't want to pay that 1000+ bill, then this is the gun for you. In my opinion this gun is a must buy if you're on the market for a high end gun. Purchase you a q-lock and a Virtue board and nothing can stand up to this beast.

- New look with multi-axis milling

- Break-beam Vision

- Integrated air system rail

- Threaded trigger and circuit board mount pins

- Forward offset vertical regulator mount

- Harder anodized finish

- Backwards compatibility

- Trigger guard with increased finger space

- Increased vertical regulator flow rate and consistency

- High Efficiency Bolt/Valve assembly

- Integrated, removable snatch grip

- Stronger feedneck threading

- Impulse/Ion barrel threading

- Four point, externally adjustable trigger

- Dual bearing trigger pivot

- Sculpted plunger style dual ball detent assemblies

I was playing speedball at Hollywood Sports one day, 2v2. This was right after I got my new setup “ 2003 VF Autococker with a Ricochet 2k, 68/4500 tank, and more paint than I knew what to do with. My friend was equally equipped. We thought we were unstoppable. We looked for a challenge, and these 2 guys accepted. We laughed in their face. They were using PUMP GUNS. We thought to ourselves, œ14bps, they won't even be able to move. They should get out of the 80's . We went to our respective posts. œ3,2,1 , GO! I broke left while my partner went straight down my center. On my way to the bunker, I got pegged in the leg. I was in shock. I was barely able to comprehend my current situation when I heard my friend scream œHIT! We were both in shock. All that paint, all that equipment, and we were stopped with 2 paintballs. Therein lies the moral of the story: it doesn't matter how fast you can shoot, or how much paint you have, all it takes is 1 hit.

From that day forward, I had a new found respect for pump guns. If you feel that you are not the player that you can be, give pump a try. If you're used to dumping paint at targets, be prepared for something DRASTICALLY different. Pump forces you to do a few things “ first and foremost, you will need to learn how to AIM. Spray and pray is no longer an option here. You need to learn how to aim, and you need to learn fast, or you're going to be spending a lot of time in the deadbox. Playing pump for 6 months “ a year will do more for your aim than anything else you could possibly do.

But pump isn't all about the aim. You will quickly come to realize that playing pump is about the strategy. If patience wasn't a virtue before, it will be soon. It's hard (to say the least) to join a pickup game where the average BPS 13 and survive using œnormal tactics. You need to be aggressive, but patient. You won't be able to go head to head with someone, but if you're patient, you can easily find a set of goggles through a crack in the bunker, or a leg sticking out behind a car. If you're aggressive enough, it's going to be easy to put yourself in position to get those flank shots, or even the shots from behind the opposition. Combine aggressiveness with patience and you will become a MONSTER. It's not about making every difficult shot. If you set yourself up in positions where you can take EASY shots, you'll obviously hit more often.

Pump hones your aim, makes you more patient, and makes you a better tactician. But nothing is as satisfying as having a guy carrying a Timmy go up to you after a game and saying œdamn kid, you got some skills.