ANS Ion Review

By Adrew C. Syren

When Smart Parts introduced to us the Ion, they could not have predicted what companies would formulate some of the coolest upgrades for this new marker. With some of the more obvious groups like Fireball Mountain and New Designz creating upgrades for the Ion, it’s no secret that there is money to be had with this little gold mine.

There have been many small and insignificant companies along with the larger more grounded companies coming out with their own versions and renditions of the Ion along with a plethora of upgrades and such. Along with such companies comes one of the most reputable and long-lived companies. ANS has created for themselves a name that stands for quality and high standards yet lower than most costs making it easy for a paintball consumer to get their hands on great gear for less than most competitors and now, ANS brings to us their own rendition of the Smart Parts Ion.

The ANS Ion is not just a run of the mill Ion with a fancy new look. It is in fact a completely new marker with what I would describe as, Ion internals. Simply put, ANS has built a new marker and installed one of paintballs greatest platform internals and created a paint slinger that is comparable in performance to nearly all high-end markers, at a low-end price.

With a completely new trigger frame and body, the ANS Ion comes complete with all the essentials that create an out of the box competitor for the paintball marker world. The trigger frame is a much more comfortable piece of performance as it sits 90 degrees from the body rather than the stock Ion’s 45 degrees.

Along with this great trigger frame, ANS includes their own version of the Ion body and is a work of art for those that fancy the straight lines and extremely clean look. ANS then tops off their version of this awesome marker with their roller bearing trigger that is easy to use and makes achieving high rates of fire a breeze.

Overall, the new look that ANS gives this beast is a pleasant one to see. With a standard dust finish and a great selection of color fades and solids, this marker comes to you as one of the best looking Ions on the market and stands out at any field.

Internally, the ANS Ion is not much different than the original Smart Parts version itself. With the addition of the ANS quick exhaust valve (QEV), the ANS version of the Ion is slightly more efficient and able to achieve higher rates of fire. Given the fact that the stock board that controls the firing modes is capped at 17 cycles per second, the QEV is a nice feature for future board upgrades and holds it’s own in efficiency but don’t expect it to make the Ion faster until you invest in a faster board.

The ANS Ion is as fast as the stock Ion and yet slightly more efficient and much more impressive to look at. The barrel is the same as the stock Ion and the feed neck, regulator and air port are also the same as the stock Ion but according the reps at ANS, this was done to give the user a lower cost and the chance to upgrade the marker as they see fit. Rather than bogging down the user with ups that are not necessarily a choice they would make they have left the upgradeability available to the user, yet, they have given the user a base that looks much better and feels much better than the stock Smart Parts Ion.

Overall, the ANS Ion package is a great product. With much more to offer than the stock Ion, the ANS Ion is much more pleasing. In testing I found that there was little in difference when comparing performance but with the new feel that the ANS Ion has to offer, my choice of favorites was easily decided. The ANS Ion felt much more sturdy as it is constructed from T6 aluminum over the standard cast aluminum chassis that the stock Ion is made from. The look was much more high class and could be compared to many of the high-end markers on the market today.

The feel of the trigger was a huge leap for performance as it is not only adjustable but swings better and is more user friendly than the plastic trigger that comes stock from Smart Parts. All in all the ANS Ion can be described as a quality piece of workmanship that functions more efficiently than one of the greatest markers out today, the Ion from Smart Parts.

The Price tag on this great piece of workmanship is also fair in that it does not extend past the price it would take to perform the same upgrades found in the ANS Ion. To replace the trigger frame itself is nearly a two hundred dollar upgrade and the body can be replaced for a price of fifty to two hundred dollars. Considering this, you can see that for fewer than four hundred dollars, the ANS Ion is a great buy. It not only includes the trigger frame and body upgrades but the QEV and Roller Bearing Trigger.

If it’s quality, comfort and speed your looking for then the ANS Ion is a piece of equipment for you to look into. ANS has taken a proven platform of reliability and made it better and brings it to the consumer at a fraction of the cost that it would take to customize a stock Ion at. Comfort, reliability, speed, and quality: these are only a few words used to describe the ANS Ion. Back that up with one of the industry best companies and their awesome reputation for customer service and you have a wonderful product at a great price and a true competitor for you to use at the field that won’t let you down. ANS has once again made the choice simple.

The ANS Ion is a great tool for anyone getting into paintball that would like to keep up with the others using heavy firepower and it’s a great marker for those already in the game that would like to put their hard earned money into playing and not into their gear. ANS makes it easier to pay less so you can play more.

Visit ANS at these websites:

www.ans-ion.com

www.ansxtreme.com