Spyder Xtra

Manufacture Specs: Actions: Semi-Auto Air Source: CO2 or Compressed Air Barrel: 12 in. Micro-Polished Frame: 45 w/ Double Trigger Feed Type: Vertical Feed Introduction: The Xtra is Kingman Internationals newest addition to their Spyder series of paintball guns. We (Team Blitzkrieg) were fortunate enough to be able to test the Xtra only a few days after the gun was released on the paintball market. The Xtra includes a barrel plug, elbow (does not include hopper), and a small parts kit with enough allen wrenches to take the gun apart. The pictures below shows everything included with the gun.

First Glance: At first glance, the Xtra looks good on the field. It has a refined appearance that suggests that the Xtra is a well made, and formidable marker. The Xtra comes with a light green, anodized finish. Since the gun is anodized, it reflects in sunlight. We thought that the green anodized finish made for a good compromise between attractive looks and camouflage. Sure a blue or red gun looks great when you are standing at a field's pro shop, but having a hot looking marker can really be a camouflage problem in a game. Kingman made the compromise for both worlds and went with a green finish, a good choice.
Features: Designed with the recreational tournament player in mind, the Spyder Xtra includes many tournament features not found on similar guns. Features included on the Xtra: Semi-auto action, one year warranty, vertical feed system, rear cocking 2nd generation venturi bolt, field strippable T-pin, sight rail with beavertail, bottom-line set-up with micro-line hose, 2 finger trigger with regulation guard, anti-double feed, 12" micro-polished barrel, aluminum 45 trigger grip frame, low pressure chamber, rear velocity adjuster, removable gas-through foregrip, mini expansion chamber, newly designed cocking grip, special anodizing, and a deluxe drop forward....... We briefly review some of these features below.
Feature: Double Trigger The double trigger, often called a 2 finger trigger, does exactly what you would expect. It allows you to have two fingers on the trigger at one time. The double trigger will allow most players to increase the rate of shots per second they are capable of shooting because you have better control over your trigger pull. After getting used to the trigger on the Xtra, we found ourselves shooting up to 6 - 8 balls per second.
Feature: Mini Expansion Chamber: The purpose of an expansion chamber is to prevent liquid CO2 from entering the internals of a paintball gun. Running liquid CO2 in most paintball guns can damage a guns o-rings. The mini expansion chamber is just like it says... miniature. The expansion chamber is only 2 inches long and is enclosed in the front gas-through grip. It may look like the entire front grip is an expansion chamber, but only about 2 inches of it is used for the chamber. Although the chamber is a little smaller than we expected, it was effective at preventing the gun from running liquid CO2 for the our testing.
Feature: Vertical Feed: The vertical feed allows balls to feed faster into the gun, making it harder to chop balls when rapid firing. This can be either a good feature or a bad feature depending on your style of play. Since the feed is vertical and protrudes straight up from the body of the marker, it makes it difficult to aim the Xtra by looking down the barrel. Instead, you must aim by looking along side the barrel. This makes it a challenge to get your first shot directly on target, but we found that after some practice and playing with the Xtra, aiming it becomes second nature.

Accuracy Testing Time to go see what the Xtra can really do! We mounted the Xtra to our test bench and made sure it did not move between shots. It was 60 degrees outside with minimal wind when we ran this test. We shot the Xtra at four different ranges; 45 , 64, 85, and 105 feet. We fired 10 PMI Premium paintballs at each target. The pictures of the accuracy testing results are below. The Xtra made a very good showing on the accuracy tests. Shot groupings where very tight from left to right as well as up and down. Even at 105 Feet, the Xtra was held its accuracy. We were very happy with the performance of the Xtra's stock barrel and the gun as a whole.
Field Stripping & Maintenance The Xtra, like most other spyder markers, is very easy to field strip and clean. You can literally take the Xtra apart and put it back together in about 7 minutes. Spyder guns in general are very... very easy to maintain. A few drops of oil after each use and your gun should continue to work properly. When you take the Xtra apart, the bolt and striker are interconnected by a connecting pin, so both the bolt and striker come out at one time. This makes it a little harder if you only only need to clean the bolt, but at any rate.... cleaning out the Xtra was a breeze compared with many guns. The engineers at Kingman did a great job on making the Xtra easy to clean and maintain.
Velocity Consistency To test the velocity consistency of the Xtra, we first mounted the Xtra securely on our testbench and ran a string of 15 rounds through it to see what the velocity was set at when the gun was first shipped to us. We were taken a bit off guard when we fired the first few shots. The Xtra was firing at an average of 325 speed of feet per second... out of the box! That was way over any fields speed limit so we zeroed in the Xtra at about 285 feet per second (fps) average for the purpose of our testing. We ran this test at a temperature of 55 degrees on a cloudy day. The graph below shows the velocity for each shot taken in each of the two ten shot series we recorded. The second string was fired 10 minutes after we completed the first series of shots. The Xtra showed a decent performance in velocity consistency. Although there are a few large jumps in velocity, most shots do not deviate more than + or - 8 feet per second. We would have liked to see the velocity staying within 5 feet per second from the previous shot at most times, but considering that the Xtra does not have a pressure regulator on it, it performed moderately well. * We should note that we could only slow the velocity down to about 270 fps, so you may want to consider buying a spring kit for the Xtra if you wish to you use it at speeds less then 270 fps.
Balance and Field Performance After running the Xtra through our gauntlet of PGR accuracy and consistency tests, we headed for the paintball field to play a few games. Once you load the Xtra down with balls and put the hopper on top, you notice that it balances very well. Since the hopper is vertical and forward of the guns center, the weight of the paintballs in the hopper offsets the weight of the CO2 tank and it balances out very nicely. Since the Xtra is well balanced, it is easy to take snap shots and maneuver the gun during play. We shot about 250 balls through the Xtra while we were playing, not a single ball break and the stock barrels accuracy was great. The Xtra balances well and handles great on the field.
Conclusion
The truth and nothing but the truth: The Xtra exceeded our expectations for a gun in its price range. We were especially impressed with the accuracy of the stock barrel and rate of fire. Not only does the Xtra look good, it performs very well too. It is well balanced and easy to maneuver on the field. The only disappointment came in the velocity consistency tests. The jumps of more than 8 feet per second between shots were a bit of a downer, but the Xtra is still able to maintain very good accuracy regardless. Altogether a great package, equipped with numerous features for the advanced player, the Xtra will keep you competitive and ahead of the game.