When it comes to paintball, having the best possible gear is absolutely vital. Especially because it’s a fast-paced and highly competitive environment, and once you’re out of ammo or your gear jams, you’re left vulnerable in front of the enemy.
Paintball hoppers are one of the most important pieces of gear, often overlooked. A hopper, also known as a loader, is the device that is attached to your paintball gun, where the paint is stored and ready to be loaded into the firing chamber.
If the hopper fails, so will your shooting, so it really is worth finding a reliable and high-quality one.
There are plenty of options for paintball hoppers available in today’s market, with different designs and capacities, as well as features. You should aim to get a hopper that is as high-quality as possible, to ensure a good performance and to avoid any struggles once you’re out in the field mid-game.
It can be tricky to determine which hoppers are truly the best, so to help out, we’ve compiled a list with our top seven picks for the overall best paintball hopper. All you need to do is choose the one most suited to your needs and preferences!
In a hurry?
To ensure you’re not left as a sitting duck mid-game, you need reliable and high-quality gear, including a good paintball hopper that will provide you with the paint you’re shooting.
If you’re in a hurry to find one and get going to your game, we recommend you check out our number one top choice: the Dye Store Proto Primo Paintball Hopper.
The Dye Store Proto Primo Paintball Hopper is an excellent product, incredibly reliable and able to provide you with a continuous supply of paintballs without ever jamming or causing any issues. Available in different colors, it’s the perfect hopper for you to be at your best.
Here are the main features:
- Reliable and high-quality brand
- Available in several colors, with a capacity of 200 paintballs
- Clear spring loaded lid for faster reloading
- The primo loader helps sort and funnel as you shoot - reliable and struggle-free
- Powered by minimal agitacion of the gun - no powering needed
OUR TOP PICK
The Dye Store is one of the leading brands when it comes to paintball accessories such as hoppers, so it’s no wonder that one of their products has made it to the top of our list.
The Dye Store Proto Primo Paintball Hopper is an excellent option, highly recommended by paintball players of all levels, and featuring plenty of positive reviews and ratings from customers.
It has a capacity of 200 paintballs, and it comes with a clear spring loaded lid that allows for easier reloading when you run out of paintballs.
It also features a positive shelf that is designed to relieve pressure from the paintballs, and the primo loader helps sort and funnel as you shoot, for a consistent vertical feed and less chance of anything jamming or going wrong.
It’s powered by minimal agitation of the gun, meaning there’s no need for charging it beforehand.
Available in several different colors, it is by far the most reliable and well-performing hopper for paintball, letting you focus on the game with a continuous supply of paint to shoot at your enemies!
Pros:
- Reliable and high-quality brand
- Available in several colors, with a capacity of 200 paintballs
- Clear spring loaded lid for faster reloading
- The primo loader helps sort and funnel as you shoot - reliable and struggle-free
- Powered by minimal agitacion of the gun - no powering needed
Cons:
- No significant downsides
EDITORS CHOICE
The Virtue Paintball is another leading brand with plenty of excellent quality products that are reliable and ideal for paintball, such as the Virtue Paintball Spire IR Electronic Hopper.
It has been designed to be smaller and lighter, making it easier to use when you’re moving around a lot and aiming.
It is also incredibly reliable, as it never pulses or jams, and it performs quietly and efficiently, providing you with a constant stream of paint to shoot with.
This hopper also features proactive feeding, thanks to the improved sensors that ensure you’re getting the constant stream of paint, avoiding any waiting time.
With the shell being made from a strong nylon designed to withstand intense use, this hopper is incredibly durable and long-lasting.
Available in several different colors and with a great battery life, it’s a fantastic option to be on your A-game when playing paintball!
Pros:
- Reliable and high-quality brand
- Small and lightweight design - highly convenient and maneuverable
- 100% reliable - never jams or pulses - quiet and efficient performance
- Proactive feeding to ensure a constant stream of paint - no waiting time
- Strong nylon for incredible durability and resistance to wear and tear
Cons:
- No significant downsides
BEST VALUE
Another product option by the Dye Store brand, is the Dye Store Electronic Paintball Hopper, which is just as reliable and high-quality, and highly favored amongst paintball players of all levels.
It features patented DYE loader technology that combines top-notch functionality with incredible feed rates and reliability, with a rotor force that provides you with 30 paintballs per second.
It also has an adjustable feed tension and a built-in anti-jam sharkfin release trigger, making sure that the hopper can handle the continuous stream of paint, no matter the condition of the paint.
It’s powered by three AA batteries and sets a high standard when it comes to battery life, with a runtime that lets you shoot approximately 80000 paintballs, more than enough for a full long game!
It has a capacity of 200 paintballs and it is available in several different colors. And on top of that, it features a waterproof coating that lets it be fully functional even when under-water for a short period of time!
Nothing will get in your way.
Pros:
- High-quality and highly reliable product
- It features patented DYE loader technology for an extremely efficient stream of paint, providing you with 30 paintballs per second
- Adjustable feed tension and a built-in anti-jam sharkfin release trigger
- Powered by 3 AA batteries - excellent battery life
- Waterproof coating for underwater functionality
Cons:
- No significant downsides
RUNNER UP
The Empire Paintball Halo Too Hopper is another amazing product option for paintballers of all levels, able to provide you with the reliability and performance efficiency needed to focus on the game.
It’s made with a polycarbonate shell that can withstand plenty of wear and tear as well as hard impacts, making it durable and long-lasting enough for the most intense of paintball games.
It has a capacity of 180 paintballs, and it can feed you 20 balls per second with ease. It’s incredibly lightweight and practical, and the pro paintballer Billy Ceranski even deemed it as the best hopper for the money, as it had incredibly good value.
It also features a low battery indicator, so you will never be caught unawares with a dead hopper.
It has an anti-jam feature and an excellent and quiet performance, making it an all-round great option for a struggle-free paintball game.
And as a bonus, it comes with a sound-activation function for easier use!
Pros:
- Made with a polycarbonate shell for excellent durability and resistance
- Capacity of 180 paintballs - feeds 20 balls per second
- Deemed as the best hopper for the money by pro paintball player Billy Ceranski
- Low battery indicator and sound-activation
- Anti-jam feature with excellent performance
Cons:
- Rigid shell that is hard to disassemble
RUNNER UP
If you’re looking for a paintball hopper that is somewhat different and unique in its design and functionality, then the Tippmann Cyclone Feeder System might just be the product you’ve been looking for.
It’s an air assisted loader system that can feed the paint into your marker at a speed of up to 15bps, without the need for any batteries.
The feeder sprocket is linked to the air system for a synchronized ball feed, making it incredibly efficient and reliable in its performance.
It has been designed specifically for use with a Custom 98 marker, but it can be used with other paintball guns as long as you have an adapter.
This innovative design uses cutting edge technology to maximize efficiency and to provide the user with a practical and effective feeding system, for a continuous stream of paint to shoot with.
It is also incredibly durable and long-lasting, as well as being lightweight enough for an easy maneuverability throughout the game.
Pros:
- Innovative design with cutting edge technology
- Air assisted loader system - no batteries required
- Highly efficient, feeding paint at 15bps
- Highly durable and long-lasting - practical and convenient
Cons:
- An adapter is needed to use it with paintball guns other than the Custom 98
RUNNER UP
The Virtue Spire IV Electronic Hopper is another product option from the Virtue brand, making it a reliable and high-quality option right off the bat.
It is highly popular amongst customers, and it comes available in several different colors and sizes so that you can choose the one most suited to your preferences.
It features a proactive feeding logic function for a consistent and reliable stream of paint, allowing you to keep shooting without interruption.
It also has wireless programming integrated into its system, through Apple or Android, allowing you to configure it to your needs.
It’s a single hinge-mounted unit, making it a lot more resistant to impact and wear and tear, and it magnetically attaches to the drive assembly, for a very easy use.
It also features a dual LED reload indicator with an integrated smart spring ramp, making you aware of when a reload is necessary.
The disassembly is easy, and overall, it’s an incredibly practical and efficient option for a paintball game without struggles.
It’s ideal for paintballers of all levels, but it’s especially prominent in advanced tournaments, as professionals love this product!
Pros:
- High-quality and reliable leading brand
- It features a proactive feeding logic function - consistent and reliable stream of paint
- Wireless programming integrated into the system - compatible with Apple and Android
- It’s a single hinge-mounted unit, magnetically attached - incredibly durable and resistant
- Dual LED reload indicator with smart spring ramp - easy to use
Cons:
- No significant downsides
RUNNER UP
Last but not least on our list of top picks, we have the Empire Paintball Prophecy Z2 Hopper, which is highly popular amongst customers, and is able to provide you with a reliable stream of paint to keep shooting at your enemies throughout the game.
It has a capacity of around 200 paintballs, and it features a redesigned drive carrier for a more consistent and a faster feeding system.
It has a sound-activation function for the force feeding, with infrared sensors that can provide an automatic ball jam clearance if anything threatens to jam the feeding system. That way, you’re ensured a reliable and efficient performance, with nothing getting in the way of your paintball supply!
No tools are required for the assembly and disassembly of this hopper, as it’s very easy to use and set up. It has been designed to be low profile and lightweight, making it ideal for intense paintball games in which you need to move around a lot.
It also has a good battery life, and is surprisingly long-lasting for the price, making it a great value option!
Pros:
- Capacity of 200 paintballs
- Consistent and fast feeding system - very efficient
- Sound-activation function with infrared sensors for automatic ball jam clearance
- Very easy assembly and disassembly - no tools required
- Lightweight and low-profile - ideal for intense paintball games
Cons:
- No significant downsides
7 Best Paintball Hoppers Buying Guide
Paintball hoppers are an essential component of your paintball gear, as they are what provides your marker with a constant stream of paintballs with which to shoot your enemies and win.
If your hopper malfunctions, it will get jammed and will interrupt the supply of paint, meaning you will be left unable to shoot, in the middle of a game, while others continue shooting at you - not ideal.
That is why it is so important to ensure you have a high-quality and reliable paintball hopper that will provide you with a smooth and efficient performance, so you can then focus on your aim, instead of having to worry or wait for your paint.
But, what makes a hopper higher quality or more reliable? With every brand claiming to offer the best products, it can be quite tricky to determine the best possible hopper that will suit both your needs and your preferences, while performing at top-notch standards. So what can you do?
Well, when we pick our favorite paintball hoppers, we do so by taking into consideration a few basic factors, as well as taking a close look at the product descriptions and reviews, comparing products to ensure we find the most reliable ones.
Here is a small summary of those basic factors, you can use them as guidance when you’re choosing the right paintball hopper for you!
Size and capacity:
Paintball hoppers come in all sorts of sizes and capacities, depending on the game you’re playing, and your preferences.
A bigger hopper will usually have a larger capacity, and will therefore be able to hold more paintballs at a time.
However, a smaller and more compact hopper will be a lot more lightweight and a lot more maneuverable, meaning it will hinder you less if you’re moving or running around during your game.
You need to ask yourself how large a capacity you require, depending on how many paintballs you use on average throughout a game. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to refill your paintball hopper mid-game, so it depends on how much you tend to shoot on average!
Supply rate and design:
To determine how efficient or powerful a paintball hopper is, you need to check the supply rate. How many paintballs can it load into your marker per second? Is the stream of paint continuous and uninterrupted?
There should be no waiting time in between shots, as you should be able to constantly fire with the hopper providing the paint without struggles.
To ensure this, look out for anti-jam features that provide a more reliable and efficient performance, and for hoppers that have special systems in place to quickly fix a jam if it ever happens.
Even a lost second can be the difference between losing or winning, so it really is important that your hopper performs as well as possible.
Powering method:
Most paintball hoppers are electrical or battery-powered, meaning they will require a period of chagrin before the game, or to be restocked with the appropriate batteries.
This means they will have a limited amount of battery life, which usually should not be a problem for the duration of a single game. But just in case, you should look out for hoppers with a low battery indicator, so it never catches you unaware.
Other paintball hoppers will function without the need of batteries. They will function thanks to an air-system, or thanks to gravity itself, in which you only need to agitate the paintball gun a little for the paint to be loaded into the marker with ease.
Which one you choose is completely up to your personal preference, as they should not affect the overall performance significantly in any way.
Durability and resistance to impact:
A game of paintball can get incredibly intense. It’s essentially a full-on war between teams, in which you’re shooting at each other, running around, and often moving in rough terrain.
Especially with other people shooting at you, it is more than likely that the hopper will suffer a few impacts throughout the game.
To ensure that it can resist these impacts and continue functioning at full capacity, it’s important that the hopper is constructed with highly durable material, resistant to wear and tear, and able to withstand regular and intense use.
Bonus Features and extra accessories:
Paintball hoppers can become as fancy as you need, as you can add plenty of accessories, and they can be designed with innovative and cutting edge technology to perfect their functionality so that they become better and better.
Of course, this might also mean that the price becomes higher and higher, but it might be worth it when you’re playing at advanced or professional levels.
Some of these extra features can be an integrated wireless programming system, compatible with an Apple or Android app to better set up the system within the hopper, ensuring that it works just the way you want it to.
Another popular feature is sound-activation to get the hopper started, which some people find incredibly useful.
These sort of features are by no means necessary, and they’re simply a bonus to look out for if you want to increase the overall abilities of your gear, to further enhance your own abilities during the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are paintball hoppers universal?
One of the things that you might have been told, over and over again, when purchasing different gear and accessories for paintball, is that you need to ensure it is all compatible with your paintball gun.
However, paintball hoppers, as a general rule, are completely universal, meaning any paintball hopper will fit any paintball gun.
There are, of course, exceptions, such as specific paintball hoppers that feature innovative designs for specific paintball gun models. But even then, you could probably use them on other paintball guns with the help of an adaptor!
I was around 12 the first time I shot a paintball.HOLY COW that was eye-opening... oh yeah, I couldn't believe how much the sting of getting hit was.I remember to this day the adrenaline rush after getting plucked off by some guy probably 20 years older than me.
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