Rumors are ICD is getting back into paintball again now that the infamous Smart Parts electronic patents have expired.
Thoughts ?
Anyone care ?
What about you Doug ?
Rumors are ICD is getting back into paintball again now that the infamous Smart Parts electronic patents have expired.
Thoughts ?
Anyone care ?
What about you Doug ?
They have not contacted me about it yet. I might contact them for some subcontractor work though.
I see this as a positive step. More gun options mean better competitive market. Hope that ICD has been paying attention to where thr market has gone in way of trends, i.e. hoseless guns, softer on paint.
If I had to guess, this will be more of a pl project on a an existing marker. I don't think they will come out swinging with something completely new in design.
Werent their guns fairly inefficient air-wise ?
Yes and no. The earliest Freestyles were ghastly on efficiency. As bad as a mag if not worse. As the line progressed from the 1st FS to the FS8, it could do 1200+ shots off a 68/4.5k. The PM is as solid as other stacked tubed guns like Timmies or Egos. I can tune a B2K to vet upwards of 1600+ shots off a 68/4.5.
While having great efficiency is one less thing to worry about, normally you will barely carry more paint than you can shoot. So having a gun that could shoot a case, do you actually carry a case on the field? Plus, with more HPA at fields and even better fill stations, is getting a fill to top off your tank, that much a problem?
Their previous incarnations & private label offerings were always people doing their guns, versus ICD doing their version of someone else's.
Now, the question is better asked is, is this teaser showing a face lift of the FS8 or PM(the last guns they produced) or is this a newer design? I am sure that ICD had acid in their mouth as they were forced out of paintball due to Jerry's health concerns and by the SP lawsuit & royalties. So they might have been secretly working on this for the past year in anticipation of this event, where they can finish on a high note or how they wish to go out. There was a progression in the line(i should know, i am a ICD nut) and every concern(except for the regs-they had the poopiest HPRs, but the LPRs were salvageable) was addressed.
So i am happy to see the interest back in the company.
Who makes a 185 pod? I'm very interested in that.
Nice, they aren't too far away from me
What do you think about ICD Scott ?
It's amazing news now we just need Tom return to agd and design something revolutionary again!
Lol there's no money to be made in paintball.
"Accuracy by aiming."
Definitely not on the A-Team.
Did Youngblood move all manufacturing to China? I know he previously had the rough machining done there, then did the final machining in his shop. I know he had a hell of a shop a few years ago.
Last edited by luke; 01-28-2016 at 12:56 AM.
Most of the big firms use China as it can't be beaten on production costs
Then assembled in the country of so called production that way you get your made in the ......
I've seen interviews with Chinese manufacturers and their claim is that the inferior products is more about American greed rather than the inability for them to manufacture quality parts. It's the demand of corporate America for bigger profits that has lead consumers into this never ending free fall of cheaply made imports. So many products off the shelf do not work or at least have a short life span. It's a pretty sad day when you choose something made in Taiwan over the China made counter part because the Taiwan stuff is so much better. We are getting to the point that made in the USA is not even an option on the shelf.
I haven't seen my favorite label in a while, "Hecho en China".
Made in China and imported through Mexico.
A lot of the imports have a place though. When you only use a shovel one day every 10 years, you're selling a shovel to someone that wouldn't buy one if it cost any more. So we employ a bunch of shipping and sales people to get something done, instead of the one yard guy for a day. There's some trades there that aren't so bad. Americans buy all sorts of stuff they don't really need or have an actual use for. That stuff might as well be made in China.
I have seen some guys that make a (small) living with their own personal shovel. That's impressive for the shovel and the man. Very shiny shovel too.
Literally, the last shovel I purchased lasted less than 5 minutes. But I still have an old shovel I found in a field 10 years ago that was clearly 30 years old when I found it.
I wish I only needed to use a shovel once ever 10 years. With my yard I'm using a shovel almost weekly, and a rake at least once, often twice a week. That isn't taking into account any holes that my dog decides she wants to dig.
The user formally known as Lancecst.
I have a buddy that's in QA for a company that works between chinese and US manufacturing. He says the same thing. The stuff the middle class Chinese are buying that is made in China is infinitely better then the crap they send us.
It was like when the American companies made stuff in Japan in the 80's, it was crappy. Then the Japanese companies started selling quality Japanese made products and they were considered quality products. Now people pay extra for made in Japan.
I also have some Italian made furniture. It's ****, because its made for Ikea.
Where it's made doesn't determine quality, it's the extent companies go to make it cheaper. American manufacturing is making a big comeback. Its not for better quality, but cost analysis on a lot of products show its logistically cheaper to make it here instead of shippong it here.
The penetration of CNC machines to smaller volume shops like Luke is making a lot of things possible and practical, where they weren't before. ICD can make 100 to 1,000 markers with intricate machining much easier than they could have 10 years ago. Between CNC and 3D printing, there's a lot of custom machining capability getting more practical.
They do a lot of contract machining, so my guess is the good machines do the more lucrative stuff. I heard the thing that saved them from going completely under was a big government contract they signed recently. I'm not sure if that was a machine contract or a helmet contract through their aquisition of protec helmets.
Thank the paintball gods for government contracts, or there would never be quality shops making quality gear.
Last edited by boo; 01-29-2016 at 10:39 AM.
So ICD's first step back into the gun game is a pump
looks really nice, but at $500, I think I'd just go cheaper and get a decent sniper
There seems to be a lot of balking at the price point...what were people expecting for a gun that's manufactured, not just assembled, in the USA?