 The Smart Parts Ion does a lot of things very well for its price. Able to shoot fast and be easily cared for while breaking and chopping very little paint, the Ion soldiers on years after its release thanks to its very high feature-to-dollar ratio. However, players who specialize in a certain type of paintball, like scenario players, might need to ask more of the Ion than it can deliver in its stock form, but lucky for them dozens of companies manufacture hundreds of aftermarket upgrades for their paintball gun that can help it deliver exactly the performance needed to help its owner accomplish their mission. Scenario players ask a lot of their paintball gun of choice. They need it to shoot literally thousands of paintballs over the course of games that often run two consecutive days with night play in-between, often in harsh weather conditions on rough terrain. While the stock Smart Parts Ion is a solid paintball gun, it can be upgraded in a few key points to help it deliver scenario-winning performance. Barrel
The Ion has a lot of great features out of the box, but a great woods-ball barrel isn’t one of them. While the Ion’s stock barrel makes paintballs go “that way” pretty well, in the woods where pinpoint accuracy and quiet shooting are critical, it falls short. Luckily there are plenty of inexpensive aftermarket upgrades that can handle that type of business.
Smart Parts All American Barrel
The ultimate in quiet accuracy, the All American was winning tournaments in the woods over a decade ago and it still shoots straight and quiet to this day. While it’s not the cheapest barrel around, upgrading to an All American will improve the accuracy of the Ion drastically while greatly silencing the gun as well. You can’t miss! (Get it, miss? It’s a barrel joke.) Smart Parts Tactical Barrel
Smart Parts was a barrel company before they were a paintball gun company and their ability to make barrels better than most soldiers on to this day. They even made a barrel ideal for scenario play called the Tactical. Longer than most barrels, the Tactical is well-honed and ported so it delivers quiet performance too. Less expensive than many other barrels and looking the part of the sniper rifle barrel, a Tactical Barrel is another great choice for instantly improving the Ion’s scenario performance. Stiffi
While it’s not the cheapest barrel in the world and therefore many Ion shooters might not think about it as an ideal upgrade, Stiffi’s carbon fiber barrel is an excellent scenario option. Not only is it very accurate, but it also comes in camouflage finishes that help the player and their gun blend in. Add to that it’s ridiculously light weight, which allows an Ion owner to trudge around the scenario field for hour after hour without exhaustion and maybe spending a little more on something a little better might be the way to go. Feed Neck
The Ion’s stock feed neck is where the hopper goes. That’s about it. It doesn’t grip and it doesn’t clamp, though it does have some o-rings in it that help hold onto the hopper once it’s in there. For players constantly moving around, crawling, twisting and turning through brush in all kinds of nasty weather, a better feed neck can’t hurt.
CCM
While lever clamping feed necks are great for tournament players who need to pull their hopper off their gun quickly and replace it just as fast, for scenario players it’s not as great a choice. Getting that locking lever hung up on brush then watching a hopper fall off isn’t fun, and because they’ll be out on the field for hours, scenario players have no need to quickly pull their hopper off. Instead, a CCM feed neck with its clamp tightening with an Allen screw is ideal, as it tightens down and never lets go, plus it’s small and light! Body Kit
The Ion’s outer body shell is made from composite plastics and while it works well, the bright, shiny plastics and the tournament-ready colors they come in aren’t exactly ideal for creeping around in the woods stalking opponents. Luckily there are plenty of better choices out there. Smart Parts
If players on a budget still want to switch out their Ion’s body kit, perhaps the ideal move is to stick with Smart Parts and simply replace whatever color body kit they have with a brown or olive body like their stock one. At least that way their Ion will blend in a bit better while retaining the stock look. Shocktech
For players with plenty of money and the desire to build the ultimate scenario Ion, switching out the stock body kit with a Shocktech metal body kit anodized in woodland or urban camouflage is a great choice. Not only will their Ion suddenly turn heads in the staging area thanks to a truly great look, but it will decrease the weight of the gun as well, and that’s a good thing. Bottle Adapter
The Ion’s stock bottle adapter is stuck in the nineties, of that there’s no doubt. But for so much gun for so little price, where did you think the cost cuts were going to come? Luckily bottle adapters aren’t very expensive and make the Ion a much more user friendly paintball gun. Custom Products
Perhaps the best aftermarket bottle adapters on the market, those made by Custom Products mount directly to the bottom of the gun’s grip frame without the need for a rail and twist on and off effortlessly. Reliable and simple, CP’s on/off adapters are a great upgrade for any Ion, as they allow any screw-in bottle to be easily threaded on and left on, and the air turned on or off quickly and easily. That’s worth a few bucks out of our monthly Ramen noodle budget!
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