Bringing the Storm: a TWSTR DRV Review
A few of those things I sorted out a while ago. Namely, the marker---I build my own, literally, from the internals to the firing systems. They work well and have been tuned for years. The air systems have been great for a long time and my Powerhouse regs are consistent with just a little maintenance. And my Revo 2.0's have been awesome. Thy don't fog and they protect my melon just fine.
That leaves the loader, where I have been searching for something that I actually like for a while now. I have tried just about everything. I had been using the Halo now for about a year, for several reasons. They're fast and great force feeders, but they don't have a lot of modern conveniences that some loaders do. They operate off of one LED button, stick up like a blimp, and take roughly 782 screws to hold together. If you're using the new Halo 2 Pro shells, the screws aren't a problem, but the rest still is.
Your other force feed option is the Rotor---go ahead and a pick a flavor (LTR, R2, or original). They are certainly fast enough to work with my marker, but have a couple of issues. They hate small paint and current paintballs are sized like they just got out of an icy cold pool. They jam more than any other loader out there. They also use either very expensive or larger batteries and are a bit dumbed down in terms of programming (just referring to only using a single button for on/off programming or using the screw) And that's before you get to some of the legal actions against them over the years.
Next up are the CTRLs and Spires. These aren't even options for me. Why? Because they do not feed fast enough for fast, blind mechs. They just don't. I have tried. I do not care what they advertise. I know what they are capable of, and they do not consistently put a ball in the breech at 12bps. I'v had them set at their fastest modes. They can't do it. My cockers are set as R/Ts for around 12 a second and no version of either has been able to put the ball where it needs to be in the marker without jams or chops on long strings. They cannot keep up without having the eyes to slow the bolt/cycling of the marker down. They can work with markers with eyes hitting that number because the gun and it's electronics are assisting it. My markers do not have that luxury. Every version or CTRLs and Spire, every single one, has had major jamming issues while ripping strings. I've had to sell every single version I've had almost immediately.
That leaves the loader, where I have been searching for something that I actually like for a while now. I have tried just about everything. I had been using the Halo now for about a year, for several reasons. They're fast and great force feeders, but they don't have a lot of modern conveniences that some loaders do. They operate off of one LED button, stick up like a blimp, and take roughly 782 screws to hold together. If you're using the new Halo 2 Pro shells, the screws aren't a problem, but the rest still is.
Your other force feed option is the Rotor---go ahead and a pick a flavor (LTR, R2, or original). They are certainly fast enough to work with my marker, but have a couple of issues. They hate small paint and current paintballs are sized like they just got out of an icy cold pool. They jam more than any other loader out there. They also use either very expensive or larger batteries and are a bit dumbed down in terms of programming (just referring to only using a single button for on/off programming or using the screw) And that's before you get to some of the legal actions against them over the years.
Next up are the CTRLs and Spires. These aren't even options for me. Why? Because they do not feed fast enough for fast, blind mechs. They just don't. I have tried. I do not care what they advertise. I know what they are capable of, and they do not consistently put a ball in the breech at 12bps. I'v had them set at their fastest modes. They can't do it. My cockers are set as R/Ts for around 12 a second and no version of either has been able to put the ball where it needs to be in the marker without jams or chops on long strings. They cannot keep up without having the eyes to slow the bolt/cycling of the marker down. They can work with markers with eyes hitting that number because the gun and it's electronics are assisting it. My markers do not have that luxury. Every version or CTRLs and Spire, every single one, has had major jamming issues while ripping strings. I've had to sell every single version I've had almost immediately.
And why is that?
I love my markers, but they are the most brutal set up possible on paint and loading. The ball has to be exactly where it should be in the breech every single shot. The bolt can jam and each one is cut to each marker in order to allow for that if a ball isn't quite where it should be. But if the paint is brittle or it's a bad misfeed, it WILL chop. It's not a question. I have almost a decade using my markers and timing all of my customers and I still know that if the loader isn't keeping up, I am screwed. It's in the design. An R/T Autococker runs by closing the bolt mechanically faster than you can with your brain/finger. It uses a ram to slam the trigger plate back into the starting position---which means using that ram to slam that bolt back faster than you can otherwise and it uses a ton of pressure to do it.
If you aren't familiar with what I talking about, here's another way to say it---it uses around 60 pounds of pressure to slam a bolt back into the breech. If the ball doesn't have a clear path forward because it's not fully in the breech yet, it's going to chop or jam. Period. And that means that ball damn well better be fed correctly. Every, Single. Time. Again, love my markers. Brutal on paint and absolutely punishes loaders that can't do their damn job.
I love my markers, but they are the most brutal set up possible on paint and loading. The ball has to be exactly where it should be in the breech every single shot. The bolt can jam and each one is cut to each marker in order to allow for that if a ball isn't quite where it should be. But if the paint is brittle or it's a bad misfeed, it WILL chop. It's not a question. I have almost a decade using my markers and timing all of my customers and I still know that if the loader isn't keeping up, I am screwed. It's in the design. An R/T Autococker runs by closing the bolt mechanically faster than you can with your brain/finger. It uses a ram to slam the trigger plate back into the starting position---which means using that ram to slam that bolt back faster than you can otherwise and it uses a ton of pressure to do it.
If you aren't familiar with what I talking about, here's another way to say it---it uses around 60 pounds of pressure to slam a bolt back into the breech. If the ball doesn't have a clear path forward because it's not fully in the breech yet, it's going to chop or jam. Period. And that means that ball damn well better be fed correctly. Every, Single. Time. Again, love my markers. Brutal on paint and absolutely punishes loaders that can't do their damn job.
That brings me to the Carbon, and more specifically, Carbon's TWSTR DRV private label loader.
I was given this loader to beta test and I was trying to look for bugs. In that initial experience, I have to say I was impressed. It was fast. Really, really fast. I couldn't outshoot it even if I tried. That alone blew the Spire and CTRL out of the water. It shouldn't sound like a big deal, but I didn't have to think about the paint being where it was supposed to be at all. When I shot, it just fed correctly. The ball was exactly where it was supposed to be in the breech every single shot. It shot beautifully and consistently and I put thousands of rounds through it. And it did it while handling my marker's personal kryptonite.
I cannot accurately describe how much my markers hate Evil paint. That paint is normally straight confetti coming out of my barrel, and if there's a misfeed it will chop and block the next ball in the breech 100% of the time. The paint I was shooting was breaking from sub-knee height. It was a good, brittle shell going into a marker that normally loves a harder shell.
It didn't break a damn thing. It just didn't. In a marker that normally just eats Evil, it shot beautifully.
And, as I told T2, I fully expected it to fail. I thought I'd be cleaning it out consistently. The only time I could get it to chop was actually basically on purpose and I wanted to see if I could get it to, when I was at the end of a loader and there was no paint left on the stack (literally last couple of balls in the loader when it's past the feeding mechanisms). Those breaks are basically impossible to stop in my marker. I was really impressed.
You are not going to get a worse pairing of paint and marker. You are not going to have a more punishing marker on misfeeds. I do not care what set up you have, nothing will destroy paint more quickly or more spectacularly than my markers if the paint exchange goes wrong.
And it just didn't. It fed. The ball was there every time.
I was given this loader to beta test and I was trying to look for bugs. In that initial experience, I have to say I was impressed. It was fast. Really, really fast. I couldn't outshoot it even if I tried. That alone blew the Spire and CTRL out of the water. It shouldn't sound like a big deal, but I didn't have to think about the paint being where it was supposed to be at all. When I shot, it just fed correctly. The ball was exactly where it was supposed to be in the breech every single shot. It shot beautifully and consistently and I put thousands of rounds through it. And it did it while handling my marker's personal kryptonite.
I cannot accurately describe how much my markers hate Evil paint. That paint is normally straight confetti coming out of my barrel, and if there's a misfeed it will chop and block the next ball in the breech 100% of the time. The paint I was shooting was breaking from sub-knee height. It was a good, brittle shell going into a marker that normally loves a harder shell.
It didn't break a damn thing. It just didn't. In a marker that normally just eats Evil, it shot beautifully.
And, as I told T2, I fully expected it to fail. I thought I'd be cleaning it out consistently. The only time I could get it to chop was actually basically on purpose and I wanted to see if I could get it to, when I was at the end of a loader and there was no paint left on the stack (literally last couple of balls in the loader when it's past the feeding mechanisms). Those breaks are basically impossible to stop in my marker. I was really impressed.
You are not going to get a worse pairing of paint and marker. You are not going to have a more punishing marker on misfeeds. I do not care what set up you have, nothing will destroy paint more quickly or more spectacularly than my markers if the paint exchange goes wrong.
And it just didn't. It fed. The ball was there every time.
Other than that---thousands of rounds with no issues. Single shots. Long strings. Hopper dumps. Paint was where it was supposed to be every time.
So you know I don't think much of the CTRL or Spires due to speed already, but how about the Rotors or Halos? Good question, glad I asked. This is a lot more modern than either one in terms of interfaces and what you can do with it. It's got a Bluetooth connection that helps do a LOT of things for this thing. I'll get into that shortly. While it is big, it doesn't stretch into the heavens like a Halo does (see what I did there?!?). It's a much lower profile on the marker. Even with the Rotor of comparable size, the 250 doesn't stick up as high as that loader. It's more of flat, wider look as opposed to being a tall Chris Farley model that is a LTR with a hi-cap top. If you want to compare it to an R2 with the top up, it's still shorter and the shell is a hell of a lot more user friendly.
So you know I don't think much of the CTRL or Spires due to speed already, but how about the Rotors or Halos? Good question, glad I asked. This is a lot more modern than either one in terms of interfaces and what you can do with it. It's got a Bluetooth connection that helps do a LOT of things for this thing. I'll get into that shortly. While it is big, it doesn't stretch into the heavens like a Halo does (see what I did there?!?). It's a much lower profile on the marker. Even with the Rotor of comparable size, the 250 doesn't stick up as high as that loader. It's more of flat, wider look as opposed to being a tall Chris Farley model that is a LTR with a hi-cap top. If you want to compare it to an R2 with the top up, it's still shorter and the shell is a hell of a lot more user friendly.
Now, what all can this thing do? Quite a lot, actually. Let's look at what comes with it and it's features. It's not a cheap loader, so what all do you get for that $300?
I got mine as a Beta test, so no idea what you'll get for packaging. I'll just go ahead and assume its nice, but a box is a box is a box. It's something that I would be pitching anyway. What I did get was a nice case with the TWSTR logo on it. It's got a rubber exterior with an orange microfiber-y interior with a single pocket. And what's that pocket for? Holding either your speedfeed or rain lid, as well as your charging chord. While that's nothing fancy in terms of use, it does hold just about all you need here and keep everything protected.
I will say, as I had the 250, everyone who saw it said the same thing---"That looks enormous (Why, thank you)." They aren't wrong. The case is really large, as it's not a small loader. But it's also a high capacity while the loader itself is only a little bigger than the 200. They did it by just slightly expanding it a little in each direction. While this seems like common sense, it's not how Rotors have done it in the past where they just went straight up. So yeah, it is bigger, but it's not making your marker tall of a sudden. And with the shape, the profile is still smaller than a basic Halo loader with it's ginormous feedneck. Anyway, that's the case. Looks nice. Shaped to the loader. Has TWSTR badging. All around very nice addition and something that I wish more companies would do when you're dropping $300 on a loader.
I got mine as a Beta test, so no idea what you'll get for packaging. I'll just go ahead and assume its nice, but a box is a box is a box. It's something that I would be pitching anyway. What I did get was a nice case with the TWSTR logo on it. It's got a rubber exterior with an orange microfiber-y interior with a single pocket. And what's that pocket for? Holding either your speedfeed or rain lid, as well as your charging chord. While that's nothing fancy in terms of use, it does hold just about all you need here and keep everything protected.
I will say, as I had the 250, everyone who saw it said the same thing---"That looks enormous (Why, thank you)." They aren't wrong. The case is really large, as it's not a small loader. But it's also a high capacity while the loader itself is only a little bigger than the 200. They did it by just slightly expanding it a little in each direction. While this seems like common sense, it's not how Rotors have done it in the past where they just went straight up. So yeah, it is bigger, but it's not making your marker tall of a sudden. And with the shape, the profile is still smaller than a basic Halo loader with it's ginormous feedneck. Anyway, that's the case. Looks nice. Shaped to the loader. Has TWSTR badging. All around very nice addition and something that I wish more companies would do when you're dropping $300 on a loader.
So what's the loader itself like? The first things that you'll notice all have to do with the appearance. Honestly, it's a showstopper there. You'll notice it's nothing like any other loader Carbon as ever made in that, from a distance, it looks pretty much like a darker gray loader. Then you get up next it.
It does have a dark gray base, but there are color changing elements going throughout the loader itself. And I mean color changing. The colors in the loader range from a blue to an orange, just depending how light hits it. It is absolutely a chameleon color unlike anything I've seen in a solid loader and it's stunning in person. I had several people that saw it at Living Legends walking by literally stop in their tracks to stop and just look at it and ask, "What the hell is that?" It got a lot of compliments just based on looks alone. It's unique and something I think most people will really like. It's also subtle enough to not be gaudy and will genuinely fit a lot of different ano's.
You'll also notice that the badging is black, with one side being Carbon's and the other side being TWSTRs. Honestly, I'm glad to see the black badging replacing the orange. I am very aware it's Carbon's color. I am also very aware I have exactly zero markers that have orange in their color scheme, and black matches damn near everything. It also has a black aluminum feedneck that matches the rest of the look. Again, it should match most markers or compliment them in terms of look. I know that doesn't matter to everyone, but it does to a lot of people as well.
You'll also notice that the badging is black, with one side being Carbon's and the other side being TWSTRs. Honestly, I'm glad to see the black badging replacing the orange. I am very aware it's Carbon's color. I am also very aware I have exactly zero markers that have orange in their color scheme, and black matches damn near everything. It also has a black aluminum feedneck that matches the rest of the look. Again, it should match most markers or compliment them in terms of look. I know that doesn't matter to everyone, but it does to a lot of people as well.
You'll also notice that these this pack a fairly massive screen. I didn't have a manual (again, beta testing) and didn't really see one online, but the menu is pretty easy to figure out. The red button turns it on, and you'll notice as soon as you do the thing starts feeding. One of the reasons I like this over the rotor is that even with a rotor, you notice a slight delay between it turning on and it getting up to speed. It's not a long one, but it's 100% there. Press the red button on this and it goes from 0 to 100 like you just put a syringe of adrenaline in it's heart. Zero, and I mean zero, delay to full send. It actually beats the start up screen in what appears first.
After the boot screen, you can see the timer along with when it gives you a warning, as well as the menu button in the upper right, force feed pressure level in the upper left, and battery life (displays in 25% increments) between them. So that's what you'll need 90% of the time.
If you hold down the menu button, you can easily adjust a few things. You can see what version of firmware you have. You can change the colors for the graphics on the screen from Gray to Blue, Red, Cyan, or a few other colors. You can change your pressure on the stack. You can change your timer settings. Basically, you can change normal loader settings without needing to cycle through colors or needing to physically adjust screws. It's a loader that took the leap into the modern age. If markers can hold a conversation with you, it's about time that we had loaders that don't make you remember a rainbow of colors and what powers they grant you like you've got a malfunctioning infinity gauntlet feeding your marker.
And this being a TWSTR product, it also has something no other loader does yet---Bluetooth. Why should you care? Good question---and unfortunately I can't tell you yet. But I can tell you that there are a couple of accessories coming soon that will directly take advantage of the Bluetooth in new ways that a lot of people will really appreciate.
There is also a second feed neck for these that's taller. Why would you want a taller one? Well, some of us that are older know exactly why. It's for a taller stack in the feedneck that let's you feed even faster. I will say that if you're outshooting this thing with the stock feedneck, you're likely obliterating a field's allowed BPS and have become an insurance problem, but the option is there for you. And you are an absolute menace.
After the boot screen, you can see the timer along with when it gives you a warning, as well as the menu button in the upper right, force feed pressure level in the upper left, and battery life (displays in 25% increments) between them. So that's what you'll need 90% of the time.
If you hold down the menu button, you can easily adjust a few things. You can see what version of firmware you have. You can change the colors for the graphics on the screen from Gray to Blue, Red, Cyan, or a few other colors. You can change your pressure on the stack. You can change your timer settings. Basically, you can change normal loader settings without needing to cycle through colors or needing to physically adjust screws. It's a loader that took the leap into the modern age. If markers can hold a conversation with you, it's about time that we had loaders that don't make you remember a rainbow of colors and what powers they grant you like you've got a malfunctioning infinity gauntlet feeding your marker.
And this being a TWSTR product, it also has something no other loader does yet---Bluetooth. Why should you care? Good question---and unfortunately I can't tell you yet. But I can tell you that there are a couple of accessories coming soon that will directly take advantage of the Bluetooth in new ways that a lot of people will really appreciate.
There is also a second feed neck for these that's taller. Why would you want a taller one? Well, some of us that are older know exactly why. It's for a taller stack in the feedneck that let's you feed even faster. I will say that if you're outshooting this thing with the stock feedneck, you're likely obliterating a field's allowed BPS and have become an insurance problem, but the option is there for you. And you are an absolute menace.
To take it apart, you don't need tools, and you could train a monkey to do it in about 5 minutes. All you need to do is press the black buttons in the middle of the back of the shell. Well, button, While it appears that there are two button that you pinch together, one is a faux button and the one on the left is the only one sliding in. Once it does, it opens up from the back with the hinge at the nose in front. That exposes the tray with all of the guts attached. The tray has a spring loaded ramp like most modern loaders in the front half to keep the balls flowing to your feeding cone/gutter. The arms on the cone feel like firm plastic, and the ramp going to your marker has a rubber flap to protect the feed. It looks a lot like most loaders in terms of physical function. It's nothing that's reinventing the wheel, but don't know that it really needs to be. The design works extremely well, and this is a great execution of it. As I mentioned, I ran Evil this weekend and had no breaks in force feeding it into a cocker that's brutal on paint. No misfeeds or breaks. My Rotors turn that paint into soup. Literally unusable with it. And the TWSTR DRV performed so well I didn't even think about it during the games. And honestly, that's one of the best compliments I could give it.
To pull the tray out, all you have to do is grab the front area under the ramp (it's a grid and easy to grip) and then lift. The whole thing slides out. You'll need to do that for a couple of reasons. Obviously, you'll need to occasionally clean everything up in there. But it's also how you charge the loader. The loader has a built in battery (no more looking for Double A's or NCharges!) and charges with a USB-C port. That means you can use that charging cable that came with it or something as easy as a phone or computer charger. Super simple. Also charges fast. Great way to do this. No notes.
To pull the tray out, all you have to do is grab the front area under the ramp (it's a grid and easy to grip) and then lift. The whole thing slides out. You'll need to do that for a couple of reasons. Obviously, you'll need to occasionally clean everything up in there. But it's also how you charge the loader. The loader has a built in battery (no more looking for Double A's or NCharges!) and charges with a USB-C port. That means you can use that charging cable that came with it or something as easy as a phone or computer charger. Super simple. Also charges fast. Great way to do this. No notes.
So what are my thoughts on this?
Best loader I've ever used. It really is that simple.
Rotors look like a blimp on the gun, suck with small paint, are dumb in terms of tech, can have jam issues, can blend on occasion, and had an owner that sounds like he'd love to have had a timeshare on Epstein's Island. Halo's are a genuine pain to clean, a lot have more screws than a modern aircraft, are a bit antiquated, feel like they add a foot to marker vertically, and aren't fun to program. They were great for their time and are decent now, but they were designed over 20 years ago and there is some age showing. Spires and CTRLs are too slow to even feed my markers, which is, you know, their main purpose and are functionally useless on a fast mech (markers with eyes can be a different story). I haven't really been happy with anyone of my options, with me being fully aware that I fall into a very specific and tiny niche in our niche sport.
Again, my set up is as brutal on paint and feeding as it gets. I guarantee you that 99% of players have guns that are much, much easier on the loading paint process. And this loader handled my gear when I honestly expected problems and passed my tests with flying colors. If it worked that well for me, I would be stunned if it didn't work extremely well on anyone else's set up that would be a hell of a lot more forgiving.
Now, there's the other factor. Is it worth $300? It's the going rate for most high end loaders right now, and it comes with a rechargeable, built-in battery, case, and speedfeed. And, for me, it is. I don't have to worry about issues with feeding, and when I am flying everywhere, that really matters. I am dropping a good amount to go play in hotels, flights, and paint. I have had weekends basically ruined with the exact issue that this is addressing. I spent a Fulda Gap dumping paint out of a R2 that couldn't handle the tiny, tiny paint and basically lost $200 on wasted paint in that weekend alone. If I don't have to worry about that or think about feeding issues while I am playing, it's worth it to me. Totally get it if you feel differently, but there's a lot of value in that performance and peace of mind for me.
So yeah, the Carbon TWSTR DRV is what I'll be using for the foreseeable future. I'll be tossing it in the gear bag and then not having to think about it. And that's a great thing.
Best loader I've ever used. It really is that simple.
Rotors look like a blimp on the gun, suck with small paint, are dumb in terms of tech, can have jam issues, can blend on occasion, and had an owner that sounds like he'd love to have had a timeshare on Epstein's Island. Halo's are a genuine pain to clean, a lot have more screws than a modern aircraft, are a bit antiquated, feel like they add a foot to marker vertically, and aren't fun to program. They were great for their time and are decent now, but they were designed over 20 years ago and there is some age showing. Spires and CTRLs are too slow to even feed my markers, which is, you know, their main purpose and are functionally useless on a fast mech (markers with eyes can be a different story). I haven't really been happy with anyone of my options, with me being fully aware that I fall into a very specific and tiny niche in our niche sport.
Again, my set up is as brutal on paint and feeding as it gets. I guarantee you that 99% of players have guns that are much, much easier on the loading paint process. And this loader handled my gear when I honestly expected problems and passed my tests with flying colors. If it worked that well for me, I would be stunned if it didn't work extremely well on anyone else's set up that would be a hell of a lot more forgiving.
Now, there's the other factor. Is it worth $300? It's the going rate for most high end loaders right now, and it comes with a rechargeable, built-in battery, case, and speedfeed. And, for me, it is. I don't have to worry about issues with feeding, and when I am flying everywhere, that really matters. I am dropping a good amount to go play in hotels, flights, and paint. I have had weekends basically ruined with the exact issue that this is addressing. I spent a Fulda Gap dumping paint out of a R2 that couldn't handle the tiny, tiny paint and basically lost $200 on wasted paint in that weekend alone. If I don't have to worry about that or think about feeding issues while I am playing, it's worth it to me. Totally get it if you feel differently, but there's a lot of value in that performance and peace of mind for me.
So yeah, the Carbon TWSTR DRV is what I'll be using for the foreseeable future. I'll be tossing it in the gear bag and then not having to think about it. And that's a great thing.