".......then I busted to the spike and shot like 85 guys...did a run through...wiped five hits...bonus balled six kids in the dead box...and punched a little kid in the face......."
EXCLUSIVE First Look: Pinokio F1 Prototype! Written by Joshua D. Silverman Sunday, 27 February 2011 19:19
After months of rumors emanating from Pinokio Hoppers, owner Evan Estrate has provided PaintballX3 Magazine with an exclusive look at the first fully-functioning prototype of the much-anticipated Pinokio F1 Hopper. Intended to be the new flagship product of the successful hopper company, the F1 has incorporated many new features and a sleek new design that looks better and further reduces weight from what was already an extremely light hopper. Click READ MORE for pictures and more information on the Pinokio F1!
Pinokio owner Evan Estrate explained that as the first functioning prototype of the F1, the hopper is nearing completion but still has a long way to go. He estimated a minimum of 2-3 months more time before production models are ready but that nothing was certain. What WAS certain was that the prototype was very impressive.
The prototype F1 Hopper weighed an extremely light 15 ounces with 2 nine-volt batteries installed: less than a pound! While the prototype held 220 rounds with the small nose installed, Estrate said he was considering shrinking the hopper even further, enabling it to hold between 180 and 200 rounds with its small nose but reducing its weight even more, and making the already-smaller hopper an even smaller target. The new hopper will accept the same longer Pinokio noses used on the already-released, successful Pinokio A5P Hopper.
Powered by two nine-volt batteries, the Pinokio F1 prototype featured a three-position toggle switch at its rear. The hopper will function in nine-volt mode, drawing nine volts of power from the two batteries, providing 10-11 balls per second of fire for extreme battery efficiency, or in eighteen-volt mode, powering the loader to well over 25 shots per second. In two drop tests, the Pinokio F1 prototype was able to feed 32 balls per second. On an Eclipse Ego marker, the F1 prototype was able to feed the marker at well past 25 shots per second over a radar chronograph, with the marker in uncapped ramp. Estrate stated that a large part of these impressive rates of feed was a new, redesigned motor and gear box that, while smaller, was able to spin the hopper's paddles at very high speed, while remaining gentle on fragile paintballs.
Conveniently, Pinokio owner Evan Estrate owns two Dye DM paintball markers. Placing a Pinokio P250/400 standard hopper on one, and the F1 prototype on the other, it was clear that the F1 prototype offers a much sleeker, slimmer profile and lower target than the standard Pinokio hopper currently offered by the company. Should Estrate decide to further shrink the final production model of the F1, it will be an extremely small, ridiculously light, unbelievably fast hopper.
While it's nowhere near ready for prime-time yet, and production models could still be months away, the first prototype of the Pinokio F1 Hopper was extremely impressive. At less than a pound it was very light, and it was shorter in height than the current Pinokio model. Using a similar operating system to the standard Pinokio but with a new board and motor, the F1 should provide the extreme reliability and solid performance that have made the company's original hopper a success. Between now and when the new Pinokio F1 is available, customers can purchase the Pinokio P250/400, the A5P and the rest of the Pinokio product line from their local retailers, online retailers or from www.PinokioHoppers.com !
-- Edited by boggs56 on Wednesday 2nd of March 2011 12:53:52 AM
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