Reviews
The Planet Eclipse Ego 7
By Dale Ford and John "Johnny V" Varvaresos
Jun 25, 2007, 17:20

The review marker

Planet Eclipse was primarily known as a manufacturer of soft goods and accessories for popular markers, until 2005, when they introduced the EGO.  The Ego rapidly became one of the most popular markers on the market, with top teams using them to great effect while competing in the PSP and NPPL.  In 2006 Planet updated the Ego, making it a little smaller and improving the marker's already good looks with new milling.

For the Ego 7, Planet has retained the basic operational concept of the original Ego, but made the marker significantly lighter and smaller, and made major improvements in the marker's electronics.  The stock barrel was also upgraded, from the one-piece Shaft barrel, to the new two-piece Shaft II, using autococker threading.  The new Cure bolt is standard, working with the now-lower operating pressures (240-250psi at 290 fps) of the marker to ensure reliable performance with fragile paint.

The review marker is owned by Review Crew Member John "Johnny V" Varvaresos, who bought the marker from John Navarro's SoBe Paintball and picked it up at this year's Tampa NPPL.  The new Ego 7 comes packaged in a nice case that looks a lot like a case that’d be used to house expensive video equipment, and it appears to do a fine job of protecting the marker when it's not being used.  Since buying the marker, he’s upgraded it with a CCU kit to add gold accents, and he uses a SLY Equipment barrel.  The review marker was fed by a DYE Throttle air system, and an Empire Reloader B handles the paint feeding duties.  

Improved Electronics

The Ego 7 differs from previous generation Egos mainly in how the marker is constructed.  In previous generation Egos, the rammer and valve were housed in a milled aluminum sleeve that slides into the marker's body.  In the Ego 7, the rammer, valve and LPR are all attached directly to the body of the marker, eliminating the need for the sleeve and making it possible to make the marker that much smaller and lighter. 

Electronically speaking the Ego 7's brains have undergone a major upgrade, aimed at making life easier for the player using the marker.  The familiar Ego keypad on the back of the grip frame remains, and turning the marker on and off are the same as previous generation markers, as is the small LCD display.  However, making the marker legal for the various tournament series out there is greatly simplified, adding discrete modes for PSP, NPPL, CFOA and Millennium Series, rather than adjusting individual settings to make the marker compliant for the series the player was competing in.  The new board also enables a player to choose between trigging the marker via optical sensors or the still-popular microswitch. 

On the field where it counts, the Ego 7 is still an Ego, just a touch loud compared to other markers, but very accurate, and in the Ego 7, very small and very light.  Despite the marker's small size, it has enough size to prevent it from being awkward to use, and the light weight makes running and moving on field easier and less tiring.  In spite of the marker's extremely light weight, perceived recoil was nearly non-existent, which makes it easier to put paint on target. 

Johnny V on the breakout

The marker was tested using a variety of paint, and as expected, accuracy and consistency at the chrono were best with higher quality paint.  Even with field grade paint, consistency with the aftermarket SLY barrel was within 5 feet per second, and around the same with the stock Shaft barrel.  Even using the field grade paint in hot humid conditions (70+% humidity and temps in the low 90’s) the Ego 7 was very accurate, making shots that other markers couldn't.   Efficiency was good as well, allowing John to empty his pack in one game, refill it with new pods, and play another game and still have air left over.  This translates to around 1400 shots per 68/45 tank, which is more than adequate by today's standards.

With an MSRP of $1250, the Ego 7 is an expensive marker, meant for those who demand the best in quality and performance.  There is also the new SL-74 Ego, which is Planet's top of the line Ego, as well as team markers like the NE Hurricanes Ego, and private label Egos like the Redz Ego.  For more information on the Ego 7, check out www.planeteclipse.com