Virtue Spire IV vs Spire IR vs Dye LT-R | Paintball Hopper Comparison
What is going on guys, it's Tony from Lone Wolf Paintball and today I am bringing you a comparison in a battle of the Spire IV Hopper, versus the Spire IR and the Dye LT-R. So let's jump on into this bad boy. But before we do that, head on over to Lone Wolf Paintball and check out all these great paintball products that we have in stock, ready to rock on the website. Let's do this.
[Mark] Wait, why would you compare those hoppers? There's a ginormous price gap between them.
Why would I? Because A; the people wanna see it, and B; I mean the differences, right? I mean, you're talking about a hopper that's $264.95 over here with the Spire IV. Then we're talking hoppers that are right around the $100 range. I think the LT-R is $99.95 and the IRs start at $114.95. So let's kinda talk about why this one is so much better. Cosmetics. Where do you want to go here? Where are we going? Speed feeds, rain lids.
[Mark] Let's just start with what the outsides look like.
Comparing Form | Spire IV vs Spire IR vs Dye LT-R
Okay the outsides.. We’re doing comparisons.
[Mark] Line them up, stick them all right next to each other.
Line them up, we're going heads up here baby. All right.
[Mark] Because the IV and the IR look pretty similar cosmetically.
Yeah. Oh my gosh. My table's getting all messed up here, but then you've got the little baby bird over here that's--
[Mark] The chubby monkey.
There it is. It's the baby sea lion, Mark. So, you got a big daddy over here, Spire IV, it's definitely going to be, I'm trying to make the bag yeah, longer. It's got aerodynamics down. Real sleek comes to a point in the front kind of the same aspect, a little bit more pointy with the Spire IR and then you have the baby sea lion, Dye LT-R. Great hopper but just a completely different design than the Spire platform. So,
[Mark] Side shots.
Side shots. All right. Let me get them all out there.
[Mark] Make it difficult. Bigger table.
I got the scale over here, you know?
[Mark] I mean, they don't have to be perfect.
Okay. Okay.
[Mark] Just people want an idea.
I get it. See? Yeah, you got a big boy here. He's longer, you know? And then you got him and then you got the LT-R. So side shots you want here. We're already here Mark.
[Mark] Do it.
Do a little back action.
[Mark] I love to see the trunk of the trunk.
The trunk of the trunk. Okay. All right. There we go. So now we got it. You got the front, you got the sides and you got the back. Let's actually dive into these things and talk about why this one's so much more money and what it comes with.
Features Overview
So, first off as you guys don't know, I'm sure you guys have seen or heard the Spire IV here is coming with the new board. It's got the iFI technology that can hook up currently with the Virtue Ace, but probably more guns in the future when Virtue makes boards for other guns. So it's got a smart technology, Bluetooth capable board, and it also has a tool-less capability so you guys can throw in the Virtue N-Charge. The rechargeable battery pack so you don't have to use AA batteries. Just plug it in like a USB port and it's a rechargeable battery pack that replaces using normal batteries.
[Mark] So Tony, you can put the N-Charge battery pack in all three of them.
I knew you were going to bust me on that.
[Mark] It just takes a little more work at least for the LT-R, that's the one I have.
Mark actually did put a Virtue N-Charge in his LT-R. He likes it, works really well. And you can do the same with the Spire IR, just not tool-lessly. This one you can do without any tools they say. So, let's talk about rain lids and features like that. Spire IV. Pop the lid on open. You can press the button and simply take it out just like that. Press the tab, slap on your speed feed and you're ready to rock.
[Mark] Nice.
Spire IR. Let's see, is it the same? Yes, sir. Push the button, pull it out. Slap on the speed feed. You're on the day.
[Mark] Nice.
You're on your way to rock the day, Mark. All right. Boom. And then the LT-R, we're not going to be so easy. This thing doesn't have any tool-less buttons or anything like that. You've got to actually take the entire shell off with screws on the inside to install a speed feed. So it's not quick. And there's a pin also that has to come out so you guys can get in there and do that.
[Mark] And you're most likely going to screw up that pin and you're never putting a normal rain lid back on.
For sure. Yep. Yeah. Cause you know that one right Mark?
[Mark] Oh yeah.
Loader Internal Mechanics
All right. Let's talk about how they open and inside functions. Spire IV: press the button here in the back. Hinges open. You're not going to lose the front cap. You're not going to use the top lid of your hopper. I should say. So held on by a hinge. Not gonna go anywhere. Virtue IR. You're gonna pop it open, press the button here in the back, and then you just got that Mark.
[Mark] It looks like a shoe. Are your feet cold?
So now you've got your replaceable lid up here, but then the shell doesn't come off. This is what you're dealing with. And I like it better with the LT-R than the IR in this aspect. So the LT-R they've always been super easy. There's a pull-up tab here, press the button in the back and then you have access to the complete inner shell. Now that I've got that open, when I was talking about the speed feed that they can see. So these screws have to come out of all of these, for this top piece to come off this green color, and then you can throw on your speed feed. So there's definitely a lot more work to do with the LT-R. But with this being said, there's pros and cons obviously. You're talking about this IR and then I like that the Virtue can come open. You can get in there and clean easily and you don't have the top of your lid like the LT-R flopping around somewhere. So this one's got a hinge, not going anywhere, LT-R, and then you got the shoe.
[Mark] You know what I like about the shoe, the IR?
Go ahead.
[Mark] You see the videos all the time where like the people's hoppers come apart.
Yeah.
[Mark] Well, the back of the IR comes apart, not all my people are going to fall out.
That's true. You can still play. If you guys slide and dive and lose this, you guys can still play paintball with most of your shoe left. So that's pretty good. I do like that. It's a good point.
[Mark] We'll have to try it one day.
Accessibility and Maintenance for the Spire IV vs Spire IR vs Dye LT-R
All right. Let's talk about how the trays come out and we'll kind of speed it up and then we'll do weights and go from there. Spire IV here, boom. Push button in the back, down below, push it and your whole tray comes out. You have access to your batteries. You can get in here and clean. It's got the magnetic drive cone, slide that off, get in there and clean. Very, very nice, easy to do. Off to the side. We're into the Spire IR. It's got the same design back here as well. Push the button forward. And then you have access to your shell. You can get in there and clean as well, access to your batteries. Very, very similar platform. This one, I don't think that one pulls up and out though. No, so not magnetic, but you can still have access to get in there and clean.
[Mark] Can I stick the IV tray inside the IR and vice versa?
I don't think so. No, they're different designs.
[Mark] That one looks like a poser.
Yeah lastly, I don't know. Maybe people have modified them. I just don't see a, there's not a reason to be. Yeah, that just doesn't really look like it would line up in the back. Anyways. LT-R. Interesting. It's also tool-less though. So there's a push button up front. You can pop that open and then now you have access to your batteries which all of these operate on three AA's. So yeah, you can get in here and clean these little tabs slide. You can pull this stuff out and clean it if need be. So, cool. I like that they're tool-less in that aspect. Would you agree, Mark?
[Mark] I would agree.
Okay, good. All right. So while I'm putting these things back together what would you like to talk about next?
[Mark] I mean, they all come in a variety of colors,
For sure.
[Mark] You know, or plain black. I mean, the Dye ones have been around the longest, it's a tried and true.
For sure.
[Mark] The IR is a great alternative too, they're not cheap. I mean, $114.95 isn't nothing.
Right.
[Mark] But if compared to--
To some other hoppers on the market.
[Mark] Yeah, I mean both of those are solid starter electronic hoppers.
Oh, they're great for sure.
[Mark] Yeah that spire IV is just nice.
Very, very nice.
[Mark] And I think you know right now I feel like there's a lot of hate for it. Like, "oh, it's not that big a deal. It only really works with the Virtue locks," it still works like a normal hopper with everything. But I think as soon as they come out with those boards and you can get a Virtue CS2 board and a Virtue--
Correct.
[Mark] It's gonna just open up a world of hurt for people that don't have it.
I agree. I agree they're great hoppers, they are made out of a stronger glass-filled nylon. So they say different color rings here and then the molded Virtue badge instead of a sticker on the side to add a little bit extra flair. And as we didn't mention in this video, I don't believe the reloader sensors on each side of the Hopper. Spire IR doesn't have that, the LT-R does not have that either. So before I close this out, let's talk about weight. I'm gonna slap these bad boys on the scale. Is it on? Are we good?
Weight Differences
[Mark] It is on.
What do you think it's gonna weigh Mark?
[Mark] 14 ounces. One pound
One pound.
[Mark] Which is 16 ounces for those that don't know.
Okay. All right. Tared.
[Mark] Tared.
So Virtue Spire IV is one pound. How about the IR? Let's see.
[Mark] 14 Ounces.
Okay. 14 ounces. So a little two, two ounce difference.
[Mark] I didn't say which one was going to be 14 ounces. Not fair enough and the LT-R we're tared, good to go.
Yes, that thing's heavy
[Mark] LT-R.
Two pounds. One pound, four ounces.
[Mark] Wow.
I told you it was heavy.
[Mark] So we've got the Virtue Spire IV weighing in at one pound. The Virtue Spire IR weighing in at what was it?
14 ounces.
[Mark] 14 ounces. And then the Dye LT-R one pound four ounces, baby sea lion. That's it.
It's all that extra weight from the shark fin.
That's true. Yes we can have that. Yeah. The little anti-jammer, you know, got a little anti-jammer down here so that's a good plus for the Hopper. I like that. All right so--
[Mark] All of these, when your electronics go, you still have a toy with the LT-R
That's right. Exactly, see, see. I like that. So that's it weight-wise, lids and how they come apart and all that stuff we've gone over. Lone Wolf Paintball. We certainly appreciate all of your support. None of this would be possible without you guys. And I know Mark's gonna have a question for me.
YouTube Question
[Mark] I've got like a million questions, but I'm gonna pick one cause they're all basically the same. We just came out with the best available markers of 2020, and there are so many comments and I'll use a... Crap where'd it go? I just had them. I'll use Ichigo Hiei cause it was the hardest name for me to say
Of course.
[Mark] Says, "no force, GEO 4 or LV 1.6? Luxe X is sweet. Everything else is a snore fest though." So, okay. Why isn't the GEO 4, the LV 1.6 and only a few people asked about the Force.
I mean, the Force is a good gun. We'll just set that off to the side for another conversation. But the GEO 4 and the LV1.6, they're super hard to get a hold of. We've had them in and out. They go in and out all the time, but they're so brand new that we haven't had a chance to truly put one to the test, to play a whole year of tournaments with it, to kind of see what the gun can do.
The guns are absolutely fantastic. I know that for a fact, but personally, what we displayed on the table, the guns that we've known, they've been tried and true, of course, Planet Eclipse is an excellent platform. They're a great company with quality products. So they just haven't been, in my opinion, been around long enough to actually to say, it's the best in Mark, ‘keyword’, available. Those guns are so highly sought after right now that they are very hard to get a hold of, to be honest. So,
[Mark] We don't know if there's going to be tech problems. Not saying there will be or won't be just, you know, and are just because they're the newest, doesn't necessarily mean they're the best.
That's true.
[Mark] You know, that's why, I mean the EMEK, that's the best beginner gun, period, available.
It's a pretty good gun.
[Mark] You know and that's been out for a minute. So you guys disagree, you agree? Leave a comment. Let us know. You've got a question. Put it in the comments below. We'll maybe pick you randomly and see you next time.
Thanks for watching.