Manual Paintball Hoppers

Manual Paintball Hoppers

Manual paintball hoppers are a great, low-cost way to get into playing paintball and are often paired with mechanical paintball guns. While these hoppers generally don’t come with automatic loading features like electronic paintball hoppers, they still do a great job of storing and loading the paintballs into your paintball gun.

paintball loader

Tippmann 200 Round Hopper

The Tippmann 200 Round Hopper is a mainstay that almost every player used in their early days of paintball. As the name suggests, this hopper holds 200 rounds of paintballs and is a gravity-fed hopper. Whether you’re renting a marker from a field or just bought your first Tippmann marker, the Tippmann 200 is a workhorse that can get the job done while staying on budget.

Tippmann Cyclone Feed System

The Tippmann Cyclone Feed System is an upgrade kit designed for specific paintball markers, including the Alpha Black, Alpha Black Elite, Project Salvo, and the Tippmann 98 Line. This system can feed paint at speeds up to 15 balls per second (bps) and operates without the need for batteries. It achieves synchronization with the marker through a feeder sprocket linked to the air system. The kit also includes a low-profile hopper with a 200-round capacity. For convenience, it attaches to the marker using the same mechanism as the standard quick-release elbow.

Proto Primo Loader

The Proto Primo Loader is a battery-free paintball loader that enhances the feeding speed of paintballs. It uses a unique spacer above the feed neck to push paintballs towards both the front and back, effectively doubling the feeding rate. The loader is activated by minimal agitation from the paintball gun, aiding in sorting and funneling paintballs for consistent feeding. A key feature of this loader is its first-of-its-kind positive feed shelf, designed to reduce pressure on the paintballs, thereby increasing the feed rate and minimizing jams. The standard model comes with a clear spring lid for quick reloading and has a large capacity shell, holding approximately 200 paintballs.

Players Want to Know

Frequently asked questions by paintballers…

Are paintball hoppers universal?

Not all paintball hoppers will fit all paintball guns. However, hoppers will fit most paintball guns. Thanks to most hoppers having adjustable feed necks, nearly all modern electronic hoppers will fit nearly all modern paintball markers. However, with older markers or low-cost markers, the likelihood that a hopper won’t fit a paintball gun increases. We recommend checking reviews online before purchasing your hopper (or paintball gun) to make sure that they will fit.

How do electric hoppers work?

Electric hoppers have a battery pack that drives a feed drive mechanism within the hopper. This feed drive is usually synced to the paintball gun through Bluetooth so that the hopper begins to feed balls into the marker when the trigger is pulled. Electric hoppers agitate the balls so that they flow faster and more consistently and therefore your marker won’t be limited by gravity or balls getting stuck in the hopper.

What are the different types of paintball loaders?

Most paintball loaders will fall into the category of manual or electronic loaders. Manual loaders rely on gravity to feed the balls into the neck and then into the breach. However, electronic loaders use a battery-powered loading mechanism to speed up the loading process.

How many paintballs does a hopper hold?

It depends on the hopper, but as a general rule of thumb, a hopper will hold between 180 - 220 paintballs when completely full.