2008 Planet Eclipse Ego Review

Planet Eclipse has always been known for innovation in the field of marker construction. In 2005, they firmly planted their foot in the door with the release of the Ego. Since then they’ve grown to become one of the largest high performance marker manufacturers in the world, and have successfully hoisted the Ego onto one of the few pedestals available for future markers to be benchmarked against. But how does the sixth installment of the Ego fare when compared to previous versions of itself?

As with my review of Dye’s DM8, I’m sad to say that the 2008 Ego has failed at impressing me with its performance and innovation when compared with previous models. It seems that Planet Eclipse has simply missed the mark this year, and has placed its focus in other questionable locations.

In late 2006 Planet Eclipse unveiled, to much public and critical acclaim, the new Ego7. Derived from the operating principles of the previous two Egos, the Ego7 demonstrated a new direction for the brand, redefining the standards that players should accept for performance, reliability, durability, weight and ergonomics. Add to that list peerless Customer Service and uber-simple user-maintenance, and the complete package becomes a formidable prospect.

This year the Ego8 will push these boundaries even further, by building on the already impressive platform of the Ego7, drawing on some of the experience gained from the highly-developed SL74, and moulding all the entities into a new marker with devastating effect.

So began the press release for the 2008 Ego. Keep in mind the emphasized part in bold, as I’ll continually reference back to it when explaining the finer details of the 2008 Ego. Let’s start out by going through the changes that Planet Eclipse has made from the 2007 Ego, to the 2008. Their promotional video highlighting these features is rather stylish:

 

The first thing that is directly noticeable is the new look. The Ego sports a brand new coat of makeup in the form of more aggressive milling and 3D design, a change in the frame construction, and some internal upgrades which allowed for the “sleeker” machining. While not excessively different to the point of being un-recognizable, the redesign here gives a slightly smaller profile and allows for a smoother “attachment” to the marker.

The exact specifications compared (with battery) are:

2008 Ego

• Length: 531mm
• Height:  216mm
• Width: 26mm
•  Weight: 1.99lbs / 906g

2007 Ego

• Length: 531mm
• Height: 216mm
• Width: 26mm
• Weight: 2.07lbs / 941g

So, in actuality the only significant change in construction is a weight loss of 35g / 1.23oz. Also, one can note, the trigger design has come directly from the SL74. Moving on to the internals, the 2008 Ego sports from the factory the famed “Zick Kit” rammer system and a “Cure” bolt. The combination of the two allows for both lower operating pressure, higher efficiency, and better handling of fragile paint. Both of these have been heavily used as upgrades to the 2007 model, where they were excluded, and as factory inclusions for the SL74.

Internally, one of the changes that Planet Eclipse has managed to perform is the inclusion of a new style QEV. Instead of a single or dual QEV as seen in previous models, the 2008 sports a  “Q-Block” that is essentially two QEVs fused into one. Planet Eclipse has designed the Q-Block to exceed previous flow rates by excluding any hoses or restrictive fittings on the exhaust side. The Q-Block is also designed to be tool free, regarding maintenance, and can be stripped for cleaning in a relatively short period of time.

Continuing, the 2008 Ego changes things up with the inclusion of a new LPR and HPR. The HPR changes from previous stacked shim models to the ultra accurate spring design from the SL74. The spring design has been shown to not only increase output pressure consistency, but it is a joy to perform maintenance on when compared to shim stack regulators. The LPR too features internal upgrades in the form of the dual gold spring operation, and piston material upgrades. These features were first implemented on the SL74, and have been carried over after their success in performance.

Some other minor features on the 2008 Ego that are worth mentioning are first, the electronics. The frame has been fitted with an upgraded board that brings back both the optical and microswitch options. Many players have different opinions as to which is better, so Planet Eclipse has catered to both fields with the option of using either. The board itself has all the programming options players would expect out of a next generation marker, along with various pre-programmed league locks. The inclusion of an auxiliary port, and a easy read LCD also make their return from the SL74.

The barrel that comes standard is an Eclipse 14″ Shaft II two piece with a .693″ bore. The Shaft II is the cream of the crop when it comes to Eclipse barrels, and comes after extensive testing on the SL74.

Testing of the 2008 Ego was in a brisk thirty degree January Xball practice. Out of the box setup was simple, with everything attaching together smoothly. After a quick check over and an air fill, I set the pressure for 280fps and noticed an out of the box average shot consistency of +/- 3. While not perfect, it certainly is acceptable considering that the regulators were far from broke in. Lining up at fifty feet with Marbalizer paint, I was impressed when the Shaft II barrel put shot for shot within a six inch diameter.

After setting the electronics to the new PSP rate of fire, I headed out for play. Needless to say, as expected, the Ego performed like a charm. I put two cases through the marker that day and never once did the Ego disappoint me with a broken or chopped ball. First shot drop off never occurred as well despite it being rather chilly. Planet Eclipse markers were designed to be used with a low viscosity lubricant that works better in colder weather compared to grease based spool valve markers.

Efficiency was exactly what I had expected from a new Ego. On a 68ci/4500psi LP Crossfire tank, I garnered 1320 shots on a full 4500psi fill. This was out of the box, brand new performance. I’m positive that after things get broke in fully I should see an increase close to the 1500+ that Planet Eclipse advertises.

Now to get on to that gloomy intro, and the meaning for all of my SL74 references throughout the review. Simply put, the 2008 Ego is just a SL74. There…I’ve said it. The move from the 2006 Ego to the 2007 Ego was a drastic change due to not only size adjustments and milling, but a complete electronic overhaul, internal design change around, and all around improvement in every way possible. With the SL74, Planet Eclipse worked their magic on the 2007 Ego to create a marker that oozed high performance in every square inch. Where the 2007 Ego was the Corvette, the SL74 was the McLaren F1…and sported the price tag of one as well. Two thousand dollars was an extremely high price to pay for a paintball marker, and the market at the time of release was for professional teams with high paying sponsorships that wanted the best of the best.

However with the pressure of releasing a new marker for the 2008 season, it is my opinion that Planet Eclipse simply ran out of ideas and time for a new marker and technology after the releases of the 2007 and the SL74. It seems that to save face, they repackaged the SL74 into a slightly heavier body, milled their new logo, and sent it out without a barrel kit. For those of you reading this going “you’ve lost it Bill,” I ask you to kindly browse all of the “borrowed” technology that the 2008 uses from the SL74 along with comparison pictures.

As with the DM8, the 2008 Ego isn’t a bad marker by any means. It is the pinnacle of Planet Eclipse’s current capabilities, and offers the performance that one would expect. However for a player looking to upgrade to a new Ego, I honestly see no real point in picking the 2008 over a 2007 model (with cure bolt and zick kit), or a SL74. Both of the latter can be currently acquired much cheaper than the 2008 version, and will perform exactly the same with less of a dent in your wallet.

Planet Eclipse 2008 Ego Features:

• Ultra-Lightweight Monoform Body
• Deftek Offset Feed Tube
• Flush-Fitting Eye Covers
• Integrated Rammer Housing
• Integrated FRM
• Cure Bolt
• Zick Rammer and Rammer Cap
• Stepped Valve Chamber and Valve Guide
• High-Flow Valve
• Q-Block – New 1-Piece Dual QEV block
• Light-weight Aluminum Regulator Pistons
• Superior Coil Spring Regulator Design
• Dual Trigger Sensing Board
• Duel Instrument Grade Ball-Raced Trigger
• Magnetic Trigger Return
• Skinny-Fit Co-Moulded Rubber E-Star Grips
• T-Slot Rail Mounting System
• Major Tournament Preset Modes
• Capped and Uncapped Semi and Ramping Modes
• 9 De-bounce Modes
• Direct-Acting Solenoid
• Black-on-White Transflective LCD Display
• Swivel In-Line Regulator
• Lever Operated Clamping Feed
• Shaft II 2-Piece 14” 0.693” Barrel
• On/Off/Purge System
• Lower Cyclic Mass
• Less Kick
• Quieter Shot
• Improved Efficiency
• Low Profile Break-Beam Eyes
• New Clam-Shell packaging
• Tool Tube Hex Key Set

The Planet Eclipse 2008 Ego is available today from Planet Eclipse’s online store for $1,250.00.

Pros

• Ultra lightweight design
• Small profile
• Software support for all major leagues
• Excellent efficiency
• LCD Control Display
• Large list of high quality Planet Eclipse parts come standard (Cure bolt, Zick-Kit, Shaft II Barrel, etc.)

Cons

• No real big difference in performance over an upped 2007 Ego or SL74

Final Rating
3.5 out of 5