So here we are with 2008 just around the corner and designers everywhere racking their brains to find new ways to improve and evolve markers with enough novel features to satisfy our jaded palates. The Ego7 took the Ego platform further than ever before with a host of new features, the SL-74 added the Zick kit and gave us the lightest Ego yet, and looking at the two guns left me wondering where on earth Jack Wood and the backroom boys at Planet were going to go from here.
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The answer can be found in the Ego8, and I've got to tell you from the off there's no mind-blowing Roswell saucer technology, but instead a combination of the best points from both previous guns combined with a few new wrinkles to give us the best of all possible worlds. At least until an SL version comes out, anyway.
The Ego8 impresses before you even see the gun with a very fashionable white plastic ‘pod' style box which looks like it should have a headphone socket, with twin catches that keep everything secure but need two hands to open. Inside the gun, Shaft II barrel, a nifty allen key caddy, barrel sock, oil, o-rings and detents and the manual are firmly held in cut dense foam inserts that will hold everything in place even when subjected to baggage handlers and people playing chariot races with your kitbag. The gun itself at first sight looks very like the Ego7, with a closer look showing some changes in the milling pattern, a shorter ‘torpedo' under the LPR and rubbery inserts instead of metal jewels. The new milling is very well executed, as you would expect from Eclipse and for this sort of outlay, and looking carefully shows how the very neat cuts give a distinctive look that still clings closely to the internals to remove as much metal as possible. The test marker I received was finished in a deep rich purple dust anno with a dust clear CCU kit that caused instant horny in all who saw it, and again the coverage, finish and colour matching between parts is first rate. The new grips are slim, classy and comfy with the usual rubber-over-plastic build and the rear console has a harder rubber cover over the buttons that looks pretty durable. Whilst not a huge change, the Ego8 definitely has a look all its own and can match any of the other high-ends as far as pimpage is concerned.
Once the drool had been mopped up it was time to take a more detailed look, with the first change I noticed being another subtle shift in the grip position. More changes to the lower tube have enabled Planet to raise the trigger hand position even closer to the bore line and whilst the Ego8 is only a few grams lighter, this change seemed to make more difference than you'd think with even experienced Ego types noticing a perceived weight difference when handed a full setup. Starting at the loud end the Shaft II barrel needs no introduction with its generous porting, reverse threaded joint and .693 bore to shoot most paint from the box. The LPR is largely unchanged bar the shorter torpedo and an alloy piston, and the feedneck is the same very good clamping version seen before, with the familiar Deftek offset stub. The eye covers are the same shape as the '07 so hang on to those CCU kits and the bolt is the Cure model with its top chamfer, double front o-rings and indexing mark for easy replacement in a hurry, neatly cut to match the top tube.
The valve has been given a few tweaks with a stepped design that's supposed to change the Ego's distinctive boom, not quieter as such but a lower frequency sound that isn't as jarring. We'll see about that, but the changes are also designed to increase efficiency and we all like more shots. The lower tube has had yet another redesign; with the Ego7 Planet went to a single QEV before returning to a pair with the SL-74. The new gun has twin QEVs for a faster cycle time but instead of the familiar little cubes they are both built into a block of alloy that bolts to the underside of the tube and takes up far less vertical space, allowing the frame to be set higher. The block is a neat piece of design that allows both QEVs to be stripped and serviced, their diaphragms replaced very easily, and is sealed to the body via little o-rings instead of a fiddly and fragile gasket. The rammer has been upgraded to the same Zick kit as seen in the SL, with a cushioned stroke that is designed to reduce kick and cuddle those fragile paintballs, a nice touch as this setup was an upgrade for the Ego7.
The new frame is little changed, save for a larger magnet in the caddy that holds the trigger pivot and a more aggressively curved trigger, as well as a long tapered snatch grip that didn't really do it for me but will be loved by some I'm sure. A change to the front screw position makes for noticeably more room between front reg and trigger guard, great news for unfashionable sorts like me who like to grip the front reg, and the body and frame now key into each other for a stronger join. The internal electronic trickery is all there, with the choice of optical or micro trigger switch and a snazzy new black on white LCD display, as well as new graphics that can display all the stages of the trigger pull to make avoiding bounce even more straightforward. There's also a port on the board for RF chips and similar, with talk of an audible beeper for the timer etc. Let's hope it plays ‘Simply the Best' when you hit 30bps in semi, eh? The Eclipse OOPS and T-section rail are unchanged and feed the new reg with another alloy piston upgrade and no more staking shims as the Belville stack has been replaced with a coil spring for an easier life all round.
So there you have it; the best of all the previous models all put together and given a mild facelift, disappointing perhaps for those hoping for a fusion power plant and a flux capacitor to shoot fools out last week, but it's about as much Ego as you can squeeze into one little gun. The specs are there and it feels right, so time to shoot some fellas.
At the field the Ego8 made for a very light setup once fitted with a Blitzed VLocity and 68ci 4500psi preset, with the only weight problem coming from the half a dozen players gripping it at any one time. As noted above when kitted out players were determined to notice a weight difference in the hand from last year's gun even though Planet's own specs show all of 40g has been lost. I had to admit the Ego8 did feel very handy and balanced so kudos to Planet for keeping the changes coming. Setup was easy as the Ego8 was shooting around 280 from the box and once tweaked a little was holding at around +/- 3fps at around 290fps. I did notice a slight leak from the reg vent hole on first gassing up but it stopped after a few shots and wasn't heard again all day. The new valve certainly did the business as far as efficiency was concerned with shot counts in the 1700+ range from a cold 68ci 4500psi fill. As for the noise, well, the Ego 8 does sound different from the others with a slightly more bassy report but if you want a silent sniper rifle you'll have to look elsewhere.
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We were playing 15bps capped semi and the stock trigger setup with micro switch enabled had no problems hitting 15, with no noticeable shootdown or chops, although we did have a few barrel breaks with less than great paint so stick to the good stuff. The light weight coupled with great balance and feel made the Ego8 a pleasure to play with, with fast snapshooting and accurate laning made to look easy. After a couple of good cases including messing around on the range at ROFs in the low 20s the bolt and breech were still paint free and everything was running smoothly. The Zick kit seems to do its job with barely any kick but enough movement to give feedback, and all in all the Ego8 is a match for any of Planet's earlier guns and indeed any of the others at this price point. If you are looking for performance, looks and a little bit of flash look no further than the Ego8. Plus this one was purple, beat that.
It is: super-light, comfy, sexy as hell, efficient.
It isn't: cheap, revolutionary, quiet.
MSRP: $1250
www.planeteclipse.com
