Replacing Apex barrel

[moddersunited]

Like title, not sure what would be my best route, please vote, or leave feedback, suggest another barrel, give experiences, and/or anything in between,

Thanks

[OCMI_VIPER]

The Lapco APEX Ready is the best of both worlds... the performance & accuracy of a great high quality barrel Lapco is known for with the extended range of the apex... Nothing else comes close IMO.

[HeDsHoTz]

I voted the Bigshot. I haven't used one personally, but i've heard nothing but good things about them.

[therealmikeg]

I voted for the Palmer's. Its ultimately the setup I chose to go with after doing my own research.

The only real disadvantage of the Palmer's Brass is the added weight.

[KRA SHARPSHOOTER]

These three barrels each have their strengths and weaknesses. Here are different categories that they fall into:

Interior Finish
Bigshot - Mirror like finish allows the ball to have less friction applied to the ball.
C-Series - Many people claim that Carbon Fiber is a rough material and doesn't work well with paintballs. This is true to a degree, and that's why Special Ops put an E-Glass finish in their C-Series barrels. This makes them almost as smooth as a Bigshot.
Brass - Brass has proved to have the least resistance to paintballs. These barrels have the least friction of any barrel available.

Weight
Bigshot - The Bigshot is about average interms of barrel weight; weighing more than the C-Series, but less than the Brass.
C-Series - Because it is made out of Carbon Fiber, the C-Series is a very lightweight barrel. I have found that a lightweight barrel helps balance out my setup. You already have a huge hopper towards the front of your gun, why add more stress to your forearm.
Brass - Brass is a very dense material, and therefore rather heavy. If you carry your tank on gun, this woul be the way to go if your looking for balance.

Sound
Bigshot - Is relatively loud because it has porting on only the last 2" of the barrel.
C-Series - The C-Series are very quiet and are actually one of few barrels that can help quiet down your A-5. This is due to the C-Series barrels having porting over half of the way down the barrel. If you have a spring kit & RVA than you may not like the C-Series air efficiency, but if you just use the FVA or FVA with Spring Kit, you shouldn't have a problem.
Brass - The unported Brass is very loud becuase it doesn't have any porting. However the double ported Brass proved to be the quietest barrel in Mahn's Barrel Test. (the C-Series was not tested in that test)

Exterior Finish
Bigshot - Very clean, nothing special.
C-Series - Kevlar Rapped barrel. I have found that the Kevlar gets dirty, but the dirt washes out very easily.
Brass - Very clean, nothing special.

EDIT: I forgot to add my reasons for my choice. I chose a barrel that was light and quiet. The C-Series is also the most accurate barrel in Pandas Barrel Test(link in sig). Any of these barrels is a great investment, choose the one that fits your needs and you'll be very happy.

[Guardian]

It’s not on the list, but I’m using a Freak with Apex and having very good results. SP now makes an AA front that is cut and grooved to fit an Apex tip. Using the stainless steel inserts, it’s proven to be an accurate setup and I can move it to any of my makers just by getting the appropriate Freak back, which makes it cost effective too.

[NE REDWOLF]

Does an Apex fit on the C-Series barrel. I didn't think it could because of the barrel tips.

[therealmikeg]

Originally Posted by NE REDWOLF

Does an Apex fit on the C-Series barrel. I didn't think it could because of the barrel tips.

There's a barrel tip for the Apex. Someone posted a link to the page in one of the other Apex threads. I'll see if I can dig it up.


***EDIT***
SPECIAL OPS - C-SERIES APEX ADAPTER

[NE REDWOLF]

It would be cool if it screwed on. That would make installation so easy.

[HeDsHoTz]

Originally Posted by NE REDWOLF

It would be cool if it screwed on. That would make installation so easy.

It does. There's a tip on the end of the C series barrels with a short amount of threading on it. The APEX adapter screws onto that.