I can't believe no one's reviewed the Palmer Stabilizer. At least once a week, someone asks about it - I think we now have 7 or 8 threads dedicated solely to "Is this thingy really all that great?"

So, here's an official review. The answer to the above question: Yes, it really is great.

Here's how it works. When gas comes out of the tank and into your marker, it does so at varying pressures (expressed in pounds to the square inch, or psi.) For HPA users, most tanks have a preset "primary" regulator which sets tank output pressure at 800psi (there are a few variations, but 800psi is far and away the industry standard.) Some HPA tanks have an adjustable regulator on tank, but these are pretty rare in the woodsball world, as they're fairly pricey. More on HPA, and how it's affected by the Palmer Stabilizer, later.

CO2, unlike HPA, is not regulated when it exits the tank. As CO2 is condensed in liquid form inside your tank and only expands into a gas when it leaves, the output pressure is greatly affected by temperature, tank location/orientation, and rate of fire. This can result in massive pressure swings between shots - consequently, CO2 users will see the biggest improvement when the Palmer Stabilizer is used.

The Stabilizer works on a very simple principle: regardless of increase in input pressure, the output pressure will not exceed the setting you've chosen. So, even if your CO2 is spiking up to 1000psi, if you've got your Stabilizer set to 600psi, then that's the pressure at which your valve will be operating.

So, you may be asking, "If I'm not using CO2, why should I have a Stabilizer? That's a hundred bucks well spent elsewhere, right?"

An excellent question, Grasshopper. The answer is very simple - economy. Your average A-5 will operate reliably at a minimum threshold of 530psi (this will vary slightly from marker to marker, and will definitely vary with upgrades.) This means, essentially, that you're using too much pressure to shoot. Will it harm your A-5? Not really - you might blow an o-ring. Will it increase your trips to the fill shack? Yep. The math is simple. The Palmer will pay for itself very quickly. With the Stabilizer installed, you will also be able to switch between HPA and CO2 without damaging your marker. Handy, especially since most of us don't have the money for two or more HPA tanks.

You may also find (and results on this will definitely vary) that your A-5 is quieter, or shoots straighter when operating at a lower pressure. Don't quote me on that, though. It's worth noting, too, that the Stabilizer will not help you shoot farther. Only time, patience, or a Flatline will accomplish that

So, any problems with the Stabilizer? Only a few. The biggest one first - the infamous "break-in" period. Most Stabilizer users report a period of 2000-2500 shots fired before the Stabilizer solidly regulated the outgoing gas. This is not a big deal - most of you shoot this much paint in an afternoon. Alternatively, this can be accomplished by dry-firing (also known, more colorfully, as "popcorn-farting." Thanks, Dave.)

One other problem, and I'm not sure how universal it is - you may need to squeeze an o-ring or two into the tombstone to prevent the male Stabilizer from unscrewing, especially if you're a lefty.

Anyway, all said, terrific product. Everyone should own one, and it should definitely be one of your first three upgrades to your A-5.

PS To those who are not familiar, Palmer makes a full line of Stabilizers and other regulators for just about any application you can think of. And probably a few you can't.    

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I have the Palmer-Pursuit Regulator and think it is the single most important upgrade I've gotten for my A5. 10 out of 10.

Very good review! It was very nicely written.

Quick breakdown of my ratings...

Size: Perfect for me... About the same as any other regulator

Finish: Good strong durable finish, looks good IMHO but others might disagree.

Install: If you've ever worked with fittings and teflon before, it's a breeze. If you haven't, it may be a little time consuming, but not difficult. Installing a guage is the hardest part but the stabilizer itself just screws into the Tombstone.

Performance: Wonderful, no problems.

Value: A little pricey but totally worth it. Quality only hurts once.

Good review on the stabilizer, although I'm not so sure it increases shots per fill. Running a lower pressure just means your using a larger volume of air at a lower pressure per shot. The efficiency of the gun comes from the air ways, the valve design, your barrel type and length (big one there), and how well the whole thing seals up when you fire a shot and the air is passing through all the hoops to get to the ball! If you really want more shots per fill get a non-ported barrel, like a brass palmer barrel. Your FPS will spike way up due to the more efficient barrel and if you dont have a way to reduce pressure going into your gun you can cut your main spring so it doesnt hold the valve open as long each time you fire. In effect using less air per shot and increasing your shot count. The stabilizer is just a way to adjust the pressure and keep it very consistant.

For me I bought a stabilizer for one reason, I wanted a tighter shot grouping and one way to get that is to have the same pressure hit the ball every time by using a nice reg. This reg is a 70:1 ratio so for every 70psi change in the source wether it's CO2 or HPA there's a 1 psi change on the output side. VERY good ratio, you'll be shooting just as well on CO2 as you would on HPA in the spring, summer, and fall! Winter could be tough but most dont play in the winter anyway unless there's an indoor field somewhere.

Bottom line is, if you want more accuracy there's many ways to do it but in my years of experience I'd rate them in this order of importance:

1. GOOD PAINT!
2. Well performing gun
3. Barrel
4. Regulator (sometimes this is required depending on the gun choice)
5. Bolt design

Hi guys I play paintball in SA and have ordered and just received my palmers stabilizer. I know the setting up of one has been posted elsewhere on A5OG but what is best operating pressure to set it at.

A5 Polished internals
Whisper barrel
Stabilizer
20oz

The Palmers Rocks

Operating pressure varies from marker to marker. Mine works best around 600 psi.

Good post Tybalt, and I agree that Palmer's make not only fantastic markers, but Stabs as well!!! They get a 10/10 from me as well.

Wonderful product, arguably the best all-around regulator in paintball. No other regulator can handle CO2 as effectively and consistently as the Stabilizer can. Their customer service is amazing, and the product works great.

I now see a FPS change of around 6, and I really haven't looked down at my guage for a while. Looks great, works great.

My only gripe was that I couldn't get it to screw in all the way, it would bump into the grip. I got around this problem by 1) sticking some o-rings in there so the non-tight fit would become tight and not leak and 2) filing off a millimeter or two off the brass fitting that was bumping into the grip. Took me all of 5 minutes.

Otherwise a great product.