Tippmann 98 Custom Flatline Barrel

The Tippmann Flatline barrel is one of the most popular upgrades that owners purchase for their Tippmann A-5, 98 Custom, or Model 98. The Flatline barrel is curved slightly, and the inside has a course texture, in order to put a backspin on the paintball. This backspin causes the paintball to fly flat instead of in an arc, which can be very helpful both for aiming and playing in the woods where trees often make it impossible to arc your shot.

Performance: Most owners of the Flatline barrel find it to be a valuable and powerful addition to their Tippmann. However, there are several issues that Flatline barrel owners should be aware of:

Distance: The barrel adds about 100 feet to your range while maintaining accuracy. Some owners report that paintballs will not always break if you hit someone from that far away, but with other barrels the paintball won't break either – because you can't even reach targets that far. At least with the Flatline, you have the chance of tagging someone from extended distances and can use the shoots as suppressive fire while someone on your team makes a move further upfield.

The “Slow” or “Floating” Effect: Don't be fooled by people who say Flatlines shoot balls slowly. Because it comes straight at you instead of in an arc, it is very difficult for enemy players to judge how quickly a ball from the Flatline is approaching - it seems to just float in front of them and then, wam!, tenths of seconds later they're hit.

Paint: First, the barrel is very sensitive to the quality of paintball that you shoot and performs best with expensive paint. To get great backspin, choose a paint with a small bore size and a dry, textured shell. If the paintball is misshapen then it is more prone to breaking, and thin shelled paintballs may also break due to the friction that the Flatline puts on balls in order to make them spin backwards.

Velocity: The Flatline barrel is also sensitive to the velocity at which paintballs are being fired out of your Tippmann. Most owners have found that if the velocity is set at around 280 to 285 feet per second, then the performance is best. If the velocity is too high, then not only does accuracy suffer, but paintballs also begin to chop in the barrel.