Planet Eclipse CS2 Pro vs Dye M3+ Paintball Gun

Here is a battle of two high-end paintball guns, the Dye M3+ and the Planet Eclipse CS2 Pro.  Both of these expensive paintball guns have many great features that make them worth considering for your next big purchase.  The Dye M3+ has come along as an evolution of the Dye Matrix line of paintball guns.  It is the first Dye Paintball gun that has been offered with an LPR (low pressure regulator).  On the other hand, the CS2 Pro has been optimized from the original Planet Eclipse Cs2.  The CS2 Pro has many great features including extreme reliability of the gamma core drivetrain as well as a full FL barrel system with 3 different barrel backs.  So, which is Punisher's favorite paintball gun of these 2 beasts?  Let's find out...

Purchase the CS2 Pro

Purchase the Dye M3+ 

Barrel: 

The Dye M3+ and CS2 Pro both offer the premium barrel systems.  The 14 inch Dye UL-S barrel of the Dye M3+ has been recently revised from the notorious Dye UL barrel.  The UL-S features a longer control bore and can be purchased in three different bore sizes including 0.680, 0.684, and 0.688.  The UL-S barrel system also comes with the UL-S tip which has been shaved down to feature a much slimmer profile and lightweight design that the Dye UL barrel.  Included with the Dye M3+ is the 0.684 and 0.688 barrel backs.  On the other hand, the CS2 Pro features the Shaft FL barrel which is 14.5 inches in total length.  When purchasing the CS2 Pro, you will get 3 of the 4 bore sizes available (includes 0.681, 0.685, and 0.689 FL backs).  Overall, these are both great barrel systems as they both have longer control bores increasing accuracy and efficiency.  The CS2 Pro wins the battle of the barrels win due to including 3 barrel backs instead of the two included with the M3+.

Ergonomics:

Both the M3+ and the CS2 Pro feature amazing ergonomics and have a premium feel of a high end paintball marker.  The soft rubber of the M3+ couple with the UL hourglass design of the trigger frame creates an extremely comfortable marker.  The Dye M3+ weight is 2 pounds including the Dye UL-S Barrel.  The fore grip of the M3+ is vertical design and can be pulled off by applying downward force with your hand.  This is similar in design to the CS2 Pro.  However, the regulator sleeve of the Dye M3+ slides over the Dye Hyper6S Pro regulator.  The fore grip of the CS2 Pro gives access to the eye covers as well as the 2 AA batteries that power the CS2.  Grip kits are sold aftermarket for both high end markers which gives a way to personalize your marker setup.  

The triggers of the 2 markers are slightly different.  The M3+ includes the Edge 1 deuce trigger that was designed by Billy Wing.  This deuce trigger has 4 possible adjustments including trigger travel (pre-travel and post-travel), magnet strength, and trigger reach.  These 4 adjustments can be made using a 5/64" or 6/32" allen wrench and you do not have to remove the trigger frame grips to do so.  Overall the deuce trigger is fully aluminum and is definitely less wide than the blade and scythe style triggers of the PE CS2 Pro.  The CS2 Pro is nice in that it includes 2 triggers stock with your purchase.  When you receive the marker, the blade trigger is installed but a S (scythe) style trigger is also included for easy installation if desired.  The trigger of the CS2 Pro uses both a spring and/or magnet for trigger return.  This allows for the player to fully customize their trigger pull as some people enjoy a magnetic return while others prefer a spring return trigger.  Other adjustable features of the trigger include the rake adjustment screw (allowing for trigger shoe angle to be adjusted), pre-travel, and post-travel using 1/16 & 5/64 Allen keys.  

Overall, we feel that the ergonomics of the M3+ is slightly better.  The M3+ feels very solid in the hands with its full aluminum construction.  The CS2 Pro trigger width is too wide for our liking whereas the Billy Wing Edge1 trigger feels great.  The 2 triggers included with the CS2 Pro is definitely a better selling point that needs to be considered. 

Electronics:

Both the CS2 Pro and M3+ have fully customizable boards with an OLED display to adjust all your settings of each marker.  The CS2 Pro board sits at the back of the trigger frame and does not have a very high resolution screen.  We have been told by Planet Eclipse that the screen used for the CS2 Pro is the way it is to make it easier to see in direct sunlight during play.  This board has many different settings and may be the most customizable marker board of anything offered on the market.  

Adjustable settings of the CS2 Pro include: 

Preset firing modes - Semi uncapped, Semi capped at 10 BPS, Semi capped at 15 BPS, NXL 2016, PSP 2015, PSP FAST, Retro, User 1, User 2, and Training mode

ROF (rate of fire) cap

BS On ROF - ROF when eyes are on

BS Off ROF - ROF when breech sensor is turned off

Ramp Setup - Ramp Type, Ramp rate, Semi shots before ramp, ramp kick in BPS, Ramp sustain BPS, Restart time for ramp 

Timing Menu - Dwell, FDS Comp (FSDO extra dwell milliseconds), FSD delay parameters

Filter Menu - Debounce, empty parameter, Full parameter, Pull TM, Release TM

Hardware Menu - Bluetooth parameter, Sound parameter, Click tone parameter, Backlight time, Red/Green/Blue level of color, Contrast, Double click parameter, Auto off parameter, Reset board

Training mode - bolt half cycles to practice trigger technique when off the field

Shot Counter display

The Dye M3+ has a lot of the same features that the CS2 Pro OLED board features with some slight differences.  The most noticeable difference is the Dye M3+ board display is on the left of the trigger.  It is full color and has a much higher resolution than the CS2 Pro display.  However, it does not show in direct sunlight as well as the CS2 board.  The M3+ does have a LED light above the board to help show the current firing status of the board for high sunlight situations.  The M3+ board can also be charged wirelessly by using the Dye charging pad that is included with purchase.  The trade off on this is that the CS2 Pro does not have wireless charging (it uses 2 AA batteries) but the CS2 Pro does have bluetooth capabilities which come into play when using a Virtue Spire 4 as these two products can pair for seemless feeding!

Overall, the Dye M3+ board is definitely fancier but can be a little more challenging to tune as it uses a 5 way joystick that makes programming difficult.  The CS2 Pro is definitely less fancy but more user friendly for those players that simply want to tune their marker quickly.  

Bolt:

Next consideration is the bolt systems.  The Dye M3+ is the FL-21 bolt system which is the first time that the FL-21 has been introduced in a Dye marker.  This bolt system is not reliant upon a LPR (low pressure regulator) and is the first premiere Dye marker without an LPR.  The FL-21 engine is very reliable, has great paint handling, and is very efficient.  On an efficiency test, we got between 1400-1500 shots on a 77/4500 fill.  The upgrades on the bolt system from the Dye M3S allow for some of these improvements including the update solenoid manifold housing and flex face bolt.

The Planet Eclipse CS2 Pro features the extremely popular Gamma Pro core.  The GP core is slightly upgraded from the normal gamma core in that it has a slightly larger volume chamber which lowers the operating pressure from around 135 PSI to roughly 105-110 PSI.  This makes the Gamma Pro core of the CS2 slightly more effiicient than the other Planet Eclipse guns that have the gamma core such as the Gtek 170R, Emek, and more.  

Overall, both of these bolts are great.  However, we have to give the competitive edge to the CS2 Pro due to the gamma pro core.  The gamma pro core has been shown to be extremely reliable.  This reliability makes the CS2 Pro slightly more appealing than the FL-21 of the Dye M3+ due to the other factors such as paint handling and efficiency being comparable.  

Price & Summary:

The Planet Eclipse CS2 Pro comes in at a price point of $1650 while the Dye M3+ is $1600 for base colors.  This makes the M3+ slightly more appealing for that reason alone.  However, the Dye M3+ only comes with 2 UL-S backs while the CS2 Pro is accomodated by 3 FL inserts making it a more complete barrel kit.  For this reason, both of these markers are extremely comparable in price.  

So which one would we take if we were you?

The Planet Eclipse CS2 Pro.  Not by a lot, but by a slim margin.  The CS2 Pro offers a slight edge over the M3+ in reliability while the M3+ has some cool features including the wireless charging and in depth OLED board.  The CS2 Pro is more useful as a gun.  Although it may not be the most flashy, it shoots great, paint handles well, is lightweight, feels great in the hands, and offers that Planet Eclipse edge on reliability.  The CS2 Pro may be the most reliable high end paintball gun out there in general.  The CS2 mech frame was also a consideration in deciding a victor as Dye currently does not offer a M3+ mech frame.  This is a deal breaker for those players that want to play both and definitely make the CS2 Pro more appealing in that right.