Posted on April 16 2024
What's up guys it's Joel of Punisher Paintballl. Today we've got a very exciting product comparison two of Planet Eclipse's markers. We've got the Planet Eclipse Gtek 180R as well as the Planet Eclipse CS3!
See our YouTube video here!
We can't believe this but we just checked in our archive and we never actually did this full product comparison. So we are here to cover it because we've been getting asked quite a bit about these two specific markers.
PACKAGING:
So first and foremost guys we're gonna talk about the packaging with the CS3 and the 180R paintball gun. The new case of the CS3/Gtek 180R is very very nice case and is a great revision from Planet Eclipse compared to the old style with the CS2, Geo 4 and the Lv1.6.
Now with the 180R the CS3 and the Lv2 you're gonna get this really nice case. It doesn't seem to stain too much and it does not dent. I've got paint on mine before and it didn't stain it like horribly and the nice thing too is like this doesn't dent which is really nice. You've got all of your different barrel slots here for all of your PWR inserts.
As you can see here the 180R does not come with any extra inserts but it does come with a nice barrel cover, lube, and underneath that a full parts kit, full color manual, as well as the Allen keys.
Now we're gonna go over to the CS3.
Now we've got the CS3 case opening this bad boy up. As you can see, it's very similar to the 180R case. The only difference between the two cases, guys, is gonna be the fact that it's gonna come with an extra barrel insert, but obviously that's not actually part of the packaging, but the next thing on the agenda to talk about is barrel, so we're gonna go to that. We're just gonna make it a tie for the packaging.
Barrel:
When it comes to the barrel system, over here we've got the, it's like a shaft -style barrel, but it does come with the, it's bored out so that it takes the PWR inserts from the 180R, and then we've got the fully ported out S63 barrel system of the CS3. I'm gonna have Cody grab us a scale real quick so it can weigh the two barrel systems. So I think the biggest thing that we need to talk about when it comes to the barrel system is two things.
One is gonna be the porting slash sound signature of the barrel and then second thing is gonna be the weight. They both take the same style insert and everything else like that. I will say the S63 barrel system is definitely more stylish and the S63 barrel has got these nice little holes right here so that you can actually see what insert you're rocking.
Whereas with the shaft style S63 barrel with PWR insert system, the only way you're gonna be able to tell is to actually take your barrel off and pull your insert out to tell what insert you're rocking.
So from that perspective, that's nice.
We're gonna weigh them here real quick. The weight of the S63 barrel is 4 ounces whereas the Gtek 180R barrel is 4.7 ounces. So as kind of predicted, guys, the GTEK 180R barrel system is a little bit heavier. We will talk about that when Cody and I take these guns out and shoot that outside.
But I think that the Gtek 180R barrel seems to be a little bit quieter when contributing sound signature as compared to the S63 barrel system. So with that said, I'm gonna give the win to the S63. We like the style of it. It looks high-end, it's milled nice, the porting's nice, it's lighter and you get an extra insert with the CS3.
Obviously, you're spending a lot more money with the CS3 compared to the 180R, but you are getting two inserts as compared to the just one insert with the 180R, which is a 689 insert. With the CS3, you're getting a 0.685 and 0.689.
Feedneck:
All right guys, so next thing on the agenda that we're going to talk about is feed neck.
Both these offer a really nice low rise feed neck clamping here and very nice large thumb wheel so it's easy to adjust that. They're exactly the same so we're going to give it a wash there.
Eye System/Breech Sensor:
Once again, I'm going to give it a wash here because they're basically identical. You're going to pull off your front grip on either the CS3 or the 180R. There is a forward latch here that pulls forward and your eye cover is going to pop off.
Now the one thing that I really like about the 180R and the CS3 style eye covers is that there is a reflective system right here that reflects off the eye cover. And then basically it allows for better cleaning so you basically just pop that off and wipe it down and you're good to go.
When it comes to the cleaning as well as the one thing that I've noticed with the older school Planet Eclipse markers that don't have this reflective system is they had a cable eye system and I've seen it where the cable eye system actually migrates from where the hole is in the body of the gun and it migrates down a little bit and when it migrates down it actually causes an eye fault.
I've seen that with a couple markers, not many, but I have seen that. So I definitely think that this is like a superior system compared to anything else that Planet Eclipse offers. I know that the LV2 does still offer the cable eye system as compared to this system and I really, really like this system.
It's probably my favorite eye system, the only thing that I could think of that would actually come close is the Dye eye pipe system.
Battery changing:
Next up guys, battery changing between the two. The GTEK 180R takes a 9 volt battery. The Planet Eclipse CS3 takes a 2 AA batteries. Overall, battery changing, very simple on these markers, I'm just going to pull this forward.
On the CS3 it is actually held in with a latch and you've got your two double A's that come out right here, whereas with the Gtek 80R it is a nine volt battery that just kind of hangs in there and sometimes can kind of fall out of place if you let it.
So with that said guys, I'm going to give the CS3 the winner on that one because for two reasons. First, I like having AA batteries because they are cheaper and most paintball loaders take AA batteries so I only have to buy one type of battery.
Trigger:
Next up guys, we're gonna talk about the trigger between the Planet Eclipse CS3 and the Gtek 180R.
The 180R offers a blade style trigger which is a trigger shoe design and then all of your trigger adjustments (Pre-travel, post-travel, return strength, etc) will remain the same if you want to change your trigger shoe on it.
Infamous also offers a bunch of different style triggers including the raptor and 1R deuce style triggers if you don't like the blade trigger.
The CS3 trigger is kind of similar to that whereas the way to change the trigger is slightly different.
You actually have to take the screw out right here, pop the trigger out, and then there's a screw on the top of the trigger.
Yeah, go ahead, Cody. There is a screw right here that you have to actually take that out, and then the silver piece right here falls out. So it's definitely a little bit more complicated as compared to the, well I guess technically you gotta take both of them out, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
I personally like changing the trigger on the 180R a little bit more as compared to the CS3, but from like an ergonomic perspective between the two, I don't know. I mean, which one do you like, Cody? I like the CS3 just because if I want a new trigger or say I'm switching between my blade and my deuce, I don't have to take the whole thing out.
Like, I don't have to take the frame apart and take the... Well you don't, with this one, keep in mind you don't have to do that. Oh yeah, the screw. But which one from the factory do you like? From the factory to CS3.
More adjustments. Okay, I personally actually think that I'm gonna go with this one, and the reason I say that is because it's a little bit thinner. I don't really like wide triggers, and the 180R offers that like a little bit thinner of a trigger as compared to the CS3 trigger, which seems to be a little bit wider.
You know, I use the stock trigger on my CS3, but I'm not like crazy about it. It's not my favorite trigger, but that's mainly just because of the wet thing for me, but you know, Cody, you got a good point.
Like, I mean, they're both four -way adjustable, but this does have the the spring as well as the magnet, and then for the 180R, I don't believe it has a magnetic adjustment, so it is like one extra feature.
It's just a spring adjustment, but from the factory, if I have to choose one, I'm actually gonna choose the GTEK 180R, and then honorable mention here guys the infamous Deuce Raptor trigger. I'm a huge fan of that trigger I really really like that trigger so if I'm picking one or the other like if I can take both these guns and adjust the trigger and put an aftermarket trigger on any one of them I'm gonna choose this one and I'll put a infamous Raptor Deuce trigger on it.
Whereas like the Deuce triggers are offered from infamous or any of the other brands for the CS3 I'm just not crazy about like there's a Type R CS2/CS3 trigger it's a little bit thinner Deuce style trigger for this I have one that's anodized for my personal CS3 and I never use it like I use the stock one so.
I just think for a customization standpoint the CS3 probably wins you get more adjustment to the trigger. For sure. I think you get more options for the CS3 trigger. As far as like aftermarket options no I think actually this one wins because you've got the 1R style trigger you've got the Exalt Deuce Trigger you've which is like a deuce style trigger.
You've got the Raptor trigger This one comes with the haptic and well, you can get the haptic or you can get the just like regular style deuce nd you can get an S style scythe rigger for this from Planet Eclipse. So I guess I guess it's a wash.
Yeah, but if you're just gonna buy the gun like if we're just doing a straight comparison between the two I see what you're saying about adjustability for me I like the thinness of the trigger the thinness does help with the 180R. Yeah, and like I'm not crazy about that magnetic return so I actually on my gun I've backed my magnetic return screw out and just use the spring and that's what I think another reason why I like the 180R is because it's spring return instead of magnetic return feels better. So you like the CS3 and I like the 180 R.
Yeah, right on.
Board/Programming:
Okay next up guys board AND programming. So the GTEK 180R is going to just be one power button that does all the adjusting right here. It's gonna turn on your OLED screen in the back. Pretty nice style, nothing too crazy and pretty simple to program if you want to program it. You're just gonna pull the trigger and turn the gun on and it's gonna do what it needs to do. The LED will flash and the board will cycle through the different options by pulling the trigger. On the Planet Eclipse CS3, you're actually going to be offered three different buttons here. So you're gonna turn the marker on with the middle button. You can either double click or hold it but I like to double click.
The CS3 board also has an audible noise whereas the Planet Eclipse GTEK 180R does not. The CS3 is just like a really nice larger screen as well as higher resolution, so I don't think that there's any questioning when it comes to the two which one's better for me. The CS3 has the better board. I like the fact that the CS3 has all three buttons and you're not using the trigger to cycle through changing options such as rate of fire, firing mode, dwell and more. With the CS3, you use the top button or the bottom button to cycle through different options. Cody I'm with you.
Yeah, I mean that's like if you're spending the money, right? Like that's why you're spending more money. Yeah so board slash programming the CS3 wins.
ASA (Air supply adapter):
It's almost wash. It's the same POPS design. The CS3 is a little bit more like minimal which is gonna help you probably with some weight reduction when we weigh them.
But yeah I mean if you have to pick one I'll probably pick the CS3. I like the design of the CS3 a little bit more. Yeah. That'd be about it but I'd say probably wash just in general.
Ergonomics:
Ergonomics guys.
I'm gonna pick the CS3 between the two. That's the main reason I'm actually shooting the CS3 over the 180R because the 180R is such a great value option. But for me my biggest thing is the length on the CS3 foregrip is amazing.
The CS3 is like one of the only guns out there that offers like a full-size foregrip on it anymore. I personally like to hold my gun low and it just feels great. It's very thin width wise and just contours to the hand, excellent.
They also fixed the trigger frame on the CS3 to be a little bit thinner as compared to the CS2 and I really like the way that it feels. The trigger frame is also more at an angle as compared to the CS2 which was more vertical.
So I like that, that it's thinner and that it's angled a little bit more, it helps with my off the break shooting. So I really like the CS3 when it comes to that. The GTEK 180R, they did make the 180R trigger frame thinner on the back portion and it has got that more of a slant.
The front 180R foregrip is definitely a little bit shorter and a lot thicker compared to the CS2 or the CS3, it's definitely not as contoured.
Cody?
My favorite upgrade of the grips is actually the CS3, they don't bow anymore, the back grips.
How you'd grab a CS2 and it'd be smaller. Over time, yes they'd wear. Because we've seen 200,000 shots on a CS3. Correct, and the grips are still good. So what Cody's referring to you guys is for the CS2, when you use the grips a lot they would actually start to lose their texture and expand a little bit and you could actually feel that there was a gap in between the grips as compared to the metal frame whereas the CS3 grips are definitely improved.
So that is a nice feature on the CS3, ergonomically between the two, which one are you picking?
Definitely the CS3, the foregrip is really what does it for me. I just can't do the smaller foregrip, it's kind of strange.
And it's thicker, so if it was longer, but with as big as my hands are. If it was longer, I'd shoot the 180R. Yeah, for sure. Okay guys, so ergonomically we're both picking the CS3.
WEIGHT:
Next up guys, we're going to compare the weight of the two markers.
Both have batteries in it. Cody might have to zoom in a little bit. We'll start with the GTEK 180R, it does have the barrel, it does have a battery.
I think that the CS3 is gonna be lighter, personally. I think that a couple ounces.
Okay, 1 pound 14.2 ounces for the GTEK 180R. I mean that's actually pretty good. I think it's gonna be really close actually. That's not much heavier than like the shocker amp, which I know is like, you know, always considered one of the lightest markers at around 1 pound 12 ounces.
Okay, so now the CS3, we're tared again. 1 pound 14.8 ounces for the CS3 weight.
The CS3 guys is actually a little bit heavier, which is kind of surprising to me because of the fact that the ASAs, everything's milled down a little bit more with the CS3 as compared to the 180R. So that's really surprising to me that the CS3 is heavier, especially that the fact that the 180R has a nine volt which is heavier than two double A's. The CS3 ASA and barrel are also lighter but overall the CS3 is heavier. Interesting.
But overall, like you're not gonna really notice when you pick both those guns up.
So, needless to say the GTEK 180R is lighter than the CS3.
MAINTENANCE:
Next up, maintenance between the two markers. They're both Planet Eclipse markers. They're probably two of the most tried and true Planet Clips markers.
From a maintenance perspective, you know, the regulator is pretty much the same. The bolt system is very similar. I'm gonna give it out a wash. That's pretty much a wash. Yeah, I agree.
Build Quality/Reliability:
Next up, build quality slash reliability guys, once again.
I mean, they're both Planet Clips markers. We're comparing two of the same here. Reliability factor. I haven't seen any 180Rs go down. My personal CS3 has 95,000 shots on it and it just gave me an issue where it's leaking.
But tell the viewers how many times you've cleaned the gun.
Like six or seven times, guys. So to give you a perspective. So I rebuilt the bolt. It's still giving me an issue. I think it's actually like the solenoid spool.
I think it's dirty is what's going on. I was at a different field this weekend and it happened like almost immediately after I filled up that so there might be some moisture, whatever the case may be.
But overall guys like, you know, Cody, how many did you have on your CS3? 70,000? Yeah. Lubed it a few times. Maybe. So there you guys have it. Build quality, reliability, guys.
They're both great. I haven't seen issues with the GTek 180R which is really, really impressive.
Tech Support:
Next up tech support. Planet Elipse is one of the best in the game.
You know they're pretty much at every regional event. They're going to be at all your national events. They're going to service your marker. They're going to get it back to you. Both of these markers are going to come with a one-year warranty which is really nice.
I think you know obviously it's a wash because it's the same company.
Upgradeability:
So next up we're going to talk about upgradeability. Upgradeability between the two markers. The Gtek 180R has a mech frame and the CS3 also has a mech frame.
So there's really not much that you can do there. There's multiple triggers that you can get with both of them. They're both autococker threaded. So if you want to do that wash. Yeah they both come with the same two bolts.
The soft and hard tip bolt. So actually the Planet Eclipse just released something saying that they are only going to start shipping new CS3s moving forward with soft tip bolts. No hard tip bolts.
I mean does anybody change it?
No.
Nobody changes it.
You really aren't gonna have to do anything to these markers besides maybe put a different trigger on it to make it feel better. You know, you can get different color grips if you really want to but I don't once you get the guns you're now you're just talking about looks.
Yeah, you're just changing the look of it.
Shot Quality/Efficiency/Paint Handling:
I'm very very close between the two. You know, the 180 had a few points the CS3 had a few points.
Um, so now we are going to go outside and we're gonna talk about shot quality, paint handling, and efficiency. We'll see you guys outside.
All right guys, so now we're out back.
STOPPED HERE:
We've got the planet eclipse CS3 and the Gtek 180R are out here and we're shooting some GI 5 star. Once again, we're going to talk about shot quality, efficiency, paint handling and all that stuff. Then we're going to talk about which one we like more for the for the price that you're paying. So we're gonna start here with the CS3. As you guys can see here, 289 FPs, 291 FPS, 289 FPS two ninety one two eighty nine for the CS3. For the Gtek 180R, we have 295 to 289 to 286 and the firing mode on the 180R is on semi-automatic.
Man, I'll tell you what, it is really close. Cody, I'm curious to see what you guys say. Alright, now we're here with Cody. He's got both the 180R and the CS3. Alright. This one's a little, little better sound quality (quieter). Now, one thing to keep in mind, guys, is we do have a brand new 180R. We have a CS3 that has some shots on it. So I think that might play into factor a little bit on the overall shot quality.
Because we did do a different shooting video between the two and the 180R seem quieter when we are actually on the field. I actually think that the CS3 is shooting smoother on this video. It sounds like the CS3 is a little, like this one has like a deep to it?
Yeah. Whereas that one does not. Yeah, for sure. It's like a flatter, like flatter sounding shot. For sure. But overall, Cody, so from a shot quality efficiency perspective, you know, efficiency perspective, it's going to be very similar between these two markers.
Paint handling, we did a brittle paint test on both these markers. They both did great. So, you know, at this point, at this point, let's talk about value between these two markers.
Value/Overall Pick:
I really think that for the value, the GTEK 180R is probably one of the best value paintball markers in the market. I think you're getting a lot of similarities between the two. And overall, I think that I'd prefer the 180R for the difference in price point.
I personally shoot the CS3 because one, I can afford to with the business and everything else like that. I like the ergonomics of the CS3 compared to the 180R a lot more. And that's ultimately what swayed my decision to shoot the CS3.
Cody, you shoot the CS3. Exactly. The ergonomics. Because the shot's basically the same thing. It's like almost sound signature that's different. It just comes down to the ergonomics because the build's the same almost.
The bolt's almost the same. It really comes down to ergs and the sound of it.
For sure.
Yeah.
So you're picking the CS3 overall?
Yeah.
I'm actually, I'm going to pick the 180R because for $650 less.
Yeah.
I mean, that's a huge, huge price change. If you're just an average customer.
Oh, the 180R. The 180R. Yeah. I mean, if I'm not out here playing two times a week and I'm grinding every weekend, the 180R is definitely the way to go.
Gotcha. All right. Well, there you guys have it between the GTEC 180R and the CS3, the 180R overall wins. Thank you guys so much for watching. We'll see you guys next time.
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