Home > Resources > Tips and Tricks, Info, etc. > Tippmann Triumph Review

Tippmann Triumph Review

The Tippmann Triumph

“The Triumph line of markers is targeted to new or entry-level paintball players looking for a quality marker at an affordable price. All Triumph markers feature an integrated drop forward design, center feed, double trigger, high impact composite body and soft grip over-mold handles. All Triumph markers use the same barrel thread as the 98 Custom.” -Tippmann.

I bought the triumph marker to give it a try. Retailing from $79 to $139 I thought it would be a fun gun to have for a spare or loaner to give a friend. I have read a few reviews on it and a lot of them says that it is a fat gun and it is just like the custom 98 but made of plastic. I have used the Tippmann custom 98 for 2 years and loved the gun so I thought this would be a alright gun to have especially at this price.

When I bought this marker it came in a plastic package with a squeegee, 200 ball gravity fed hopper, allen keys and some extra o rings and ball indents. The hopper fit on great with a adjustable tightener on the elbow. The barrel is (I believe) the same that is used for the costume 98 stock barrels, which are not great but ok for stock.

I hooked up the CO2 and filled the hopper with fresh paint, adjusting the fps to 280 with a chronograph I found that when I would put the marker up between of my eyes like I would do with any other marker to aim, this triumph was way too large to get a view around. It was fat, really fat.
Not only did it look fat but it was too fat to look around. I found the best thing I could do was hold it at a angle tipped to the side and look down the side of the marker aligning the barrel strait ahead, even this was not great. The sides have a constant curve and the same with the top like as if they are designing a aerodynamic car or something.

With its vertical feed you could not even look over the marker like how you could aim with the custom 98 with its sights that was that was on the top of the marker, a offset hopper elbow would have been a big improvement.

The marker was handling the gas pretty good and it was not really that loud, The tank was in a comfortable position under the handle grip, but the trigger had a really cheap feeling to it. It was made of plastic and had a wobbly feeling. It would bend if pulled and held back with force, so a better trigger would have made this marker feel more worth wild. Tippmann should have used a better design for the plastic trigger or a metal trigger should have been installed.

The grip was big- fat- and round. Taking apart the handle you will find the area that the board and battery would go if you where to buy or upgrade to the eXT which would provide you with 3 burst, 15 bps, and full auto.

After shooting about 500 balls and not one of them broke I felt it was a good gun for handling the paint. I know when I had a ZXS500 back in the 90s that broke a ball every 10th shot. This maker was not a gas hog ether, thanks to the expansion chamber that is in front of the trigger which also doubles as your second for grip. Its good that they have a expansion chamber but why have two handles? They have a removable foregrip in the front then another handle that the gas goes through further back in front of the trigger. Why not just have the expansion chamber as a permanent foregrip, the removable grip up front is a waist of space and plastic.

So after shooting it a bit I thought "ok lets clean it."
I took off the gas and hopper unscrewed the barrel and laid out a towel placed the marker down and proceeded to remove all the screws I could see. I decided to stop after I was on my 20th screw and striped the screw head out because of problems removing it.

Conclusion:
The marker should have some metal parts such as a metal trigger, metal tank adapter (I have actually heard of stories where the plastic tank adapter had cracked or split open and would leak air).
The hopper elbow should be off set to help with aiming just like how the Custom 98 was, and the marker should have reduced its size by getting rid of the wasted space, instead of this plastic shell bowing out to make a car like curve, it should have sucked in or even better made flat!
We don't have three hands so there is no need for 2 foregrips, the expansion chamber could be moved up front and be made into a nicer looking foregrip.
They tried to take the Tippmann costume 98 and make a cheaper starter marker. The costume 98 had I think had 8 to 10 screws, why did they think it would be better to double that number and have a mixture of both allen key screws and Phillip screws?

I am happy with with performance with no chopping paint and not being a air hog, but this marker to me is a disposable one now. I have a screw in it I cant remove, and its body is just too unmodifiable, any work going into it should not cost much or your waisting your money. I guess if you stick with this marker till your get a better one buy yourself a new barrel and be easy on it because of that plastic.

*Update:
It has been announced that the Triumph Series has been discontinued by the manufacture and is no longer available. I think that they should not just discontinue this marker but rather go back to the drawing board. If Tippmann had produced this Triumph XT as a replica of the Custom 98 but made of plastic (kind of the the JT  T-Storm) and not redesign the whole outside look of it, it would have sold big time. It would have kicked T-Storm's ass as long as it had the Tippmann quality!