Products Mentioned in This Review:

Picture	Name	Rating	Product Link
	DYE Precision Rotor R2 Paintball Hopper	5/5	Shop Now at Amazon.com
	DYE Precision Rotor R2 Quick Feed Lid	5/5	Shop Now at Amazon.com

Today I’ll be providing you guys with a review of what is considered to be currently one of the best paintball hoppers on the market. The DYE Precision Rotor R2, the successor of the Dye Precision Rotor. With an extremely high price, there has been a fair share of praise from users of this loader, while others are criticizing it for being too expensive and having useless features. I’ll give you guys the quick summary first and then break down any features I feel that are worth noting further down this post. This way people looking for a quick overview can see that right away, while people looking for in-depth specifications will find them further down the page.

Quick Summary:

Rating – 5/5

Pros:

• Industry First: Reload Alert System
• Ability to expand hopper capacity from 200 balls to 260.
• Quick disconnect top to swap out for a speed feed.
• 15% Larger lid opening than it’s predecessor.
• 30+ BPS Feed.
• Anti-jam rubber feed arm.
• Fixed problem with original not handling soft/oily paintballs.
• Low Battery Indicator.
• Takes only 3 Double-A batteries.
• No tools required to disassemble.
• Wide variety of colorways.
• Easy cleaning.
• Extremely sturdy.
• Lightweight – 1.1 lbs.

Check out the R2’s competitor, the Virtue Spire 200

Cons:

• High price point.
• Speed feeder not included with purchase.
• Not for the casual paintball player.
• Stripping the loader at the field can be difficult.
• Noticeably stiff on the first disassembly.

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Notable Features & Specifications:

• Adjustable Capacity Loader

One of the DYE R2 hopper’s most notable features is its ability to expand the holding capacity from 200 paintballs to 260 paintballs. What makes this feature even more notable is the fact that this extra capacity is already included in the loader upon initial purchase, at no additional cost does DYE give you the ability to expand your paintball loader.

How does it work?

DYE did extremely well at making their new hopper’s features easily accessible. To change the R2’s capacity from 200 to 260 paintball is actually a quite simple task that involves no tools whatsoever, for this I applaud them. As you can see in the picture above, on the back of the hopper is a small slider that moves either left or right. To increase the loader’s capacity all you need to do is simply move the slider to the left and hold it there, then simply pull up on the upper half of the hopper. There you go, in a matter of mere seconds you’ve increased the hopper’s paintball capacity to 260 paintballs. To bring it back down to 200 all you need to do is move and hold the slider to the right, then push down on the roof of the hopper and it will compact.

• Reload Alert System

DYE also put a fair amount of innovation into this hopper as they have included what is an industry first, a reload alert system. There is an alarm inside the loader that beeps twice once you’ve shot 96 paintballs, and three times once you’ve shot 144. Once you’ve reloaded, all you need to do is press the reset alarm button (Pictured below) and the hopper will restart its paintball counter. You can also choose not to reset the counter, instead just having it count the paintballs once and not doing it again until you’ve reset it. DYE also allows its users of the R2 to disable the sound altogether.

Since I can’t exactly type what the alert sounds like, here’s a video from ANSGear that showcases the reload alert system sound quite clearly:

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• Feeding and Anti-Jam Mechanisms

The R2’s intuitive design allows for an extremely fast ball feed. Many users and reviewers of this loader have stated that the feed can go up to 30+ BPS (Balls per second), which is definitely enough BPS to satisfy most players. The features DYE has included in the Precision Rotor R2 are as follows:

Anti-Jam Rubber Feed Arm

The rubber feed arm prevents any loose balls in the hopper from dropping into the neck where it can jam between the rotor and the carousel. One of the many reasons that many rave that this excellent hopper never jams.

Spring Loaded Floor Tray

The spring loaded floor tray is actually a pretty neat feature in my opinion. It allows for maximum capacity within the hopper while also providing reliable ball feeding as the floor will slowly push upwards as less and less paintballs are inside the loader, allowing for a small “ramp” if you will down to the feed arm, ensuring that all your paint gets fed.

Anti-Jam “Shark Fin”

In the event that the R2 does get jammed DYE has included a convenient little “shark fin” on the bottom of the hopper to clear out the carousel and unjam any paint stuck. To unjam using the shark fin, all you need to do is pull the fin back towards you as if it were a trigger (they even include a little finger indent to make it easier). Although it is extremely rare for paint to jam in the R2 (I’ve never heard or seen it happen) it is good of DYE to include this little feature to ensure a smooth experience for players.

Optional Speed Feed Lid

Although the speed feed lid is not included in the purchase of the DYE R2 Loader it can replace the default clip lid on the hopper. Speed feed lids are extremely beneficial for any type of paintball player and the DYE speed feed lid is no different. Allowing for quick, easy, and mobile paint refills speed feeds are a great piece to add to your paintball hopper whether you’re a speedball, woodball, or MilSim player.

Criticisms of the R2

As this is a review page I will highlight some of the R2’s shortcomings as I want to provide you guys with the most accurate and truthful information, and because of this I will take a look at both sides of this review. Although with the R2 this section maybe short as it is one of the best hoppers on the market currently, regardless let’s move on.

Price Point – While the DYE Precision Rotor R2 comes jam-packed with features and aids. Does that justify the price? DYE has been known to cater towards the higher end of the paintball market and the R2’s price only further reinforces that. This hopper is without a doubt for much more serious players, but do they even want it? Many have said to any potential buyers of the R2 to instead save the money and buy a Virtue Spire 200. Or purchase it’s newest model, the Virtue Spire 3 for the same price (Reviews for both coming soon!).

Is the reload alert system useful? – Since the R2 is designed for more experienced players, how useful is the reload alert system really? Most experienced players will be able to gauge when they’re running out of paint regardless of an alert system, rendering this innovative feature relatively useless. However, I feel DYE had taken this into previous consideration and allowed for the alerts to be silenced. A guide on how to disable the alert system can be found in the owner’s manual or here.

Conclusion & Final Thoughts

I believe the DYE R2 to be one of the best paintball hoppers on the market currently. Although it does have a steep price point the benefits outweigh the costs and make this loader worth it in my opinion. With a tool less disassembly, ability to expand paint capacity, and a 30+ BPS Feed, along with the other countless features I think the steep price point to be justified and the R2 well worth its money.

If you are interested in purchasing the DYE Precision Rotor R2, you can find it here at Amazon.com

If you’re looking to pick up the DYE Quick Feed lid, you can also find it here at Amazon.com

What’s your opinion on the DYE R2? Let me know in the comments, if you provide a good enough argument I might include it in the article!