When I started playing paintball in 1999 I was always hoping that I would be able to afford the good gear to help me achieve the best play possible. Now that I am a full fledged adult I have had the opportunity to purchase many things that were my dreams prior. The Virtue Spire III is an evolution in what I have purchased before and it will help you also be the best player!
The Virtue Spire III Electronic Hopper is one of the top of the line loaders available. It has the option for a speed feed and the N-Charge Battery Pack.
If you are looking to fire as fast as possible then there is no need to look further. Take the plunge and gear up for the next game!
The Virtue Spire III has the ability through the electronic feeding mechanism to launch up to 18 paintballs per second! The disassembly for cleaning and maintenance is so fast and easy it is extremely convenient to play.
- Hinged Shell Technology | Higher 230 Round Capacity | Faster Jam Proof Feeding
- Dual LED Reload Indicator with Alarm | Brittle Paint Performance | Improved Toolless Design
- Toolless Tray Disassembly | 35% Smaller Spire Drive | Shock-mounted G-force Sensor | CPU-Optimized Motor Logic
- Removable, Flexible Spire Drive Fingers | Magnetically Attached Spire Drive | Integrated Backshell Windows
- Smart Spring Ramp Included | Audible Reload Alarm | Smartphone Programming Interface for iPhone iOS & Android
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FEATURES
- Bundle Items Included: Virtue Spire III 280 Loader – Black, Virtue CrownSF II Speedfeed – Black, and N-Charge Battery Pack
- Hinged Shell Technology, Massive 280 Round Capacity, and Faster Jam Proof Feeding
- Dual LED Reload Indicator with Alarm, Brittle Paint Performance Improvements, Improved Tool-less Design
- Toolless Tray Disassembly, Shrunk Spire Drive by 35%, Shock-mounted G-force Sensor and CPU-Optimized Motor Logic
- Removable, Flexible Spire Drive Fingers to limit ball breaking, Magnetically Attached Spire Drive and Integrated Backshell Windows
DRAWBACKS
- If you use the Spire III right out of the box, you will be very pleased with its performance and looks – it just works. However if download the mobile phone app so you can sync them together (update software, change settings), I found it very challenging to get the Spire 3 to link up (white LED pattern). (YouTube Video Linked Below)
Comparison Vs HK Army TFX2
| Model | Hinged Opening? | Easy Tray Removal? | Ramp | Rechargeable Batteries? | Anti Jam System? | Waterproof Internals? | Low Paint Indicator? |
| Spire III | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| HK Army TFX2 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Virtue Spire III – Upgraded In Every Way
The Virtue Spire III Electronic Paintball Loader is an all-encompassing upgrade to the game-winning design of the original Spire IR and 260. The Spire III is built on technology that made the original Spire the best high-end loader in paintball, while simultaneously improving its performance, reliability, and ease-of-use.
The Spire III is built on their proven original Spire design. The one that has won more professional tournaments since its inception than any other loader in the sport of paintball.
The Spire III continues with design philosophy that’s Built to Win in delivering a loader that’s Smaller, Lighter, Holds More Paint, Easier, Faster, and Still Never Jams. It looks very similar to the Spire 200 and Spire 260. When the Spire 200 was released its different angular design made it stand out against the competition.
Shifting from that design aesthetic would have been a sales mistake, it is nice to see that they kept with the overall theme of sharp, contrasting lines.
As Virtue states in the video there is much that is helpful and approached in a thoughtful way in this Spire III loader. As he showed the speed feed took all of 5 seconds to swap out from the normal lid.
Shell
The largest change in the Spire III is in the shell design. Historically, the Spire shell was built out of three parts: the back shell, top shell, and the bottom shell. Even though constructed from three pieces, you rarely ever had to take apart the top and bottom shells. Due to this it was essentially two pieces, the back shell and the top/bottom shell.
To remove the internal tray you would need to remove the back shell and slide the tray out of the back. This was great to a point but over time little plastic tabs could break off and the back shell would not stay attached to the rest of the loader.
Virtue’s solution to the back shell problems was to get remove it entirely. This is a great concept as the back shell was the biggest problem on the Spire 200 and 260.
The Spire III now has more of a traditional shell style, splitting the loader into two separate hinged halves. The Spire III since it uses a hinge, is more like a clam shell loader. It can open on one side only and stays fixed on the other side.
Feed System And Tray
The Spire product has historically had one of the best feed systems of all the high-end paintball loaders, and the Spire III is significantly better. The Spire series is known for feeding any paint under any condition, this same thing can be said about the Spire III.
The Spire III uses the same drive cone design as the original Spire, but with a few improvements.
One of the complaints some players had was that it didn’t feed fast enough. Virtue’s improvements to the feed system have taken care of this.
The new drive cone uses longer fingers which allows it to grab paintballs and feed them smoother and at a better rate. Virtue has also upgraded the motor and software to allow for higher feed rates.
Virtue has taken time in design to make it very simple and easy to disassemble the tray. The board, raceway, and tray can all be taken apart fairly quickly without tools.
Reload Indicator
Underneath the smart spring ramp is a micro-switch which is used to tell when the ramp is in the fully extended position meaning that there is no paint left to press it down.
As the smart spring ramp senses that there are no more paintballs left in the loader, the internal speaker will beep once and two additional LEDs on the side of the loader will continue to glow red until the spring ramp detects paintballs again.
If sound and noises aren’t your thing, there is the ability with the new force-feed button on the bottom of the loader which can be pushed in for about two seconds which will disable the sound until it is held again..
Quick Change Speed Feed
The Spire III lid can be replaced without much effort and time to their speedfeed. This change over literally takes just a few seconds.
The newly updated Spire CrownSF II features tool-less quick change removable fingers. Each finger is mounted on a spring, for the ultimate combination of feeding performance, paint retention, and sag-proof reliability.
Wireless Programming
The Spire III features wireless programming directly from an Apple or Android device. All you need to do is download the app from the app store and then you will be able to update the Spire III with the latest firmware or just always have your manual with you.
Future versions of the software will allow you to make adjustments securely over your smartphone or tablet.
YouTube Assistance Videos
Phone Firmware Assistance
Conclusion
If you are looking to perform your best then sometimes you need to get the best gear available. I still would recommend this product for anyone looking for that competitive edge.
Let me know below if you have one and how it performs for you while playing. It helps everyone learn, did I miss something you would like to be covered?
