Smart Parts Factory 2003

Bright and early on a cold February morning, Brad and Trevor board the Badlands Dash-8 and fly to Latrobe, PA, home of Smart Parts and the revolutionary new 2003 Shocker. Airports all along the eastern seaboard are closed as the worst winter storm this year paralyzes many cities along the Atlantic US coast. We learn first hand that some people in Western Pennsylvania can't drive in the snow as we pass untold stranded cars along the highway and watch as one vehicle careens into the median wall,

bounces off and keep driving! There is maybe 2 inches of snow on the ground. Apparently, this is a lot of snow for this part of Penn. state.

Latrobe is a small town on the outskirts of Pittsburg, and the Smart Parts factory is tucked away off the main road through town in a huge facility that houses the machines and people that make Smart Parts an industry leader.

On arriving at the factory we sign in at reception and then proceed to meet Adam and Bill Gardner, owners of Smart Parts, and Graham "grumpy pants" Easton, our favorite Smart Parts sales rep. in the whole wide world. Of course, anyone who's been to the factory knows you'll also meet the Smart Dogs - this one belongs to Karen.

The factory is huge and divided into different production, storage and assembly areas. The machines are everywhere and we honestly did not expect to see the numbers of machines that we did. The C+C machines are top of the line and one machine can spit out a freak back fully machined and ready for the polisher. For paintball enthusiasts like ourselves, a trip to the factory is like a trip to the candy store - row upon row of Smart Parts products, some not yet released and not seen by the public. We were honored to have a first look at the exciting new products Smart Parts will be releasing this year. Some of the new custom impulses that will hit the market this year are so sweet and will floor you when you see them.

(Left) Adam with a raw Ton Ton Impulse body.

Right (Impulses ready to ship).

Needless to say the highlight of the trip was our first look at the 2003 Shocker and the brand new Nerve. One word - WOW!

The new Shocker looks small in the catalog. Think smaller! This marker is so light and tight weighing in at a mere 1 pound 10 ounces! That's less than your empty 20oz tank! Are you getting the picture? We were shocked (no pun intended). The smiles didn't leave our faces for at least an hour. Few moving parts, easy disassembly, high rate of fire, closed bolt accuracy - this marker is going to shake things up in the spring. We could tell you more, but then we'd have to kill you!

The new Nerve is well... WOW! That is all we can say. Ever have that feeling when you know something juicy but can't tell anyone? Yeah, thought you'd understand.

We were priveleged enough to spend time with the man who invented the new 2003 Shocker - Smart Parts engineer Daniel Jones. Expect exciting new products in the future with this talented designer on the Smart Parts team.

Smart Parts Engineering manager Ed Telford is the man who designed the Nasty Impulse, and also has a hand in pretty much all the other impulse designs.

We'd like to thank Adam, Billy, Graham and everyone else at the factory for the wonderful time we had.