Planet Eclipse CS2 Paintball Gun Review: The Best of the Best

Paintball is more exciting now than ever before and has exploded in popularity over the last decade. I wish I had the Planet Eclipse CS2 in my day.

Though I never was good enough to get a sponsor or play competitively, even casual paintballers like me can enjoy events like the Battle of the Bulge.

I’ll never forget it – it was the first time I had played paintball with more than 300 people.

My gear was low-end run-of-the-mill stuff I had received as Christmas presents and I was jealous of the people with high-end guns.

If you want the best of the best for competition, fun, or you just want to make people jealous of you, then you can’t go wrong with the Planet Eclipse CS2.

What Is the Planet Eclipse CS2?

The Planet Eclipse CS2 is the cream of the crop when it comes to paintball markers. It’s the Rolls Royce of paintball.

It is modular and somewhat customizable. You can swap out the grips for different styles and colors.

Also, note that it doesn’t have any external air hose. The manufacturer incorporated the hose into the rear grip.

Product specifications

The Planet Eclipse CS2 is the cream of the crop. Planet Eclipse packed it with more technology and state of the art features than other paintball markers.

The manufacturer added a special type of Bluetooth, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), that was designed to conserve power.

The Planet Eclipse CS2 also has a light yet strong carbon fiber barrel tip. The barrel is 14.5 inches in length to provide pinpoint precision and accuracy.

Most paintball gun barrels are around 8 inches and can go as high as 26 inches. However, barrels measuring 26 inches are incredibly rare, and not all that practical.

This model’s 14.5-inch barrel will allow for longer range shots than the typical shorter barrels.

It additionally boasts a Shaft FL barrel system with 0.681 and 0.689-inch inserts and a rubber grip.

I found the aesthetics to be eye-catching too – it just looks cool. The color scheme includes black, gunmetal gray, and sharp blue.

It’s sleek and compact even with an attached hopper.

Furthermore, it has a hoseless air transfer system.

Customer review overview

Unfortunately, because the Planet Eclipse CS2 is a highly priced product, fewer people buy this paintball marker than other lower cost alternatives. And the fewer people that buy it, the fewer people will review it.

In fact, at the time of writing, this model only had two customer reviews online. 

Positives

The first positive is the barrel, which can be removed and swapped out with longer barrels. Even the stock barrel is longer than the average entry-level model, giving it a longer than average range when shooting long distances.

It is also light and compact, which is good for sprinting because less weight means you won’t run slower or fatigue as fast.

This model also has low-energy Bluetooth for reduced power consumption and increased longevity.

Negatives

The largest drawback to this product is its exorbitant cost, which makes it inaccessible for your average customer.

If you’re a teenager looking for a paintball marker, you probably don’t have enough disposable income for this model.

Because it’s so expensive, I doubt all but the most hardcore and competitive paintball enthusiasts could afford – or even find value – in this product.

Major Brand Comparison

The paintball marker industry is littered with competition from a lot of different brands.

However, when considering the Planet Eclipse CS2, there aren’t many competitors at the highest of the high-end range.

Instead, there’s more competition among entry and mid-level models. As such, when we compare suitable alternatives, we’re only going to look at two major brands: Tippman and Empire

Tippman Cronus Tactical

This Tippman Cronus Tactical model is significantly cheaper than the Planet Eclipse CS2 and the manufacturer intentionally designed it to look as much like a real tactical assault weapon as possible.

Unlike the Planet Eclipse CS2, this model has a silencer. The silencer doesn’t provide any function or make its shots quieter – though it does make the marker look more real.

In addition, it has a high-impact composite body and a six-position collapsible stock.

It also has a vertical grip in the front and a carry handle. The carry handle doubles as a fixed sight, too.

If you want a cool looking paintball gun that functions better than an entry-level product, but you don’t want to shell out big bucks, this is a strong alternative to the Planet Eclipse CS2.

However, note that the Tippman doesn’t have all the features of the Planet Eclipse CS2. One feature it lacks is Bluetooth.

Empire Paintball Gun

The next alternative to the Planet Eclipse CS2 is the Empire Paintball Mini. It has a design more like the Planet Eclipse CS2 than the Tippman Cronus Tactical.

Its color scheme is a combination of black and neon green and it costs more than the previous model though is still drastically cheaper than the Planet Eclipse CS2.

This model doesn’t have as many features as the CS2, though its lower price makes up for its lack of features.

It has rubber grips and a weatherized board and housing to protect internal components.

Additionally, it also as a regulator/ASA and microswitch trigger activation.

I was also pleased to see that it has a healthy review profile. So far, 69 customers have reviewed it on Amazon.

Admittedly, I do usually wish to see more than 100 reviews for more accurate sampling, though I think more than 30 reviews is enough to accurately gauge the quality of a product.

Note that this model also lacks Bluetooth, though it does have a removable barrel that you can exchange for others.

Tippman Cronus Basic

Next up is another Tippman model that is comparable to the first alternative. It is likewise drastically cheaper than the Planet Eclipse CS2 and is little more than a basic model of the Tippman Cronus Tactical model.

Like its big brother, this basic version has a high-impact composite body and an internal gas line as well.

The basic version has multiple Picatinny rails (or pics for short) that act as a mounting platform for accessories.

This model has a ribbed vertical grip too, though it does not have a barrel that looks like a silencer.

I was moderately happy with its reviews too. It only had 50 customer reviews, but the majority of the reviews were positive.

Altogether, this product earned an average rating of 4.1 out of 5.0 stars.

I think the manufacturers designed this model to be a dumbed down version of the first Tippman alternative. They probably use this model as a way to cater to people interested in entry-level products.

Tippman A-5 Sniper Paintball Gun

The next best alternative for the Planet Eclipse CS2 is the Tippman A-5 Sniper Paintball Gun with Red Dot. It is unusual and noticeably different from the other paintball markers because this model is a sniper rifle with an elongated barrel.

The stock barrel is 14 inches long, though Tippman also makes an after-market barrel that’s 16 inches long.

Manufacturers of this model did equip it with a red dot sight, although I don’t see a whole lot of practicality with the sight.

At first, I liked the idea of a sniper rifle paintball gun, but because paintballs move so much more slowly than real bullets and are more susceptible to wind blowing them off course, I don’t think it is practical.

Its range reaches as far as 250 feet, which is only 50 feet shy of the distance of a football field.

It also has a vertical front grip for better aim and owners can disassemble and reassemble this gun within 60 seconds.

It is a semi-automatic paintball marker too, so an owner’s trigger finger speed is the only limit on the number of shots per minute it can fire.

Empire Mini GS

The next alternative to the Planet Eclipse CS2 is the Empire Mini GS, which is more expensive than most other alternatives, though nowhere near the price of the CS2.

This model has a compact design and a blue, black, and green color scheme with a pressure controlled poppet engine for improved performance.

This model has a venting ASA regulator with an on and off lever as well.

You can also adjust into various firing modes, including PSP and MILL, and it doesn’t have any external air hoses.

Brand Names

Tippman and Empire are well-known brand names in the paintball world, though each manufacturer has something different to offer.

I tend to think of the Empire models as the most practical. Empire’s guns’ form factors look the closest to the Planet Eclipse CS2.

Tippman, on the other hand, has the “wow” factor and looks much cooler. Tippman, though still functional and practical, designed its guns to look real, which is a lot of fun.

Pulling the Trigger on Buying the Planet Eclipse CS2 Paintball Gun

If you’re on the fence about buying the Planet CS2, be aware that you can register your CS2 for a 12-month manufacturer warranty for free.

Planet Eclipse takes good care of its customers. When you buy a Planet Eclipse CS2, they provide access to technical support, technical training, and repair programs.

Though there are many suitable alternatives, the Planet Eclipse CS2 is pretty great.

Have you ever used the Planet Eclipse CS2? If so, let us know in the comments below!