Over the last 8 years, Proto has been one of the leaders in entry-level tournament paintball guns. There have been the Proto PMR, Proto SLG, Proto Rail and now most recently the Proto Rize and Maxxed Rize. This review is going to primarily focus on the Maxxed version of the Rize. However, if you are looking at buying either the Rize or the Rize Maxxed this review should suit you, as I’ll point out the differences between the two.
Check out the Dye Rize CZR it replaced the Rize Maxxed
- Wont unravel and easy to wash
- Disk seal retracts during insertion to prevent paint going up your barrel
- Built to last, this beast of swab is forged out of tough and flexible plastic
- 100% interchangeable and 100% replaceable
- Packed with features normally only found on high-end markers, the DYE Rize CZR delivers premium features without the pro price tag. The CZR gives you the ability to compete with any marker on the field through a proven, reliable platform that delivers.
- Featured loaded with the precision True Core two-piece 14" barrel, proven Hyper3 regulator, DYE Ultralite on/off Airport, and DYE Lever Lock adjustable clamping feed neck the CZR is loaded with features that make playing paintball easier and more fun by adding more firepower to your game.
- Innovations like the internal Anti-Chop eyes, screw together bolt design, DYE's patented self-cleaning 4th generation Eye Pipe, and Color Coded O-Rings keep maintenance to a minimum and easy when required. Built to last and withstand even the toughest of games, the CZR performs in all conditions with little maintenance required.
- New nylon reinforced feed neck, elongated body for improved ergonomics, and RAMP solenoid boast improvements made to the CZR over its predecessor, the Rize & Rize MaXXed.
- MORE BANG, LESS BUCK! DYE's RIZE CZR is packed with premium features without the pro-price. Includes: Parts kit, DYE Slick Lube 2.0, OG DYE Barrel Sock, tool kit, and 9-volt battery included. All DYE products are backed with a 1-year warranty against manufacturer defect.
The Proto Rize Maxxed, is the replacement to the Proto Rail Maxxed a marker that was on the market for nearly five years. The Rail Maxxed was a great paintball gun and in more ways than not is very similar to the Rize Maxxed. The Rize line of paintball guns are replacing the Rails for two reasons: refresh the line and get people excited and more importantly was to address the solenoid issues that the Rail’s had. The problems were not huge, but they were problems and it was time for a refresh and time to address the issues.
From Proto’s perspective, the goal of the Rize paintball guns is to get a tournament level paintball gun into the hands of new players. The Rize line is also great for players that can’t afford a high-end paintball gun or don’t feel the need to spend $1,600 on the latest and greatest supergun.
Proto has two versions of the Rize, the base Rize at $249.95 and the Rize Maxxed that sells for $349.95. The Maxxed Rize is an upgraded version of the Rize, both guns come with the same bolt, solenoid, body, trigger, and board. Since the guns are very similar in design they will shoot essentially the same. The Rize Maxxed, however, comes with a few upgrades: Air Port On/Off, 14in two-piece barrel and a lever feedneck. With the Maxxed you are paying for a little bit of performance in the upgraded barrel, the lever feedneck and on/off make disassembly a bit easier.
Picking up the Rize Maxxed the first thing that is obvious is the Ultralite trigger frame. The UL frame has an hourglass shape, tapering toward the center. The curvature of the frame is designed to contour to your hand, giving a better grip and overall control over the marker. The UL frame is the same frame that can be found on the Dye M2, Proto’s parent companies high-end gun.
My biggest complaint about the ergonomics of the Rize guns is the front regulator/foregrip. It is very small and the 90° macro-line fitting makes it a bit hard to get a good grip on the regulator. Proto has added a rubber cover over the regulator to try and add some grip, but it seems to have the opposite effect. The rubber piece moves around and rotates a lot. After about 3 games, I ended up taking it off and it felt much better.
The barrel that comes with the Maxxed is very good, it’s one of the best stock barrels you can get on any gun, high-end or mid-range. The Proto barrels are made the same way that Dye makes their high-end barrel, the Dye Ultralite. The Dye Ultralite barrels are regarded as one of the best barrels ever made. The Proto two-piece barrel is stellar: it is super quiet, very accurate, and super high quality.
The lever feedneck and Air Port on/off are also great. Having the lever feedneck makes getting your hopper on and off much easier, much easier and simpler than the screw that comes on the base Rize. The Air Port on/off is probably the most useful of all the upgraded on the Maxxed, it makes removing your air tank much quicker and easier.
So how does it shoot? Pretty good, not amazing but, pretty good. The Rize and Rize Maxxed operate at a super low 140 PSI, making them quiet and have very little kick. They do feel a bit clunky when the shoot, there is a bit of a mechanically feel to them. It’s hard to explain but it is not the smoothest shooting gun, then again it is not supposed to be. If you want the best shooting gun from the Dye/Proto lineup, you are going to have to fork over some cash and buy the M2.
The lower operating pressure allows the Maxxed to shoot some of the highest-end paintballs. I’m not sure I would trust it with GI 5 Star or Evil, but it should be able to handle GI 4 Star or Empire Premium just fine.
Air efficiency with the Maxxed is decent, expect around 1200 shots from a 68/4500 compressed air tank or 600 shot from a 48/3000 aluminum tank.
Overall the Maxxed is a great paintball gun, there is a lot of performance packed into a great price. If the Maxxed is a little out of your budget look straight to the base Rize it is without question the best sub $300 paintball gun on the market.