Smart Parts has long been a friend of scenario paintball, thanks in no small part to the fact that many of the company's most important personnel enjoyed extremely successful careers playing paintball in the woods. It was no surprise, then, when Smart Parts made their feelings for woodsball official with the launch of their first dedicated scenario paintball gun, the SP-8, several years ago. However, while the SP-8 was a solid paintball gun, it was large and somewhat heavy when fully kitted-out and ready for play. At the 2007 PSP World Cup professional paintball tournament, Smart Parts showed off several new paintball guns, among them their newest woodsball offering, a small, light, efficient, effective and attractive gun called the SP-1, which in prototype form had helped the Smart Corps win an SPPL woodsball competition world title.

The most immediately noticeable and attractive feature of the SP-1 is actually not a part of the gun at all, but rather its price, as the SP-1 sells for under $150. This price, however, should not make an interested scenario player wary of its quality or performance, as inexpensive does not, in this case, mean "cheap." Rather, the SP-1 is a fully electronic, low-pressure paintball gun loaded with features and capabilities that should, if anything, make a player think twice about spending twice as much or more on any other paintball gun to play in the woods.

The SP-1 features a simple electronic operation that does away with hammers, sears and other mechanical devices standard on so many other guns. Rather, the gun relies on an electronic board and microwsitch for firing and a nine-volt battery for electric power. Thanks to an innovative vertical regulator system built into its tactical foregrip, the SP-1 is capable of operating well on CO2 or compressed air. A clamping vertical feed port accepts any hopper, and while the SP-1 does not possess anti-chop eyes, it genuinely doesn't seem to need them, as its rate of fire is capped at just over 10 paintballs per second and due this and to its low pressure operation, chopped paintballs will be rare when even the least expensive motorized loaders are used. Some players are even finding success with SP-1's when used with.a basic, five-dollar plastic hopper.

A short, simple, tactical-looking stock barrel in standard Smart Parts threads is included with the SP-1 and delivers solid results over all ranges, though at the longest distances shot groups will open up somewhat. Thanks to the muzzle break and porting, even this short barrel isn't too loud, though almost every player who purchases one will choose to quickly upgrade their SP-1 with some form of aftermarket barrel, at which time accuracy will drastically improve. Thanks to numerous dovetail rails, sights, scopes, cameras and other devices can easily be mounted to the top, front and either side of the SP-1 and these, along with the basic black polymer finish of the entire gun, give it the appearance of a tactical submachine gun.

Even with a large compressed air bottle or full 20 ounce CO2 tank and a hopper full of paintballs, the SP-1 is still fairly light and does not cause its owner fatigue, even after a long day of play in challenging terrain. The vertical fore-grip/regulator and .45 style grip frame are extremely comfortable and allow for excellent control, and shouldering is very natural thanks to the included bottom-line that sets up almost any size bottle as a shoulder stock. Consistency is solid and air efficiency is good, making the SP-1 an all-around excellent choice for any tactical or scenario player, whether they're on a budget or not.

Upgrades for the SP-1 are becoming available, and beyond an aftermarket barrel, now include an adapter to allow for the mounting of various types of tactical shoulder stocks, like collapsible M-4 models already available, and a double trigger and replacement trigger guard kit that make shooting at high rates of fire for any length of time much easier.

Overall, t he Smart Parts SP-1 is an excellent paintball gun. Easy on paint, easy on the wallet, simple, reliable and tough on the bad guys at the other end of the field, the SP-1 is fun to shoot, fun to look at and a great addition to the world of scenario paintball from a company that has proven they plan to stick around for the long haul.