My first impression of the marker was simply "Wow". The anodizing job is fantastic, and gives the marker a very high end look to it. The feel of holding it in my hand felt better than any rental I'd used or the Pro EXT I looked at. I like the feel of the metal trigger frame in my hand. The marker didn't feel to heavy, but it felt very solid in my hand.
Also, while not a listed feature, all PMI markers come with PMI behind them. PMI's support is fantastic. Their technicians are very knowledgable, and PMI will send out replacement parts if needed, often well beyond the actual warranty length. The quality that they put in their markers is also fantastic. There is very little difference between each marker of the same marker due to high quality and tight manufacturing tolerances.
I had an initial problem with my regulator and my striker (probably the o-ring). PMI sent me replacement parts, and all I had to do was send them back the bad regulator. It took only 3 days and I was back up and running. I blame these problems with the initial shipping, not on PMI, as the marker had come loose in the box during shipping.
The quick strip pin makes the marker easy to field strip and clean. PMI also has a sear release button to make it easy to put the striker and bolt assembly back into the marker. The bolt is pretty slick stock, and probably doesn't need to be sanded down at all to make it smoother. Same with the striker.
The anodizing is very durable. You can beat the tar out of the marker, and it will still look good after you wash it off. The marker actually does look good with an aftermarket barrel on it, I'd recommend getting a black one unless you can match the blue or green almost exactly where the barrel attaches.
The regulator is easy to operate, just use the mid sized allen wrench to turn it up or down. There is a washer for high pressure operation (400-800) that can be removed to let it run easier at a lower pressure (200-600). The regulator has a pretty high flow, and adjusts pretty well at most pressures. If you hear it squeak and recharge very slowly, you are probably close to the lower limit of the reg. If you haven't removed the washer, do so and that will help. If you have, then you may need to replace it with a better low pressure reg.
The PMI reg is one of the few regs that has no problem with CO2 and runs well on Nitro. It is not the best regulator out there, but it's pretty good, and probably the best one that comes stock on a mass market blowback.
So, out of the box, I gassed it up and went to go get it chronoed. It was firing around 275 FPS, perfectly safe out of the box. The field limit was 280 FPS, so I didn't do any adjustments to it. I later did have recocking issues that day, but those were solved as I mentioned above.
So, with all my issues solved, I did some accuracy tests. I was getting about a 12" spread at about 75 feet away. Unfortunately, I didn't have a vice, so I couldn't test it without any human error, and I couldn't use a board and then go out and measure, so that is a guestimate. Overall though, it's pretty accurate for a marker with a stock barrel.
Low Pressure is a big buzz around paintball. I was able to get my Pro TS to run at 500 PSI with no problems using the stock spring, and fire it at safe field levels. I couldn't use the heavier spring because I couldn't get it to fire consistently at 280 FPS or under, which was the field limit. I was able to keep it under 300 FPS though close to 450 PSI, with the heavier spring, so I could have gone lower. However, that's not too bad for a stock marker with no upgrades.
The marker doesn't break to many balls stock. I had the occasional ball break, but that was caused by the extremely thin shelled paint I was using (It would break on a 4 ft. drop usually). I only chopped a ball once, and I had run out of air so the marker didn't recock fully, and chopped when it was sputtering, so it's hard to blame the marker on that.
I have a PMI 48 CI 3000 PSI Steel tank, and while I was never able to count my shots from full to effectively empty, I was able to shoot between 350-400 balls on 2000 PSI to out running at 500 PSI, so the marker gets pretty decent air efficiency.
The marker with my tank is a bit heavy, but feels well balanced and easy to use. The drop forward is good for smaller tanks and gave me plenty of room to maneuver the marker while balancing out the weight more. A larger tank may stick back to far though and require a bigger drop.
The marker, while pretty consistent, could be better. A lot of this is the stock barrel though. I got a chance to test out a friend's Teardrop, and I was firing shot's with a +/- 2 FPS and was putting my shots on top of each other. The stock barrel is a larger bore, so it should be pretty paint friendly, but won't be very consistent like a smaller bore barrel with a good paint-bore match. I believe the stock barrel is either .691 or .693 bored.
The marker does have a bit of kick, as do most blowbacks. I found this was reduced slightly when I dropped the pressure a bit, but there is a pretty large amount of mass moving when you fire it, so it won't go away completely. Also, the marker is not as quiet as many higher end markers, but it is a bit more quiet than many other blowbacks.
It's a great mechanical blowback marker. Probably one of the best on the market. It has a ton of great features that other markers need you to buy separately, the quality in the construction makes it very durable, and it has a great company standing behind it. It's only real limitations are the ones common to all blowbacks, and that is kick and noise.
A new barrel will help increase accuracy, FPS, and consistency. This will let you drop the pressure a bit, making the marker a bit more gas efficient. Also, the improved accuracy will make it much more fun, as you can now take some pretty pinpoint shots from 75 feet or more.
There are a few flush cocking systems out there if you are interested in that. PMI has one, but it requires that you use that particular bolt as well. Northwest Paintball Products makes a slideder which replaces the cocking rod with a flush cocking one. Check under the Piranha accessories for it. I personally don't have any experience with that product yet.
If you want to go LP, you will need to either remove the Venturi from the Bolt, or get a high flow bolt. A high flow valve pin will help as well, as you already have a turbo valve. You can shave one yourself (It comes with a spare, so just go at it with a file and sand paper) or you can buy them for cheap online. You may need to replace the regulator eventually to get better adjustments and flow at lower pressures. Everything else that you should need comes stock on the Pro TS. For more Information, please read my low pressure guide.