User:Ydnazds/First endeavor paintball

First Endeavor Paintball (FEP for short) is a manufacturer and developer of paintball markers and accessories. Best known for their flagship Quest product line, FEP originally entered the competitive market in 2004. The company was disbanded in 07-08, but was reincorporated under new staff in mid 2009 with the new name FEP Sports. FEP Sports is located in Oxnard, California (United States).

Products
FEP is a medium-sized manufacturer of paintball products and thus produces items mainly geared for a specific market. The Quest paintball marker is FEP's most prominent creation and has always been the most popular FEP item being sold. It was designed to compete with similar markers of the era, including the Dye DM4, Smart Parts Shocker SFT, amongst others. The marker originally sold for $925 (factory-direct) but the price was reduced as the marker gained popularity over the next few months.

To support the Quest, FEP also sold a line of upgrade accessories. Examples of these items include the Bionic locking feedneck, Cylon bottomline rail mount, Goldmember bolt kit, Podstein pod filler, and factory replacement parts for items like ASA mounts and grip panels. FEP has also produced a line of promotional "soft goods", including but not limited to T-shirts, hats, posters, and digital goods. FEP partnered with several distributors including National Paintball Supply (currently KEE Action Sports) in order to both distribute their own products as well as offer a variety of popular generic accessories produced by other developers. These include loaders, tanks, and similar items required to play the game.

Virtually all of the FEP product line was discontinued in 2007 when the company disbanded. Some of the more popular items are said to be returning under the new 2009 FEP Sports lineup. Currently the main supporter of FEP products is California Paintball Supply which have acquired the majority of closeout parts in order to support classic Quest markers in anticipation for the new 09 product line.

Dissolution and Reincorporation into FEP Sports
In 2007 FEP was in the process of redesigning the Quest marker into a newer model that had the running name of "Q8". This marker was functionally similar to the original Quests however featured some changes to the support systems (eye covers, frame layout, LPR, front reg mount, notably). This marker was slated for release in 2008 however it never became available due to the company disbanding shortly thereafter. Some nearby companies continued to support the Quest, largest of which being Critical Paintball.

The various staff members had parted ways but many of them still wished to release the vaunted Q8 marker as their own. Dave Palmer, one of the original owners of the company, eventually reincorporated FEP into the new company FEP Sports in July 2009 with the intention of releasing a new product line similar to what had been envisioned. The new products centrally revolve around the new marker codenamed K1 which is tentatively scheduled for release in 2009.