Everyone wants a multi piece barrel kit these days.  They are cheaper, easier, and more convenient than owning a collection of single barrels.  With all the styles of paint out there these days, you will most likely need more than one or two bore sizes in your collection.  In their continuing effort to offer every type of product imaginable, WGP has released their own barrel kit.  It is a traditional two piece barrel that screws together (great for those who are afraid of inserts).  WGP debuted the barrel on their flagship Autococker, the Orracle.  People didn’t initially know that the Kaner barrel on their Orracle was part of a kit, but now it is.

     The Kaner is a seven piece kit that is completely aluminum; it has four backs and three tips.  The bore sizes of the back come in .684, .687, .689, and .691.  The tips come in lengths of 10”, 12” and 14”.  The possible combinations from all the components are staggering, and can suit just about any player with any need.  That is where the options end though.  The Kaner is primarily offered in gloss black or nickel backs, and the only barrel threading it comes in is for the Autococker (or other markers that use that thread).  If you call WGP directly, and catch them on a good day, you can get the Kaner in custom colors, but the wait will be longer.  This is great for Orracle owners who want to get a compliment of backs to match their marker, and fill out their kit.

     The Kaner suits WGP’s current look and blends in perfectly with both the Orracle and the Black Magic.  The backs have just enough curves in the design to look sculpted but stop well before bubbly.  The WGP logo is stamped into the back, because after all, you have to represent your name brand.  The great thing is that WGP kept the porting to a minimum.  The only porting on the barrel is a muzzle break that starts three inches from the end.  This keeps the barrel reasonably efficient, but the muzzle break ensures that it won’t be like firing a cannon.  The last inch and a half of the muzzle break features tear drops milled around the porting to liven up the looks of the barrel, and jazz it up just enough to push it past dull into classy.  The barrel has just enough design to add flavor to anyone’s setup, without being tacky.

     The construction of these barrels is top notch.  The internal finish is quite good.  While it may not have the super mirror shine of some other barrels, it is far above most barrels you will find on the market.  Unlike most two piece barrels, the Kaner’s joint isn’t visible.  This means better accuracy, fewer breaks, and better consistency than the barrels where the joint is visible.  The one complaint I have with the Kaner is that the control bore is about 5 inches long.  While this is far better than many other barrels out there, I like to see around 6 inches for the best efficiency.  This isn’t a super big deal, just one thing I would have changed if given the option.

     When you slap a barrel on your marker, chances are you wont notice an immediate change in its performance.  You have to play with it for a while, learning the quirks, and how it handles bad situations before you can make a judgment.  First I used the Kaner that came with the Orracle and was quite satisfied, as I used more paint, I felt it necessary to expand the amount of bore sizes I used.  It shot paint excellently, and cleaned through breaks reasonably well.  It would be best to clean the barrel after breaks in order to get back to peak ability quickest, but it isn’t needed all the time.  The Kaner handled dimpled and odd shaped paint relatively well (as well as could be expected).  It lost some of its great consistency, but that is because of the paint, no barrel can be expected to correct for the paint.  The barrel didn’t knock my socks off, but it was an extremely solid system, that should satisfy anyone.

     The market of two piece barrel kits is rather flooded.  It seems that just about everyone has produced one, or has one in the works.  This makes it rather difficult to make a splash.  The Kaner is far above most other entries into this market, but doesn’t stand without peers.  It just isn’t nice enough to make it the hands down, best choice of all the two piece kits.  The price tag however makes the Kaner a strong contender.  The Kaner has a MSRP of $200.00 for the seven piece kit.  One barrel (one back and one front) has an MSRP of $85.00, and individual pieces are $45.00.  The price for the kit puts it well below the MSRP of most of its competitors when it comes to the amount of what you get and the quality that it carries.  I would like to see an option where you can get one tip and the four backs, for those people who stick with one length.  But at that price, its easy to get the two extra tips and not worry about added cost, because you are still spending less than on most other kits.  Another nice thing to see would be a padded carrying case to carry the pieces around it.  The Kaner is easily one of the best mid range barrel kits, and it is a strong contender in the top range for those who demand the absolute best.  Plus with WGP backing it, it’s hard to go wrong.