Parts / Grip Frames

Aftermarket Grip Frames

The grip frame is the whole lower assembly — trigger, main board and battery housing, and the frame the grips bolt to. It's a different part from the ASA or the vertical adapter the regulator threads into, though some aftermarket frames below bundle a new ASA in with the frame itself.

Stock grip frame

Die-cast aluminum, powder-coated, and attached to the body with two 10-32 x 1" screws plus a third 10-32 x 1/2" screw at the front under the barrel — all three take a 1/8" hex key. Houses the main board and the 9V battery.

Aftermarket grip frames

Currently sold Discontinued Unclear / not confirmed

Ion 90 Trigger Frame ANS Aluminum, custom-milled to keep it light, and built for a 90° grip angle rather than the stock frame's more raked angle — meaning it accepts the huge pool of generic "standard 90°" grip panels instead of Ion-specific ones. Works with both the original Ion and Ion XE. Made by ANS, not "ANSGear" (that's the retailer) — multiple listings (ansgear.com, ansxtreme.com) call it the "ANS Ion 90 Trigger Frame," confirming ANS as the actual manufacturer.
85° Vertical Frame (V1) Element Paintball A nearly-vertical frame that still uses standard 90° grips, works with every trigger style, and shipped with its own separate vertical adapter. Multiple sources describe it as a low-production item — "only a handful were made" — so what you'll find today is secondhand, not new stock. A 2007–2008 community thread notes NDZ triggers specifically needed modding to fit this frame. The linked used listing (PB Sports) is currently marked "Sold out" — kept as a reference since it's the clearest confirmation this specific frame actually exists and what it traded for.
V2 Frame Element Paintball A second, later Element frame distinct from the V1 above — adds a rear hump for comfort, a built-in rail, and is designed so a CP regulator sits flush with the ASA. Same NDZ-trigger fitment caveat as the V1. Current status not independently confirmed; Element appears to have wound down along with much of the 2000s custom-Ion scene (see the Bodies page).
Fierce Trigger Frame Fireball Mountain (FBM) A frame with a gauge port on either side, membrane-pad-ready construction, and a choice of 15° or 90° ASA. FBM Factory also made the Kage exoskeleton and Delrin triggers covered elsewhere on this site.
Ion Scorpion Frame New Designz (NDZ) The most fully-featured aftermarket frame documented for the Ion while it was available: 6.8 oz, straight ASA with magnetic trigger return, a built-in snatch grip, side-adjustable trigger pre-travel, and a switchable left/right gauge port. A combo kit added a reversible 15° ASA and a roller-blade trigger. NDZ has since pivoted entirely to firearms accessories and makes no paintball products at all — existing units are the only way to get one now. The linked E-Paintball listing is a reference link, not confirmed current stock, since that store is dormant.
Ion Frame Punishers Paintball A frame with a rear hump on a 45° grip, a built-in rail, and a choice of 15° or 90° ASA — a 2007–2008 community thread notes some units had rough/sharp trigger-frame milling. Punishers also made a body and feedneck covered elsewhere on this site.
Ion Frame S.I.T.H A frame with a rear hump for comfort, gauge ports on both sides, easier trigger adjustment, and a built-in rail — offered with -15°, 90°, or +15° ASA options. Longer top-to-bottom than the stock frame. Current status not independently confirmed.
Sick Ion Frame Trinity A frame with a built-in rail, a built-in snatch grip, and a bundled Trinity trigger — 90° ASA only, not available in a dust finish. Trinity's other Ion parts covered elsewhere on this site are all confirmed discontinued; likely the same story here, though not independently re-confirmed for this specific product. The linked E-Paintball listing is a reference link, not confirmed current stock, since that store is dormant.
Unidentified grip frame (possible NDZ prototype) Unknown — possibly New Designz (NDZ) A hands-on unit whose silhouette closely resembles NDZ's Ion Scorpion Frame (see the entry above) — the forward hook near the ASA port, the trigger-guard shape, and the long finger-slot cutout behind it all line up closely with e-paintball's own product photo of the Scorpion Frame. However, it's suspected this may actually be an earlier NDZ prototype or development sample predating the production Scorpion Frame, rather than the Scorpion Frame itself — no "NDZ" text is legible anywhere on it. I searched for any documentation of NDZ prototype/pre-production Ion frames and found nothing, so I can't confirm or rule this out. Filing it separately rather than under the confirmed Scorpion Frame entry until there's more to go on.

Why so few options: unlike bolts or triggers, a grip frame swap touches the board mount, battery routing, and often the ASA in one part — a bigger, more expensive undertaking than most Ion owners go for. That's reflected in how thin this particular aftermarket is compared to the rest of this reference.

Frame photo via zdspb.com, used with permission — see the disclaimer for attribution terms.