After careful searching and research on who has the best return policies,
best customer satisfaction,
most secure online shopping, and best selection around - we've come to the
conclusion that Paintball-Online, RAP4 and Canadian Paintball are the 3
most
reliable
online Paintball Stores.
Ahh, introducing your best friend (your mask), and the most important piece of safety
equipment you'll need to play paintball. First and foremost a mask
protects your eyes and entire face. I can't stress this enough, never, and
I mean NEVER take off your paintball mask during a game, for obvious reasons,
you risk damaging your pretty face. Masks usually sell
from $15 and up to $110 for high quality
ones. Just to name a few
companies, Dye, Empire, and JT all sell great high quality masks. When
looking for a mask, you want to ask yourself a few things...
~ Ask Yourself... ~
First, does if feel nice and comfortable
on your face? Trust me, you don't want a paintball
mask that doesn't fit snug. So try on a few pairs
and see how they fit, if there's any discomfort
whatsoever, move on to the next mask. After all,
you're going to be wearing this mask all day, so you
want goggles that won't make your frustrated.
Second, make sure that the view you have
through the lenses is good, and when I say good, I
mean you have very nice peripheral vision
capabilities. Your field of view is
important, because you
can't hit what you can't see!
Third, you want a paintball mask that has the best
resistance to fogging. Paintball masks will usually
fog up when you're playing paintball due to
different temperature fluctuations. Look for a mask
that has a thermal lens, this will reduce fogging
considerably. You can also acquire
a fog machine fan for the inside of your mask, this
will also reduce fogging. Paintball Masks & Goggles
# 2 ~ Air Propellants ~
When you decide to play paintball for the first time, you're going to need a
propellant. Ultimately, this is what makes the paintball fly out of your marker, and it comes in a tank in the form of
C02, (Carbon Dioxide) or HPA (High Pressure Air).
Generally if you're new to paintball, and plan on
playing in the woods, then you will probably use C02. Paintball Air Tanks
Still with me? ok good, we're almost done, on
to the next piece...the best one in my opinion.
# 3 ~ A Paintball Gun/Marker ~
You're going to need a Paintball Gun
obviously. Paintball Guns are pretty self explanatory, so I don't feel I need to explain why this is a must have
piece of equipment. If you're having problems choosing a paintball marker, then
check out our guide to
choosing the right paintball gun for beginners. Good entry level markers are easy to find. Just to name a
few companies, Tippmann, and
Spyder Paintball Guns are great entry level markers. Check out some of the
Online Paintball Stores if those don't meet your requirements. Paintball Markers
# 4 ~ Hopper/Loader ~
This is attached to the top of your paintball marker, and holds your
paintballs.
Most hoppers if not all of them hold around 200 rounds (paintballs).
There are two main
types of hoppers...
Gravity feed hoppers are just that, gravity takes
care of the paintballs as they drop into the breach.
Electronic hoppers feed balls through your marker a lot
faster then gravity feed, but tend to be more pricey.
If you're just starting I suggest just going with the
gravity feed hoppers, they're your basic loader.
Paintball Loaders
You're going to need to buy some Paintballs, one of the more obvious reasons being you need something to shoot
(tag) people with.
Prices can range from thirty to a hundred bucks for paintballs. The higher the price
usually
means the higher the quality. Going off topic, Yes it does hurt to get hit
by a paintball, but don't worry, you'll live. Grab Some Paintballs! Or check out my
Paintballs page first to learn more!
~ Other Important Paintball Gear ~
Clothing and shoes are very important when deciding to play paintball for the
first time. It is good to have some sort of rain proof jacket, old clothes or a paintball vest for extra protection....wait! don't forget you'll also
need some good footwear!
High tops or boots will do just fine for woodsball, because they will for
the most part stay dry, and protect you from any ankle sprains.
You're going to need a way to carry extra paintballs while you're playing paintball. These are what you call
Paintball Pods, which is essentially a device that enables to you carry
extra ammo on your body.
These can be worn on a Pod Pack/Harnesses which is a belt
that's strapped around your waist, or are sometimes sewn
onto a tactical paintball vest. Most players carry 4-5 of these pods while they play a game,
making reloading easy.
Get yourself a
squeegee, most paintball guns come with these already.
When a paintball breaks in your barrel, these little guys are meant to clean
them so you can keep firing more paintballs. All you do is stick it
through one end, and pull it out the other bringing all the excess paint with
it.
Do you want to run around the paintball field with confidence?
Then please consider these pieces of equipment...
Knee Pads And Elbow Pads:
You will be crawling and kneeling most of the day.
Knowing you can dive behind a bunker at a moments
notice, while minimizing damage to your body is a
great feeling take my word for it!
This reminds me of a paintball story a few years
back, when I didn't wear a neck guard. As I
was searching for the last guy on the field, who was
hiding and camouflaged, it wasn't more then 10 feet
and he shot me in the neck. This didn't tickle
to say the very least, so get a neck guard for your
children, and that means you too tough guy.
I once had a friend who played paintball with us all the time. He wasn't
really considered the "brightest" of the bunch, but he was a good guy.
He was always ranting and raving about how he was so tough and didn't need
any paintball gear. One time we were playing
paintball and he took
off his shirt (which all paintball players know not
to do if they don't want some wicked welts), only to get shot multiple
times on his chest, gut and arms, he even got hit on his fingers!
I remember, we were
under heavy fire from all directions. About 3 of us were
left guarding our last bunker. Our hearts were pounding! All of us feeling our inevitable demise coming shortly... I remember my
friend peeking out one of the side windows, only to have a sharp shooter be
patiently waiting for someone to pop their head out.
BAM! owned...
He acted on instinct
and fired, and couldn't have known my friend wasn't wearing his tactical
vest. Not
only did my buddy get a nice couple bruises, but he also learned a crucial
lesson that day...
~ You should wear protective paintball gear while playing paintball!
~
~ Gear Is The Key To Safety ~
Paintball is considered one of the safest
extreme sports in the world. The above
scenario is rare. So rare, you wouldn't
even eat a steak that rare! So, you need to have some gear for those
sensitive areas.
When you're all decked out in sweet paintball gear, not
only do you look like a futuristic soldier, but you
will also
feel a lot safer and more confident at the same time. No one says you have to go
overboard with knee and elbow pads like your mom used to make you wear, but
she probably did it for a reason, and you should to. Besides, wearing sweet
gear in paintball is actually cool to do, you know the saying "everyone's
doing it"? Yeah well that applies with paintball gear.
Think about it - when you're on the field, you'll be playing for hours at
a time. You're going to need to feel comfortable, be
able to carry around extra paintballs and supplies and also
stay on the move from the enemy! So give yourself a pat on the back, you're taking the plunge and are finally looking for
some new paintball gear!
~ Paintball Packages ~
~ Cheap
Guns n Gear ~
