Paintballing Tips for the Paintball Newbie
Useful Paintball Tips on Safety, Apparel and Equipment
Oct 31, 2009
Going paintballing for the first time can be an expensive though enjoyable experience. What follows are some guidelines for the newcomer to paintball to make that experience cheaper, safer and more enjoyable.
The first tip for the paintball newbie is to be aware that modern paintball guns are semi-automatic. Every time the trigger is pulled, a paintball is fired. It is therefore perfectly possible to launch 100 paintballs within a single minute. So, the first rule of paintball is, bring plenty of money!
Paintball sites make their profit from paintball sales, not from charging a fee to play. Some paintball sites such as Bedlam Paintball in the UK have the option to buy paintballs in bulk. Buying in bulk reduces the cost of paintballs, and therefore reduces the overall cost of the day, so consider pooling resources with other players to buy cheaper paintballs.
Paintballing Safety Tips
If paintball has one golden rule to be remembered, it is this: keep goggles on during play. Under no circumstances should goggles be removed or lifted from the face while anyone is still holding a paintball gun. Statistically, paintball is a safe sport, but the biggest threat to a player's well-being is being shot in the eye by a paintball. Listen to the marshals, and do not remove goggles until told it is safe to do so.
A more common paintball-related injury can be avoided by wearing sensible footwear. Wear boots when playing paintball, not plimsoles or trainers. It is easy to turn or break an ankle when not wearing appropriate footwear with good ankle support.
Paintball Apparel Tips
Paintball sites will provide each player with the basic paintballing gear. This will include a one-piece face-mask with a visor, or a mask with separate goggles; a set of camouflage clothing, and depending on the site, they may also provide webbing for holding paintball tubes and paint and smoke grenades.
As a newcomer to the sport, there are additional items of paintball clothing that should always be taken. These include:
- Head covering: a cap or hat, preferably with a camouflage design, though any dark color will do.
- Gloves: leather or woollen, not of the fingerless variety.
- A scarf: Again in a dark colour or cammo pattern.
The reason for these clothing additions is that being shot with a paintball in the head, hands or throat hurts more than being shot in the limbs or body. Being shot in the head can be briefly disorientating; being shot in the neck can make it momentarily difficult to breath; being shot in the fingers simply hurts a lot, and can cause swelling that makes firing the paintball gun uncomfortable or difficult. As such, these wardrobe additions should be considered essential.
Cheap Paintball Equipment Tip
Most paintball sites sell goggle demister. Demister is a spray solution that prevents condensation forming on the goggles. During play, heat builds up as the body moves, and a player's goggles steam up as a result, obscuring the vision. This can lead to a paintballer being tempted to commit the cardinal sin of goggle-lifting during play, to wipe the steamed-up goggles clean.
Avoid the expense of buying demister on-site by making a simple and inexpensive substitute by diluting washing-up liquid in a small bottle and applying the mixture to the goggle lenses. Be careful not to overdo the quantity of washing-up liquid – one part washing-up liquid to ten parts water is sufficient – as any paintball player getting detergent in their eyes is likely to be tempted to take off their mask to rub their irritated eyes, and risks being shot in the face with a paintball.
Discarded Paintballs are not Cheap Paintballs
Do not be tempted to pick up paintballs from the ground to fire at opponents, The shell of a paintball is water soluble, and swells when water is absorbed through the thin skin. Trying to fire a water-logged paintball will, at best, jam the paintball gun. At worst, it will burst in the hopper, contaminating good paintballs with paint gel, rendering them useless. This can be very expensive if it happens to a hopper that is full to capacity.
Important Paintball Stuff Regarding Fun
Fun is the be-all of the paintballing experience. This should be common sense, but it's not stressed enough. Yes, paintball can be helpful as part of a team-building exercise, and is often a feature of corporate excursions. But the majority of paintball games occur amongst friends looking to spend some time together, doing something a little different, something a little fun.
So remember: paintball is meant to be enjoyed. It is a game that involves firing paint at friends and colleagues. It is not a military exercise. Unless playing as part of an experienced paintball team, do not, as a newcomer to the game, be intimidated by a self-nominated “team leader” - and there's nearly always one, who has played paintball once before and has decided they are therefore a paintballing expert - into “staying behind to defend the flag”.
Paintball is about participation, and since it can be an expensive game, it is important to enjoy the experience. Sitting alone beside a flag listening to the distant action isn't fun, and since the majority of paintball scenarios involve some form of flag-grab, defensive play does not win games. Get involved. Get the adrenalin up. Go and shoot paint at people. Better yet, go and get the opposing team's flag while shooting paint at people. It doesn't actually matter which team wins: if the day hasn't been an enjoyable paintballing experience, then it's a hollow victory, which is the worst of paintballing failures.
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