I want to get into paintball

[Bachanomon92]

I really do want to get into paintball, but I have no idea how to start, what to buy, and where to go. I can get some of my own friends to help me with the last one, but I would like your help on the matter. What I really want help on is what marker to buy along with other equipment. Any suggestions?

I've heard that paintball is expensive, and I don't want to buy the most hardcore shit that will leave me with no food for a month. However, I don't want the cheapest piece of crap you find in a dollar store either. Please help.

 

[MasterStratus]

Urm...I'm not sure what to say considering there isn't any text...Well, paintball is fun! I can tell you that much.

 

[Bernard_Black]

Fun and sore.

 

[Bluntknife]

Lots of fun but expensive, The markers and gear isn't but the paint is.
Thats if you play speedball

 

[Bachanomon92]

Yea sry I was typing it and for some reason I hit enter a bit too early. My bad

 

[captain awesome 12]

Actionvillage.com is a good place to get started looking into buying gear. Most anything thick that can get dirty can be played in until you get used to the sting. I suggest buying a JT mask and probably a Smart Parts ION marker to start off.

Here's the link: http://www.actionvillage.com/AVI-Paintball/paintball-paintball-guns

And are you looking into Speedball or Woodsball because they're very different in terms of what you want to buy?

 

[crepesack]

well uhm, paint ball is fun as long you have a good play group and lots of money to spend. I prefer, because it is alot cheaper and in my opinion more fun. However if you are just getting inot paintball I suggest getting a stock gun a tippmann 98, its really really customizeable, relatively cheap and reliable. Most commercial paintball places use the tippmann because you could have it clogged with dirt and soaked in water and it would still work just fine.

oh and if you really want to invest in paintball get a hammerhead barrel, it turns any stock rifle into a beast.

 

[ThaBenMan]

you could talk to Khell Sennet [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/Khell_Sennet]. I know he's quite the paintball enthusiast and could probably give you some good advice.

 

[BasicMojo]

I haven't been out paintballing in so long...and I miss it so.

Markers and other gear can get very expensive; an outfit I was looking at once (marker, hopper, air system, pods, belt, jersey, pants, mask) ran about $2000 USD, and it wasn't even a state-of-the-art marker. The best way to start off in the sport is renting equipment. Wear loose-fitting clothes that you don't really care about and matching sneakers. Fields will generally rent you a marker, CO2, and mask. Paint can run from extremely inexpensive ($20 for a case of 2000 rounds) to shit-garglingly obscene ($120/case). No matter where you go or how competitive the field is, I'd recommend doing it with at least one buddy. A group of four or five of my friends and myself used to go down to our local indoor speedball field once a month. It's super fun, and the welts you accumulate make for excellent bragging rights.

 

[zacaron]

I dont know that much about paintball but I just rent my gear at an arena and have big team matches with 30-40 people in a warhouse its lots of fun.

 

[Bachanomon92]

Actionvillage.com is a good place to get started looking into buying gear. Most anything thick that can get dirty can be played in until you get used to the sting. I suggest buying a JT mask and probably a Smart Parts ION marker to start off.

Here's the link: http://www.actionvillage.com/AVI-Paintball/paintball-paintball-guns

And are you looking into Speedball or Woodsball because they're very different in terms of what you want to buy?

Well to be honest I had no clue there were different types. All I knew about paintball is that you point stuff at other stuff, your stuff shoots out some stuff and makes the other stuff get some stuff on it. What's the difference?

 

[Bachanomon92]

I haven't been out paintballing in so long...and I miss it so.

Markers and other gear can get very expensive; an outfit I was looking at once (marker, hopper, air system, pods, belt, jersey, pants, mask) ran about $2000 USD, and it wasn't even a state-of-the-art marker. The best way to start off in the sport is renting equipment. Wear loose-fitting clothes that you don't really care about and matching sneakers. Fields will generally rent you a marker, CO2, and mask. Paint can run from extremely inexpensive ($20 for a case of 2000 rounds) to shit-garglingly obscene ($120/case). No matter where you go or how competitive the field is, I'd recommend doing it with at least one buddy. A group of four or five of my friends and myself used to go down to our local indoor speedball field once a month. It's super fun, and the welts you accumulate make for excellent bragging rights.

Well I got pushed into this by my friends, so I got a few paintball buddys already.

 

[captain awesome 12]

Actionvillage.com is a good place to get started looking into buying gear. Most anything thick that can get dirty can be played in until you get used to the sting. I suggest buying a JT mask and probably a Smart Parts ION marker to start off.

Here's the link: http://www.actionvillage.com/AVI-Paintball/paintball-paintball-guns

And are you looking into Speedball or Woodsball because they're very different in terms of what you want to buy?

Well to be honest I had no clue there were different types. All I knew about paintball is that you point stuff at other stuff, your stuff shoots out some stuff and makes the other stuff get some stuff on it. What's the difference?

Basically you can play woodsball anywhere that there is open space. It's more like actual fighting than a game. Camo and markers that look like actual guns are used in it. It's pretty fun to play because you can just go out in some jeans and a jacket with some friends, build some bunkers out of plywood or just hide behind trees. Speedball is the actual "pro" sport. It's played on an actual course with inflatable bunkers. No camo here, it's just super fast sprint and shoot with markers like the ION that I recommended. Speedball courses are a lot smaller too, usually about the same size as a tennis court or so.

 

[the captain]

A Tipman 98 is the way to go if you're just startinh out and don't want to spend alot of money. Also, try finding your paint online, you can find some reaqlly great deals. A trick my friend used was that he called a big supplyer and told them he was openning a new paintball park and he got boxes of 2000 balls for about 20-25 dollar each which is about half what you pay at a store.

 

[Bachanomon92]

you could talk to Khell Sennet [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/Khell_Sennet]. I know he's quite the paintball enthusiast and could probably give you some good advice.

Someone say my name?

Aha! Paintball. The fine sport of shooting people you like until they no longer like you.

Well OP, three things I'd need to know:

Do you intend to play Woodsball or Speedball the most? Woodsball is where you have plenty of cover (woods or not), and at the start of the match, may not actually know where your opponents are. When it comes to shooting, Woodsball uses much less ammo because usually Guy A gets the drop on Guy B. Speedball is the flipside. A big open field, some obstacles (most often the traditional inflatable kind), but you know where everyone is at all times because it's still just a big open field. Rule of the game, shoot until you hit someone.

Do you know what air supply is available at your local ranges? CO2 is the standard, HPA (High Pressure Air) is common and overtaking CO2 in availability/preference. Nitrogen also exists, but I know fuck-all about it, and most ranges don't carry it. Why it matters? There is a piece for most markers called an expansion chamber, which if installed, improves how CO2 works, but prevents HPA. If you intend to use both, a marker without the chamber would be best. If you KNOW you can get HPA, it's the cheapest in the long run, and better than CO2 any day of the week.

Budget. Gimme a price range (and indicate what currency it is in), and I can usually price out things pretty damn well.

So those are my questions. If too impatient to answer and wait for a reply, my idiot-proof advice is the Ben Tippmann "BT-4" basic marker (also called BT-4 Combat). I used to advise the regular Tippmann line as good, but reports coming back on the last couple years' models say otherwise. The Japanese company that bought them have replaced all their guts with plastic, and now they break so damn easy.

Well I suppose I would be playing Woodsball the most. I'm not realy sure what my local ranges carry, I'll check it out later. As for price range, I can spend up to $400, but I'm not sure I really want to.

It might be a bit much, but perhaps you can tell me what I can get with up to $150, $250, $350, and $450. I still haven't decided how much money I'm willing to put into paintball. I live in the U.S by the way, so I be using dollars.

 

[Mr_Powers]

I would recommend the 08 Spyder pilot as your first gun. Its a good in between gun that you can play speedball or woodsball with. I have an older one that has always worked for me, and the new one is a lot nicer and lighter(which it needed).

I would suggest you use this site: http://www.pbreview.com/products/
and look in their low end Mechanical and Electric markers sections. There are tons of reviews of guns in there. In your price range basicly anything that says Tippman, Spyder, or Kingman(owner of Spyder) is not bad. There are lots of other good links on that website too.

Also don't be fooled by things that look flashy, a paintball gun doesn't have to look like a real gun, it can just be made to for people who have too much money and really like having an authentic looking marker.

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

Well for woodsball, all you need is a tippman marker (don't care what model) maybe a motorized hopper, and a mask. probably all under 500 smackers. but for tourneyball, all I have to say is fuck that shit.

 

[Miroku2235]

Tippman 98 Custom for your marker.
Don't buy cheap paintballs.
When you can, get a hose kit and carry your CO2 canister in a belt pouch.
That's about it. The Tippman is amazing because you can upgrade the hell out of it for whatever role you want.

(FYI, I'm an airsofter. But my advice is still accurate.)

 

[Lunar Shadow]

I would personally suggest Airsoft due to the cheaper cost in the long run, but what the hell.

Pretty much get yourself a Tippman 98, mask,CO2/HPA, and maybe even a pod (If it's woodsball don't worry about it too much). I really really suggest woodsball as it is a great deal of fun.