Paintballing - how does something this much fun, hurt so much (Paintball in General)

Member Name: dad-of-three

Product:	Paintball in General
Date:	29/05/09 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Allows your competative edge to come out and no-one says anything

Disadvantages: Some venues are not as good as others

These days paintballing is the only real execise that i get, I tend go several times each year, about once every two months or so and have tried lots of different sites. The first thing that happens is that all participants will be kitted out in protective gear, this usually includes - overalls to protect your own clothing, Full face mask, which is essential to protect the eyes and ears and a utility belt which has no protective properties but is used to carry extra canisters of paintballs during games (usually hold 4 canisters with 100 balls in each). Some venues also supply gloves but if they don't i would advise you take your own as being hit on the hand really hurts. Items to take yourself are a hat, essential to stop bruising on head and reduce pain from head shots and good reliable footwear as the terain is often un-even and possibly wet and slippy.

After you are are all set up the organiser will give a safety review and outline essentials such as minimum shot distance, rules about headgear and not to shoot at the face as these shots don't count. Other rules include if your shot and the ball does not burst your not out, this can be tricky during the heat of battle as if you are hit and cannot see, your not sure if your out or not as it's not uncommon for the balls not to burst. The balls themselves are usually made of either coloured vegetable oil of a water based dye and are usually bright colours such as orange or yellow so that you can see them more easily, but not always.

The purpose of paintball though is always the same to win! whether it be by eliminating the opposition, stopping them from capturing your flag or simply holding a strategic base camp. Game zones will vary according to the venue you choose and the quality of game zones will also depend on the venue you choose. Some of the venues have really put a lot of effort into each game where some have just thought it away of making money and the games are not that good. One of the main differences i have found is that the enjoyment factor is often increased if the owner of the site is present as they take an active interest in the game being played correctly and stop any silly behaviour as they want your return business. Quite often smaller individual sites have the advantage in this as some times people are hired who just simply don't care. Unfortunately you will not know until you try.

The games themselves are usually fast paced and last about 10 minutes although you can go out very quickly. The average player will shoot about 600 to 700 balls in a day but some rambo's will go through about 1500 balls, (thats me i'm afraid) so it can work out costly as a hundred ball will cost from around £5 to £7 depending on venue.

To get rid of the myth when your hit it can hurt and it can hurt a lot depending on where your hit. I always come home with several round bruises everytime i go and ache for days after, but to me thats part of the fun! I often go with a group of friends and we are always up for the game but i have seen other groups of people who just didn't know what they were there for and unfortunately quite often they don't like it and stop playing after the first game when they realise it hurts so much. So the one piece of advice i would give is - know what your letting yourself in for before you go or your just wasting your money and your day.

Overall i would advise people to try paintballing and experience the thrill but go prepared and be ready for it to hurt!

Summary: Excellent fun but can cost quite a bit.