Paintball Tips and Gear Online

Paintball (Game Variations):

a) Speedball (Hyperball & Airball) – The fast paced action game we know and love today.
b) Woodsball – Played in a wooded environment with natural or man-made objects for cover.
c) Military Simulation (MilSim or Scenario Paintball) – More realistic warfare type game play.

We have written a great blog post about the different variations of paintball, titled Speedball vs Woodsball, this article goes into depth about the game play with an accompanying video detailing the history of the game in a walk-through type presentation.

Safety should be taken importantly and you will need to have good paintball protective gear which will include a chest pad, elbow and knee pads, a helmet, and gloves. The guns used in paintball are also referred to as markers, the firing velocity of your marker can be set using a paintball chronograph which on all public venues should be around 300 feet per second (FPS).

Paintball is increasing in worldwide popularity:

The popularity of paintball is continuing to grow throughout the sports world and a recent study shows it is now in the top 3 of extreme sports games in the world. The game is now able to be played safely with modern equipment conforming to demanding safety constraints and the modern gameplay rules have enabled many more people to enjoy the excitement and overall satisfaction that this modern warfare game provides to both young and old alike.

The increasing popularity of paintball in many countries is due in part to the competitive nature of the sport and the inner desire of recreating warfare scenarios in a safe and contained environment. This extreme sport is also very exciting, more so than any other sport available, and offers great health benefits to competitors of any age, level or sex. If you have that taste for competition or adventure then taking to the paintball field is certainly a way of letting out your inhibitions or frustrations on an opposing team without the risk of hurting anybody.

This game really takes childhood games to a new level, do you remember ‘hide and seek’ and ‘tag’? You can quickly see that paintballing takes these two old favourites and combined them into a game that requires you to find and eliminate your opponents from the game or capture their flag whilst your team protects your own, the fun addition is that of using paintball markers.

So what gives rise to the increasing popularity of paintball?

a) A team sport which requires you to eliminate your opponents from the game, unlike any other sport where all opponents are part of the game for its duration. The objective is to remove as many of your opposing players as possible which requires a level of fitness to be the quickest and outsmart other players.

b) The general idea of danger is captured in a safe environment but you still have the anticipation and feeling that you are in a life and death struggle to remain active in the game and not be eliminated by being hit by a paintball. The feeling of being in close combat game increases both your heart rate and excitement and you experience a heightened state of alertness which aids mental well-being and the desire to stay competing in the game.

c) As a general rule you will find most players are equal on the paintballing field and it may only be knowledge of tips and strategies that sets fellow participants apart from each other. It is not, as in other games, gender or age that gives any major disadvantages to players of the same or opposing teams and it is therefore generally a flat playing field for any player which helps the novice to feel they can get started easily.

d) The lack of experience required for this game is attractive to anyone considering playing and there is not a massive learning curve required or a need to be ultra-fit. All you really need to have is a competitive nature and enjoy the prospect of taking part in a team sport where even newbies stand much a chance of winning as the seasoned players.

e) This is not a contact sport in a true sense of the word as there is no actually physical contact required to eliminate the opponents in the game. Paintballing requires you to remove the opposing players by firing a paintball and hitting them from a safe distance, rules state you must give an opponent the opportunity to surrender rather than firing at close range.

f) You do not need to be an Olympic athlete in order to play the game but the ability to run or sprint very short distances makes this attractive to many people whilst building on future fitness.

g) If you like gadgets then paintball has its fair share and once you get addicted to the game then you can purchase a ton of gadgets to aid you on the playing field.

Health benefits of Playing Paintball Explained

Playing any sport will give health benefits and playing paintball offers great opportunities to improve general health whilst being much more exciting than going to the gym and exercising on one’s own. The sport of paintball has been around for a number of years and offers young and old alike the ability to play an energetic and exhilarating game. In fact all you need is some basic safety protective gear, including a helmet, goggles and gun and then you can take to the field.

The increased exercise rate and activity required during a game of paintball encourages your body to burn lots of calories as you find yourself advancing and retreating from enemy players. Additionally, the frenetic movement pumps up your heart rate which in turn allows you to burn more calories than a normal run or hike on general terrain would allow. Normally, exercising on a treadmill is both repetitive and boring as you do not get the stimulation of changing scenery as you will be outside on a paintball field.

It is a misconception that many people believe the sport of paintballing to be unsafe and that you can get hurt easily, however the velocity of paintballs markers are regulated at commercial fields to help ensure safety. In fact recent surveys have indicated that playing paintball is just as safe as other sports including football, rugby and basketball.

Furthermore, the paintball field has lots of variety both in size, terrain and obstacles to run up to and hide from your opponents and this stop and start exercise again helps burn fat and calories. With required protective gear you have to wear on the field and the running that you will be doing their will be many occasions that your body will be sweating and this results in good health benefits such as weight loss.

Repetitive exercise such as walking, going to the gym, doing press-ups and yoga are effective for cardiovascular improvements and weight loss but are easily things that one can easily get bored of which may lead you to give up. Playing paintball is a fun game that has the underlying benefit of improved health as a side effect but your main focus is on the competitive nature of the sport and the health benefits are secondary so you are less likely to get bored of this game.

Additional, it is proven that running helps you burn fat and therefore calories faster than most other exercises and is has great cardiovascular benefits which in turn increases your body’s metabolic rate and aids in getting rid of weight quickly. A lot of time during a paintball game you will be running between obstacles and this frenetic running will further help you lose weight, more so than the gym, and will allow a more general health and fitness to be gained in a relatively short time.

It is generally understood that team sports increase the individual desire to achieve and push yourself to make sure you win for your fellow team mates. Playing paintball is a team sport and the extra determination and pushing yourself to win on the field gives an increased health benefit element and can include that reward element of your brain releasing chemicals endorphins which help put you in a happy and contented state of mind.

It is worth knowing that comprehensive studies have shown that if you a regularly active individual, by running or exercising moderately, you are lowering your mortality rate significantly for both your medium and long term lifespan. Having a sedentary way of life is known to put you at a high risk of encountering serious illness and this includes putting you at risk of heart disease.