Paintball Guide: Buying Your Own Equipment

Paintball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, as it gains popularity and acceptance as a sport it will continue to grow and flourish. If you have and decided to buy your own equipment and get serious about paintball this guide will help you decide what you should buy.

First, you need to decide what type of player you are, do you enjoy laying covering fire for your team, do you like to be fast and up close and personal, or would you rather be a jack of all trades type of player. If you like to lay covering fire you might want to buy a fast gun, get a pod pack or vest and carry extra paint. If you want to be fast and up close and personal I suggest a light setup, while carrying only a pod or two. If you wanted to be a jack of all trades buy any gun and just upgrade it according to what you feel you need after playing a couple of times (reccomended for all styles of play also, so you don't buy unnecessary upgrades).

Next, you should find a paintball orientated store, where paintball gear is their main product, that way they will know what they are talking about. Then ask the owner what he would recomend (normally owner will be there) to you, after telling him your style of play. This is much better than shopping at a mega store (Dick's, Cabelas, etc.) as generally the small shops have much better customer service and they stand behind their merchandise more often. If you don't have any small paintball shops nearby, either use one of the megastores (do research online before going), or order online. If you order online make sure you find a trustworthy website that won't scam you (At the end I will leave links to some trustworthy ones).