Are you in the mood to play paintball with your friends and family but have no idea about paintballs and are confused about which one you should use? You have arrived at the right place because we have got all the answers you are looking for!
Choosing the correct equipment is very crucial in any sport, to begin with, i.e., baseball, volleyball, cricket, etc. It’s the same for paintball. Selecting the correct paintballs can vary, focusing on the requirements you are searching for. It all depends on the priority you are setting. No worries because we are here to help you according to all your needs.
Here we will discuss the 3 types of paintballs in detail.
What Is The Game “Paintball”?
Paintball is a sport which is very famous all around the world for passing time and having a little fun with your family and friends. In the early 80s; The origin of paintball in America happened. This game requires two teams whose players eliminate the members of the opposing team by hitting them with a paintball. People of all ages play this game ( 11 onwards ) with great enthusiasm and liveliness.
However, the fundamental necessary types of equipment are the Paintball firearms, the paintball itself, and the protective armor which is typically given to all players to minimize the sting from getting hit by said paintballs
What Are Paintballs?
Paintballs are small, rounded gelatin balls that contain a paint mixture of polyethylene glycol, and other non-toxic and water-soluble substances along with dye. They are of different colors, and they are designed in a way to burst and stain the surface with the color of “paint” filled in them.
As stated above, they are non-toxic, meaning that they won’t harm you in any case of consumption. In other words, they won’t hurt you any more than giving you an acidic, bitter, and harsh aftertaste. They are also water-soluble. Fortunately for those who hate getting their clothes dirty, and being water-soluble, they prevent the stain to be permanent and wash right off of your clothes.
They are one of the deciding factors in the game. Paintballs make it clear that the opponent member is indeed disqualified or crossed out of the game by tinting their gear.
Why Choosing The Correct Paintball Is Important?
Dependent on the user as said in the beginning, to cater to their personal need and requirement, and type of match-making, their selection of items could be made easily. In the ambiguity of certainty of personal choice users tend to go with suggestive intake or subconscious biases. However, a better understanding could lead to better choices with the desired paintball. As different kinds of paintballs equate to different results.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAINTBALLS :
Now, moving on from the questions, there are various types of paintballs, each with its own focus factors and primary concerns
1) Professional Grade Paintballs.
2) Reclaimable Grade Paintballs.
3) Recreational Grade Paintballs.
They all center themselves on independent highlights of the equipment. Let’s discuss them in further detail:
PROFESSIONAL GRADE PAINTBALLS :
These high-quality paintballs are the most sought-after by players of all skill levels. They’re for advanced or professional players who own the world and compete every year. The reason for this is that the specific purpose of their manufacturing is to be used in World Cup and international tournament events.
The most unique factor about this paintball is its rigid yet lean paintball shell, which breaks immediately on various sorts of external contact. Professional grade paintballs are top-notch quality paintballs and are primarily known for their .68 caliber. Due to their endless qualities and traits, they are indeed on the pricy side of the shelf. Their benefits, along with their price, are high.
If you are a professional or tournament-level paintball player with a lot of money to spend, these professional or tournament paintballs are what you are looking for! They are the most expensive kind of paintballs but trust me when I point out, they will be worth every single penny you are going to spend on them.
RECLAIMABLE GRADE PAINTBALLS :
Reclaimable Grade paintballs are used in the fun or non-serious play of the game. We can say, they work by keeping all the “new to the game” players in mind. They are the most used paintballs because they contain all the same essential factors as traditional paintballs, but are easier to access and handle. They are the most popular among beginner-level players in this game. They’re reusable and popular. They feel less bad when they touch the skin as compared to Professional grade paintballs, they don’t hurt a lot as they are made of materials that don’t leave drastic damage, when in contact with the skin, so you need to be close in order for them to leave a noticeable impact. They were originally made for professional players to save money while practicing the sport so that they could bring some stability and toughness to their strengths. Reclaimable grade paintballs act like normal paintballs, but they are made of recyclable items with no actual paint filling in them. Instead, they are made of rubber or foam and weigh a bit more than traditional paintballs. They are easily washable as they hold the ability to float in water. A reclaimable paintball can save you money in the long run. It’s said that a single reclaimable grade paintball can be used over 20,000 times. You can add up the math yourself and see how much money you can save.
RECREATIONAL GRADE PAINTBALLS :
These types of paintballs are an odd mixture of Reclaimable grade paintballs and Professional Grade paintballs. They are designed for more than one purpose use. They can act like both to an extent. For example, they don’t break right away like professional-grade paintballs, but they are breakable.
They can break when they come in contact with a hard surface that gets them to burst when pressure is applied while shooting. These are paintballs that are created using less frangible shells, so they can be hit with more force and therefore break more easily. They are very unpredictable and also have quite an irregular shape and consistency.
Due to this, they’re cheaper, so they usually fall toward the lower end of the spectrum. They’re best if you want a traditional paintball experience without spending a lot of money. Moreover, they’re more popular if you’re just playing for fun and spending a good day with your friends or family. With that said, they are also the best choice if you are looking for a budget-friendly way to get your adrenaline pumping, release some stress and ease your mind.
These were the different types of paintballs. Now the question which arises is How do you decide which type of paintball is the one for you?
Here are some aspects you should keep in mind while surfing through paintballs:
- SAFETY :
No matter what we are doing, the feeling of being protected, safe and sound is what matters the most to us. Being in control of physical, psychological, or material protection brings us a state of peace and calm while in exposed situations. Safety is always the first thing we are concerned about, and it’s something we take very seriously. It has been and will always be our top priority. We never intentionally put ourselves and our loved ones in the line of risk, danger, or threat. Also, in general, we as humans, are inheritably more attracted to less threatening and less physically compromising activities. For this purpose, different calibers of paintballs exist to match your preferred paint tolerance. Usually, .50 caliber is the most preferred one if you have a comparatively low pain tolerance.
- WEIGHT :
The weight of paintballs can affect your performance and gameplay. The weight of the paintballs loaded in the paintball gun will make it hard to handle the gun and shoot. If you are familiar with a specific paintball size then it is better if you stick to that unless you are practicing.
Weight affects speed indirectly. It mostly determines how fast an object can shift its speed while keeping the applied force in mind. This later plays a major factor in performance. I.e., High weighing objects have more momentum and so on.
better the target is marked the more advancing points the team gets, the WEIGHT of a paintball varies on the kind of paintball and the depth and imprinting impact is with the professional grade paintball as the paintball is made with a much rigid shell compared to the other three stated types
- CALIBER :
Caliber can be defined as the ” broadness of the punch evaluated from land to land “. It is very important to choose the right caliber for your paintballs. Paintball’s caliber varies from .43 caliber to .71 caliber ( 11 mm to 18 mm ). The three most commonly used calibers in the paintball area are .68 caliber, .50 Caliber, and first strike rounds.
1) 68 CALIBER :
The .68 caliber is mostly used for professional grade-level paintballs. They are bigger in size and heavier as well, inevitably they hurt more when they hit you but they are the best to use if you are willing to get serious about paintball as they are better in quality and are used by skilled players all around the world.
2) 50 CALIBER :
The .50 caliber is half the size of the .68 caliber, and they also hurt less than the .68 caliber paintballs. If you are a beginner then having paintballs of .50 caliber is more useful because in this way you will have more paintballs and less influence or aftermath.
LEVEL OF THE PLAYER :
The commonly suggested paintball varies to the capability of the player. New players typically choose or are better off choosing reclaimable grade paintballs as they are easier to use and give the player a feel of quick adaptability.
An intermediate or even professional paintball player could be given Professional Grade Paintball or Recreational Grade Paintballs. Secondly, and more importantly, the choice could call down and work just on preference, users could have a better ability to be a better force with their more used paintball. As preference can fuel choice
After knowing the classifications and what ingredients to look at while deciding the paintball type, you might wonder. Which kind or category of paintballs you should opt for?
There are different types of paintballs satisfying the needs and factors, but how will you come across the best ones? Don’t worry because we have figured it all out just for you!
1) PROFESSIONAL GRADE PAINTBALL OPTIONS :
As they are used commonly by intermediate or professional players, made with a dynamic surface and a vibrant dispersible rate. The paintball comes with a rigid outer shell yet a lean consisting paint mixture inside which lets it pop quickly by an external force. Here are some examples:
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RPS EMPIRE MARBALIZER :
These types of paintballs are most evidently used at a professional level, especially during tournaments. They are favored because of their influential capabilities like withstanding hazardous and severe environmental settings like humidity, fogginess, moisture, etc.
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VALKEN GRAFFITI :
They are the best and highest quality paintballs all around the world. They have a .68 caliber and are said to be perfect and to be more precise. It lands and erupts very smoothly when it comes in contact with any physical surface, and at the same time, it manages to hold its shape well enough to not explode inside a paintball marker, make a mess moreover harm your paintball gun.
2) RECLAIMABLE GRADE PAINTBALL OPTIONS :
Following is a medium-consistency paintball that is used for much more friendly non-combative matches. Said ball has a simple spherical outside and an equal spread. With a variety of colors. As the name goes these paintballs don’t have a very accurate fire range as they generally are lighter in size – so to make up for that there is a large amount with each magazine. Let’s look at the examples:
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REBALL :
Reball is an independent brand, and then there are some other companies that are in collaboration, selling them on their platforms as well. Reball is the most famous and renowned in the reusable grade paintball category. They are created with the best quality objects and have made a pretty big name for themselves as the biggest producer and manufacturer of reclaimable grade paintballs.
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GXG RUBBER :
As the name implies, they are made out of rubber and can float in water meaning that they are easily cleanable and much more affordable, and are pretty light on the pocket. A downside is that they are a bit smaller in size.
3) RECREATIONAL GRADE PAINTBALL OPTIONS :
The third type is not so different from the second or the first. Expect the difference to be the dense material giving it a heavier feel and spread range of paint inside them. This is what we found after surfing the examples:
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VALKEN INFINITY :
As you might have figured out now, Valken is quite famous for its paintball equipment. They cater to every kind of paintball consumer, also in the recreational field. Just like the Valken graffiti, discussed above you can also think of these paintballs as very precise with hard shells making it difficult for them to burst in a paintball marker. They are very affordable, hence perfect for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money and want high-quality paintballs.
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VESKA :
A very competent replacement to the Valken infinity is the veska paintballs which are more expensive in comparison but given the additional money you get the choice between different and desirable colors. It works exactly, if not better than Valken infinity. It might be the perfect paintball for you!
All in all, surf through the options while keeping all this knowledge in your mind, and you should always know what you are looking for so you can buy exactly what you need and are looking for. What works for others might not work for you, we are all different from one another in all life aspects. Whether it be life choices or sports, we all think differently, have independent opinions, and use different techniques.
Paintball can be used for competition or for fun, but to be good at the game, you need to know the right kind of paintball. Using the knowledge about paintball as a technique to impress your team is also a good way to gain their respect. Therefore, it can eventually be the reason for your improved performance or skills. In short, knowing the correct paintballs will help you in one way or another.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ( FAQs )
How Many Paintballs Are Used In a Day?
It depends on the type of paintballs you are going to be choosing. If you are going for reusable grade paintballs, 20 or 50 paintballs will be more than enough per person as they can be used more than once.
If you are choosing recreational or professional-grade paintballs, it might take you up to 100 to 150 paintballs per person.
How Long Do Paintballs Last?
The traditional paintballs will last you only 10 – 15 minutes into a game. You are always on the lookout in the game and to go with intuition, players never miss a chance to fire a paintball.
Are Paint Stains Washable?
Yes, no need to worry if somehow the paintball escapes your paintball gear, and manages its way onto your clothes because as mentioned above, all paintballs are made with water-soluble substances so they are unable to leave a permanent stain on your clothes.
Does Getting Hit By a Paintball Hurt?
It all comes down to your pain tolerance. To some, they don’t hurt more than a finger flick or light pinch but to some, they hurt a bit more than that. They do hot leave harmful aftermath or effects on your body. They are even edible so they are not harmful even if consumed. Paintballs don’t hurt you internally or externally.