Paintball air tanks, markers, and hoppers are not the only stuff that you need to prepare before paintballing. There are clothes and safety paintball gear as well that you have to gather before the game. For beginner players, What to Wear When Paintballing is the biggest concern. Even veteran players are always in search of advanced protective equipment and clothing to keep them comfy during the game.
Every sport has its dedicated attire and the same goes with paintball. Interestingly, it has got dedicated clothes to wear. Paintballing attire should expose less part of your skin to prevent the player from paintball brusing and it should be comfortable and relaxing. If you haven’t decided what to wear, then this article will guide you on how to prepare for your first paintball battle.
What to Wear for Paintballing
Are you in rush? Check out our brief overview about paintballing attire:
Basic Paintballing Attire
1. Clothing (Shirts & Pants)
When choosing clothes for paintballing, always try to avoid less revealing clothes such as shorts, tank tops, and T-shirts. The reason is the paintball might cause any injury to your exposed skin. Also, it might be possible that you have to crawl, kneel, or even slide on the battle, which may harm your skin. Therefore, avoid wearing clothes with less coverage.
Instead, wear a thin-long sleeve shirt and pair it with jogging pants. When choosing a shirt for paintballing, always look for a dry-fit or soft cotton material as it doesn’t absorb any moisture. Make sure the shirt is not tightly fitted as it will restrict your movement in the field. While playing paintball, players wear long sleeve t-shirts with paintball jersey or sweatshirt over them.
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Talking about the bottoms, lightweight and loosely fitted cargo/jogging pants will go best. Avoid wearing Bermuda and shorts for paintballing. If you are going for paintballing in summers then choosing light color clothing will keep you cool in the ground as light-colored dresses won’t absorb heat.
2. Shoes
The type of paintball you are going to play determines the type of shoes that you have to wear. For woodsball, you need to wear running shoes that have proper ankle support. Ankle injuries and foot sprains are the most common injuries during paintballing. Shoes that have a good amount of tread are ideal for Woodsball. This includes hiking boots, running joggers, and trail runners. Since woodsball is a game that is played on uneven terrain, players need to have comfortable running shoes that give proper support to the ankle.
On the other hand, when speedball is your priority, then wearing cleats is a great idea. Speedball game It is played on smooth and soft terrain where players want to have additional traction. In this case, you can go for football cleats, baseball, and soccer cleats. Do not wear open-toe shoes such as sandals, as there will be more chances for foot injuries. Whatever running shoes you wear, make sure that they’re comfortable to wear and give proper support to your foot arch.
3. Wear Gloves
Hand injuries are the second most common injury in paintball. So, wearing paintball gloves will not only protect your hands from bruises but also provide a firm grip on the paintball gun. And obviously, you won’t face painful cuts, thorns, and splinters on your hands.
From gloves, we don’t mean to wear bulky garden or winter gloves. That’s a bad choice as it will be somewhat uncomfortable when shooting. You can choose football, golf and bikers gloves. There are specific paintball gloves too that are more like weight-lifting fingerless gloves. The only difference is the presence of padding on the backside of the palm in paintball gloves which protect your hands from paintball shots.
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4. Paintball Masks
Paintball travels at the fastest speed of 200 mph. Imagine being hit by such a fast-moving paintball at the temple bone. Pretty terrible. So, to keep yourself, especially your head, and face protected from such painful injuries, it is advisable to invest in a good paintball mask. If you don’t have a facemask right now, you can protect your head and face by wearing a backward-fitted baseball cap. Even a thick winter hat would be enough to protect your head.
While paintballing in the summer, it’s a good idea to wear thin beanies and bandanas made of soft cotton. Beanies and headwraps would also give equal head protection. Whatever headgear you prefer to wear, just make sure it should be made of anti-slip material and should fit comfortably on your head.
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5. Pod Packs
Pod packs are also called harnesses but they have pockets to carry pods. Though they are not the essential paintballing gear, if you are regular paintballers, you need to have a pod pack in your paintballing attire list.
It eliminates the need of carrying extra pods in hand. Pod pack harness makes it easy to carry numerous pods with you on the field. So that you can instantly feed the most paintballs into the gun during the game.
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6. Padded Vest
A vest is not a part of mandatory paintball attire, but if you are a die-hard fan of playing woodsball, then you need to have one. Paintball vests feature front extra padding that will keep you protected from shocks and impacts during playing paintball. Since it’s a vest, it has multiple pockets where you can keep your essentials with you, such as Allen keys, pods, squeegee, and others. If you are using a vest, then you don’t need to wear pod packs, as pods can be kept in the vest’s pocket.
7. Knee and Elbow Pads
Investing in high-quality knee and elbow pads is a great idea, especially when you are playing paintball on rough terrain. Since there are more chances of injuries on rough terrain, so wearing a knee and elbow pad will protect you from abrasions and impacts. Knee and elbow pads are pretty useful in summer paintballing. You can keep your elbows and knees protected even by wearing short clothes with knee and elbow pads.
Paintball Clothing Tips
You are now well aware of what to wear for paintball. Here we are sharing some pearls of wisdom, or you can say, paintball clothing tips that may help you dress properly.
Wear clothes as per the weather
Some people advise wearing thick clothes or wearing more layers for paintballing as they will feel less pain. That’s totally a wrong concept. Wearing thick clothes in the summer is no doubt a foolish idea, especially when you are paintballing in the scorching sun. The best is to wear thin, dry-fit, baggy style light-colored clothing to keep you cool on the field. In contrast to this, people love to wear warm clothes such as hoodies and jackets in winters while paintballing.
Wear rejected and old clothes
Paintballing is not a fashion show where everyone will notice the quality of clothing you are wearing. Here people will notice the stains of paint on your shirts. So it’s preferable to wear old and rejected clothes that are no more worn anywhere. The reason is, you need to crawl or kneel on the terrain which might cause your clothes to get dirty. So, wearing old clothes will give you peace of mind when they get paintball paint on it.
Give extra protection to the neck and groin area
The neck and groin areas are the most sensitive areas that have to be protected in any case. For the neck, neck protectors are available that protect the muscles of the neck. Whereas for the groin area, wearing a groin cup may be helpful. Though it’s a bit uncomfortable, it will give you peace of mind that your sensitive part will remain safe and sound.
Do not expose any part of your body
Though paintballs are small they injure your bare skin when they hit. That’s why we are insisting not wearing revealing clothes as paintball leaves welt on the skin. So to make your game less pain-free, do not expose any part of your body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
You can enjoy your first time paintballing experience only if you are fully aware of what to wear during playing paintball. Wearing proper paintball attire will give you immense maneuverability and flexibility to move around the field. Not only clothing, but wearing appropriate protective paintball gear will give you a pain free paintballing experience. Remember, protection is the top-tier concern of any paintballer, be it a beginner or a veteran. So dress properly for a paintball league and enjoy while playing paintball.