Outdoors

You’re getting into paintball, one of the most exciting sports out there. Good choice. Paintball is great fun, but you’ll need to buy a lot of gear. To get started, you'll need to get a marker, a mask, clothes, a loader, an air tank, and many other random accessories. For now, let’s just focus on the gun.

In the past, choosing your gun was easy. If you were a beginner, you got yourself a basic gas blowback gun like a Tippman Model 98 or something. If you were feeling fancy, you might have sprung for something like an WGP Autococker. This can still work, but the technology of recent years has changed many things. High tech electropnuematic markers have come down greatly in price. Back in the old days, a fast electronic gun like an WDP Angel would have cost you dearly. Today, you can get many fast, high performance markers that let you dive right into the world of electropneumatics.

However, just because you have the power doesn't mean you should use it. Basic blow back style paintball guns are very reliable, and a snap to repair if they happen to break. Not so with the cheaper electro-pnuematics. Also, to really get the most out of an electric marker, you’ll need to get some sort of compressed air system. Air tanks are more expensive than the basic CO2 tanks blowbacks often use.

Really, it all depends on your style. If you’re doing a lot of woodsball/scenario type games, symplicity and reliability are paramount. However, if you’re playing speedball games, having a nice, fast marker can be invaluable. You need to understand your playing style so you can make the right decision. No single marker is right for everyone, but with the proper research, you can find something that works for you. Now, go out there and play some paintball!