Gear Bag Review #3

Welcome to part three of my gear bag review.  I’ve already written about the two most important pieces of kit when I covered my markers and mask, so the next few posts will lump different pieces of gear together.  As promised, I will create a master link to this series that will allow people to jump to different pages by clicking on the name of a certain piece of gear.  I will also add in a price guide so that new players can get some idea of what it costs to build their first paintball kit.

Gloves

Standard utility gloves left and center.  Mechanix MPact Gloves on the Right.

Not everyone wears gloves on the paintball field, but I would highly recommend buying something to protect your hands during play.  Getting hit directly on the finger by a paintball is very painful, and it happens more often than you would think.  Also, gloves help to protect your hands when you are moving through brush or scrambling to get behind low cover. There are a lot of gloves made for paintball or airsoft, but don’t feel like you need to use special gloves if you can’t afford them. 

My first pair of gloves was a simple set of re-purposed utility gloves that I had bought to help my friend remodel his basement a couple of years ago.  They have leather grips, padded knuckles, and an adjustable Velcro strap to adjust for fit.  They worked perfectly, but started to wear on the finger tips, so I had to remove the tip of the index finger for my left hand (my shooting hand). I technically didn't need to replace them, but I had another landscaping project and decided to purchase another pair of work gloves at Walmart.  

This pair is bright red, and though I could use them to play paintball, I feel like they would basically stand out as a dead giveaway if I tried to sneak through the brush.  I decided to buy some Mechanix Mpact gloves specifically for paintball, because I had read on some forums that players were using them for paintball and airsoft.  They have more padding in specific areas, but I’m on the fence about them at this point.  For the most part, they cost a great deal more than my cheap utility gloves, and they have some issues with stiff material that has been stitched on the thumb and forefinger.  This material deadens my sense of touch so that I can’t really feel the trigger as well, so they may need to be broken in a bit.  If they don’t work, I will likely try to get a different pair to play with.

My advice to anyone looking to buy gloves is to avoid using anything that is too thick or restrictive.  Winter gloves (snowboarding gloves, convertible mittens, etc.) are really to bulky to be functional, so use something that is protective, but natural feeling.  If you are interested in Mechanix Wear gloves, they are sold online, or some styles can be found at automotive supply stores or hardware stores.  If you are buying online, be careful about sizing, as the fit will be different than other brands.  They have an online sizing chart that you can print for reference.

Hoppers

Empire Halo Too electronic hopper

I won’t go into much discussion about hoppers in general here, because I have only ever used two hoppers since I started playing.  My original hopper is a simple, gravity fed JT hopper that I bought for around $6.00.  It works well with a mechanical marker, holds quite a few paintballs and I have no complaints about it other than the fact that it isn't a good fit for an electronic marker.  

My second purchase was the Empire Halo Too electronic hopper which I use with my electronic marker.  I really like this hopper despite some of the issues I have with the programming interface and with disassembly/reassembly.  It feeds very consistently without breaks or jams, and I haven’t had a single issue with mechanical failures that could be attributed to the hopper itself.  I can’t say the same about my marker, but I digress.  Some players prefer the more popular and expensive Dye Rotor hoppers, but I don’t really have the need for something like that just yet.  Besides, I plan to make my Tippmann A-5 my primary marker this season, and it doesn’t require any after market hopper at all!  

The short answer about purchasing a good hopper is to do as much research as possible. It’s not a terrible idea to go ahead and purchase a Dye Rotor, but it’s not necessarily the most budget friendly decision either.  It is important to know the limitations of your marker as well.  If you can only fire 15 to 20 balls per second with your marker, there is no need to purchase a hopper that can load faster than that unless you plan to upgrade your marker frequently.  Buying a hopper all comes down to personal preference, and there are no real wrong choices.  Just make sure that your hopper doesn’t hinder your marker’s performance.

That’s all I have for this post as I’m trying to keep these short(ish), but next time I will write about my pod carriers and air tanks along with some smaller extras that I have recently purchased to augment my loadout.  If you have comments or questions/suggestions about items from my kit that you would like to know more about, then please feel free to use the comments section below.  Until the next time!

~Krimmit

Gear Bag Review #2

Welcome back for part 2 of my personal gear bag review.  In this series, I’m basically just talking about the different pieces of equipment that I have in my own beginner’s kit for paintball and my reasons for purchasing those items.  If any of the information I share in these posts can help others make informed choices about their own first purchases, I would be very happy to hear it.  

Feel free to share any of your own thoughts about the best equipment to buy first, or what items to avoid in the comments below the posts.  I will put up one master post with a list of links to the items listed once the series is finished, and I also plan to put together a price guide for the very first items I bought so that you all can see what a beginner’s kit can cost.  

Paintball Masks 

Sly Profit Dual-Pane Thermal Goggle

A good mask is probably the most important part of any gear bag, and it is really the most vital and universally required piece of equipment for playing on any commercial paintball field.  The most important thing to know about paintball masks is that if it seems like too good of a deal to be true, it most likely is.  My very first mask is really the only piece of kit that I fully regret buying.  There’s a little bit of back story here, but I will be brief.

For my very first paintball outing, my friends and I decided to play in the dead of winter, and the only gear that I actually owned for playing was a marker, and a tank that my wife had picked up for me the night before.  We all met at our local sporting goods store to pick up paint, fill our tanks, and see what other gear we could find.  Most stores in my area don’t stock up on paintball supplies too heavily, so pickings were slim that day.  However, I did spot a JT hopper for my mechanical marker and a JT mask for about $25.00 on the shelf above.  I didn’t have a mask of my own, and I knew very little about what features to look for at the time.  

We all left the store with our new items in hand, and drove out to the woods for a few games.  After about 20 minutes of playing, running, and breathing into the mask, the lens fogged up so badly that I couldn’t see past the large drops of condensation that had gathered there.  I wasn’t sweating, but my skin was breathing moisture into the goggle which was chilled from the cold air outside.  To make things worse, the condensation then froze inside my lens rendering me blind and vulnerable.  

I chalked that experience up to bad weather, and brought the mask out of storage a few months later when the weather had grown warmer.  Even at temps around 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the mask fogged so badly that I would have to call myself out to avoid running into a tree stump or a ditch unwittingly.  The lesson here is to always look for a mask with a thermal coated lens at bare minimum, and that’s where my Sly Profit comes in.

The Profit retails for around $120-$130 on most websites, and once I started playing with this thing, I was running around the field with confidence.  Even when temps started peaking around 90 degrees with 100% humidity, my lens stayed clear and the mask is still quite comfortable.  My only gripe would be that the Profit is not well ventilated, and it does feel a bit stuffy at all temperatures.  Still, I can’t complain about how much better it has been playing with this mask.

I haven’t played with any other masks besides that JT abomination, and my Profit, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that you need to spend over $100 to get a good thermal mask.  There are several options available in the $40 + range that seem to have very good reputations from players who are more seasoned than I am.  My advice is to do a bit of research before you buy, and choose something that you like both aesthetically, and functionally.  

Many players will have strong opinions about masks and other equipment, but don’t follow herd thinking on this choice.  Besides, how boring is it to see a bunch of Dye I4s and Empire Profilers running around on the field all day?  Both are great masks from what I hear, but a bit of variety is good.  Choose something that fits your need, and something that fits your budget.  

Until next time!

~Krimmit