Tips for getting started in Paintball

[a2ruedas]

Great info here. Thanks for my shopping list ;-)

 

[LittleGreenMan1988]

Looking to get a new carbon bottle to replace my 3000 alloy any ideas what to go for thats good but wont break the bank balance? also is it worth getting a 4500 rather than the 3000? any advice would be great!

 

[>humantarget<]

Cheers Rat, been down my local PB field for about 8 games now. Have my own mask and was now looking to purchase my first marker and you have answered most of my thoughts. Now just need to source one in my price range.

 

[>humantarget<]

The only question is...... is their much difference between hoppers. Are 'feed/rotor' style hoppers a neccesity?

 

[>humantarget<]

The only question is...... is their much difference between hoppers. Are 'feed/rotor' style hoppers a neccesity?

 

[Colin]

This post has made good reading to myself as iv just been given a tippmann a5 to get started iv just bought a dye i3 mask and need directions to what and where to buy next

I will be playing with my friends in local woodsball site so any tips or help be great

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rat]

best bet to take your gear to a walkon day and get some use out of it, my thoughts would be next buys air tank and decent loader then if you change marker your tank and loader can be used on that too

 

[Tom]

Looking to get a new carbon bottle to replace my 3000 alloy any ideas what to go for thats good but wont break the bank balance? also is it worth getting a 4500 rather than the 3000? any advice would be great!

My typical advice is to veer people away from fibres, but that's directed at those asking advice when starting, so I would say in those cases to save the money for playing and start with a 3000psi cylinder

If you've the money to spend then I would recommend going 4500psi
There's little point in spending the extra and not getting 4500psi

Moneywise a 3000psi cylinder makes the most sense. When buying fibre cylinders you must consider it a £200 investment over 15 years. £150 outlay, then tests at about £25 at the 5 and 10 year stages
You could buy a lot of steel/aluminum cylinders for that money
So on the bottom line of just air per £ fibre loses

Next whether you get to actually use 4500psi depends on where you play to whether you can get a 4500psi
If not then its not worth it

But depending on the cylinder you could have more physical size. Whether you shoot enough in game to make hat worthwhile is your decision

Fibres are lighter then steel/aluminiums. But balance and the right size for you is more important
A compact cylinder might be the right one for you, which takes away extra physical capacity so you don't get more air (unless you get 4500 fills) but if it puts the ergonomics for your comfort and efficiency then it is worth it
You can also get compact 3000psi cylinders - in my collection I have a 13ci cylinder

Regarding breaking the bank you have 3 (possibly 4) choices:
Stick to 3000psi and only spend around £30
Go for 4500psi and spend around £150
Go for second hand 4500psi and spend around £80 depending on life. This comes with concerns on the condition of the cylinder and regulator but can give you a saving. You need to consider the remaining life, any future tests and work out a depreciation cost. A cylinder that is a couple of years old gives a good saving because of second hand pricing. One with only a couple of years to life end might look cheap but may be overpriced
(Take average life costs of about £13 per month. Compare that to second hand price plus any remaining tests, divide by remaining life)
The 4 option that could come up is to look at cylinders at a paintball retailer or at a stall, try and find older stock that is more then a couple of months old and ask for a discount. (Remember lifetime cost / depreciation of £13 per year, get £5 £10 or more off older stock and you are shifting stock that has been tying up their money and have an unused cylinder for you)

There are differences in cylinders and regulator combinations, if you have no special needs for the market then the specifics may not worry you.
Eg you won't need LPA output, and may not worry about user serviceable regulators (though it would be useful in the long run)

As you are asking if going fibre & 4500psi is worth the money, then it may not be time for you to change
If you can afford to buy new, or find a good second hand purchase from a trusted member that takes care of cylinders then go for it
If the extra money will impact on you affording to play then stick to 3000psi

 

[Tom]

The only question is...... is their much difference between hoppers. Are 'feed/rotor' style hoppers a neccesity?

Probably not realy necessary these days. But it depends on how you shoot

Choice used to be gravity or electric
(I will discount specialisms such a QLoader)
Now with gravity hoppers you have the option of ones with shelves which takes away most stoppages

With electric hoppers they started as just agitation (shelf hoppers were out at the same time but electric agitated won)
All that an agitated hopper does is avoid jamming at the feedback and saves you shaking a standard hopper

Next comes electric force fed hoppers. These are designed to keep up with the capable fire rate, partly to keep paint fed, but more importantly to stop chopping of a part fed paintball.
Other technology has become standard with eyes stopping the bolt if a paintball is not ready
Having eyes then makes the force feed redundant as a solution to chopping (unless you play CQB events etc with clear paint, but some eye systems still cope with clear)

The other feature of force feeds are very high rates of fire. But most of the time rates are capped anyway and you don't get the full benefit of the force feed

With a rotor there is a pretty consistent second hand market, so with this if you are willing to part with about £80 for a second hand hopper then you can be fairly sure of getting your money back later if you decide it's not for you
But you don't have to go for a rotor for a force feed

Shelf is better then basic gravity
Agitated is better then basic gravity
Shelf and agitated are arguable - at least with shelf you can be guaranteed the battery will never go flat
Force fed is better then all of the above - but how much value the difference is worth is up to you

If you can bear to have no paintball fed ready on occasion then a gravity hopper will do you fine, and I recommend a shelf hopper to minimise not having one ready
If you absolutely must have a paintball ready for every shot then force fed is the answer

 

[LittleGreenMan1988]

My typical advice is to veer people away from fibres, but that's directed at those asking advice when starting, so I would say in those cases to save the money for playing and start with a 3000psi cylinder

If you've the money to spend then I would recommend going 4500psi
There's little point in spending the extra and not getting 4500psi

Moneywise a 3000psi cylinder makes the most sense. When buying fibre cylinders you must consider it a £200 investment over 15 years. £150 outlay, then tests at about £25 at the 5 and 10 year stages
You could buy a lot of steel/aluminum cylinders for that money
So on the bottom line of just air per £ fibre loses

Next whether you get to actually use 4500psi depends on where you play to whether you can get a 4500psi
If not then its not worth it

But depending on the cylinder you could have more physical size. Whether you shoot enough in game to make hat worthwhile is your decision

Fibres are lighter then steel/aluminiums. But balance and the right size for you is more important
A compact cylinder might be the right one for you, which takes away extra physical capacity so you don't get more air (unless you get 4500 fills) but if it puts the ergonomics for your comfort and efficiency then it is worth it
You can also get compact 3000psi cylinders - in my collection I have a 13ci cylinder

Regarding breaking the bank you have 3 (possibly 4) choices:
Stick to 3000psi and only spend around £30
Go for 4500psi and spend around £150
Go for second hand 4500psi and spend around £80 depending on life. This comes with concerns on the condition of the cylinder and regulator but can give you a saving. You need to consider the remaining life, any future tests and work out a depreciation cost. A cylinder that is a couple of years old gives a good saving because of second hand pricing. One with only a couple of years to life end might look cheap but may be overpriced
(Take average life costs of about £13 per month. Compare that to second hand price plus any remaining tests, divide by remaining life)
The 4 option that could come up is to look at cylinders at a paintball retailer or at a stall, try and find older stock that is more then a couple of months old and ask for a discount. (Remember lifetime cost / depreciation of £13 per year, get £5 £10 or more off older stock and you are shifting stock that has been tying up their money and have an unused cylinder for you)

There are differences in cylinders and regulator combinations, if you have no special needs for the market then the specifics may not worry you.
Eg you won't need LPA output, and may not worry about user serviceable regulators (though it would be useful in the long run)

As you are asking if going fibre & 4500psi is worth the money, then it may not be time for you to change
If you can afford to buy new, or find a good second hand purchase from a trusted member that takes care of cylinders then go for it
If the extra money will impact on you affording to play then stick to 3000psi

Awesome post back mate, ive not really got that much to spend so reckon im going to make do with my alloy for the mo then if I get to a stage where Im finding I need more air during a tourney game upgrade thanks for the advice and in depth explanation really appreciated!