Newbie needs info please

[Alexwin]

Hey guys and girls,
So I've been paintball a few times at bawtry and delta force and I wanna get into this sport so bad, but I have no kit. I'm flying to Orlando Florida in 2 weeks and I no Paintballing is huge over there, is it worth buying equipment over there and bringing it back eg. Marker, tank, hopper. And how? Any info will be helpful thanks

 

[Alex Dawson]

I would imagine it would be cheaper to buy gear over in the states, most things usually are cheaper.
Then again the p8ntballer forums often have good quality second hand gear at a good price, including complete kit sales where people leave the sport. I wish i had bought second hand when i started because you dont know what kind of gear will suit you.
lastly i would recommend just getting yourself a marker(with hopper and tank) , Mask, and a pod holder . thats all you really need to start with, no one will look at you and judge because your not in full gear... its far worse in my opinion to have " All the gear and no idea" ... im slowly shedding all of my gear as i gradualy start to get an idea

Hope this helps buddy

Peace ( for now )

o/

 

[maxxon]

One thing to note is that US inspection stamps (DOT) for high pressure tanks are generally not valid in Europe.

And flying with one is an extra hassle anyway.

My general feeling is that if you're buying at suggested retail, it's not really worth it. If you happen to find a particularly good deal for something, e.g. a barrel kit, it might be worth it bringing it over.

 

[Alexwin]

Yes thankyou I understand, I think I'll have a look cheers

 

[Alexwin]

That's one of my worries,
I didn't know this about higher pressure tanks. Thanks

 

[Garcelle]

Just a side note if you are intending to buy gear in the US,

Make sure you remove the items from packaging and cut all the tags off, wear the items a couple of times and if you buy a marker try to shove some paint to through it and make it used. Maybe go for a quick game and get shot a couple of times .
If you are stopped on return to UK and the stuff is unused you will be charged import duty and VAT on the items (keep your receipts just incase)


Hope you manage to find something good out there.

 

[Tom]

Before smuggling goods into the U.K. check your allowances as there may be no duty to pay in the first place.

https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arrivals-from-outside-the-eu

If customs check you and believe you are attempting to deceive them then they won't be very friendly. The lack of receipts can mean they make their own valuations and bring you over the threshold whereas your genuine receipts may have been below the threshold with nothing owing in the first place.


Compressed air cylinders - not really worth the effort, if it's not already tri-certified for US/Canada/Europe then you won't be able to use it.

Guns aren't necessarily worth the effort unless it's something special, and take into account that you may have to pay extra to import.

Other goods are definately worth the effort

In principle support U.K. paintball retailers, but as long as you are buying for yourself then you can get good deals without the excess of international postage

Research the area you are going to go to for real paintball shops, if there aren't any handy ones then you can still buy online and have it delivered to your hotel to be held until your arrival

 

[Tom]

That's one of my worries,
I didn't know this about higher pressure tanks. Thanks

Not sure if this is a wording issue or a typo

Tanks / cylinders in the US are to the same pressures (designed to hold 3000psi or 4500psi)
This level of pressure is known as High Pressure Air
They need to be approved for the country / region they are used. Though you could buy an identical cylinder in the U.K. or the US the actual one you buy in a shop is unlikely to have approval markings for both U.K. & US

https://m.facebook.com/notes/united-kingdom-paintball-sport-federation/high-pressure-air-paintball-safety-information-guide-hpa-1/349610921821652/

 

[Kyle_W]

many years ago my parents visited the states and called me to ask if i wanted any kit brought back, they had the shop owner remove all tags and sent a birthday parcel to me back home, complete with birthday card. Package was opened at customs, small handling fee was added (around £45 from memory) and parcel was released.
There was some clothing, a barrel kit and a new tank. The tank was available in the UK, however oblivious to the different testing regs i turned up to play at UK Masters and had my bottle turned away as it was only DOT tested. Essentially became an expensive mistake and demoted to a training bottle. Lesson learned there.

Clothing and accessories were great, although as mentioned above, only worth it if there is something special or at a bargain price.

 

[Tom]

many years ago my parents visited the states and called me to ask if i wanted any kit brought back, they had the shop owner remove all tags and sent a birthday parcel to me back home, complete with birthday card. Package was opened at customs, small handling fee was added (around £45 from memory) and parcel was released.
There was some clothing, a barrel kit and a new tank. The tank was available in the UK, however oblivious to the different testing regs i turned up to play at UK Masters and had my bottle turned away as it was only DOT tested. Essentially became an expensive mistake and demoted to a training bottle. Lesson learned there.

Clothing and accessories were great, although as mentioned above, only worth it if there is something special or at a bargain price.

Unless they bought a serious amount (or they were also coming back with their import limit) then the attempted smuggling caused customs to put on the charges
The circa £45 bill was part import vat and part courier fee (probably £8 to £20 fee) so £25 to £37 import vat
If they brought it back in person then there would have been no charge due to personal allowance or they would have only paid the import vat and not the courier fee ...... and the international postage when they sent it