New to paintball, needing advice/guidance on what gear to get.

[Rozza99]

I’m new to the sport, I’ve recently purchased my gun Dye DSR, i love the gun but now im needing assistance on other gear to get. In terms of apparel such as tops, trousers, headbands etc I need advice on what to get or if anyone I seeking anyone would be even better. Also assistance on a new canister for the gun as the one I have is very heavy. Thanks

 

[ant290]

Where are you planning to play most often?

 

[Rozza99]

Around my area it’s mainly woodsball, however I am planning on going to some speedball and getting into that as it does seem appealing

 

[ant290]

Ok. I would say to get a tank that is 1.3 litres then. Just so you can guarantee 5 pods and a loader through the DSR (I have mine set up very smooth and it uses a lot of air)

As for pants and jersey.. just get what you like the look of, black / brown / camo all do genuinely help in the woods .. but if you want red / blue / purple then go for it!

 

[Tom]

Where and how you play will dictate your needs on clothing

For your cylinder I will assume that you currently have a ‘standard’ aluminium 3000psi compressed air HPA cylinder
You obviously need the right cylinder type for the available fills … and that it is suitable for your DSR

Here in the UK CO2 remains common on many ‘rental’ sites, but 3000psi fills are normal for sites that cater for walkons, events, own gunners etc
Major tournaments and events will generally also offer 4500psi fills for players with suitable cylinders

A ‘standard’ 3000psi aluminium is heavier than the equivalent 4500psi fibre cylinder, but the ‘standard’ 4500 is bigger which brings the weight closer, so avoid just switching cylinders and do some investigation to what suits you

The ergonomics of your combined cylinder and gun are much more important than weight, if it feels right and is balanced the difference in weight is less noticeable

For reference see the attached pictures which are my (out of date) 4500psi 48ci fibre cylinder, which has the same capacity as a standard aluminium 3000psi, but is a little shorter & fatter and has the ability to have more air when 4500 is available


This weighs 1 kilo itself, and a bit more with a cover (which you should fibres)

(There are also ‘ultra light’ cylinders where the weight saving is much more obvious)

The following video gives a good overview of the ranges of cylinder types

 

[Tom]

For clothing you want something comfortable that will survive your style of play and the environment

In the woods you generally don’t need padding, but knee pads will protect when you kneel
Ideally you won’t want to dive and slide on random woodland ground, so wouldn’t need the knee / elbow padding of a speedballer
But if you are going to crawl then your body will thank you for knee, elbow and hand protection

I have found that I dislike external strap on knee pads and prefer pull on knee & elbow pads
(I also have a bad knee and very bad knee so it helps me a lot to have pads that hold them together - if you look after your body now then you will have less issues in the future)

‘Proper’ paintball trousers have classically come as padded and with good wear, but there has been a move towards light/thin
They do come at a price though

Basic army trousers should survive in the woods, but won’t have the thickness of ‘proper’ paintball trousers

I have not paid full price on paintball trousers but have a few pairs - as raffle prizes, ‘payment’ for photography from teams out of their sponsor deals etc

I like to play fairly light and in the woods will go for decent boots, jeans/paintball/combat trousers, a t shirt or padded jersey, and on my head a backwards baseball cap, beanie, or headband

 

[Rozza99]

Any suggestions on which one to go for? Like what you would specifically recommend in my situation

 

[Tom]

Any suggestions on which one to go for? Like what you would specifically recommend in my situation

Other than that a 48ci fibre will achieve a weight saving, I wouldn’t like to recommend something

I have big arms and hands, so my 48 is shorter than optimum for me, but I can comfortably use it when that’s the one I chose to use*

* I can’t currently use it as I allowed it to expire and have not retested it
I then immediately regretted not including it when I last had a couple tested, I intend to get around to having it tested before I next play

The best option really is to try and see if you can get to a paintball shop and feel some of their range, or failing that at a walkon or event ask to look over other peoples gear on site

 

[ant290]

Where are you based?

I mean, we could give very specific recommendations but that is going to be personal preference.

for example... I could say:

Pants: One41 Classic pants (as they have the ripstop all over which is good in the woods).
Jersey: HK HSTL line as it has good padding and BZ have them at £35 on their website right now.

Headband: Kezbands on facebook, or GetMilkedDesigns or One41 again (the denim ones are real nice)

Bottle: Dye 1.3 ltr 4500, and a ninja slp reg (or a ninja pro v2 with all the red shims taken out)

Pads: Eclipse arm pads (honestly they are pretty much the best arm pads anyway)
Knees: you have to try some or just gamble on them fitting, I've forever struggled to get knee pads that stay where they're put.

But all of this is based on my opinion and I have no idea what body shape you are or anything else.

 

[Tom]

….. just as an addendum, my old post below compared some cylinder sizes & weights

My two 48ci cylinders were 1600g for the aluminium and 1000g for the fibre

A ‘normal’ 4800 would be sized at about 68ci, but I had a bigger 91ci at 1700g
A 68ci fibre would probably be slightly lighter than the aluminium 48ci

Don’t forget though - an aluminium costs around £40 to £50, whereas a fibre is in the range of £150 to £200 (and beware of buying a fibre without realising if the regulator is included or not)

bottle weights

Hi guys im just getting back into paintball after about a twelve year break, I have what im sure your going to regard as a newb question for you-whats the average weight difference between a steely 48ci 3000 and a 68ci 4500 carbon fiber bottle and is the price worth paying?

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