Hi From a Newbie

[Neilski]

Hi Guys,

Just started to take a serious interest in paintballing after having been to ambush paintball this weekend. Been about half a dozen times now to various sites and every time i go is brilliant fun and great exercise.

I would like to get set up with my own gear, but unsure where to start especially as my knowledge of the jargon floating around on the forum is pretty poor to say the least so at the moment it is making sense.

I am looking to start playing woodsball (is this correct?) mainly but obviously the more i get into it the more i would want to do.

I've seen mention of training sessions whihc im assuming if you had your own gear then you could turn up for?

Any advice you could offer me on how to get into this would be great.

Cheers

Neil

 

[goldenelite0]

Seeing as you've been to Ambush, Hampshire yes? I'll centre your advice around that site. The best way to get into paintball is to go to a Walk-on day which is like a discount day specially for paintball players. Ambush do a Walk-on day normally every third Sunday (Though for November it's the 8th.) where you bring all your own kit but for an extra fiver you can rent out everything or just the bits you need. Also, they have air there so don't buy a Co2 tank for your marker.

It's a little hard to give advice on equipment because I think it's very personel to the player on what they they should purchase. I suggest when you buy a gun is that you buy the most basic version possible then just go play with it! After a game or two you'll realise which bits need a performance boost and which are fine as they are, then you can upgrade as you need. You'll save a lot of money this way rather than buying and wasting a lot of money all in one go. I also find that the bells and whistles can be a little overwhelming.

The only exception to my rule is masks. NEVER buy a cheap one as you probably won't be able to see and what good is that? Always spend a little more on a mask.


Have you any thoughts on what type of marker to get? Do you favour performance or looks? Military styled or 'Sporty'? Any budget to work with?

 

[bremner1688]

welcome to the forum mate, should be able to find some gear in the for sale section, find out where your local paintball sites are and if they use air or CO2 this will help when searching for a marker/gun. hope your wallet is full because its not cheap

 

[PaintballWizard]

hope your wallet is full because its not cheap

Ha ha so true. But don't get put off mate, you don't have to buy everything at once.

Would you like to continue playing punter days mate or would you rather just play walkons as some sites won't allow certain things at punter days.

Oh, and welcome to the forums

 

[Neilski]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Well my ignorance is shown already as i didnt realise that some places use air and some use CO2.........

Do i take it that the markers can run on either air or co2? or is it dependent on the marker?

I think really i would like ot do walk ons and still be able to go on punter days as every now and then my mates organise to go for a day paintballing.

Seen a proto SLG for sale second hand for £80 is this a good deal? or is this gun a bit hardcore for a beginner? I was going to buy a brand new mask as obviously having been on punter days before i appreciate the pain in the arse that a steamed up mask can be!

For woodland games would i be better off with a remote tank or a tank connected directly to the gun? or is this just personal preference?

Not hugely worried about the cost as i seem to be attracted to expensive hobbies as my other hobbies include scuba diving & my impreza neither of which is cheap......

Probably going to be asking a lot more questions as time goes on so please bear with me.

Thanks again!

 

[Mactoshdog]

as a general rule with air and CO2,
air is always best. but mechanical markers (ones without electronics such as tippmanns) can use co2

 

[PaintballWizard]

Right let's try and answer everything.

Do i take it that the markers can run on either air or co2? or is it dependent on the marker?

Dependant on the marker.

I think really i would like ot do walk ons and still be able to go on punter days as every now and then my mates organise to go for a day paintballing.

In which case you need to speak to the site and find out if they allow you to take your own gear, whether they use air or c02 and if you can use an electro-pneumatic (electro) marker there.

Seen a proto SLG for sale second hand for £80 is this a good deal?

That's pretty good but you're gonna want goggles first

or is this gun a bit hardcore for a beginner?

Absolutely not, the slg is a very good entry level marker that is very popular as a first electro marker. You'll have to watch though, as with most electro markers, it'll only run on Air.

I was going to buy a brand new mask as obviously having been on punter days before i appreciate the pain in the arse that a steamed up mask can be!

Absolutely. The first thing you're going to want is some decent goggles before you buy anything else. Don't skimp on the goggles. It's pointless having a marker that can shoot ropes if you can't see who you're shooting at (durgh ) I'd suggest proto pro axis goggles. £55, a little cheaper than the dye stuff but i think they're more comfortable and if you do struggle against fogging (which i highly doubt you will with them) then you can buy a fan for them and just flick it on when they start to steam up. 30 seconds and they're clear again

For woodland games would i be better off with a remote tank or a tank connected directly to the gun? or is this just personal preference?

Just personal preference really - i play woods and dont have a remote line but i know a lot of people do. When the time comes to it, try it directly mounted to the marker and if you don't like it then grab a remote line.

Not hugely worried about the cost

You'll probably be glad for that. Can you give us an approximate budget though?

Probably going to be asking a lot more questions as time goes on so please bear with me.

Oh wait, that's not a question

Hope this helps, just remember, if you need something or want to ask something, feel free to ask away.

 

[Neilski]

Well, at the ambush site i was upgraded to an electro-pnuematic marker (smart parts VIBE) as it was my birthday so i am assuming this runs on air meaning that the ambush site is air?
Also they had one of their regular players there with his own gun etc playing amongst the rest of us with rental kit but obviously i will check this, but to be honest i would end up doing more walk ons than anything else i reckon.

Was tempted to get a SP VIBE having already tried it out, but how does it compare to say the proto SLG.......

I think ideally i would be looking to spend between £300 to get started but obviously i understand that this could well escalate once little extras start getting added on.

Basic kit to start with would be;
mask, marker, hopper, air set, ammo belt.

Kit to get later on;
playing pants, jersey, better gloves, remote air line if needed.

Hopefully 300 is a realistic target for a basic starter kit.

Cheers

 

[goldenelite0]

meaning that the ambush site is air?

They only have air yes. Trust me mate get air, not only is it better but every marker can use it but a lot of markers can't use Co2.

Was tempted to get a SP VIBE having already tried it out, but how does it compare to say the proto SLG.......

For a first marker the Vibe will be better as it's cheaper, it doesn't break paint and it's very very easy to clean and maintain. Also if you get any trouble with yours, Ambush can help you out with it. Performance wise the Vibe is very good, it's £130 but shoots like it's three times that. I'm not sure how that compares to the Proto though as I've never used one.

Also seeing as your talking about remote lines, would you consider getting an SP1? It's a Vibe in a milsim body but it has the option of adding a stock to it which you could use while your tank is on your back.

 

[PaintballWizard]

It's hard to say which is better when you haven't used both although i'd say for the price, you'd be better off with an slg simply for the fact that lot's of people have used one at some point and so can probably help you out with any problems. Also it's very very simple and dye/proto have excellent customer support. My only problem with a vibe is that from what i've heard, you will end up spending a lot of money on upgrades for it (board, barrel etc) just to get it up to what the slg comes as stock. Only thing the vibe has over the slg is i believe it also runs on co2 as well as air?

Anyway. My suggestion on gear. (prices are all 'new' prices)

Proto Pro Axis Goggles (£55)
Proto SLG (£180)
Reloader 2 (£35) (Absolutely fine for semi-auto on the slg and good price too)
0.8l steely (£40)
Pack NXE Elevation pack (£35)

Yes that does come to £345, but, with that set-up, you won't need to upgrade anything for a while. Pro Axis Goggles are very good and comfortable in my opinion but if you do somehow find a way to fog them, you can get a proto fan for £25 which just sits in the top and you can turn it on/off whenever you like.

SLG - quite reliable if you maintain it properly. Fairly light, great customer service.

Reloader 2 - what can i say, not great but if you're only playing semi then it'll keep up.

0.8l steely - bottom end of the spectrum, cheap, simple but does the job.

NXE Elevation Pack - Very comfortable and virtually impose to wreck.

Yeah so, hope this helps.