Newbie looking for regular place to play! And advice on gear

[Kacey89]

I was hoping to get some advice on where I can play paintball on the regular. I Went paint balling for my 25th birthday with 15 friends and i seem to be the only 1 obsessed with it! I've put away £300 to buy myself some gear! Any advice on what gear I should buy would be appreciated! I'm located in London

Thank you

 

[Riddick]

Me and my mates went as a Christmas prezzy from my mom and we loved it since then I first bought bt 4 slice kit to start with good first gun but everyone is different since then bought. 2 more guns bounce vest , groin guard 2 assult vest Pods 3 masks and still buying now u can never have enough kit Iv been again 3 weeks ago loved it using my own kit made new friends on Facebook and hopefully will be meating up at paintfest witch will be my first weekend paintballing can not wait taking eldest with me he's 25 I'm 42 should be great beer and paint lol

 

[Tom]

1) stop - don't go shopping yet
2) check out the map :

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zdRfWqkdmKGw.kbddocq_JqUY

It does not show everywhere, but is a start

3) I can recommend Holmbush & Campaign Cobham
And for shopping you can visit Lips at Welwyn Garden City - but as at (1) don't go shopping yet

4) look around at what kinds of paintball there are.
You will have played punter paintball - this is the most expensive way to play, as it has everything supplied, has all the maintenance, cleaning and staff costs for the site and is for irregular or once only players. This is also the bread and butter of the industry. Because the infrastructure is there for the punter, we (the own gunners / regulars) can turn up and use our own gear - there are some lesser costs to the site and we can be treated as regulars.

Depending on what interests you there are:
Walkons - call the sites near you and ask about walkons. These will probably be held once a month. How it is at a specific site is dependant on the local regular crowd. Walkons are often very intense and can be a shock when moving from punter to walkon, however the crowd will be friendly & welcoming
(If not then walk away and pick a different site)

Next up are events, such as scenarios / big games. These happen across the country, mostly about one per year for specific sites. These are my favourite type of paintball

For all of the above you can play as an individual, and either stay that way or make new paintballing friends (it's very hard to not make new paintballing friends)

Another option is speedball - you pretty much need a team, but it is possible to tag on with some on occasion. This is the competitive tournament style

5) you can often play walkons and events by renting gear - this gives you the chance to experience more paintball - and more importantly check out what is around, speak to people about gear, try out other people's guns etc

6) spending your £300
As above hold back on spending, you can make it go further by buying secondhand, but also don't need everything straight away, so you could buy something early on then wait for each payday
Nothing has to be top of the range

Priority goes to goggles
You will need a gun
Both of the above are down to personal preference

To go with them you need a hopper, air system (a 3000psi bottle is fine at £30/£40 new), pods for reloading in game and a pod belt or vest to carry the

Finally clothes and footwear - you don't need flash paintball specific gear. Comfy clothing is sufficient

 

[Kacey89]

I was thinking about picking up the MR100
http://www.store.justpaintball.co.uk/marker-gun-packages/spyder-mr100-pro-ultimate-package.html

For £180 for a package and modifying it! But I think il hold off until I get a bit more exp and test out some coz so far I've handle a mr100 n mr1 which was ok very easy to use but felt it could be improved!

scenarios are exactly what I'm looking for just hard to track where and when it's happening!

Whilst waiting for scenarios I'm thinking to just punter paintball to gain exp and maybe a walkon every month

I think for now il hold off buying a marker until I've researched and had some hands on action with different types maybe rent different ones when i go to punter paint balling!

Thanks a lot tommikka

 

[Canon Fodder]

i'd avoid that package since after a couple of days you'd probably want to change pretty much every part of it. For a start you'll probably want air rather than CO2. I'd suggest buying a good mask, finding a local walkon, then asking on here if anyone going would be willing to let you try their spare markers, hoppers etc to see what you like.

 

[Motoxazz]

i would have to agree get a good mask first it dont have to be the most expencive just something that dont fog up and is comfortable

 

[Tom]

Packages seem like a good idea, and a well constructed package is a very good idea.

Just use the selections as a guide, and make changes as follows:

Air - on the options you have the choice of co2 for no extra, or a 3000psi air cylinder for a bit more. Go for air. (You only use co2 at punter sites and if required you can use the sites bottle - as long as your gun is co2 friendly)
Avoid co2

The rest you can have a chat with the shop about to customize a package for you

That hopper is a basic gravity hopper, and is the same type you will see at punter games. Nothing realy wrong with it but you do have to have movement to prevent balls stacking up - these hoppers get called 'Shake and bake'
Idealy upgrade to a basic force fed electric hopper- my favourite is the halo family (Idealy halo too) but there is a good choice of decent force feeds (or premiums over £100) every force feed on the market currently will keep up with rates of fire allows these days and will support any gun expect for cu
If you are not sure on a hopper, then the minimum I recommend is the proto primo which is still a gravity hopper but with a feed shelf to direct the paint

Goggles shown are basic as well - nothing wrong with cheap goggles if you find them comfortable & they don't fog. But you are best trying some then getting the package tweaked

The vest is very personal. If in doubt I would say buy a pod belt first until you have tried on vests.
The best in my opinion is a molle based vest as you can add / remove pouches and develop the loadout over time or for different games. But this flexibility is not cheap
Buy a pod belt now and you can keep using it when you go out light, but a fixed configuration vest now and it's either just right or you will stop using it

For the gun I say hold on, you can do better and when you've been to walkons etc you will see the diversity. As a sworn scenario-ist I still highly recommend not buying a so called woods gun
I have a collection ranging from single shot, blowbacks, pumps & electros. Don't limit yourself as a 'starter'. See what's about and I bet there's a nice electro that will take your fancy and does not have to break the bank. The confidence of an ergonomic gun that can spit paint when you want will be handy at early walkons

Nothing wrong with a package, but as you say - wait a bit and look around before deciding. Every uk retailer will do you a custom package

 

[Tom]

... And for events - the official scenario calendar:

http://www.ukscenario.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=38961

Or the everything calendar:
http://www.paintballcalendar.co.uk

 

[alexunder]

Going for a ready made package is a good option if you accept the fact that it is an expense and you are ready to spend more on top of that in the near future to either replace or upgrade it.
I can only confirm what others said about goggles - get the best ones for you. Nothing worse than all the fun killed by fogged up and/or uncomfortable mask.

When going for a punter day your choice is very limited and markers that you would be able to use are pretty different from those used at walk-ons. If you want to experience a walk-on atmosphere then I will be most probably going to Holmbush on 1st of June and could take my BT Omega that is lying about which you could use for the day. This would give you a chance to have a look at what other people are using and find out what you really want.