Newcastle - Retired player seeks advice on return to the sport with his now 16 year old son.

[Richie-Carrot]

Hi EVERYONE ! It has been at least a decade since I was last here, and maybe 15 years since I played at tournament level…

my son, his friends and myself went for a punter day of paintball for his birthday he has done a number of punter days, however, a number of things happened…firstly he got bitten by the PB bug but wasn’t happy with the speed of the game play (way too slow and lacked aggression)

secondly, I learned that I can still get by without the need of a de fib….just yet and for the first time in my life I appear to have impressed my son….drink it up !!!

i have been asked multiple times about playing with our own markers etc subsequently (you can see where I am going with this)

I don’t want the outlay of jumping back into tournament PB with my son, in any event we wouldn’t have sufficient for a decent squad, my questions are therefore two fold.

1) Are walk ons still a thing ? I emailed skirmish at Tadcaster but got zip back, we are in Newcastle Upon Tyne where PB just doesn’t exist to a decent level.

2) What markers should I avoid (yes can of worms) when I retired we were on the gen 1 Ego and my backup was an angel speed…..THATS how old I am .

ideally I would like to be able to get monthly play at a level above punter days as a stepping stone for my son… I don’t think he realises just how quick tourney ball is and no amount of YouTube videos quite conveys what transpires when you are on the field and the can you are stood behind is being rattled by three people on the other side.

my thoughts are I will introduce him to the community then eventually cut him loose to find his place within the great game.

cheers

Richie (who seems to keep hearing the sound of a till drawer opening and closing)

 

[Tom]

Hi EVERYONE ! It has been at least a decade since I was last here, and maybe 15 years since I played at tournament level…

my son, his friends and myself went for a punter day of paintball for his birthday he has done a number of punter days, however, a number of things happened…firstly he got bitten by the PB bug but wasn’t happy with the speed of the game play (way too slow and lacked aggression)

secondly, I learned that I can still get by without the need of a de fib….just yet and for the first time in my life I appear to have impressed my son….drink it up !!!

i have been asked multiple times about playing with our own markers etc subsequently (you can see where I am going with this)

I don’t want the outlay of jumping back into tournament PB with my son, in any event we wouldn’t have sufficient for a decent squad, my questions are therefore two fold.

1) Are walk ons still a thing ? I emailed skirmish at Tadcaster but got zip back, we are in Newcastle Upon Tyne where PB just doesn’t exist to a decent level.

2) What markers should I avoid (yes can of worms) when I retired we were on the gen 1 Ego and my backup was an angel speed…..THATS how old I am .

ideally I would like to be able to get monthly play at a level above punter days as a stepping stone for my son… I don’t think he realises just how quick tourney ball is and no amount of YouTube videos quite conveys what transpires when you are on the field and the can you are stood behind is being rattled by three people on the other side.

my thoughts are I will introduce him to the community then eventually cut him loose to find his place within the great game.

cheers

Richie (who seems to keep hearing the sound of a till drawer opening and closing)

I’ve stealth modded Newcastle into the title to give a hint to anyone with more local knowledge


Walkons either have a strong following or fizzle out depending on locality & the crowd

Any gear you already have will still be up to the job, except for expired bottles and what level of maintenance you may need to get it back running depending on condition & how it was stored - of course spares may be harder but the primary consumables of o-rings is generally available.

Over the years rates of fire etc went up and then became capped, so as an ‘older’ player you could see a ‘slower’ game, but a stream of paint is still a stream of paint - just how long or short is the gap to the next flying ball

Efficiency and ease of maintenance has moved on - but efficiency only matters if you don’t have enough air to shoot the paint you’re carrying, and you top up between games / respawns.
Ease of maintenance depends on how much maintenance you’re doing and where - on the day you need to be able to adjust for chrono and keep firing, so it’s a matter of whether or not you need an easy open hopper to clean broken balls inside it (alternatively don’t break balls in your hopper) and clearing your breach / barrel


There are great guns to be had to suit every pocket & preference

 

[Richie-Carrot]

Cheers for the info Tom. My markers are long gone so we would be starting from scratch, I found an old pair of dye invisions in the loft which fell to bits when I picked them up..

my son has bought a pair of dye I5’s with his birthday money, I think I hate him a little bit now….very bling indeed !

The first hurdle I suppose is getting somewhere to play which isn’t at the bottom of the country, then we can look at markers / hoppers / gas / kit.

PB has never been great in the north, Vs the rest of the UK….. never understood that but hey ho.

 

[James ECI]

Cheers for the info Tom. My markers are long gone so we would be starting from scratch, I found an old pair of dye invisions in the loft which fell to bits when I picked them up..

my son has bought a pair of dye I5’s with his birthday money, I think I hate him a little bit now….very bling indeed !

The first hurdle I suppose is getting somewhere to play which isn’t at the bottom of the country, then we can look at markers / hoppers / gas / kit.

PB has never been great in the north, Vs the rest of the UK….. never understood that but hey ho.

Have you checked out Battle Zone - think thats your way

Battlezone | The North East's Top Paintball Venues

Established Paintball Venues Across the North East & Edinburgh - Paintball, Laser Tag, It's a Knockout, Quads, Buggies, Knife & Axe Throwing &

www.battlezonepaintball.co.uk

 

[Bolter]

hi welcome back

 

[Richie-Carrot]

Cheers Bolter. James I think battlezone are an indoor site that use re balls, don’t think they allow personal kit.

 

[SidSidgwick]

Battlezone still have a site up near Belsay I believe as well as their Yarm and Edinburgh sites. Give them a ring or check out their social media as they post quite often and they will be sure to let you know mate.

If you fancy indoor stuff District23 at Billingham run weekly indoor games.

As for equipment Planet lead the way in markers and as usual their stuff is high quality, reliable and easy to tech. Goggles and soft goods haven’t changed so any old gear will still be good (potentially the height of fashion now)