Do You Need Expensive Paintball Gear?

Does expensive gear actually matter? We at Lone Wolf Paintball will be honest with you. If you are a weekend warrior, going out a few times a year or even once a month. The answer in this case is simply, “no.” You don’t need expensive gear to just mess around and have a good time. However, if your goal is to be competitive (rather than just to have a good time), then you may want to look at investing in some higher-end gear.

We’ve put together a few combos–beginner packages–and compared it to something that a high-end competitor would use.

Weekend Warrior Gear

Weekend warrior gear is perfect for those of you who just want to get out occasionally and your main goal is having fun. If you’re happy with the adrenaline pump of diving behind wood pallet bunkers out in the woods, this is the gear for you.

Tippmann 98 Custom

The Tippmann 98 Custom has been around for decades and is a mainstay of the sport. This gun is tried and true–a fully mechanical gun. It is the AK-47 of the paintball world and can be used and abused without fear of failure. It can go through the dirt, mud, and water and it will fire every single time. If you go out there and don’t have fun with it, you’re doing something wrong. This gun is right around $160 and will get paintballs flying out on the field. 

Hoppers

Gravity-fed hoppers that feed the paint down into the paintball marker start at around $10. You can move up to something that is electronic like the Protoyz Speedster Loader which feeds around 10 balls per second and costs around $35. Just like a subcompact 4-cylinder car will go 55mph just as fast as a Corvette, the Protoyz loader will feed paint more than quickly enough to keep up with your trigger finger.

Goggles

The Dye SE Single Pane Goggle is a great option to keep you safe while on the field. We would recommend thermal goggles just to minimize fogging which can seriously detract from enjoying the game. However, for only $30, this mask will get you on the field safely. There are a lot of people who only own Goggles and then decide to rent the rest of their equipment which is kind of a smart idea. It’s kind of gross when you go to a field and then put on the same mask that a 350lb sweat factory named Lars was wearing only 30 minutes ago.

Air Tanks

The HK Army 48/3000 Tank is a great little tank that only costs around $50 but can occasionally be found on sale for less. This tank will hold enough air for about 500 shots which is normally more than enough to get you through a game of woodsball.

Competitive Paintball Gear

After a couple of years of “budget-balling,” you might get really hooked on the game and decide that you want to invest some serious resources into your paintball setup. 

Competitive Markers

The HK Army Shredder IDOL, compared to the Tippmann 98, is a competition-level marker that costs close to $2000. These kinds of flagship markers are electric and allow players to get off several rounds of paint per second. Many of these markers feature tool-less maintenance, LED screens, and Bluetooth connectivity to connect with your hopper. If you have the money and just want to have fun in paintball you could buy one of these. It might be a little overkill. However, if you want to be competitive in the sport, a higher-end marker would be required for you to be competitive.

Competitive Goggles

A competitive goggle would be a Virtue VIO Ascend which retails for about $100. This is a lot fancier, has better breathability, and comes with a thermal lens out of the box.

Competitive Loader

The Virtue Spire V would be a great example of a competitive loader. This loader retails for about $250 and comes with all the bells and whistles. It has a speed feed, and spring ramps, is fully electronic, and will even cup your (paint)balls! There are also infrared sensor eyes that sense whether you’re feeding paint or not to engage the motor.

Competitive Tank

The HK Army 77/4500 Air System is a complete air system made of reinforced carbon fiber making it one of the lightest and strongest air tanks on the market. With this air tank, you can adjust almost everything–the bonnet, the output pressure, and more!

Final Thoughts

While it’s not necessary to have expensive paintball gear, it is nice to have your own equipment. You can easily get yourself out of the rental arena with only a few hundred dollars of investment. You don’t have to break the bank with the newest flagship-everything. In fact, just a simple Tippmann 98 or a Mini GS could be more than sufficient to get you out on the field and throwing paint around. However, other paintballers will get their feet wet and decide to go all in with the best of the best. Regardless of which camp you fall into, Lone Wolf Paintball has all the equipment you need as a weekend warrior or a professional paintballer. For the best selection of paintball equipment anywhere, take a look at our online store!