The Ultimate Paintball Information Guide

Hey everybody welcome to the world's Ultimate Paintball Information Guide, where you will find all the information you need to become a professional player or only to learn about the world's most exciting and adrenaline rushing game: Paintball. This site contains Information for all kinds of players, from beginners to advanced, and it is orderer like
this:


  • What Is Paintball?
  • Safety First!
  • Strategies, Tactics, Tips & Tricks
  • Paintball Trainnig Online
  • Product Reviews
  • Paintball & Me
  • Pro Shop Reviews
  • News, Events & Tournaments
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Contact Us

What Is Paintball?

Paintball is a combination of the childhood games "tag" and "hide & seek," but is much more challenging and sophisticated. Although there are many different game formats, typically a group of players will divide into two teams to play "capture the flag." The number of players on each team can vary from one or two, five or seven or ten, to over 1,000 on a side, limited only by the size of the playing field. The object of the game is to go out and capture the other team's flag while protecting your own. While you are trying to capture a flag, you also try to eliminate opposing players by tagging them with a paintball expelled from a special airgun called a "paintgun." Games run from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the field and the number of players. Between games, players take a break to check their equipment, get more paintballs and have a snack or soda while they share stories about the thrills of victory and the usually funny agonies of defeat. Win or lose, everyone has a good time and there's usually the next game waiting for you. WANNA FEEL ADRENALINE??? COME PLAY...

Safety First!





Keep your mask on, for protection from incoming paintballs

A paintball mask's mission is to protect. Guarding your eyes from being hit with paintballs, the mask is the single most important piece of gear in paintball. The first rule every newbie must learn is "Keep your goggles on!"The newest masks have chin straps. A few have added enhanced protection over the top of the head, and behind the head. Wearing fuller protection makes good sense. Hard hits to the head are not a good thing. Let the paintballs hit the mask instead!Inspect the straps and lens every time you play. Keep the lens and the mask clean, and replace the lens regularly, following the manufacturer's instructions. Insist that everybody wear a paintball mask when they're in or near a paintball game. Masks on at the chrono, and at the target range. Safety first!




STAY HIDRATED

Stay hydrated, for better games and better health!Drink water! You will need water before you feel thirsty. Drink water before, during, and after paintball, and that means drinking water the day before you play, too.Don't allow yourself to get dehydrated. You won't play as well, and you can get sick. A person who does not drink enough water suffers, because toxins will build up in the body, and the person can get constipated-just two of the negative results of not drinking enough water. For someone trying to lose weight, not drinking enough water means fat does not metabolize and, on top of that, the person will feel hungry and eat too much. (Always consult your doctor before starting any new sport or weight loss program.)And remember, you need to drink water in cold weather, not just when it's hot.

Strategies, Tactics, Tip & Tricks

What should you do when the sun is in your eyes?

Your team played well all day. You've had good luck regardless which side of the field you started from. You made it to the finals!Now it's getting late and the sun is becoming a major factor. Every tiny scratch and paint smear on your lens is catching the light, making it difficult to see anything beyond 15 yards in front of you.
Do you know how to use this problem to your advantage?
Of course, you should play with the sun to your back if possible, but nobody wins a coin flip every time. When you lose, and the other team sticks you with the sun in your eyes, you can turn the tables on them. Use their shadows!When your opponents have the sun to their backs, they will cast long shadows. You can use these shadows like an early warning system.Bunkers move around in the wind, but nothing like the way they move when a player slides into them and makes contact. Even with the sun in your eyes, you can easily pick up on bunker shadows making dramatic movementsYour front players should act as back players, to help communicate to the rest of the team which positions are "hot." They can watch for shadow warnings, and let you know.The shadow warning you get when someone comes to bunker you is priceless. Your opponent is at a distinct disadvantage when he comes for you with the sun at his back. His long shadow will arrive well before he does-scoring you a fraction of a second to shoot and take him out!


HOW TO OUTSMART YOUR OPPONENTS

GAME ON! Henry turned. He moved up the center, slightly to the right. THWACK!Thwack? The move worked perfectly the last three games. Why did he get hit?After the game, Henry asked, "Who got me?""George. Back standup."Yeah, that had to be right. Henry went to find George. "Hey, how'd you get that ball on me?""Well, we figured you'd be hard to beat. We scouted you guys. You went center every time. I checked the bunkers before the game, and I figured out if stopped at the second back bunker, instead of the far side standup, I'd have a shot on you before you made your first bunker. It worked. I think you were about two steps from cover when you got hit."

Lesson 1 - Know your competition. When you are not in a game or getting ready for one, you should be scouting. If you can bring an extra person or persons to scout the other teams, do it. They can scout critical fields or teams while you're playing.Even when you know a team, scout them. They might have added new players, or changed their style of play. See how they play different fields.Scout the unknown teams. Watch for patterns. Does Player X always go center even if the bunker pattern does not provide good cover? Are there any left-handed players? Can the right-handed players shoot off-hand? Is there any part of the field that they do NOT play? Is their communication good? Can you figure out their code?What do they call the bunkers? Are any of them hotheads? Do they have a fast snake player?

Lesson 2 - Know the field. Know how your team is going to play from each flag station. Is one side better for your team based on some player you have, like a strong left handed snake player?Can you sweetspot off the break and drop one on an opponent you can't see?Any place you can crawl up to a bunker without being seen?The best teams don't play someone who hasn't walked the field. You have to know the field to be an effective player. Your teammates can only depend on you if you know the field as well as they do.

Lesson 3 - Change your game. Once you have an idea of how the other team will play, change what you do so you take advantage of that knowledge.Switch player positions when the field calls for it. Use your taller players effectively.Adapt to WinThe more you play in a region, the more you will know certain teams. Keep notebooks on these teams and their players. Diagram the field layouts. Make notes on special plays that worked. Never lock yourself into just one game plan, or playing style. The other teams are watching. They will figure you out, and turn you into toast.Outplan, outplay, and outscore your opponents.

Paintball Trainning Game Online






Product Reviews: Smart Parts Ion


So yea. I got my ION a couple of days ago and the first thing I need was test it out over a chrono right away at my local pro shop. I gased it up and i shot 280, 281, 279, 280, 281...and I'm like...B.S. so i went to another chrono and shot 279, 281, 282, 280, 278. I'm thinking to myself not bad for a gun out of box. But i was still not buying it so I loaded a hopper and let it rip. AND RIP AND RIP! Man, this gun is fast. I haven't even set it on rebound...so of course I took it back in and MAX my ROF and put it on rebound and ripped another hopper. While I was ripping, I had one of the guys at the shop look at my gauge...they were like...hardly even moved, maybe +/- 1. Okay Okay. I'm getting to like my new investment. So here are my observations and suggestions, ie upgrades:



Barrel - pretty accurate for a stock barrel. SP usually puts out good barrels, but honestly this marker can much quieter and accurate with a barrel upgrade, ie CP barrels, Freak barrels, All American barrels, even a Evil Pipe Kit. (REMEMBER: ION takes IMPULSE threads.)

Feedneck - I think its pretty high. Gotta get a low profile feedneck. I don't really have a suggestion on which on cos' I still have mine stock, but I'm planning to buy maybe the q-lock, or any other low rise feedneck. <~ personal preference.

Reg - I wouldn't spend your money on this upgrade, unless you have a personal preference. I like the reg. You just need to break the sucker in, that's it.

Body - I like it. ITS NOT "plastic", its "polymer." Same thing. However its polymer coated ALUMINUM, Therefore DURABLE! You can sticker the snot out of this gun. Totally pimp the body out. I personally might get carbon fiber stickers and sticker the body, well portions.

Internals - Big FAN of SP internals. High Quality, I think. But one thing I didn't like is disassembly. It was pretty tough, but honestly this will make you a better tech if you can disassembly this sucker. Also, the hoses are exposed, but so are the timmy solenoid hoses. Oh well.

Board - People. Listen. 17 bps is pretty fast. Not gonna lie, I like no cap, but this is a very good board with a very good eye system. Vision eyes, I think, are the best out there. Besides...a month or two...there will be a board and I'm going to get one. You can get one right now at zdspb.com, but still won't go faster than 17 bps because of....

The Bolt and Solenoid - watch out for these aftermarket upgrades. THIS WILL MAKE THIS MARKER GO PAST 17 bps. SP said they have reached the low 20s with the ION, but I call BS on that. However, with these upgrades plus a new board (Please WAS make one!) you'll get your fast marker.

Feel - is great. So freakin' light!

Duckbill ASA - I HATE IT! makes the gun way to long. I just don't like the fact that SP says its better to get an Off/On for the marker. why not put one on? oh well. Get a NDz, CiP, or custom products RAIL-Off/On COMBO

Trigger - its not bad, but not good. It helps to take off the magnet to make it less stiff and also you can go to pbnation.com forums and a dude is making custom triggers that are pretty phat. I'm getting one...

Noise - I like it. Not noisy at all, really. Like I said, getting a new barrel would probably help with reduction of noise.

Durability - OH yea. One thing. There is a review out there by Sporefrog which says that this ION is horrible BLAH BLAH BLAH and is not durable. He states that he "slided" into a bunker and hit is hopper/feedneck on the ground. Well, if you slided correctly you wouldn't have this problem NEWB! anyway, just venting. This gun feels durable, and has the ability to withstand tournament style play.

Tank - It would be helpful to get a HP tank. You can get a LP tank, but make sure you get a Crossfire because they have the best recharge for their LP tanks and ONLY use them if you have a LP tank. I know people use other LP tank, but that means more tinkering with dwell and reg press BLAH BLAH BLAH. Also, you could get shootdown. Honestly, this gun's pressure is perfect out of box so do yourself a favor, invest in a HP tank. I am.

Paintball & Me

I have been a fan of paintball for a long time, but I really never had the time or the money to afford playing it, not even in a basic level. But I recently bought my first paintball marker and all my equipment necesary to play the sport i like the most, I created a team with some friends and we play on a regular basis every weekend and it is very fun. My favorite team is the Miamy Dynasty but I also like the NAUGHTY DOGS of San Diego, I would relly like to become a pro paintballer, I think I have what it takes, I will show you some of my pics and equimpent, I've got my own marker, jersey, pads, gas tank and hopper, I also have a face mask, but I len't it to a friend:














Pro Shop Review

This section is about me visiting different paintball retail shops or pro shops in order to review them and tell you which one is the best:
:: Gotcha México ::


I recently visited the best paintball gear store in Mexico, :: GOTCHA MÉXICO :: I found plenty of high-tech gear at not very affordable prices, that was the only problem. The owner said that paintball is not so popular in México in this days, so pro equipment is very difficult to find and expensive to buy. Anyway, I had to take a look at what Paintball In México is all about, check this pictures out:






:: MARTï ::

This is another option if you want to buy paintball Gear in Mexico, prices are a little more affordable thanks to the discounts and monthly payments, te only problem is that they have almost nothing, the equipment they sell is very basic and there is not much variety. Take a look:

News, Events & Tournaments

DYNASTY WINS THE NPPL WITH THEIR NEW MARKER




Undefeated NPPL Super7 World Series Champion team, San Diego Dynasty wins the NPPL Commander's Cup in San Diego and takes the 2008 annual championship with the Luxe premium paintball marker. For Immediate Release – Top professional paintball teams gathered at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to find out who was the best in the world. When the sun set on the event, one team stood head and shoulders above the rest – San Diego Dynasty. Dynasty played through the tournament's preliminary round finishing as the pro leader with the most points earned. In the following “Elite 8” round, Dynasty was again highest ranked based on score, and successive wins carried them through the semifinals and finals to claim a first place pro victory at the tournament. The NPPL Super-7 World Series tournaments started in 2003 and not only was their first tournament in Huntington Beach won by Dynasty, but the team was crowned annual series champions that year as well. The race for series championship involves earning ranking points by competing in each of the league's tournaments through the year. Winning one event doesn't do it. Becoming a champion requires a relentless pattern of wins. From 2003 to the present, only one team has had the determination, skills and right equipment to bring home the NPPL Series Championship – and that team is Dynasty. Their recent victory at Qualcomm stadium earned the team their sixth consecutive NPPL Super-7 championship. Dynasty was also one of the first teams to use the Luxe paintball marker in competition. “We're very pleased that they wanted to use it from the start,” says Darryl Trent, Director of DLX Technology. “Their feedback on performance criteria helped guide the Luxe design team, and we delivered what they were looking for – a marker that is perfect for the professional player. It is compact and lightweight. We've eliminated common failure points like hoses and hose fittings to make it incredibly reliable, and we set an all new standard for speed of maintenance and programming. We're very pleased to see that Dynasty was able to show the world what can be achieved with the Luxe.” DLX Technology is dedicated to melding cutting edge technology with solid tournament performance to build the ultimate luxury paintball marker. To learn more, visit LuxePaintball.com.

Interview: Pro Paintballer Alejandro Zanella


John --Tell us who you are, how old are you, how you got started in paintball, and what your first gun was.
Alex -- My name's Alejandro Zanella, you should know, I'm your cousin... I live in Florida, but I'm mexican, I'm 26 and I think like basically everybody else, my first experience with paintball was for my birthday in like eigth grade. My first gun was a one-piece Phantom pump.

John -- How did you end up playing for Miami Dynasty?
Alex -- To make a long story short, I started playing paintball with a team that I created with my friends, we were called "SPARTANS" and we were only 5 members, one day we were playing at a field in AJUSCO, Mexico City and some guys asked us to join their "amateur team". Nobody joined them except me. I was the new guy but gained experience with tons of practice. Our team, now called "Final Anthrax", decided to play a tournament called PSP (Paintball Sports Promotions) in Florida... One year later I was selected by the Miami Dynasty Team, winning tournaments and living with a lot of adrenaline ever since...

John -- Tell us about your coach, he seems to be very important to you.
Alex -- He is the man. He's the only person I've ever met in my life that doesn't play the game but has as much heart for it as all the guys on the team, with maybe the exception of my mom. He does everything for us, anything we need he takes care of, he made me love the sport.

John -- He is known to explode in anger sometimes, what's with that?
Alex -- Again man, it's all about heart. My coach is a really nice guy and is super easy to get along with, it's just that he wears his heart on his sleeve and wants to win so bad he loses control sometimes...

John -- Tell us about the Miami Dynasty sponsors and what do they do for you.
Alex -- Our main sponsors are smart parts, draxxus. Obviously SP hooks us up with guns, barrels, tanks, clothes, pads all kinds of stuff. Basically everything they make. Draxxus gives us millions of bullets to shoot throughout the year and it's quality stuff. Other people that help us out are travis at CP, they honestly make the best trigger I've ever used for the shocker, and he takes care of us with all sorts of odds and ends, he's cool.

John-- Back to you, what positions do you typically play on the field and give us 3 tips on how to play that position.

Alex -- It depends, in 7-man I typically play one of the corners or insert from the back. If I'm inserting it's kind of like I see an opening on one side or the other and fill to that side, basically wherever I'm needed for defensive or attack purposes. If I'm in a corner I fight my wire, wrap as much as possible and help the front guys move up the field and get all the glory.When your mirror is dead in a corner NEVER look inside, wrap and win that side of the field. It's just like x-ball in the sense where you want to use that leverage and blow down that side of the field. In OC I saw a very respected pro player in a corner with no mirror and he kept looking inside at the snake and let the other team fill the corner, stupid basic mistake. In X-ball I play insert too but it's a little different. Basically for x-ball I key one side or the other and pretty-much decide which side of the field I need to fill out to. If we're powering a particular side for example and I see that we lost a guy off the non-power side as long as the other guy is in the corner I'll usually still go to the power side. If however it's a pretty normal break (2 guys on each side) but we lose for example one of our dorito guys early I'll look to fill to that side. If all of our guys get to their spots then I just kind of wing it, but I try to get out of the back center in the first 15 seconds or so.

John -- That's impressive. Now, What do you like and dislike about paintball?
Alex -- Wow that's a long question, but i'll make it quick, I love the adrenaline rush you feel at all points during the game, I love the glory of victory, the fans, and I really enjoy the money you get for playing the sport you love... I Hate to lose, and most of all I hate how it hurts when you get hit BAD.

John -- Allright, just one more question, what would you say to anyone specially in Mexico that is interested in paintball and wants to become a pro player just like you?
Alex -- Oh that's easy... love the sport, practice, and ofcourse: VISIT THE ULTIMATE PAINTBALL GUIDE BLOG by john_lockwood24@hotmail.com!!!

John -- Thanks a lot, this was mexican Pro Paintballer Alejandro Zanella from the Miami Dynasty Paintball Team

Videos

How are paintballs made?


Pro Paintball

Contact Us

We are very interested in any questions you might have, so for any additional information please remember that you can leave a comment in this blog or you may contact us at:
john_lockwood24@hotmail.com
or visit:


http://www.warpig.com/ for additional information about paintball worldwide.
http://www.gotchamexico.com for extra information about paintball in Mexico

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_paintball_terms for a glossary on paintball terms

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