Go Ballistic Paintball

New paintballer players don’t need to buy any specialist clothing or equipment because Go Ballistic supplies everything needed to enjoy the game. Face masks, overalls and balaclava snoods are all provided in addition to markers, battle packs and hoppers.

There is nothing more important than the rule requiring players to wear face and eye protection at all times unless they are in the designated safe zone. Masks provided are specially designed for the job and are fully adjustable to ensure a really snug fit.

Overalls are issued to players in order to provide protection from all the paint that’ll be flying about in the game zones. However, paintball paint is fully biodegradable so it won’t ruin anything. Most Go Ballistic sites sell gloves as well and although they are not really essential, they can be a nice added extra if you want them.

Aside from all the kit and equipment Go Ballistic issues to players, there a couple of things new players should be aware of with regard to their own personal clothing.

Baggy clothing helps to deflect paintballs away from you but the fit should also allow easy movement as well so tracksuit bottoms are ideal. Shorts are not really a good idea because they may not offer enough protection to your legs

For more regular players knee and elbow pads, chest protectors and shin guards will offer good cushioning from the terrain and allow players more freedom to crawl, roll and dive during the game. Again, these items are not essential but could be a good investment if you intend to play more regularly.
Comfortable shoes should also be worn because paintball is a physical activity and so good footwear is worth its weight in gold. However, there’s really no need to shell out on the latest army boots because a good pair of old trainers will do just as good a job.

Tournament teams are taking clothing to the next level, with jerseys in team colours with team and player names printed on them becoming very popular. Elbow, knee and shin pads are also worn by these players for protection out on a Sup’ Air field.

Tournament players generally steer clear from traditional woodland camouflage because it’s not much use out amongst the inflatables which are usually brightly coloured. With this in mind, tournament jerseys tend to be more colourful like ice hockey shirts.

Remember, Go Ballistic provides everything needed to enjoy a game of paintball so all you need to do is get out there and play!

So you’ve got your paintballs, marker and overalls and are all set for a day of exhilarating paintball fun. But hang on a minute, you aren’t ready just yet because you’ve forgotten one important thing – how are you going to carry all your ammunition around?

Well, first things first, just relax because all Go Ballistic paintball sites will supply you with a hopper, shot pots and a battle pack so that you will be properly equipped to go and cover your mates with as much paint as they can take!

When you get your paintballs they’ll be issued to you in long tubes with handy snap-on lids – these are your shot pots and they normally contain 100 paintballs. You’ll also be given a hopper which attaches to the top of your marker and holds your paintballs. This also has a snap-on lid to make sure your balls don’t fall out of the top.

However, it’s important to take care when you pour the paintballs from the shot pots into the hopper. This is because the hopper has a hole at the bottom which feeds paintballs into the marker as you pull the trigger. And unless the hopper is connected to the marker, the paintballs will fall out on to the floor and be wasted!
A good tip regarding the filling of the hopper is to insert a finger into the hole in order to stop balls falling out. Then turn your marker upside down and slide the marker on to the hopper before turning the marker the right way again. Another way is to wait until your empty hopper is attached before filling it.

So your marker is now loaded up and you’re ready to go – apart from one crucial detail. You’re going to need to carry some ammuntion with you because running out of paint is never an option in paintball.
This is where your battle pack comes into its own because it’s the best (and only) way to carry more shot pots out into the field. Battle packs are best thought of as a wide belt which has pockets designed for shot pots to be inserted into so that you always have one to hand.

Most battle packs will carry at least four shot pots so there’s never any excuse for running out of ammo. However, it’s vital you keep tabs on how many of the shot pots are actually full because it’s easy to think empty pots are full, only to discover your schoolboy error in the heat of battle!

Another tip regarding hoppers is to make sure they don’t come off when you’re attempting bunker attacks, slides or just crawling through a game zone. Hoppers can sometimes work loose so always make sure it’s in place or be prepared to suffer the consequences!

The more you get into paintball, the more these pieces of equipment can be upgraded because there’s a wide range on the market. But for rookie rental players the good news is that hoppers, shot pots and battle packs will all be provided by Go Ballistic as part of your game.

An effective paintball mask/goggle system is THE most important piece of kit you need to play the game. In fact, you will not be allowed to participate in paintball unless you are wearing a mask. It’s just too risky – and also plain daft – to play with your eyes exposed to flying paintballs. Remember, paintballs leave markers at over 200mph, so you really don’t want to risk taking one in the eye because you’ll stand a real chance of serious injury.

With all this in mind, it must be pointed out that all commercial sites will provide masks as a condition of their insurance cover. Players should always remember to wear their masks at all times unless they are in the designated safe zone or have been told it is safe to remove them by a game marshal. Think about it: what use is a mask in your hand if someone accidently fires off a paintball?

When paintball started it was common for players to use other types of goggles for eye protection. But, as paintball evolved, manufacturers started to make masks specifically designed for the game which met tough standards over lens strength. Nowadays, regular players wishing to purchase their own mask have a real choice.

Some systems come with an anti-fogging lens, full head protection, ear covers and with throat protectors. Prices can range from upwards of around £30, while replacement lenses are available to replace cracked ones.
But as this issue is so important it’s worth restating that face masks should be worn at all times unless you are told otherwise because it’s just not worth risking serious injury. If push comes to shove you can play the game without a gun, paintballs or overalls – although your options will be severely limited – but you can NEVER play without a mask.

But rest assured because Go Ballistic provides each and every valued customer with an extremely safe face mask system which is fully adjustable to ensure a snug fit.

Paintballs are made entirely of non-toxic, food-grade ingredients. To make the hollow shell, water is poured into a giant, heated mixing bowl. A sweetener, a preservative and a secret combination of food ingredients are then added. Finally, the key ingredient that gives the shell its shape – gelatin – is introduced.

All the ingredients are mixed together for around half an hour before the gel is transferred from the mixer into a heated vat called the ‘gel tote’. Once the filtered gel is securely in the tote it is lowered into a giant blender where food dye is added and blended for about 20 minutes.

Elsewhere in the factory, the same method is used to dye what’s called ‘the fill’ – that’s the ‘paint’ that goes inside the shell of the paintball. It’s made of polyethylene glycol, the same inert liquid used for cough syrup, before being thickened with the same wax found in children’s crayons.

The gel and the fill are brought together in what’s known as “the feed room”. Here, the vats of gel and fill feed a soft-gel encapsulation machine one floor below. This machine is the same kind used by drug companies to make soft gel-cap medicines like cod liver oil.

First, the machine spreads the gel on to a cooled drum. This creates a continuous, thin sheet of gel called a “gel ribbon”. The cooling process cures the gelatin to the point where it can be moulded into the hollow shell of the ball. The machine presses the gel ribbon into a cast with half-circle pockets, each forming one half of a ball shell.

The machine does the next three steps in one shot: it aligns two half-shells together to form a hollow ball, injects the fill, then seals the two half-shells together.

These newly-minted paintballs are still quite soft and if they’re not carefully dried, they’ll lose their shape. To stop that happening, they fall down on to a conveyer before rolling into a tumble dryer to be pre-dried while airborne. From here they’ll go onto a bakery-style rack to dry by a carefully controlled amount. The exact drying protocol is a carefully guarded trade secret!

To make dual-coloured paintballs exactly the same process is used except that two colours of gel ribbon are fed into the capsulation machine, one colour for each half of the shell.

The finished paintballs go through a precision, automatic-counting machine. Manufacturing this messy ammunition may be a “paint-staking” process, but is well worth the effort given the many thousands of people who love the game of paintball.

Invented just 20 years ago, paintball’s caught on in more than 40 countries worldwide, so it seems the factories churning the balls out will be busy for some time to come! Source: Draxxus Paintballs, Quebec, Canada.

If you thought the only ammunition you needed was paintballs then you are sadly mistaken. Missions and scenarios these days are becoming more and more complex with the use of pyrotechnic devices increasing all the time.

Although not essential, paint grenades and smoke bombs can really add to the Go Ballistic experience so try and be creative with their use!

Paintball gameplay is fast becoming what can be described as up close and personal. Zones are throwing players together much quicker these days and it’s not long before you can see the whites of the enemy’s eyes.

With that in mind, smoke bombs and paint grenades can come into a league of their own. Smoke bombs can burn for up to minute, producing enough smoke for you to either make a hasty retreat or move forward under cover. It’s entirely up to you!

Paint grenades, meanwhile, can throw liquid out over a five metre range so are ideal for multiple eliminations when you’re raiding bunkers. These devices really bring something new to the paintball arena, so make sure you stock up before leaving the comfort of the safe area behind.