~YTcyberpunk Asked this question on the forums.....

I want to play paint ball so bad! I had never heard of it until a friend told me about it in high school. I've always loved Laser Quest and water gun fights, and the fact that paintballs leaf stains and bruises makes it sound even more exciting!

Is it really expensive to play it somewhere public or to buy your own paintball gun?


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My answer.

Well It depends....just like any other sport the needed equipment (marker and mask at the least) can range from $100 (Wal-mart specials like Brass Eagle Kits) to $4000 (top of the line marker, mask, tank, tools, jersey, etc.) and a great way to defer the cost is to Ebay it.

Try rentals the first few times you go just in case you find that you don't want to spend the money on the game cause to be a serious player it is going to cost you a pretty penny. Rentals are usually around $25 a day for every thing you need to play minus paint (some include 500 balls with rental and all day free air).

Aside from gear you will have a few other things such as, green fees (the price of upkeep for the field) usually 10-20 bucks for the day, paint, and air.

Air is the least of your worries. A 20oz. bottle of CO2 ($2 refills) can last a rec player about half a day, depending on his marker and play style. The best thing to do though is invest in a HPA/NITRO tank the tanks are more expensive to buy off the shelf but $5 usually gets you all day refills, so shoot your heart out! Plus it's better for your marker and more consitant than CO2

The big thing players spend a lot of money on is the PAINT! A case of paint (2000 balls /usually lasts a rec player all day) will cost between $30 and $50 depending on quality. you can find it cheaper but most fields wont carry the value brands and require field bought paint only. other than that you have air and a few maintenance parts (rings and springs) but these are nothing to the price you pay for the other stuff.

The other thing you need to take into consideration is what kind of paintball do you want to play? There are three types of ballers and a mix of the three. Type one, the original woods ball player these are the guys that grab their ghillie suits and markers made up to look like real guns and play war/survival games. In woods ball it's all about stealth, tactics, and some aim. usually you don't use a ton of paint during these games unless the are really long.

Type two is the Speed ball/Tourney player these guys are usualy a lot more serious and about the win. If you play in stock/pump class it's ALL about aim and speed. most stock players only carry one hopper of paint onto the field. Now, the other extreme is the modern (NPPL, APL, ect.) Speed ball that, using markers shooting up to 30 balls per second, has almost become a paint slinging contest of quantity over quality. Due to this Pump is the cheapest way to play, while the other is the most expensive way to play. One other downside to this type of game play is that each round is very short.

The third group are your rec players these guys come out once a month or so in a range of mixed gear and equipment to play what ever happens to be going on. These People or the ones that keep paintball fun! No pressure to have the latest Angel marker or A-5 mod kit here, just guys and girls going out and trying to shoot each other in the face! lol

I think this is probably a LOT more than you were asking for and I hope the numbers don't scare you away. You can always look at it this way, Get your self a nice set of starter gear (you can always upgrade later) for around $400, that should include a marker, mask, jersey/cammos, shoes/boots, tank, hopper, BBD and a small set of tools (a must for marker maintenance). Two days a month playing a case a day will cost you about $300 a month.
That's still cheaper than a day at Six Flags or Disney. And hey at least it's not the early '80s when paint went for $300 a case!! LOL

So the bottom line is, No it's not a cheap hobby. But, if you save a little out of each paycheck and get some buddies to go (look for group rates too) you Should have a great time playing a fantasic sport!