The Role of Paintball Gear in a Paintball Game

As a sport, Paintball is known to be quite adrenaline pumping, and stands to be quite popular to many all over the world. The basic concept of a Paintball game is quite simple, with various games and rules defining a Paintball Game, adding to its popularity status.

Paintball's basic goal is to basically eliminate members of an opposing team, or teams, by marking them out of play using paintballs in marking them. Basically, it is played in teams, where objective variations come in, like capturing the opposing team's flag, or eliminating a particular player. Bottom line, "painting" players out of the game is the basic premise. The game's variations come in from there on.

As a sport, paintball is very much equipment rooted, and the use of paintball gear is required for one to participate in a paintball game. In June 27, 1981, the first paintball game was played by twelve players, two of which, Hayes Noel and Bob Gurnsey, are known to have set Paintball on the track it is on today. Since specialized paintball gear wasn't still around by that time, they used the Nelspot 007 marker from the Nelson Paint Company as their paintball gear. Created in the 1950s, the first "paintball gear" from the Nelson Paint Company was used by members of the forestry service, enabling them to mark trees from a distance. The "paintball gear" from the Nelson Paint Company was also used by cattle owners, who used them to mark their cows from afar.

Today paintball gear stands to be widely available, in different shapes and classes. Actual paintballs are generally spherical gelatin capsules, and made from non-toxic water-soluble substances, dye and polyethylene glycol. These paintballs are propelled by compressed air guns, which facilitate the marking opponents from a distance phase in paintball.

The most basic of paintball gear includes the following: Paintballs, the paintball propellant, and a protective mask, keeping a player's eyes and face safe from being accidentally hit. More serious paintball gear include other paintball gear like throat protectors, chest protectors, paintball bags, which are used in storing paintballs, a barrel sock or plug, a squeegee or swab used in cleaning one's barrel, should there be a need to do so, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, for more controlled handling of paintball guns.

Bottom line, paintball gear is quite essential in any paintball game, in considering two points: safety and where actually playing is involved.