What to Wear To Paintball? – Paintball Beasts
You and your friends decided to go paintballing this weekend, but as someone new to the sport, you don’t know what to wear to paintball. Don’t worry, In this Paintball Clothing Guide, you will learn, what to wear for paintball along with a few tips on how to dress appropriately for your next match.
If you want to enjoy paintball, keep in mind that in addition to the materials and equipment, you’ll also have to be prepared for the clothing as well as the protective gear you’ll require for the sport. It’s also crucial to consider the peculiarities of paintball and the possible atmosphere in which you’ll be playing.
You may be subjected to wet, slippery paths, steep areas, rainfall, as well as cold or warm weather, based on the sort of location you’ll be playing paintball.
With the knowledge gained from this guide, you will have a better understanding of what to do before paintball to improve your likelihood of enjoying a more pleasurable as well as secure experience while you’re on the battlefield.
What to Wear To Paintball – Upper Body
While enjoying paintball, your upper torso is the most vulnerable area of your body. To avoid injury, the general practice is to keep as minimal skin visible as possible. Because those paintballs might hurt a lot, it’s best to follow these instructions and wear protective clothing.
1. Headwear
The head is one of the most sensitive regions of your body. Therefore it’s only natural that you give heed to it. Many players like to wear something to wrap around their heads to protect them from paint and sunlight, even though it isn’t required. Wearing a baseball cap, beanie, or headband is the most cost-effective solution. They are inexpensive and can be found at practically any sporting goods store.
Wearing a headband is also a fantastic alternative because it protects your forehead while also absorbing sweat. Not only does maintaining your paintball mask’s cushion dry make it more pleasant to wear, but it also lowers the likelihood of sweat fogging up your lens. If you wish to wear a bandana or a scarf, make sure it’s made of thin cotton to keep you cool. Then, simply wear light headwear beneath your helmet/hat.
2. Mask
If you enjoy paintball frequently, you might wish to invest in your goggles as well as your mask. It is typically the most essential item of protective equipment since a paintball player must be wearing something that protects his face and eyes while on the battlefield. If you don’t wear a mask, your eyes and ears may be seriously injured.
When looking for the best paintball mask for yourself, make sure you choose something that suits you properly and protects your entire face. Also, make sure it’s securely attached to your head. When you’re rolling, sprinting, or doing anything else during combat, it shouldn’t slide or come off.
Always bring an additional lens to each match so that you are prepared for everything. You may also purchase contrasting lenses to use based on the timing of the day and the intensity of the sun.
3. Shirt / Coverall
The fundamental guideline is to reveal as minimal flesh as possible when paintballing, so avoid clothing with short sleeves. Instead, all you’ll require is a loose long-sleeved t-shirt, a sweatshirt, or an overall.
If you’re playing paintball outside, the weather is crucial. In a chilly environment, paintball jerseys, as well as sweaters, are essential. Long sleeve t-shirts are preferable to prevent bruising and wounds from hard strikes since they are sturdier, tougher, and protect the whole upper body. It’s an intelligent choice to bundle up with a long-sleeved t-shirt and a sweatshirt for more protection.
Along with your paintball jersey or shirt, you can also add a paintball vest for ultimate protection. They’re incredibly comfortable yet durable. You’ll want to limit adding way too many layers of clothing because all of the moving around may cause you to become hot. Instead, wear a layer or two of lightweight, loose-fitting clothes that don’t restrict your capacity to run as well as remain flexible.
4. Gloves
When you’re playing paintball, you’re always revealing your hands. Thus they’re among the most typical targets. Although wearing gloves isn’t required when playing paintball, there’s no doubt that they perform a fantastic job of shielding your hands from paintball blows and other frequent accidents like getting cuts, scratches, splinters, as well as friction burns.
You should ensure you’re wearing gloves that provide a certain level of shielding while still enabling you to bend your fingers freely.
Make sure to avoid wearing thick gloves when firing since they often get in the middle of the trigger guard. Most paintballers like to wear fingerless gloves as they provide a better grip when holding a paintball gun. Moreover, fingerless gloves are an excellent choice since they give excellent traction as well as preserve our knuckles.
What to Wear For Paintball – Lower Body
If you’re playing outdoors, you could be going through a bush and scraping your skin, getting mosquito bites, ticks, and so on. Wear clothing that will safeguard you from these elements if you’re going to an outside game. Even on an interior field, attempting to crawl behind a bunker might result in a grass burn. As a result, it’s critical to shield your lower body.
1. Pants
Dependent on where you engage, paintball can subject your legs to a range of factors such as thorns, twigs, pebbles, as well as mud, which can damage your legs and knees. As a result, shorts are not suggested. Instead, you should put on a pair of baggy trousers. Cargo pants, paintball-specific pants, jumpsuits, and jeans are also acceptable.
Your objective is to provide as much extra coverage to your lower body as feasible. You can even opt to wear two pairs of athletic pants to offer even more security to your lower body.
It’s important to realize that you’ll be creeping, crouching, and maybe slipping about frequently. These actions may inflict scrapes and injuries to your lower body if you aren’t adequately covered. Therefore, make sure the paintball pants you’re wearing are also vital. Given their thickness, the pants should allow you to maneuver freely. Check out our guide on the best paintball pants here.
2. Shoes
Since ankle sprains involving paintball are the most prevalent, this is among the highly vital parts. Choose a pair of shoes that you don’t worry about getting muddy or wet in. Wear appropriate paintball shoes if you want to limit the danger of injury. Rubber spikes are included in such shoes to prevent ankle sprains.
Low-profile hiking boots also work because they maintain the ankle straight while offering grip as well as tread. Avoid hiking books with a raised platform since you’ll be more likely to twist your ankle with those shoes. However, it is recommended that you wear an ankle brace for safety.
When playing paintball, you must avoid wearing specific kinds of footwear. For example, sandals, flip-flops, slender jogging shoes, or other open-toed shoes are not permitted. This is because injuries are nearly inevitable in such footwear.
Do paintballs wash out of clothes?
If you’re curious whether paintball is washable, the answer is yes. Indeed, paintballs are water-soluble, non-toxic, and will rinse off your garments in a standard washing machine cycle.
They’re hypoallergenic, eco-friendly, and recyclable as well. Of course, the colors should be gone entirely if you can have your clothing washed within a day after your paintballing adventures.
If the paintball fluid is left on light-colored clothes for a few days or more, it might leave stains. You may prevent this by just washing your clothes after each game of paintball.
Clothing Tips to Consider for Playing Paintball
Now that you have a fundamental understanding of what to wear when paintballing let’s go over a couple of additional pointers to guarantee you arrive at the most excellent paintball apparel attainable.
1. Dress according to the weather
When playing paintball, one of the essential things to consider is to constantly have the weather conditions in mind. What to dress in the summer is a prevalent issue among newcomers. Although several people want to wear heavy clothes such as a sweatshirt to decrease the agony of getting shot, it might not be the best option if the weather is warm. That’s why you should dress in a layer or two of lightweight, breezy, loose-fitting clothes that you can readily remove if you feel hot.
If the weather is frigid, though, you should dress warmly in gloves, wool socks, a beanie, as well as a sweater. Paintball shirts and leggings include cushioning all around to defend against gunfire, and the cloth is quite warm in the cold.
2. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty
You should wear worn-out clothing that you don’t mind getting ripped or soiled because you’ll be crouching, crawling, and perhaps leaping about a bunch. Although most paintballs in the marketplace are loaded with a water-soluble pigment that washes off readily when cleaned, some of the less expensive kinds of paintballs can be more stain-prone. Not to mention, if the terrain is challenging enough, you may potentially rip it.
They are water-soluble, and stain removal is simple with the right cleaning solution. However, you must do it promptly after a match since the more time they sit soiled, the more difficult it is to clean them.
3. Bring spare clothes for your ride home
You’ll almost definitely exit the paintball field coated in mud as well as splatters of paint, so bringing a change of clothing or a towel for the journey home is a wise decision.
Your soiled and damp clothes may be pretty unpleasant, and they can also stain the vehicle seats quite severely, so carry a spare set of clothes or a towel to sit on in the car to prevent this. Then, when you have to wash your car or stroll about in public, it will spare you hours of anxiety.
4. Wear dark colors or camouflage clothing
Paintball players wearing brightly colored apparel stand out like a sore thumb and are apparent to see. Avoid wearing light-colored clothes as much as feasible since, apart from being easier to stain, it may lead you to be exposed to your competitors for the majority of the game, mainly if you’re playing on a woodsball field.
It’s preferable to dress in camouflage or dark apparel to reduce your chances of being noticed by your competitors. Dark clothes, as well as camouflage, can assist you in blending in with your environment and remaining undetected.
5. Wear full-length clothes with extra padding
Among the most frequently touted paintball tips is layering. Instead of tossing aside a singular layer of old clothing for each paintball game, try layering many layers of the old clothes, but make sure they’re thin because you’ll be moving about aplenty.
Full-sleeved shirts are preferable over half-sleeved shirts. However, before putting on multiple layers of clothing, you should think about the weather. Since it’s not a great idea to play amid sweltering weather, you must avoid layering excessively to prevent overheating.
6. Protect your neck, chest, and groin
Another item to remember while planning for paintball clothes is robust protection for your neck, chest, and groin. Choose neck protection that is meant to safeguard your neck’s sensitive parts as well as your skin. Aside from the defense, a bandanna is yet another technique to ensure your neck. To adequately cover your chest or torso, you can wear a sturdy sweatshirt or a paintball jersey/vest.
It’s also a good idea to safeguard your crotch area. You may put a guard inside to shield yourself. The discomfort is bearable, even though it is unpleasant. It can also provide you with some added security by ensuring that you are protected in sensitive places.
7. Avoid wearing valuable jewelry
Please remember that paintball is energy, excitement, and an adrenaline-fueled sport. As a result, you must never make the error of sporting anything extravagant, such as jewelry or any other item, while on the battlefield.
While playing the sport, you may also reduce the chance of your jewelry harming you. Also, not wearing these pricey objects allows you to concentrate more on the task at hand because you are no longer distracted by anxieties about losing them.
8. Always bring a garbage bag for dirty clothes
After having fun in the paintball game, you are left with muddy and dirty clothes. Therefore, you must bring an extra pair of clothing to change into after the game. Along with that, you can also get a garbage bag to put your dirty clothes in there. It will come in handy to carry your muddy clothes and is much more comfortable than having to take them around in your hands the whole day.
Final Words – Wrapping it up.
We prepared this post after investigating many websites and multiple paintball grounds to address the issue of “what to wear for paintball” in the summer, winter, and for beginners.
When it comes to paintballing, understanding what to dress in is crucial for having a good day. You must be dressed adequately so that your mobility is not restricted just because you are wearing incorrect attire.
In addition, wearing the appropriate clothing will allow you to hide from your competitors and avoid being hurt. Although selecting the proper paintball clothing might be time-consuming, it is well worth the effort since it will provide you with a longer duration of genuine enjoyment under perfect conditions.
Happy Paintballing!
