While one should never sacrifice value over the quality of paintball
safety equipment, paintball guns are available today at reasonable
prices and with a wide variety of interesting features.
When deciding which the best paintball gun is for you,
be realistic and determine your “skill level”. When just beginning,
and do not know the frequency of your play, begin with an
inexpensive gun.
To decide which features
you need in a paintball gun, you can borrow markers from your
friends and try them on different paintball fields. After you have
decided on the features you want then start shopping for your gun.
When playing for recreation, there is really
no need to spend a great deal of money as there are many
recreational guns of good quality that are not expensive. Note that
there are also several poor quality markers on the market so you
need to your research before you buy to make certain that the marker
that you purchase is dependable and can be upgraded.
When you are making plans to play in tournaments, determine what
type of tournament that you will be entering. If you are going to
play in small tournaments you may use a less expensive marker or
upgrade your old one.
However, in the larger tournaments, you
will need an “electro-pneumatic” or a “blow-forward” gun, which
costs a minimum of $350.
The cost of
markers depends primarily on the gun’s pressure system as well as
its accessories. The most popular system today is the “carbon
dioxide pressure system” normally used in the less expensive
markers.
The primary disadvantage is that
usually the carbon dioxide’s performance is influenced by the
temperature outside, and changes from its gas state to liquid
resulting in velocity instability that affects its shooting
accuracy.
Serious paintball players use
the “high-pressure air and nitrogen system” markers that are much
more accurate because the nitrogen will never liquefy. Having this
characteristic, these markers are more expensive.
Extra accessories also increase the cost of your marker. A loader or
hopper is a very popular accessory. It is a container that feeds
paintballs into the gun. Hoppers are available in many varieties -
some are powered and automated. Fast and lightweight hoppers are
more expensive.
Just keep in mind that the
any marker that you purchase will not be perfect and will ultimately
have flaws. So when purchasing your marker, always double check the
choices offered and purchase a gun only if you know what you really
want.