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Various types of equipment are used in the game of paintball. This article provides a description of them. =Types of Equipment=
Markers
- Main article: Paintball marker
A paintball marker, also commonly called a paintball gun, is the primary device used in the game of paintball to mark an opposing player. An expanding gas (usually carbon dioxide, nitrogen or air) forces a paintball through a barrel at a muzzle velocity of approximately 300ft/s (100m/s). This velocity is sufficient for most paintballs to break upon impact, but not fast enough to cause tissue damage beyond mild bruising. Nearly every commercial field has, and strictly enforces, a rule limiting the muzzle velocity of a paintball at or below 300ft/s. Being hit in an eye by a paintball can result in permanent blindness or vision impairment, thus the universal rule that paintball participants must wear a protective goggle system designed specifically for paintball use.
The majority of modern paintball markers are semi-automatic, falling under the classification of either "open" or "closed" bolt firing positions, relying on one of 3 major design structures. The first is a gas blowback design whereby the trigger releases a hammer which sends the bolt forward and simultaneously knocks open a valve releasing gas to fire the paintball as well as recock the marker. Autococking markers use a complicated gas pneumatic system to drive a cocking knob back AFTER firing, allowing the marker to fire in a "closed-bolt" format. The third and most advanced type of semi-auto paintball marker is the electropneumatic. Here, the trigger trips an electronic microswitch (or more recently, a laser) and information is passed to a computer controlled solenoid which releases the propellant to drive the bolt forward and fire the paintball, again simultaneously, most often from the "open-bolt" position. This microswitch operation makes the trigger pull very light, and allows for extreme rates of fire. These markers are the most expensive (usually) and advanced of the 3 types and are generally used for tournament play where rates of fire can reach and exceed 25 balls per second.
There is, also, a strong following of stock-class and "pump" players who use markers with a purposefully low rate of fire and ammo capacity. Pump guns use a mostly self explanatory format, forcing the player to slide a pump back and forth to load each shot before firing. Stock-class guns are essentially the same, with a few extra restirctions. They are exclusively pump-action paintball guns powered by 12-gram CO2 cartridges or regular gas tanks. Also, some stock class markers have only a 10 round ammo tube that is not spring loaded and must be fixed to the marker, parallel to the barrel. This leads to what is known as the "Rock and Cock" action, because a player needs to rock the marker back for a ball to drop into the chamber before recocking the marker.
The last type of marker is a sidearm, usually a pistol, that uses a CO2 cartridge to power it. These are usually either pump or semi-automatic but have a 8-12 round magazine attached somewhere on the gun. The usage of paintball sidearms is greatly conversed among paintballers. Some argue that the usage of a sidearm in paintball is pointless saying its "a $100 pod". Others argue that it is priceless on the battlefield as you main marker can jam or run out of CO2.
Some markers are designed to look like real guns, and as such are called mil-sim, short for military simulation. These are used almost exclusively in woodsball games, as they are clunkier than most high-end speedball markers, but they are painted camo or black in order to blend in with foliage or shadow better than a flashy marker. Some use hoppers, though some use magazines similar to real-life automatic weapons. Many come with a shoulder stock in order to follow the mil-sim look.
An excellent resource on marker operation including animations of marker operation is http://www.zdspb.com/tech/misc/animations.html
Propellants
Carbon dioxide
Because CO2 becomes a liquid when compressed, it must expand to a gas in order to be used by the paintball marker. This expansion is not adiabatic and requires energy, causing the tank to cool as heat is used to expand the liquid CO2 into gas. Eventually, under sustained fire, and especially in cold weather, the tank can become so cold that ice crystals form on it. If the CO2 bottle does not have an anti-siphon tube fitted, or is shaken while firing, the liquid CO2 may enter the marker. The liquid CO2 then passes through the marker instead of the tank, evaporating and causing the marker to freeze. This results in large clouds of CO2 vapor ejected from the marker upon firing, caused by the liquid CO2 evaporating in/around the barrel. This is known as "drawing liquid". This can and will cause damage to internal seals and O-Rings, which will put the marker out of commission for some time while it warms back up. Never leave a CO2 container in sunlight, as the heat will cause the gas to expand to a dangerous level. The tanks include safety valves in their construction, but there is no need to use them or take unnecessary risks.With normal back-bottle setups (or, air systems utilizing a horizontal air source adapter, more commonly called an ASA), the less dense gaseous CO2 will rise to the top half of the tank. Normally, ASA's are angled with very slight angles so the gaseous CO2 is always available at the valve of the tank. Special devices known as anti-siphon tubes extend the mouth of the valve, and provide only CO2 from the top part of the tank.
During rapid successions of shots, gaseous CO2 is used up. Liquid CO2 will take some time to evaporate and rebuild the internal pressure. This process causes potentially large changes in velocity and therefore, in accuracy and range.
High Pressure Air or N2
When HPA (High Pressure Air) is compressed, it remains a gas. When it expands, it also cools the tank, but at a far lower rate than liquid CO2 because it does not have to transition from liquid to gas. The lack of this transition, reduces the variation in pressure associated with rapid successions of firing cycles, improving accuracy. Therefore it is viewed as a superior source of propulsion.However, because these propellants are stored at higher pressures (up to 5000 lb/in² or 34.47 MPa) while liquid CO2 is stored at around 1200 lb/in² (eight MPa), tanks for nitrogen and HPA are more expensive and heavier. Modern designs are usually wrapped in carbon fiber or other composite materials, to allow for thinner walls (thus, lighter weights) while withstanding the greater pressure. The tanks for themselves can either be filled with pure N2 or compressed air, which is 79% N2. These air sources have traditionally been used primarily by people who play often and have tournament-grade markers; however, they are becoming more popular among casual players.
HPA is also known as Nitrogen, nitro, or N2. The reason for the varying name difference is because in the late 80's and early 90's, Tom Kaye and Team Nitro utilized large 114 cubic inch tanks on their back. This was the first team to use nitrogen in a paintball setting. The gas they used was 100% nitrogen, which is very rare today. The reason for this is that air compressors capable of filling tanks to the required 3000+ PSI are more common. HPA tanks can be filled with nitrogen or compressed air, but can NOT be filled with CO2. It is also a common misconception that paintball markers use Nitrous Oxide (N2O,"Nitrous", "NOS"), or NO2. Neither of these are used in paintball pneumatic systems.
HPA is also preferred because it makes easy for the frequent players to fill the air system from a conventional scuba tank. Also, many players believe that using N2 instead of HPA reduces the corrosion caused to the marker by oxidation from the Oxygen in the HPA..
Comparison
Nitrogen is generally preferred over carbon dioxide for a few reasons. Nitrogen will not liquefy and leak into the marker, while if the CO2 tank doesn't have an anti-siphon installed, liquid CO2 will leak into the marker, causing damage to O-rings. The solenoids on electronic markers are particularly sensitive to this, and thus many manufacturers will specify to use only nitrogen or HPA with their electronic markers. Nitrogen generally has a more consistent shot than CO2. This is because when the playing area is warm, the CO2 will expand more rapidly from the liquid form, causing the marker to fire at a higher velocity. But when the temperature is lower, the expansion occurs more slowly, causing a decrease in the velocity of the shot. This is especially apparent during rapid firing while using CO2. The rapid discharge of CO2 causes the temperature of the liquid CO2 to drop dramatically, resulting in a significant loss in pressure. The effect of temperature on HPA or nitrogen, on the other hand, is negligible. However, CO2 tanks are significantly cheaper than nitrogen tanks. The nitrogen tanks traditionally cost slightly less to be filled, than the CO2 tanks at approximately three to five US dollars.Masks
Sometimes called "goggles," masks are safety devices that players are required to wear. These completely cover not only the eyes, but also the mouth, ears and nostrils of a person. Some masks even feature throat guards. The lenses are designed to stop paintballs traveling around or under 300ft/s (~100m/s). It should be noted, however, that the lenses are not designed to withstand impacts of paintballs traveling at vastly greater speeds.
Double-layered or "thermal" lenses are also available. These lenses are much less prone to fogging. These work by separating an inside and an outside lens with an air chamber, that allows for the difference in temperature between the inside and the outside of the mask without forming condensation.
The exterior of the thermal lenses (or the lenses, in non-thermal masks) is usually made of Polycarbonate or Lexan®. This provides impact resistance. An unfortunate side effect is that those materials are very easily scratched by dirt and debris, so care must be taken to keep proper care of the lenses. Many vendors recommend the immediate replacement of very scratched lenses, or lenses subjected to very strong impacts.
Some masks include electric fans that cool the player's face while wearing it. This is useful for situations that require wearing the mask for extended periods of time, such as wood play, large games, or being a referee.
Generally, more expensive masks tend to be smaller (which in turn makes the player a smaller target), more comfortable, and have more interchangeable parts.
Hoppers/Loaders
These are the two main forms of holding paintballs in direct reserve for the marker to fire, much the same way as a clip will hold rounds for a rifle. These two types of providing ammuntion for the marker are much the same as one another, with only a few key differences.
Hoppers are the older and less advanced means of supplying paint to the marker. The most basic and common is a simple black shell with a hinged lid on the back so the hopper can be filled, and a necked down area which slides down into the markers "feedneck" and is just wide enough for one ball at a time to fall through. Some of these hoppers include some form of battery powered "agitation" to keep the mouth of the hoppers feedneck from becoming clogged with balls so that there is always a supply of paintballs into the feedneck. The key distinction for a hopper is eventually it relies solely on gravity to get a ball into the chamber
Loaders are similar to hoppers, but all use some sort of electronic or mechanical means of forcing or agigtating paintballs into the feedneck, and down into the chamber, resulting in a much faster and more steady supply of ammunition to the marker. These are generally found more often in tournament settings paired with electropneumatic markers to achieve the extremely high rates of fire used to suppress the opposition.
Paintballs
Paintballs, also called simply paint, are spherical gelatin capsules containing primarily polyethylene glycol and dye. Early paintballs were made of glass and filled with indelible oil-based paint, but modern paintballs should easily wash out of most clothing and cause significantly less pain on impact.
Most common paintballs and paintball markers are described as .68 caliber. However many factors affect their exact dimensions. The vast majority of paintballs are larger than .68 caliber and may in fact meet or exceed .69 caliber. In addition, paintballs are very sensitive to heat and moisture. A hot or humid day may result in paint swelling or becoming misshapen. Care should be taken to keep paintballs out of the sun and away from moisture. An insulated cooler works well for this on the field.
Generally speaking, more expensive paintballs are subjected to more stringent manufacturing processes and quality checks, to their size is more consistent. This is very important for accuracy. More expensive paintballs also tend to have higher quality fills and more brittle shells to lessen the chance of bounces, and improve chance of break, and therefor "kills"
SWAT teams often use paintballs filled with a pepper substance (known as a pepper ball) as a non-lethal incapacitation method.
Common accessories
Drop forward
Attached to the bottom of the gun, drop forwards drop the tank a few inches and move it forward, making the marker taller but shorter in length. They may also offer an on/off switch mechanism which is an added safety feature and adds to ease of operation. Recently, they have become unpopular and many players now prefer a rail and on/off system.Rail
An alternative to a Drop Forward. A rail system allows a tank regulator or ASA to be mounted directly at the base of the grip. Depending on several factors, including player size and tank size, a rail may be preferable to a drop forward.Remote line
A remote line is a cable or tube hooked up from the marker to the tank, which allows the user more freedom of movement while handling the marker. They may get caught in trees and shrub, and if hit, is considered an out. A technique to avoid such issues with remotes is to thread the line into your sleeve and down your shirt to the tank. Remote lines are not frequently used by tournament players.Pod
Pods are simply rigid tubular plastic containers which hold paintballs. The most common pod size holds about 140 paintballs; however, other sizes are available, and 100 paintball pods are common at rental sites, while there are also pods for smaller paintball pistols which only have the capacity of 10 paintballs (such pods are usually called tubes). Standard pods use a plastic top and a spring to open them quickly and with less effort. There are variations - for example, Dye Lock Lid pods which use a simple locking mechanism to ensure they won't open accidentally, or Syn Shockpods, which are engineered to be able to be shaken vigorously without the paint inside breaking.Harness
Harnesses, or packs, hold pods full of paintballs. Most hoppers hold about 200 paintballs and some markers can empty them in 10 seconds of sustained fire. In woodsball, and especially in scenario paintball, a player may be away from their reloading supplies for an extended period of time. A harness with pods allows a player to have a portable supply of paint, without weighing down their marker with an enormous hopper. Many harnesses also have a pouch to hold the tank when using a remote setup. These harnesses are usually labeled with a +1 (e.g. A harness capable of carrying four pods and a tank would be labeled 4+1).Harnesses for Speedball or Tourney ball tend to consist of a bellyband with hoops in the back for the pods. Harnesses for Woodsball may follow a more military look with pockets for maps, radios, and hydration pouches.
Squeegee
Squeegees are used to clean out debris from the barrel and breach, often a broken paintball. Most squeegees are a hinge-mounted rubber disc on the end of a plastic rod of sufficient length to reach the full length of the barrel. The rubber washer end is inserted sideways into the barrel, pushed to the bottom and subsequently withdrawn with the rubber disc rotated ninety degrees (so that the disc now touches the inner circumference of the barrel).For paintball markers with an open breech or removable bolt, a "cable squeegee" may be used - a cable squeegee is a rubber disc is mounted perpendicularly on the end of the cable. The non-rubber-disc end (the "pull end") is inserted through the breech (or through the back once the bolt is removed, whichever is appropriate) and pushed fully in such that the pull end extends out the front of the barrel. The squeegee is then drawn through the gun by pulling on the pull end.
A " Battle Swab " is used commonly in speedball for extremely quick cleaning; a double ended stick with soft absorbent fur is shoved down the length of the barrel to remove any performance hindering paint or shell. The swab often has a bendable rubber section in the middle so that it can be folded over and stored in a pocket.
Regardless of the design, as the squeegee is withdrawn, the barrel is perfunctorily cleaned to allow continued use of the marker. A more thorough cleaning is recommended when time allows.
Barrel covers/condoms/socks
A safety device comprised of a cloth or neoprene pouch placed over the opening of the barrel and attached to the marker via a cord. These are to be used whenever you are not on a field. They prevent an accidentally discharged paintball from leaving the barrel and causing injury. Forgetting to replace it after leaving a game and entering a safe zone will usually get you a warning. Repeated infractions will usually result in being ejected from the field. This is done for liability reasons, and to lower possibility of unexpected injury to anyone around, especially important when involving eye safety .Barrel socks (formerly condoms, but the name has changed for the sake of younger players) are usually preferred over barrel plugs because of the reduced possibility of discharging the safety equipment from the marker. When using a barrel plug, only one shot is necessary to displace the plug allowing following shots to escape. Furthermore, a discharging plug is a hazard itself.
Other Equipment
Paint Grenades
Although not legal in tournament play, paint grenades may be found in recreational and scenario play. Grenades do not actually explode, and are closer to water balloons in function. One common grenade design consists of a rubber tube filled with paint and folded in half; when the grenade makes an impact, the 'lid' that keeps the tube folded comes off, allowing the pressure placed on the paint by the tube to spray the paint over an area and potentially mark players. Under most rules, any mark from a paint grenade is sufficient to count as an elimination.Paint Mines
Several devices have been designed to spray paint over an area when triggered by passing players. Precise methods of spraying paint or triggering the mine vary, however, due to insurance reasons, no paint mines use any sort of explosive.Slingshots
A variation of paintball uses slingshots instead of markers to propel the paintballs. Even though manufactured slingshots do not shoot faster than 300 fps [http://www.network54.com/Forum/400261/message/1144973176/last-1146104916/slinngshot+speed [http://www.groupsrv.com/hobby/about50435.html, most paintball fields don’t allow them. A normal game usually requires all players to use slingshots, but some games may allow certain players to use pump action markers vs. slingshots, such as Cowboys and Indians.=Equipment Maintenance=
Paint to barrel matching
Paintballs generally change shape or size due to differing temperature or humidity. If a paintball is larger than the barrel, it will break inside and cause horrible inaccuracy until it is cleaned. If the paintball is too small for the barrel, air will escape around the paintball when firing causing a drop velocity. Correcting for this by adjusting the velocity adjuster on the gun could cause a lack of air efficiency.
To check for a good paint-to-barrel match, remove the barrel from the gun and insert a paintball into the barrel. If the paintball simply rolls through the barrel, then the paintball is too small for that barrel. If the paintball does not roll out, then attempt to blow the paintball out of the barrel using your mouth. Ideally, you should be able to easily blow the paintball out, however, if this is not possible and the paintball becomes stuck, then the paintball is too large for the barrel.
Because of the varying sizes of paintballs and barrels, many people opt for an adjustable bore barrel, commonly called a barrel system, or barrel kit. These barrels allow for the user to adjust the internal bore of the barrel to allow for a perfect match for the paint being used. The kits may use peices called "backs" to adjust bore size, or inserts, which is used in the Scepter barrel kit. Such examples of an adjustable bore barrel are the Powerlyte Scepter and the MacDev Matchstick
Marker maintenance
A well-maintained paintball marker will last longer and be more reliable. A paintball marker should be disassembled and checked for problems routinely. For example, it is not uncommon for the O-Ring to break, or for paintballs to break inside the barrel. The latter problem can be solved temporarily when the player is "in the field" by using a pipe-cleaner-like tool referred to as a squeegee. However, it is important to disassemble the marker after the game and properly clean out any affected parts with the marker companies recommended material/solvent (such as a special cloth, or lubricant) and a paper towel. After cleaning the marker, it should be lubricated with commercially available paintball lubricant. Do not use firearm oils or lubes; these are petroleum-based and will dissolve the internal O-rings and fittings. The player should then ensure that the marker is unloaded before firing several shots to blow out any remaining paint and dry out the interior. Occasionally, more serious problems such as broken parts will occur. In this case, the player should not attempt to provide his/her own replacement part, but should contact the manufacturer of the marker for an official new part.
Mask maintenance
An inevitable part of playing paintball frequently is a shot to the mask. If the lens becomes covered in paint, it is important that the player not simply wipe the paint off, because doing so may cause debris to scratch the lens. The player should leave the field and when s/he gets a chance, clean off the lens using water and a towel or a piece of cloth. If you are using a thermal lens, it is imperative that water or anti-fog treatment be applied ONLY to the outer lens of the marker. Allowing moisture of any kind in between the 2 lenses will invariably ruin the lens system. The interior portion of a thermal lens is also very delicate and should only be wiped clean with a microfiber lens cloth designed specifically for cleaning glasses or goggles without scratching. It is very important that the player does not use products such as Windex or other glass cleaners, including spectacle cleaners. Doing so could potential damage the anti-fog treatments, or more importantly, the integrity of the lens, thereby putting the user at risk. A neat trick is to buy a cheap small spray bottle and spray water onto the lens rather than pouring it on. Use only a clean cloth on the mask; paper towels will scratch the lenses. Anti-fog spray is also available, which coats the lens in a temporary fog-resistant film. It is suggested that lenses be replaced every season. Another good lens cleaning agent is a 50-50 mixture of rubbing alcohol and water. After it is mixed it should be put into a spray bottle for use. Some new lenses will come "pre-treated" by anti-fog, or the lens will say "fog-resistant", with these lenses, it is advised that you NEVER use anti-fog chemicals on the lense as the chemicals can damage the lense beyond further use.
"Paintball equipment"