Does Paintball hurt?

Before the first paintball match, the same question always arises: Does paintball hurt? I'll take away your worries and show you what's important.

What is important?

First things first: you will almost always feel the impact of a paintball, but there are a few tricks you can use to get a good grip on the intensity.

Speed in paintball

In order to have the necessary fun with the game, a certain amount of speed is of course required. After all, you want to get the most out of it, don't you?
The pros among you will have heard of the word “fps”. For all the greenhorns, I'll explain it very briefly. fps stands for “feet per second”. It indicates the speed at which the ball is shot. An average paintball marker has a muzzle velocity of 79.2 to 91.4 m/s. This may sound a lot at first, but in reality it's not so bad.
A little tip: If you're not sure what fps your marker has, it's best to ask the field supplier. Many measure the speed of your marker on site.

The quality of the ball

Quality is a point that you should not ignore. The shell of high-quality paintball pellets breaks open easily on impact. This means that you will suffer far less pain if you are hit. It is best to make sure that you buy high-quality balls. Paints are usually manufactured in Asia or Canada. Transportation to Europe is important. With high-quality brands, the paint is transported in temperature-controlled containers. This preserves the quality.

The right clothing

The right outfit is a point where you can make up for a lot. The most important thing is not to wear clothes that are too tight - the baggier the better. A loose-fitting outfit made of sturdy fabric will significantly cushion hits and therefore also the pain. To protect your head, you should wear a mask to avoid taking any unpleasant hits to the face. For all the men among you: there are already pants with integrated crotch protection, and if you have to improvise, a crumpled up sock will also do for a start.
Click here for suitable protective clothing

 

The hit spot

Everyone of you knows it: Pictures of people covered in bruises. It's understandable that this worries you before your first match. But I can reassure you. Most of the time, these are pictures where you have shot directly at bare skin or short distances. In a real paintball match on supervised playing fields, there are rules and strict attention is paid to the distances from which you shoot. Please don't be put off by these scary pictures. It's rarely that bad.


So let's get back to the question: Does paintball hurt? As you can see, it depends on many factors. If you are well informed and follow the safety precautions, then you don't need to worry about pain. Always remember: fun and action are paramount, everything else is secondary. So what are you waiting for? Grab your marker and get on the field!