While the fun and adrenaline is definitely in the game, it’s also fun to shop and build your gear roster. Choosing an awesome tactical paintball gun and camouflage outfit for a custom look that stands out on the field is exciting for most gamers who are totally into this sport. After choosing the right color uniform, a tactical paintball vest is essential to complete your look, but also to get the best performance in the field. The right tactical vest will not only help you carry your gear but also give you an identity in the game. Choose your tactical paintball vest that best suits the position you play in the game and the gear you need to be successful. Customizing your tactical vest is also fun, but it requires thinking ahead about what you’ll need it for during the game.
Not only do tactical vests come in almost every camouflage pattern to match your uniform, but the pouches are assorted as well. If you’re playing on the front lines, using a paintball gun for close quarters is a great idea. Guns are a lot of fun to use, but they can be cumbersome to carry around. Most players use thigh holsters to house tactical paintball guns, but they take some getting used to and often create a feeling of imbalance, slowing down quick movements that can hamper your style of play. Choosing a tactical vest with a holster on the front is the best way to carry these fun accessories, making them easier to move around and quicker to draw when needed. If you play midfield or backfield, choose a tactical vest that is loaded with ammo pods. For scenario games played on a closed field, the rear players are often more stationary to provide covering fire so the forward players can continue to advance and accomplish the mission at hand. Because of this, backs players can afford to use heavier paintball equipment and can carry a lot of ammo. Midfield players are used to traveling back and forth, ready to take up positions at the front or back of the field, load their paintball vest with ammo pods, and may provide additional paintballs to other players.
While a good vest is pretty much essential for carrying your gear, it’s not a bad idea to customize it for the type of marker you’re using. Nowadays, if you play woodsball and you’re not using a magazine fed paintball gun, you’re behind. These realistic markers are the latest innovation in paintball scenarios and in some games you just aren’t playing if you don’t have one. The trade-off with these guns is a replacement of the traditional rough hopper with a realistic magazine, however it is reduced from carrying 200 rounds to just 20. This means you will need to carry numerous 20-round mags if you want to play longer than 10 minutes. If a magazine-fed paintball gun is your tool of choice, a tactical vest loaded with magazine pouches is a necessary accessory.
Another fun scenario paintball weapon is a paintball grenade launcher. These realistic accessories attach to the bottom of your tactical marker and function like a shotgun, launching a devastating stream of paintballs at an effective range of approximately 25-30 feet. Paintball grenade launchers are powered by a paintball grenade projectile that is loaded with about 20 paintballs and fed from a handloader. Grenade launchers add a totally fun and exciting element to any game, but players are limited in being able to carry the necessary accessories to use them. If you use a paintball grenade launcher, a tactical vest is the best way to carry everything you need. A tactical vest equipped with pouches to carry paintball grenade cartridges, your handheld magazine and extra CO2 is a must if you want to have fun with this unique accessory.
Tactical vests are also great for helping you blend in with your surroundings. Camouflage uniforms are definitely the right clothing for the paintball scene. Whenever possible, it’s best to choose a camo pattern that matches the environment you’ll be playing in. For example, if your stage set is a desert background, then tan camouflage clothing is best; for woodsball, choose a woodland camo, DPM, or digital camo. Fortunately, tactical vests are also available in almost all types of camouflage uniforms, so you can pair this garment with your stage attire with ease. In fact, a camouflaged paintball vest over the camouflaged uniform of the same color offers a totally fierce look like what a professional soldier would wear.
In addition to invisibility and adding to your camouflaged appearance, another benefit of wearing a tactical vest is the additional protection they provide to your torso. When all bags are fully loaded with equipment, this provides an impenetrable layer of hard goods that offers a complete barrier against incoming paintballs. While this won’t make the balls bounce, it will take all the pain out of getting shot in the chest or anywhere in your upper torso. A tactical vest will also save you money by not having to purchase a paintball chest protector. Even if you wear your vest with nothing in the pouches, it will still offer you an extra layer of material that will still greatly reduce or completely eliminate the hassle of getting shot. Some tactical vests also include a thin layer of padding under the top layer of material which adds a bit more weight to the vest but also more protection.
If you choose to add a tactical vest to your stage paintball gear wardrobe, shopping is easy as these accessories are easy to find and there are plenty to choose from. Basically you can choose a vest that is already assembled and adorned with pouches or you can start with an empty vest and build your own. Most players seem to go with paintball vests that are already built for convenience, however some prefer the fun of making their own creation. If you choose a ready-made tactical vest, make sure it has pouches that can be swapped out in case you want to customize it later. It’s also important to make sure there are plenty of bags available so you have plenty of customization options.
If you decide to build your own tactical paintball vest, it is best to opt for a ‘MOLLE’ system. MOLLE vests have a certain type of strap and a pressure system to attach bags. This simple attachment system makes MOLLE vests very easy to customize. This type of tactical vest is also used by the military and law enforcement, so the bags are easily found and cheap to buy. Blank MOLLE System vests are available in tan, black, or olive and retail for ~$35. It is then up to you to choose which color pouches you want to customize your set. In general, this is the best way to go, as you can create a collection of different bags and easily change them as needed to customize your vest for different occasions or scenarios in which you play. A tactical vest that can be changed into different configurations to best equip you for the mission you are on is a valuable tool and well worth the investment.