New Experience – Paintball!

In the interest of doing new and fun things that I’ve never done before I planned a paintball excursion for me and some of my friends. We went to SplatBall. They have an indoor court that allows for play during winter. It’s in the basement of an older building…and has a distressed look.

The night was a lot of fun…though I’m a bit sore today after being hit. I had no idea what to expect. Here are some observations and tips for those of you who might think about going:

• Leave most of your valuables at home. There weren’t any lockers so I carried my phone and wallet on me.
• Wear lots of layers or padding. (Guys…Protecting the groin area with a cup or something is a great idea.) Paintballs hurt when they hit…especially open skin patches like your neck or hands. I bought some cheap knit gloves and cut off the fingers. I also wore a hoodie sweatshirt so I could easily cover my neck…at least in back. If you wear canvas type material it will absorb the impact.
• We bought 2000 paintballs for $75 and split them between three people and they lasted the evening for 3 hours.
• The court we played on was split into two halves green and blue. Our games started with 2 teams against the back walls and we moved forward to try and take out the other team. It was intense.
• Don’t worry too much about ruining the clothes you’re wearing completely. After the event, I washed my clothes separately and the yellow paint came out pretty easily.

They had some great safety rules that I really appreciated: (1) ALWAYS wear your goggles. Never take them off on the court. This protects your eyes and face. You are not ever supposed to aim for the face. (2) Use your BBD (Barrel Blocking Device) whenever your gun is not on the court. This prevents misfires when people are not protected with goggles or if the trigger lock wasn’t set. (3) If you’re within 20 feet of another player you’re both out. This prevents point-blank shooting.

We had a great time. It was new and different. I felt like I was in a movie. Our goggles looked like we were storm troopers. The experience made me have an appreciation for real combat challenges. Your heart really gets pumping when you’re in the middle of the action.