Don't we just love paintball so much it drives just about everyone around us nuts? Our parent's (or spouse's) checkbooks are going into shock again because "already" we're looking to upgrade/play paintball. They just can't understand our "need" for another "fix" of the "adrenaline" you get under fire. Well here's something you can do to help them.
Save money. It's that easy. No matter what else you do, the biggest positive effect you can have on whomever is supplying the "cash" is to show them/yourself that you are concerned with saving them money. And it just might get you more money to play with. HaHaHa.
"Ok so how" you ask? It's pretty easy actually. Whenever you're playing, shopping, or just cruising the net; keep your eyes open. I find that "paintballers" are about the most talkative group of players there are out there. We're always eager to tell you what we've done or purchased to our "ahem" markers <says gun under his breath> to make them better or just plain pretty darn cool.
How much do you love your sport? I'll tell you; you love paintball so much that you've actually jerked awake during sleep because you were dreaming about a particular paintball fire fight, and you've subconsciencely jerked yourself awake just to move outta the way of that 300 foot per second, .68 caliber bright neon yellow ball that some 'fool' actually thought he could get you with!!! AS IF (LOL !!!) Ever hear a basketball player rebounding in his sleep? A wide receiver throw his hands up to catch a pass sleeping? And they talk about 'love of the game' huh.
So how do you return your love to the sport? You save money by doing as much as you can upgrades therefore saving money. We like to be different no? Then why look like everyone else? If your going to a field and gonna put on your cammies, do they have to be a brand new, store bought set that matches everyone else's? Go online to a surplus store or a flea market and buy some used ones to cut your expense in at least half. Why stop there, why not look around: you may find some English, Australian, African, European set of cammies that are cheaper, and in some cases, more effective than US cammies. Hey, look at you: I see 13 sets of cammies, 5 sets of tiger stripes, 3 coveralls, a few jeans & black rock-n-roll T-shirts & that cool "badass" over there wearing some English cammies, WOW!! You'll also be recognizable during play too when someone grabs your shoulder after a game, and says "Hey good rush on my bunker back there, awesome move" instead of telling his team "You see that guy in green rushing my bunker? Wish I knew who it was."
Ever been to a field or a store and saw someone with a custom enhancement to his gear? Whether it was a paint job, sight, or some other non-store bought item. Sure you'd love to ask them about it, and I'm sure they would love to tell you what they did and how much it cost. We all love to show off our toys. Granted we all aren't CNC machinists with lathes in our garages to custom mill our <here we go again> "marker". But some things depending on our skill levels, which are achievable. Who can't buy some craft paint & custom paint their own mask? Whether it's green, black, or neon striped, we just put ourselves a cool custom job on ourselves and "hey, it's not store bought but I did it & I'm proud of it". By the way, look ma..."See how I saved you money buy doing it myself?" Ask your fellow players whenever you see something interesting. You might learn it was a do it yourself job and how to do it. Everything you do yourself will save you money and give your gear a more personal touch. I can tell you honestly, if you saw me you'd remember me and you wouldn't forget.
Why you ask? First off my marker...It's a completely stock F4 illustrator that looks anything but stock. From my sewn tiger stripe fabric cover on my barrel, body, hopper, elbow, and remote line, to my home done ported stock barrel. I wear surplus German "fleck" cammies. US Army cap w/blk waterproof marker to add the design. My mask is cammie painted but you can't tell cause I went further with the spare tiger stripe material and made a "goggleflage" like cover for it. My harness you ask? tisk tisk...Made it of course. Bought a Vietnam style suspenders w/gun belt for cheap money at flea market. Then I bought M-16 magazine holder and modified grenade holders and surprise, I have a one of a kind 3 hopper holder!! And I can move it to wherever I want. Could even install a second one if say I was in a 24hr scenario game (or if you shoot that much in a game WOW). Took another M-16 magazine holder & put my 24 oz tank in...grenade holder has me 9 oz spare if needed!
Ok what's next? Feet of course. You don't think I wear "specially designed" paintball sneakers do you? haha nope. Catalog surplus Israeli combat boots. A whole 20 bucks <ouch it hurts> for a pair of lightweight sneaker like boots that dry pretty quick and don't weigh a ton. So you can see why you won't forget meeting me and I've spent less money than a "JT" jersey and pant set. You'll never hear me say "crap" just ripped my 65 dollar jersey now I gotta beg/buy a new one."
So do it yourself whenever possible, ask questions, & save money
for important stuff like PAINT!!!
Joe Allen
MPN Columnist