Paintball Markers
Paintballeurope.eu keeps in stock the full line of paintball guns, paintball markers, Package sets and starter kits for the paintball enthusiast. We have been in the paintball business since 2004 and served over 15.000 happy customers in 35 countries around the world. Our paintball store carries a full line of Spyder, Tippmann, BT Paintball, DYE, Proto, JT USA, Empire, Azodin, Invert and Planet Eclipse paintball markers, as well as other discount paintball supplies and paintball accessories.
How about scenario paintball? We stock a full line of scenario paintball guns and gear you will need to get in the game. Paintballeurope.eu will price match other online paintball stores on all in stock merchandise on cheap paintball guns or any paintball gear. We are the online leader in discount paintball. Just call 00386 40 808 223 and get your desired gear today.
1. What kind of Paintball Marker should I buy?
This is a question that’s always asked, and hardest to answer. There are many aspects and a lot of research that must go into this question before a solid answer can be given. You need to ask yourself several questions before you can come up with the best answer for you.
- How often do I go to play paintball?
Ask yourself if you will compete in Scenario or Speedball tournaments and leagues or just play occasionally. Play with as many borrowed and rented guns as you can and compare them.
- How much do I have to spend for a paintball marker?
Determine your budget, keeping in mind you may also need to buy other gear. Paintball guns, or markers can range from €100 to more than €1200. Also realize that some paintball markers, such as semi-auto and auto-cockers, shoot more balls and use more CO2 or Air than others. This, too, can affect the cost of your game. Read marker descriptions to determine which price/characteristics best suits your needs. Check out our recommendations on markers for three biggest groups: Begginer Players, Woodsball and Scenario players and Tournament players.
- Do I want mechanical or do I want electro?
Ask paintball enthusiasts at paintball fields and forums what they like and dislike about their guns and see the difference. You can also get a lot of info from our marker description.
- Do I want to use CO2 or Air?
CO2 stands for Carbon Dioxide (Sometimes called dirty gas) CO2 is an inexpensive way of getting a lot of air for your paintball gun. The typical paintball gun can go a whole day on only 20oz of CO2 (over 1000 shots). This gas is cost effective and easily accessible at most major fields and works on almost any low end and most mid range paintball guns. Now for the downside to CO2, CO2 is actually a liquid that needs to be charged into gas in order to go through a paintball gun. This being the case, the temperature plays a major part in how CO2 works. The colder the tank gets the less efficient your marker will be. Once your tank gets cold enough your gun will take in liquid CO2 and jam up until it warms up again. So if you live in a cold area 5deg. and bellow you probably don’t want CO2. Though they’ve taken steps to prevent this with Anti-Siphon tanks no plan is full proof. With CO2 you’ll notice erratic shot drop off and poor accuracy.
HPA is a more consistent type of gas, since its composed of roughly 80% nitrogen there’s no need to worry about it freezing the internals of your marker and freezing it up. Most HPA tanks are regulated to somewhere between 400psi and 850psi. This means that no matter what your gun will ideally put out that much pressure with only a small ± factor. This creates more consistency shot to shot.
- Am I mechanically inclined enough to get something that’s very complex?
You really need to ask yourself this questions. If the answer is no then you need to choose a marker that is easy to maintain like Tippmann or Proto markers.
- Am I just a rec player or do I want to go up to a tournament level?
That is entirely up to you but it is a habbit to start in the woods and later get into a harder paint spreading environment. You need to see if you have a speedball field in the vicinity with option to train there or perhaps consider to build one by yourself if you think you are up to it. If you are, be ready to invest a lot.
2. What should be the first paintball marker you buy?
We will try to explain to you 5 facts you should consider when buying your first paintball marker.
- Reliability
You most certainly don’t want your marker to fail right in the moment you have found your perfect position and got your clean shot ready. When you choose something like Tippmann or BT if you play scenario or Proto if you play tournament it is not likely to experience that. These types of markers are very reliable and will serve their cause well.
- Easy to maintain
It’s always better to focuse on the game rather than trying to find out what went wrong. But it’s nothing wrong with disassembling your marker from time to time. This way you will learn how to upgrade it to perform even better. At first it’s best to have a marker that is easy to maintain, that doesn’t have too much inner parts, because you can learn to dissassemble and assemble back your marker step by step.
- Easy to upgrade
When you buy yourself a marker that has a lot of uprgade potential you allow yourself an option to develop it along with the development of your game skills. Or you always have an option to pimp your marker just to look good.
- Price of the marker
Considering first three facts the fourth is logical concequence. It is best to pay for rent on your local field that provides additional equipment and choose a marker similar to the one you are considering to buy. Ask your local field operator to explain to you some preferences marker has and your decision will suddenly become much easier. If you don’t have this option, you can always watch video presentation of marker you consider buying. There are tons of them on youtube. Just type the name of the marker and a word presentation along and voila.
- What your girlfriend has to say about it
And last but not least , one of the most important facts when buying a new paintball marker is also what your girlfriend has to say about it. Does it look good, does it have a proper name, does it have the right color? Does it smell nice… and so on.
- Remember:
Just because your maker looks super sexy and shiny doesn’t necessarily mean your game will. We have seen guys kicking ass with Tippman C98 on speedball tournaments.
Paintball Gloves
1. How to choose suitable paintball gloves?
When talking about paintball gloves it somehow always comes out that this is a piece of kit you either love or hate.
Those who are against often mention excessive sweating and less control on their gun. Though this is partly true it sometimes comes very handy on paintball impact (fingertips are very sensitive to paintball impact – it can be very painfull) and there are ways to choose a paintball glove that will suit you best and believe us, it can be sometimes very rewarding.
To determine wheather you will be wearing paintball gloves or not you must know the following:
- What time of the year is – obviously you won’t mind wearing them in winter.
- You must try them on to fell the difference – sometimes with appropriate gloves you get a better feeling on trigger and other equipment than without.
- What is the size that suits you best – paintball gloves must be a little smaller than you think you will need. They have to be nice and tight because you get a better trigger feeling, you can get into your hopper faster (refill) and the last thing you need on competition is that everything starts to fall out of your hands.
- Price range that suits you – you will get everything from €15 – €70.
2. Tips for your new paintball gloves
- Cut of first two fingers on gloves (don't have your hand in them!) – you will get much more freedoom and grip on your trigger. You will also get a better grip when reaching extra pots of paint on your ammo pack and flip a lid a lot quicker. You will much more efficiently empty pots and get quicker into the hopper. We also cary nice Empire gloves LTD ZE in our store that already have two fingers cut loose.
- You can get meta gloves. We have some very nice options with ANGEL.
REMEMBER:
DON’T WEAR SKI GLOVES FOR PLAYING PAINTBALL! IT WOULD BE AS IF YOU WERE PLAYING WITH A MOTORCYCLE HELMET INSTEAD OF PAINTBALL MASK.
But on the other hand, we have seen that too…
Paintballs
1. How to properly store paintballs?
In this article we will explain to you how to store your paintballs properly to make them last longer. This happens every time you go out and play. You go out, you play and have a good time, but after that, you realize that you have at least one pot of paintballs left over. So if you want to hold on to them till the next time you play, you really need to know how.
PAINTBALLS STORAGE
So if you want to hold on to paintballs them till the next time you play, you really need to know how. Why? Because you rather see your paintballs follow the line you choose more than that paintballs choose the line they will follow.
So How do you really store paintballs? Paintballs are basically gelatine shells with water based type of fill. This actually means they can change shape or deform. But we don’t want that because it can badly effect on our performance during a game. Would you like your paintballs to follow random directions instead of the line you choose? I didn’t think so. So how do you store this stuff without turning it to either gelatinous porridge or turning it to marbles? Actually it is pretty simple:
- All you need to do is store them in a room temperature environment. Have your paintballs in a closed pot and leave it in a place that is cool and dry (anything between 10-30 degrees C and 40-50% relative humidity should be fine) and just let it sit there.
- Pay special attention to protect your paintballs from freezing or prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. From time to time, if paintballs will be stored for a very long time (more than a month), you need to give them a quick rotation. Just turn the box or pot around.
- Sometimes, in colder environment, paintballs will show signs of dimping. In this case you need to open the bag, allow them to warm up in a room temperature and seal the bag back. The dimples should dissapear.
- Try not to leave your paintballs in the trunk of a car because the heat inside a trunk can be fierce and cause your paintballs to deteriorate. Interesting huh?
- AND REMEMBER: If paintballs are properly stored, they can be expected to last for several months. Can you say that for a yoghurt once you have opened it?
Co2 and Air
1. CO2 vs. AIR
CO2 stands for Carbon Dioxide (Sometimes called dirty gas) CO2 is an inexpensive way of getting a lot of air for your paintball gun. The typical paintball gun can go a whole day on only 20oz of CO2 (over 1000 shots). This gas is cost effective and easily accessible at most major fields and works on almost any low end and most mid range paintball guns. Now for the downside to CO2, CO2 is actually a liquid that needs to be charged into gas in order to go through a paintball gun. This being the case, the temperature plays a major part in how CO2 works. The colder the tank gets the less efficient your marker will be. Once your tank gets cold enough your gun will take in liquid CO2 and jam up until it warms up again. So if you live in a cold area 5deg. and bellow you probably don’t want CO2. Though they’ve taken steps to prevent this with Anti-Siphon tanks no plan is full proof. With CO2 you’ll notice erratic shot drop off and poor accuracy.
HPA is a more consistent type of gas, since its composed of roughly 80% nitrogen there’s no need to worry about it freezing the internals of your marker and freezing it up. Most HPA tanks are regulated to somewhere between 400psi and 850psi. This means that no matter what your gun will ideally put out that much pressure with only a small ± factor. This creates more consistency shot to shot and easier refills.
Paintball Barrels
A marker's barrel directs the paintball and controls the release of the gas pocket behind it. One of the most important and popular upgrades you can do to your paintball gun is get an aftermarket barrel. Not only can you increase accuracy, but you may see a difference in range and efficiency. It can be difficult when choosing a new barrel for your gun. Many different aspects go into choosing one such as length and bore size.
What kind of barrel should I get? That is a very common question among paintballers and is tough to answer. You need to look at what style of paintball you play and choose a barrel that fits your needs accordingly. We will answer various questions in this paintball barrel buyer's guide.
1. Why should I get a new barrel
Have you noticed your shots are curving? Is paint breaking inside your barrel? It may be time for an upgrade if these are true for you. Barrels are the most popular upgrades, especially for lower end paintball guns. A new barrel can do wonders for your game. You will increase your accuracy, distance and often times get better air efficiency. Some barrels can even be quieter than the stock barrel.
2. What barrel should I get?
There are one piece barrels, two piece barrels and barrel kits available. See what fits your needs and purchase accordingly. If you have a lower end gun such as a Tippmann or Spyder, most any barrel will be an upgrade to your game.
One Piece Barrels: One piece barrels are machined from a single piece of material, usually either aluminum or carbon fiber.
Two Piece Barrels: Two piece barrels consist of a front and back. The back attaches to the marker and is machined with a specified bore between .682 and .695 caliber. The front makes up the rest of the length and contains the porting. Fronts usually have a larger bore than the back. 2 piece barrels are supposed to be more accurate than 1 piece barrels.
Barrel Kits: There are some barrels that must use an insert or sleeve that is inserted into the barrel back. The inserts vary in bore size so that you can size whatever paint you are using perfectly. This allows your shot to be consistently accurate because your barrel bore size matches your insert bore size.
3. Why is bore size important?
The bore is the interior diameter of the barrel. The bore must properly match the type of paint being fired. A mismatched selection will result in velocity variations, inaccuracy and possible ball chopping.
4. What are the advantages of a carbon fiber barrel?
Carbon fiber is stronger than steel and carbon does not change with temperature fluctuations. There are very accurate and extremely light compared to other barrels. A while ago certain carbon fiber barrels were not supposed to be used with any fuzzy barrel swabs as the fibers would get caught in the barrel. Since then, companies have made drastic improvements and now you are able use not only rubber squeegees, but swabs as well.
5. What size barrel should I get?
Most tournament speedball players will tell you a 14 inch barrel will give you the most accuracy and distance. Most high end guns such as Planet Eclipse Egos and Dye DMs come standard with a 14 inch 2 piece barrel which leads us to believe that it is true. Choosing the right length barrel really all depends on your style of play though. Longer barrels are usually quieter than shorter barrels but often need more gas to propel a paintball making it more inefficient. 20 inch or longer barrels are often times referred to as "sniper barrels".
Most barrels are ported or vented. Porting consists of the holes on the sides of a barrel near the tip. These holes serve primarily to reduce the sound of a gun firing by allowing air to gradually escape from the barrel rather than in one load burst at the tip. In general, more porting means a quieter barrel, but more porting also requires more air to fire the ball and decreases gun efficiency. Porting is sometimes spiraled or straight, though the differences we have found are pretty minimal.
6. Flatline Barrel
If you still haven't found a barrel that fits you, you may be interested in a specialized barrel. Tippmann's Flatline barrel is the only barrel on the market that puts a backspin on the paintball. It has a slightly curved barrel which applies centrifugal force to the ball creating the backspin. It offers increased accuracy but most of all distance. Targets that would normally be out of range are now achievable. The Flatline Barrel System adds 100 feet of flat trajectory.
7. Apex Barrel
BT Designs have developed a barrel that can literally shoot around corners. The Apex barrel has an adjustable tip that can be used to curve the paintball. Just adjust the ramp switch to choose the desired level of curve and twist the barrel any way you like to attain left hooks, right hooks, drop shots and long flat trajectory shots. This is a popular barrel in woodsball and is commonly available for Tippmann, BT and Spyders markers.
Paintball Masks
Paintball Masks are the most important part of your Paintball Gear. Paintball Masks keep your eyes safe to play another day. We will discuss all kinds of different masks here. From an entry level mask to a high end tournament level mask. While they may look similar, the features in these goggles will help make your day at the paintball field much more enjoyable.
1. Thermal vs Single Paintball Mask lenses
So you will probably see most of the goggles we sell will say they are either a single lens or thermal lens. What does this mean and which do I want?
- Single Paintball Lens
A Single lens is basically a piece of plastic which has passed the needed safety tests to be used on a paintball mask. The single lens paintball mask is typically the cheapest version available and while it will protect your eyes, this is one area that you will definitely want to upgrade when possible. Masks with a single lens will tend to fog up if it is hot humid or you are running around sweating a lot like you typically would in a normal game of paintball. Many of the single lens Masks we sell will have a anti fog coating that will help reduce the amount of fogging in your mask. While this helps, this is not as nice as having a good thermal lens in your paintball mask. If you cannot upgrade your mask to a thermal lens and cannot afford a new mask, you can try some anti fog spray. This will need to be re applied to the inside of your goggles every day that you play to maintain the anti fog protection.
- Thermal Paintball Lens
Thermal lenses are what will come on most high end paintball masks. Thermal Paintball mask will have a dual layer lens. One layer is the outside layer just like a single Lens. The second layer will be attached on the inside of the lens with a semi air tight foam to seal the lens. This will drastically reduce fogging and allow you to see the competition during your game.
2. Entry Level Paintball Mask
Entry level paintball masks are similar to what you would get if you were to rent equipment at your local field. Entry level masks will have a single lens and tend to be a little large and heavy. The foam around the eyes will also be less comfortable than a higher end mask. Entry level Paintball Masks have a price range from €20 to €40. Our basic kit mask Tippmann Performance cost about €20 but will not allow you to upgrade your lens. Some of the better entry level Paintball goggles like the Proto El or JT Elite Nvader will allow you to upgrade to a thermal lens down the road.
3. Choosing the right Paintball Mask
You might think finding the perfect paintball mask is the least of your worries but actually its one of the main priorities in finding the perfect setup for your paintball experience. Not just for the looks or comfort, but for the safety of yourself. Now you may be browsing through and notice that the price somewhat varies between the different types of masks. Well, when you are looking at the design of a paintball mask that is more expensive it becomes lighter, provides more padding, better fog resistance and more ventilation. Let's start with a basic mask.
The Proto EL is a basic starter mask that may not be the most comfortable but will do the job by protecting your noggin. It provides a woven goggles strap that you can adjust for the perfect fit. There is foam padding for the ears. Throughout the mask there are tiny holes for ventilation to help with fogging. The Proto EL has a single lens that is Anti-fog, but not thermal. Depending on where you live could decide if a single lens will work or not. If you live in a very humid area a THERMAL LENS, which is a duel pane lens (makes it anti-fog) would be the more accurate choice so you don't have to worry about fogging while in game.
A higher end thermal mask is the Empire Events. The Events would fall in the category of a high end mask. What makes this mask worth more than the Proto EL? The Empire Events are lighter, have SOFT EARS for more padding, greater ventilation and a Thermal lens. The lens itself is very easy to remove. An active player might find that changing the lens is a big deal for them. Being active and playing once or twice a week you may run into more wear on your lenses. Also, the Events are a very low profile mask which is preferable especially for tournament play. You want a light thin design to keep yourself away from being a big target and also for easy maneuvering which makes the Events the better choice.
The Dye I4 is the hottest mask in paintball currently. Ultra lightweight with an insanely small profile, it's perfect for tournament players. Players with large faces and or chins may have some issue though as your chin may extend beyond that mask which could lead to some painful shots.
4. Can I wear my glasses while I play?
What's great about some of the paintball masks that we carry is that they provide enough room for your eye glasses. A good choice for eye glasses is the V-force Profiler mask. With the bug eyed lens on the Profiler you have enough room to wear your eye glasses while being comfortable. JT and V-force are usually a good choice if you wear glasses.
Paintball Loader
Purchasing a Paintball loader can be a difficult proposition if you do not know exactly what you are looking for. We have an extensive selection of both high-end and basic Paintball Loaders & Hoppers to choose from, not to mention everything in between! Here's a little run down of some hopper basics along with highlight of some of the hoppers we carry.
1. Entry level Gravity feed Hoppers
On the beginner stage, we have your standard Gravity fed paintball loader. Various different companies make your standard 200 round gravity feed hopper and there really is no performance difference between all of the versions out there. Basically they will all have a similar shape and feed as fast as one another. This loader is good entry level compatible with all paintball guns on the market. However, being gravity fed, it will only feed as fast as the paintballs drop. Gravity feed hoppers usually consist of a 200 round container complete with a lid. With a maximum feed rate of 8BPS, these hoppers may become jammed as too many balls accumulate above the tube. Of course when this occurs, rocking the gun gently should successfully dislodge any jammed paintballs. We do not recommend that you use electronic paintball guns with gravity fed hoppers as the gun will typically shoot faster than the hopper can feed resulting in chopped paint and a disappointing day at the field. A new take on the gravity feed hopper that was just released this year is the Proto Primo loader. The Innovative Positive Feed Shelf provides a minimal friction, gravity feed solution allowing you to achieve high rates of fire while drastically reducing paint jams.
2. Entry level Electronic Loaders
This level of Paintball Loaders typically have an automatic agitation to help increase the feed of paint to your paintball marker. Paintball feed rates typically range from 10 to 15 bps. This level is fast enough to keep up with most paintball guns up to about the €30-€50 range. In this category we have the VL Revolution Force, VL Revolution X-Board and Tippmann paintball hoppers. These loaders are both inexpensive and effective for any player on a budget. Being electronically agitated, these hoppers provide a constant flow of paintballs to the gun at roughly 10-20 balls per second. These are good options for any type of player who does not have a ton of money but wants an effective electronic loader for their gun. Some of the drawbacks to this level of hopper will be higher noise levels, constant agitation (your hopper will constantly be running when you turn it on whether your gun is firing or not). This tends to run down your batteries if you do not remember to turn off your hopper.
3. Mid Level Electronic Loaders
With increased price come a bit of a performance increase. Hoppers in this range will feed 20 to 25+ BPS along with having either a sound activated or eye activated feed system.
- Eye activated feed
Eye Activated hoppers have a vision eye similar to what is found on higher end paintball guns. If the eye senses that there is no paint in the feed tube, it will feed, if it senses that you are not firing, the motor is shut off. This saves a lot of battery life as well as reducing broken paint in the hopper when it is trying to feed but your gun is not firing. The Halo B Z-code and VL Evolution 3 Loaders are examples of eye activated hoppers in this category.
- Sound activated feed
The feed motor on these hoppers are activated by the sound of your paintball marker firing. The thought being that they only feed when you are firing your marker and need paint. This technology was designed before the newer electronic guns were designed. Many Paintball guns like the Invert Mini may actually be too quiet for the sound sensor to pick up that your gun us firing without adjusting the sound sensitivity. If you are not the type of person who like to read manuals or tinker than a sound activated hopper may not be for you.
Both styles of Mid Range Paintball Loaders provide incredible speed with precision monitoring and anti chop technology. These hopper provide enough performance to satisfy the casual paintball player with a fast consistent Hopper to provide a full day of play at your local field.
4. High end Electronic Paintball Loaders
Whether your a Paintball Tournament player, or just need to have the best Paintball Gear. These Paintball Loaders are the fastest on the market with the most advanced technology available today. With feed rates ranging from 20 to 50+ Balls per second, your hopper will no longer be what limits your firing rate.
- Halo Loaders
Like most other high end paintball loaders,the Halo B line of Loaders is EYE activated which entirely does away with chopped balls! That, along with its 22+ BPS firing rate enables its user to fire at will and own the competition! The Halo B line of hoppers features a belt drive technology that reduces ball breakage by reducing the pressure on paint in the hopper. The Halo B also features a spring loaded drive cone to further reduce ball breakage while still allow the loader to have a high feed burst when need for short spurts during a game. If 22+ BPS desn't get you excited, check out the higher end Halo B upgraded V35 boards ramping up your firing abilities to 35+ Balls per second!
- Dye Rotor Loaders
The all new Dye Rotor Loaders are top of the line in both performance and style. Have you ever wanted to put your current paintball gun to the test? Now you can with the Rotor. The Dye Rotor is compatible with all paintball guns on the market and roughly feeds up to 50 + BPS. There is no gun that can currently keep up with the Dye Rotor Loader. The Rotor has all the features you will need in a loader. Its light weight durable design is nearly unbreakable and the speed is second to none. This loader will test what your gun is really made of.
- Empire Magna-Drive Loader
The Empire Magna-Drive feed system is the next step in the progression of speed and performance. It features a patent pending new magnetic-clutch drive system and patented technology for a patent pending unique wireless RF (radio frequency) system. The Magna-Drive system is the most highly advanced and customizable feed system on the planet. You can determine your feed rate, adjust the tension, set the torque, dial in the sensitivity, and even synch your loader with your marker for unparalleled results. The Magna-Drive also introduces a bold new profile for improved weight distribution and reduced exposure while playing your bunker, plus easy access battery pack and magnetic lid. The best players demand the best equipment and the Empire Magna-Drive is the answer to your prays.
Battlepack
Battlepacks allow a player to carry extra paint and in some cases a tank. It either has a belt clip or velcro that goes around the waist or may also sometimes be a vest.
1. How much paint can I hold with a harness?
It depends on how many pods your battlepack can carry. Each pod can hold about 140 paintballs. Battlepacks range from carrying 2 pods up to 6. A 4+1 battlepack can hold 4 pods. The +1 refers to the tank it can carry if you are using a remote line. Other battlepacks can be 4+3 or 3+2. The +3 and +2 refer to extra pods that it can carry. Battlepacks may only have 4 main pod holders but can have 3 small loops in between those that are able to carry extra pods.
2. What is the right battlepack for me?
It depends on the style of paintball you play. Speedball players tend to use a lot more paint than woodsball or scenario players do. Most speedball players have a battlepack that can hold at least 4 pods of paint.
Remote coils are very popular among woodsball players. One end connects to the gun and one to the tank, which is carried on the battlepack. For example, a player who uses a remote coil would need a 4+1 battlepack. It's got 4 pod holders and one tank pouch.
Speedball battlepacks do not feature tank pouches for a remote line as players constantly switch hands to fire and fill their tanks often.
You may also consider the position you play when looking for a harness. Back players in speedball tend to spray a lot of paint so consider 4+3 battlepack if you are a back position player and if you are a Front, 3+2 battlepack should do the job just fine.