Paintball Buyer’s Blog

Here’s a little something I’ve been waiting months to talk about. Select dealers got a chance to place orders for a limited edition Invert Mini, something that not everyone would have a chance to carry direct from the manufacturer. When I saw it my jaw dropped, its one of the most gorgeous finishes I’ve ever seen on a paintball marker! Then came the hardest part… keeping quiet. I consider many of the paintball sales reps I work with friends as well as business associates and I honor their requests to keep a soon-to-be-released products hush-hush (if only the rest of this industry would do the same !).

Well, they finally arrived yesterday! I brought the box into my office…

and was greeted by a pair of white gloves, the kind they give you to handle rare books and valuable antiques.

Lifted the next layer of foam and… wow, it was more beautiful than I remembered!

These are Limited Edition Black Chromium Invert Mini Paintball Markers, polished and then plated in the expensive black chrome finish as seen on custom Harley-Davidson motorcycles and other luxury vehicles. These cost a little bit more than your standard Invert Mini but the money is well worth the stares and “ooooh, can I hold that” comments you’ll be getting at the field. There are only 1000 being made ( a usual Mini LE run is 2000 markers) and each comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

These things are so shiny and polished that if you look in the following pictures you can clearly see my reflection holding the camera. Thats what the gloves are for, so dealers in showrooms don’t get the marker covered in fingerprints!

Here’s a chance to pick up a truly beautiful paintball marker with performance to back it up !

Long story short, we stumbled across a stash of the old school Smart Parts Renegade Knee/ Shin Paintball Pads. If you’ve never seen them before, they are a long pad made of compression-formed dense foam with a tough outer layer of poly/ cotton fabric that cover from the lower shin up to the knee. Wide adjustable and stretchy velcro straps wrap around your leg at four points to secure them.

I used to have a pair that I bought in 1999 and I wore them for 4 years when they finally had to be retired. I never thought I’d see a brand new pair until now… seeing these back on the shelf nearly brought a tear to my eye! I personally bought several pair for myself so I will never run out again. Let me tell you, these things are awesome for woodsball ! Ever catch your shin on an exposed tree root or broken branch? Trust me, it hurts. These pads cover from the top of your ankle on up to save you the agony of such accidents, plus they make fast crawling or ‘crab walking’ between cover a lot less painful. They take the sting out of getting shot on that bony part of your lower leg and also contribute to a fair amount of paintball bounce as well.

Because they wrap snug around the leg of your pants you can move through dense brush easier without your cuffs and such snagging on every bramble. When its really really hot out (like, oh, playing paintball right now in the summer heat!) you can play in shorts (or a kilt, like me!) and still protect your legs. They also make a handy place to secure your Tippmann Straightshot Squeegee… simply slide it down the side under the straps and its always within reach.

The available colors/ patterns are:

Basic Olive Drab, which goes with everything.

Foxwood Camoflauge, a good universal pattern.

Rhodesian Camoflauge, very rare camoflauge much sought after by collectors. Old school cool!

Treebark Camoflauge, a woodsy pattern with green leaves for contrast.

Oak Leaf Camoflauge, similar to the old German camo and a good all-around pattern.

Image Camoflauge, the pattern that was used by the All Americans in the 10 Man woods days.

Belgian Camoflauge, which pants and shirts can be had for fairly cheap at surplus stores.

and Mossy Oak Camoflauge, which is an extremely popular hunting pattern so lots of items can be found to match.

These knee pads are a lifesaver playing woodsball and I highly recommend picking one or two pair up now before they are gone forever… again!

Well, my Proto rep called with some offers I couldn’t refuse. Yay, free stuff ! Rather than just sell it all individually for pure profit we like to reward our customers with specials to let you all know we appreciate your business. So, while supplies last I present to you our Proto Goggle Summer Specials… a chance to pick up some cheap deals on quality Proto paintball goggle systems and accessories. There are deals here to appeal to the speedball and woodsball players !

First up is the Proto Axis Goggle System with Free Game Timer. I always thought this was an underrated goggle system. It is lower profile than the Proto FS and softer to encourage more bounce shots when hit in the mask. It utilizes the same quick change lens system as others in the product line and features an optically-clear dual pane thermal lens to prevent fogging. Free with a purchase of a Proto Axis is a Proto Switch Game Timer, which is $39.95 on its own. This unit snaps onto the ear section of any Proto goggle system and can be set to audibly count off minutes up to 60 minutes, and then the seconds of the last game minute. This way, you can keep track of how much time is left in gameplay without having to take your eyes off your opponent to look at a watch. These two items are a $100 value for $59.95.

Second cheap paintball goggle deal we have lined up is the Proto FS Switch Camo Paintball Goggle with Free Proto Switch Turbine Fan. The Proto FS Switch Goggle was the first in the Proto line and introduced its awesome quick change lens system. A rigid main frame with rubber lower faceplate helps mask hits bounce off flexes with your face if you bump against your marker’s tank. The Camo model is by far the favorite amongst players and is in itself a sweet deal for a paintball goggle… but while supplies last we are throwing in a free Proto Switch Turbine Fan with the Camo goggle ! The Turbine Fan, which at $49.95 sells on its own for as much as the goggle, snaps into place quickly and painlessly to draw out hot humid air to keep your FS’s single lens from fogging up. Again, that’s a $100 value for only $49.95 !

Last up is the Proto Olive EL Switch Goggle with Free Dye Hat. The single lens EL Goggle is the more economical model of the Proto line, featured a rigid plastic facemask which does not encourage bounce but does protect from felt impact better without the player getting a fat lip from a close up shot! Ever notice how your hair is all kinds of messed up after playing and you want to look somewhat presentable when stopping to eat and share war stories with your buddies on the way home? Well, with the purchase of an Olive EL goggle you can get a free black Dye hat to wear! The hat is a Large/ X-Large FlexFit to fit just about any noggin out there.

Remember, all these are while supplies last… and our free stuff promotions never last long !