Well, we are in the midst of summer now and while you may have some free time to play paintball more often the heat of summer can play havoc with gear and your body. Paintball Online wants you out there playing so here’s some suggestions for going out to play this summer.
1. Coolers are your friend.
Bring or invest in two coolers, with at least one being a family-size Coleman or similar brand. I suggest one that will fit at least two cases of paint and has a slot for a padlock. Keep reading and you’ll see why.
2. HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE!
Really, this cannot be stressed enough. Dehydration will ruin your day and is easily avoidable. Drink a pint of water early in the morning before going to play, and drink a pint of water while gearing up. One trick to avoid debilitating dehydration is to get fluids in you before you begin strenuous activity. Did you buy two coolers? Good, make sure one has ice and several bottles of water and real fruit juice, not soda or sugary psuedo-juices. Between games, drink a few ounces even if you’re not thirsty. If you don’t drink until you are thirsty you’ve waited too long. For big games and scenarios definitely invest in a hydration bladder. Models such as the NXe Extraktion Hydrate will attach to the MOLLE webbing on your tactical vest. Another trick is to carry a waterbottle with a spigot top and keep it in one pod slot in your paintball harness.
3. Protect your paintballs and CO2 tanks.
Did you get a big cooler? Good, because you need to store your paintballs and air tanks in there. Summer heat will cause the shell of your paint to soften and expand. They deform in your loader causing jams, swell up and cause feed problems in your marker’s breech and hit like a bean bag, refusing to break on target. Store them in a cooler and keeping this cooler in the shade, padlocked and chained to a tree or your car if at a public field. This will keep them at a consistent cool temperature as long as possible. If its really hot, don’t put ice in with the paint. The humidity from the ice will be almost worse than the heat itself. Instead, take an ice pack or a frozen bottle of water, wrap it in a small towel and place it in the cooler. This will keep it a few degrees cooler and not ruin your paintballs.
When you come off the field, remember to lay your gear down in the shade! A pod is a natural greenhouse and a few minutes of intense sunlight will transform your paintballs into a spongy mess.
CO2 tanks are especially notorious for blowing their burst disc if left in the sun. Store them in the cooler as well. HPA tanks are not as volatile in the heat but that doesn’t mean you can just leave them in the sun, either. Intense summer heat is not good on the seals in your regulator. Keep them in the shade when not playing.
4. Invest in good paintball masks and spare lenses.
Summer heat means sweating in the sun, and sweat translates into mask fogging. The more humid a locale you play in, the more likely it will happen. To alleviate this as much as possible, invest in a good paintball mask with a thermal lens. The dual pane lens helps prevent fogging much better than single lenses. Invest in a spare lens as well because a lens change is often in order in high humidity conditions. If your goggle system lens change system is slow, consider just investing in a second mask and switching between the two, letting one cool and air out while you play in the other.
Goggle fans are kind of loud and noisy but work wonders. Its better to hear a loud buzzing sound but be able to see than hear all the incoming paint whizzing by your head and not see where its coming from! You can get the JT Vortex Goggle Fan for JT goggles, the Dye Invision Turbine Goggle Fan for Dye goggles and the Proto Turbine Goggle Fan for Proto Switch, Axis and Axis Pro goggles. The Invert 20/20 Paintball Goggle already has a fan built-in.
Bring several sweatbands or bandanas and wear them Karate Kid-style around your forehead. These will absorb sweat and keep it from rolling down in your eyes and evaporating on your lens. Swap them out throughout the day as they become soaked. Consider headwear that will keep you cool and vents heat. Between games, take your mask completely off your head and either hook it over loader or carry it. Don’t wear it on your forehead; the hot humid air radiating off your head will ensure you fog!
Glinting sun in your eyes will ensure you can’t see your opponents. Consider a smoke goggle lens and use your goggle visor.
5. Don’t over do it.
Heat exhaustion and dehydration will sneak up on you and then quickly lay you out. No one will think less of you for stopping under the occasional shade tree for a few minutes here and there. Good knee pads will let you kneel down and take a load off the feet comfortably. Don’t forget to drink some water while you’re stopped, too!
6. Be aware of the sun.
If you can help it, try to attack and defend through areas of trees or other shade. Once you leave the protection of the shade you can overheat quickly. The paintballs in your pods are also going to turn into gooey blobs if out in the direct sunlight too.
Don’t forget the sunscreen! You’re going to get a serious sunburn if you do. You’re not out there to get a tan so don’t mess around and use SPF 30 or higher. Remember that you’re going to sweat a lot so look for a waterproof brand that will stay on through moisture. If it is used by surfers then it’ll work great for paintball. Apply in the morning and again during the lunch break. Make sure you get the back of the neck and the forehead… nothing looks worse than a goggle tan line!
There you go, a few tips to help keep you on the field this summer. Remember to drink that water and periodically rest!
