Paintball Buyer's Blog

A little snow on the ground doesn’t mean paintball season is over. Snow and cold weather can offer new opportunities to develop fresh strategies as you conquer a unique set of obstacles. One of the most important components to playing paintball during the winter is being prepared with the right clothing and paintball gear so you have protection from the elements and have a great time.

Wear the Right Clothes
Remember what your mom always told you about playing in the cold: Wear layers and pack an extra pair of socks. Outlast all of your teammates and opponents with the right clothes for winter paintball, including a long-sleeved technical shirt (the kind that wicks sweat away from your body), a regular long-sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt and a waterproof coat or jacket made out of a lightweight material such as Gore-Tex. For pants, consider wearing a pair of jeans under waterproof pants made from a lightweight, breathable material. Yes, this does sound like a lot, but the beauty of wearing layers is that you can peel them off or put them back on according to how warm or cold you feel.

Protect Your Feet
For footwear, wear a warm pair of socks and a tall pair of waterproof boots. If you wear low boots, you risk water creeping in and getting your feet wet. In case your feet get wet or cold, always bring one or two extra pairs of socks–preferably made of wool, which helps regulate the temperature and moisture of your feet.

Be a Hot Head
Cover your ears with earmuffs and your head with a thermal beanie. Additionally, use the hood on your coat to help your head stay dry. If your goggles do not offer UV protection, or are not tinted, wear a pair of sunglasses under them to protect your eyes.

Keep Your Trigger Finger Happy
Keep your hands warm with a pair of gloves that do not feel too bulky. If your area of the country gets especially cold during the winter, purchase heated gloves to ward off frostbite. You can also buy heated glove liners, which are worn under your regular gloves.

When there is Snow on the Ground, Wear White
Unless you want to be an easy target for a paintball sniper, wear all white or white camo outerwear. Since snow is white, you can blend into your surroundings with greater ease if you wear the same color.

CO2 and HPA
The colder it gets, the less efficiently your CO2 will work. Keep your tanks warm in a pair of heated socks. However, make sure the tanks do not heat up too much. Some paintball veterans suggest you do not even try to use CO2 as a propellant because it can freeze your marker. They suggest you instead upgrade your equipment and use winter-grade HPA tanks.

The Right Paintballs
Traditional paintballs have a gelatin shell that can harden and become brittle in cold temperatures. When playing paintball in the winter, use paintballs made for the cold. These have a thicker shell and/or anti-freeze paint that is better to use in freezing temperatures. Additionally, it’s wise to keep your paint loaders inside your jacket, so as to keep the paintballs warm.

Baby Your Paintball Accessories
Cold weather can have a major impact on your paintball marker, whether it’s made of plastic or metal. If you have a metal paintball sniper rifle, or any other type of metal paintball gun, make sure it is well lubed per the manufacturer’s recommendations before you play or it may not work properly once temperatures drop below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. If your paintball gear is made of plastic, keep it warm as best as you can. It is not uncommon for plastic to become brittle and break in cold temperatures.

Plan to Recharge
You use more energy when you run around in cold weather than you do on a warm, spring day. As a result, you will need to recharge and rehydrate your body to keep up your energy. Good snacks to take are those that have a lot of protein in them such as beef jerky, power bars and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Protein will make you feel fuller for a longer amount of time and is beneficial to your muscles, which may feel like they are burning at the end of the day.

When it comes to playing paintball in the winter, keeping warm and dry is the key to avoiding hypothermia, frostbite and malfunctioning paintball accessories. The best winter paintball experiences happen when you’re prepared.