Paintball Epiphanies

[Riot]

As it turns out, paintball isn't really my style.

[Ecapnation]

I've come to the point of hating gimmicks, over engineered designs and over complicated items that paintball spits out.

Your asa snaps closed with a palm hit? Cute.... But it uses 5 orings to do that... Pass.

Did you reengineer a whole marker platform that was tried and true for the sake of ergonomics that allow a child to hold it better? Pass

Curve paint with backspin? Yeah no pass

This hopped feeds great but uses weird battery packs that have to be charged in your car? Ew no.

Your mask matches my teams very old camo?! Cool! I want it..... But why do I need a doctorate on mechanical theory to change the god-damned lense! (Kicks to curb)

[russc]

Most fields are bad and are set up to incentivize long-distance high-volume fire to raise paint sales.

[DarkApollo]

I will grab my mechs before an electro because I can have just as much fun with half a case of paint as I can with a full case.

Plus it is always fun to prove that uncapped ramping isnt a skill. Bringing 28 years of experience to bear and pinning Machine Gun Kelly to the backfield while rocking a gravity fed shake-n-bake hopper and ‘low’ rate of fire pneumag is a lot more fun than trading pods worth of paint against a bunker.

[The Hobbit]

Pumps have next to no appeal to me. I’d rather dump a case playing mech or electro then put 12g and 10rd tubes on a pedestal. The only play style with less appeal is magfed.

[The Hobbit]

My final heresy to MCB, with the advent of modern mechs. I have little desire to shoot a mag or cocker. I agree they have more character and personality.

[Jordan]

I've realized it doesn't matter what I'm using if I'm not playing with the right people. Currently, pump is the way to go for me because that gets me playing with the right crowd.

If that same crowd picked up electros, I'd be right there with 'em.

No tournaments though. Hard pass... I'm not competitive enough or driven enough to do that.

[markdem]

the next gun i build/buy will be "the one"

[Cdn_Cuda]

Open class pump is my favourite way to play. Small hopper, tow or three 50 round pods. Anything else feels bulky and overkills.

Buy the proper tool. If you’re going to work on paintball gear, make life easy and buy proper tools to save headaches. Reg removers, picks, cocker valve tools. Saves a lot of frustration and time.

Scuba tanks are the way to go if you tech markers. Run out of air way too often trying to fix things, or end up having leaky tank regs.

[Magmoormaster]

I used to love working on guns, maybe even more than playing. After 8 years as a professional tech, and after building dozens of cockers, I HATE working on guns now. A few months ago, I helped a friend rebuild a G6R. And in fairness, G6R's are especially bad compared to most "modern" electros (if 2011 counts as modern). But it took me over 8 hours (across multiple days) go get the stupid thing to hold air and shoot properly.

I'm just done. I'll do whatever I need to keep my gear up and running, but that's it.

I especially hate it when people ask me to work on their guns at the field.

[Cdn_Cuda]

When things work it’s awesome,, but when things don’t and you keep losing air and the frustration just compounds. It’s brutal.

[Trbo323]

-you guys are the best PB community out there
-I'm almost never satisfied with a stock marker. I have to do something to it to make it "mine"
-the more I do to a marker, the more I like it
-i like working on mid 2000s pistols but hate using them on the field
-12g are fine, limited paint is not
-after building my $1200ish cocker, I may actually like automags better

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk

[DocsMachine]

Two things:

One, I learned many years ago, that I enjoy working on the equipment a LOT more than actually playing.

And two, realized a little more recently, as great as many things are about Alaska, it is NOT the place for either paintball in general, or a small manufacturer, regardless of product.

(In my defense, all of this [waves vaguely at business] came about more by accident than design- but still, no one has yet to accuse me of being a shrewd businessman. )

Doc.

[latches109]

I don't play enough and I have too many guns.
Pump and stock class is the gold standard.
barrels are just for looks and you can never have enough.
building is more fun than buying.
beginners with the latest PL electros makes me laugh.
I do not miss tournament play.
Paintball was better with Tom Kaye.

[vijil]

Realising that xball and its descendants were designed to sell more paint, not to actually be good games.

After coaching, captaining, playing on a bunch of tournament teams, that was the moment I mentally checked out of speedball in general. Just couldn't take it seriously as a sport any more.

Another big revelation was realising that unicycling is a 10x better organized sport internationally, mostly because it doesn't attract the types of corporate assholes paintball does at the top levels. So is disc golf. So was roller derby in its prime. I wouldn't be surprised if freaking tiddlywinks is 10x the professional sport paintball has ever managed. There's a reason ESPN paintball was screened alongside inside-a-car-wrestling and uncut-beard-growing. That's about the level tournament PB is at, and what it deserves.