Nor cal field reviews

[Killerito]

My taste in fields won’t be the same as everyone’s but figure it might be help full to see what different fields are like and how they might fit your play style

just some basic information and som personal thoughts
goal is to hit every field at some point so I’m trying

American paintball park. Livermore.
absolutely great field. Cliff the owner is an absolute owner for the players. Isn’t there to make a million bucks. He would much rather see you have a good time.
the field players are also great more like a family that accepts anyone with open arms. If something goes wrong they will be the first to offer you help.
6 different field Last I was there been a couple months.
has a little bit of everything. Unfortunately there is not much shade on the field so hot days feel extra hot
plenty of shade in the staging area.
fields are set up in a way you can run anything from stock class to tournament level markers. Semi only.
BYOP. But cliff also always has fresh paint for more than fair prices. A must visit if your in the area.

Playland petaluma
a small field only has 2 fields one speed ball and one semi urban field. Definelty a hit or miss field some times it seems to be tournoment practice and sometimes there is nothing but rentals.
staff seems friendly enough.
definetly avoid if it has been raining. The smell of the animal poop on the field will never wash out.

balistic bens paintball park (Travis Air Force base)
you must get base acces or have a valid military/benefits card to get on base(you can buy pass this if the person driving has one.)
great field. Always something different happening.
not your traditional elimination games only.
no speed ball field. Great for pump magfed fsr stock class. Of course can run the typical stuff.
reffing staff is great. Ben owner is super knowledgeable and has a shop down the road if you need anything.
game of games is a must Atleast once.

jungle paintball. American canyon
a great field as a field. Nice and shady great to beat the heat. But could be run much better. It is a sell paint first worry about players being safe and having fun second.
only field I have ever had a marker theft attempt at. Good if your in a group be weary if you’r on your own.

combat zone
here for the first time. Fields look cool but the boundary’s are not very well defined. Staff was nice.
you can play all sorts of markers but don’t bring anything you truly care about. Only field I have ever had a marker get messed with at. Unless auto-cocker lprs magically zero them selves.

Gladiator paintball park.
amazing field a bit of everything. Turf speedball field. Ax throwing. Multiple large fields. Another have a good time first make a profit later field.


I’ll add more as I hit more fields slash visit fields more.
hope it was a bit helpful if you want to add feel free.
would be nice to know what to expect at other fields.

[moving_target]

Have you (or anybody else in here) played at TAG paintball? thoughts on it?

[Killerito]

Havnt made it over to there yet

[Phantom1313]

Tag is alright but the fps is reduced....owner thinks he invented "medium impact" paintball but in reality, the fps is just lower, like 240-260 range (max). Have to use field paint and it's pretty up and down in terms of quality. I've had days where it shot like lasers and days where it wouldn't go straight if my life depended on it. TAG has several fields unless they changed things, so there's a decent variety of stuff to play on. I believe they still have a more speed-ball/hyper ball type set up in the back too, which is where the self-equipped folks usually end up spending most of the day. I think the owner recently switched his business model a bit and is trying to cater more toward the "family-friendly fun" side of things instead of the regular paintballers. My crew and I used to roll there a lot to play pump, but when the owner switched his model it became clear that he was trying to serve a different crowd than he had previously, and we felt a bit pushed out. This was just my experience, so take it with a grain of salt. It's still a solid field overall, and the refs are pretty decent usually. I'd give it a 7 /10, enjoyable enough but leaves a little room for improvement.

USPN, also in Hollister is the other option. I won't go there anymore though because half the time they often don't even have refs (just staff to cover the front end of the business) and I've been pretty frustrated with the folks who go there to play, lots of mag-fed guys trying to prove they should have completed basic training but obviously didn't. I have been overshot there more times than I can count to, and nobody bothers to Chrono so inevitably somebody is shooting way low and somebody else is shooting way hot.


Overall, my vote for NorCal fields is American Paintball Park (APP) in Livermore. I drive there from Santa Cruz to play because the staff is excellent, the regulars are friendly and inclusive, and the paint is always pretty damn good. Cliff, the owner, would give you the shirt off his back if it would make your day more enjoyable, he's a totally awesome field owner and every once in a while he even hops in to play, which I have not seen at all the other fields I mentioned. The regulars are 100% on top of helping the new folks, and (as previously mentioned) will be the first to offer up help if something goes down, or to hand you a spare marker/hopper/tank/pod pack if yours can't be fixed. The whole vibe is quite positive, and Cliff/the staff make sure to keep the games rolling quickly. There's just enough downtime between games to air up, get paint, get hydrated, release previous hydration, and get back on the field..... no time is wasted sitting around. The longest break is lunch, about noonish to roughly 1pm, plus or minus a few minutes, I think lunch is usually about 45 minutes, so that is the longest pause all day, other than getting shot out on break like I often do cuz I'm way too big a target. As was mentioned previously, you can easily play any style of paintball there comfortably, from stock class to stupid fast, it's all good as long as it's on semi. FPS at APP is capped at 280, most of us are hovering around 275, which is perfect given the size and set-up of the various fields at APP. Honestly, my biggest complaint about the place is the lack of shady spaces and the need for just a hair more parking that's close to the staging area.

[alpha_q_up]

When did you come down to my neck of the woods and visit gladiator, the PBSL day?

[alpha_q_up]

[Killerito]

If I’m still in the us I’ll Probaly be there

[alpha_q_up]

Awesome! It's gonna be a scenario game with objectives I'm hoping to be able to go out to the field and make them more fluid to get from one field to another in the upcoming month