[abateman1972]

Hi, completely new to paintball and this forum and I saved up some money (not planning to buy paintball gear) and then found out about it and decided to buy myself a 2011 proto rail and invert halo too, and basically what Im trying to ask is what sort of pod pack, air tank, mask and other equipment should I buy, iv`e got around 500-600 to spend and im open to all opinions, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

[iNicker]

welcome to the forums, and to paintball.
First, get a good mask. you dont want to spend less than 60 on a mask. if you can, go to a shop and try on all of them. see which one YOU like.
Next, buy a carbon fiber tank. ninja is makes amazing tanks and they are made in the usa.
Then, get some paintball pants. again, you dont want to cheap out here.
now get some pads. planet eclipse makes great knee and elbow pads. if you want, dye also makes some great pads but they are a little more.
nxe makes great packs. i would then get one of those.
Also, have you bought the rail and halo yet?

[Orange Chicken]

Get the nicest mask that there is on the market for you. Mask is the most important; never skimp on the mask.
Here are the high end masks:

Empire E-Flex: Overall my favorite, great breathability, great foam, and good lenses. There are complaints about seeing the foam on the lenses, but for me, it was only when I wasn't playing did it bother me. In-game, you don't notice it until you notice it.

Dye I4: Extremely tiny, low profile mask. Good breathability, greatest range of vision(not too much, but it is true), but really small.

Sly Profits: A hit or miss mask. For me, it was a miss. Decent breathability, and an almost overwhelming amount of foam. It felt like a pillow on my face, however, with the poor breathability, it felt like I was getting suffocated. You choose whether or not you would like them.

V-Force Grills: The cheapest out of the bunch, but also considered high end, and are my second favorite mask out of this list. Great foam, great lens, great fit for most people, nicely breathable, and interchangeable and replaceable foam. However, there are complaints that it does not have a thermal lens, but purchasing one would put it in the same price range as the other masks.


Loaders
Honestly, just pick the one you like the looks of the best. Make sure it's either a Halo, such as the one you have now, or a superloader. No other loader is worth having, especially so for speedball.

Virtue Spire

Empire Z2

Dye Rotor

Pinokio

Empire Scion


Air Tanks
Go with Carbon fiber tanks. This means nothing that's X/3000. Your looking for something that's 68/4500, or any X/4500 tank
All air tanks are equal in quality, only difference is looks. The difference between the tank as a whole is the regulator on top. Ninja, Dye, and Disruptive have the best regulators that come with pressure adjustability and many other features; Ninja is the most popular out of the three. However, you may never find yourself needing all those features, so you could either go used and get a tank for 100 or under, or go with a cheaper brand, such as Guerilla Air or Empire.
For sizes, the most popular tank size is a 68/4500

Ninja
Disruptive
Guerilla Air
Dye
Empire

Buy PADS!
Pads will protect the vital points of contact that your body makes with the ground: Knees and elbow. Start with kneepads. Then go to elbow pads, then other pads. The ONLY brands I'd consider looking at is Planet Eclipse and Dye. Dye is a little bit more expensive, but worth every penny. Planet Eclipse pads are great, and you won't be disappointed either. Avoid Empire. HKarmy has had rumors of ripped pads. Valken is mediocre.

Planet Eclipse

Dye


Pants
Ahh the pants. These are the most important article of clothing for paintball. I would take a look at Disruptive Pants.
Disruptive pants are great, and pretty cheap. They are very strong and durable. The padding on the knees keeps you protected, being made of tough ballistic nylon while looking good sliding to those bunkers. There are stretch points in multiple places to provide ultimate mobility to make sure you play without restriction. Since every person is different, there are multiple places of adjustment such as on the ankles, inside the waist, and outside the waist for a great custom fit. The white diamond stitching will ensure the pants last a while adding a strikingly sexy look to your style. Since they were developed for Arizona players, who play in the infamously tough, dusty and rocky terrain of Arizona, they are very lightweight and have many points of ventilation and mesh, to keep you cool throughout the day so you can keep on playing game after game. The Disruptive Generation 2 pants are sold at the Disruptive Product Inc. website for only $100, making them one of the best pants without emptying your wallet.
Disruptive Gen 2 Pants

[abateman1972]

i have not bought my halo or proto rail yet so im open to suggestions on other guns, thanks for the great help

[abateman1972]

Orange Chicken, on 08 May 2013 - 01:25 AM, said:

Get the nicest mask that there is on the market for you. Mask is the most important; never skimp on the mask.
Here are the high end masks:

Empire E-Flex: Overall my favorite, great breathability, great foam, and good lenses. There are complaints about seeing the foam on the lenses, but for me, it was only when I wasn't playing did it bother me. In-game, you don't notice it until you notice it.

Dye I4: Extremely tiny, low profile mask. Good breathability, greatest range of vision(not too much, but it is true), but really small.

Sly Profits: A hit or miss mask. For me, it was a miss. Decent breathability, and an almost overwhelming amount of foam. It felt like a pillow on my face, however, with the poor breathability, it felt like I was getting suffocated. You choose whether or not you would like them.

V-Force Grills: The cheapest out of the bunch, but also considered high end, and are my second favorite mask out of this list. Great foam, great lens, great fit for most people, nicely breathable, and interchangeable and replaceable foam. However, there are complaints that it does not have a thermal lens, but purchasing one would put it in the same price range as the other masks.


Loaders
Honestly, just pick the one you like the looks of the best. Make sure it's either a Halo, such as the one you have now, or a superloader. No other loader is worth having, especially so for speedball.

Virtue Spire

Empire Z2

Dye Rotor

Pinokio

Empire Scion


Air Tanks
Go with Carbon fiber tanks. This means nothing that's X/3000. Your looking for something that's 68/4500, or any X/4500 tank
All air tanks are equal in quality, only difference is looks. The difference between the tank as a whole is the regulator on top. Ninja, Dye, and Disruptive have the best regulators that come with pressure adjustability and many other features; Ninja is the most popular out of the three. However, you may never find yourself needing all those features, so you could either go used and get a tank for 100 or under, or go with a cheaper brand, such as Guerilla Air or Empire.
For sizes, the most popular tank size is a 68/4500

Ninja
Disruptive
Guerilla Air
Dye
Empire

Buy PADS!
Pads will protect the vital points of contact that your body makes with the ground: Knees and elbow. Start with kneepads. Then go to elbow pads, then other pads. The ONLY brands I'd consider looking at is Planet Eclipse and Dye. Dye is a little bit more expensive, but worth every penny. Planet Eclipse pads are great, and you won't be disappointed either. Avoid Empire. HKarmy has had rumors of ripped pads. Valken is mediocre.

Planet Eclipse

Dye


Pants
Ahh the pants. These are the most important article of clothing for paintball. I would take a look at Disruptive Pants.
Disruptive pants are great, and pretty cheap. They are very strong and durable. The padding on the knees keeps you protected, being made of tough ballistic nylon while looking good sliding to those bunkers. There are stretch points in multiple places to provide ultimate mobility to make sure you play without restriction. Since every person is different, there are multiple places of adjustment such as on the ankles, inside the waist, and outside the waist for a great custom fit. The white diamond stitching will ensure the pants last a while adding a strikingly sexy look to your style. Since they were developed for Arizona players, who play in the infamously tough, dusty and rocky terrain of Arizona, they are very lightweight and have many points of ventilation and mesh, to keep you cool throughout the day so you can keep on playing game after game. The Disruptive Generation 2 pants are sold at the Disruptive Product Inc. website for only $100, making them one of the best pants without emptying your wallet.
Disruptive Gen 2 Pants

sorry, was trying to figure out how to quote and all that, didnt mean to do it twice

This post has been edited by abateman1972: 08 May 2013 - 01:49 AM

[abateman1972]

Orange Chicken, on 08 May 2013 - 01:25 AM, said:

Get the nicest mask that there is on the market for you. Mask is the most important; never skimp on the mask.
Here are the high end masks:

Empire E-Flex: Overall my favorite, great breathability, great foam, and good lenses. There are complaints about seeing the foam on the lenses, but for me, it was only when I wasn't playing did it bother me. In-game, you don't notice it until you notice it.

Dye I4: Extremely tiny, low profile mask. Good breathability, greatest range of vision(not too much, but it is true), but really small.

Sly Profits: A hit or miss mask. For me, it was a miss. Decent breathability, and an almost overwhelming amount of foam. It felt like a pillow on my face, however, with the poor breathability, it felt like I was getting suffocated. You choose whether or not you would like them.

V-Force Grills: The cheapest out of the bunch, but also considered high end, and are my second favorite mask out of this list. Great foam, great lens, great fit for most people, nicely breathable, and interchangeable and replaceable foam. However, there are complaints that it does not have a thermal lens, but purchasing one would put it in the same price range as the other masks.


Loaders
Honestly, just pick the one you like the looks of the best. Make sure it's either a Halo, such as the one you have now, or a superloader. No other loader is worth having, especially so for speedball.

Virtue Spire

Empire Z2

Dye Rotor

Pinokio

Empire Scion


Air Tanks
Go with Carbon fiber tanks. This means nothing that's X/3000. Your looking for something that's 68/4500, or any X/4500 tank
All air tanks are equal in quality, only difference is looks. The difference between the tank as a whole is the regulator on top. Ninja, Dye, and Disruptive have the best regulators that come with pressure adjustability and many other features; Ninja is the most popular out of the three. However, you may never find yourself needing all those features, so you could either go used and get a tank for 100 or under, or go with a cheaper brand, such as Guerilla Air or Empire.
For sizes, the most popular tank size is a 68/4500

Ninja
Disruptive
Guerilla Air
Dye
Empire

Buy PADS!
Pads will protect the vital points of contact that your body makes with the ground: Knees and elbow. Start with kneepads. Then go to elbow pads, then other pads. The ONLY brands I'd consider looking at is Planet Eclipse and Dye. Dye is a little bit more expensive, but worth every penny. Planet Eclipse pads are great, and you won't be disappointed either. Avoid Empire. HKarmy has had rumors of ripped pads. Valken is mediocre.

Planet Eclipse

Dye


Pants
Ahh the pants. These are the most important article of clothing for paintball. I would take a look at Disruptive Pants.
Disruptive pants are great, and pretty cheap. They are very strong and durable. The padding on the knees keeps you protected, being made of tough ballistic nylon while looking good sliding to those bunkers. There are stretch points in multiple places to provide ultimate mobility to make sure you play without restriction. Since every person is different, there are multiple places of adjustment such as on the ankles, inside the waist, and outside the waist for a great custom fit. The white diamond stitching will ensure the pants last a while adding a strikingly sexy look to your style. Since they were developed for Arizona players, who play in the infamously tough, dusty and rocky terrain of Arizona, they are very lightweight and have many points of ventilation and mesh, to keep you cool throughout the day so you can keep on playing game after game. The Disruptive Generation 2 pants are sold at the Disruptive Product Inc. website for only $100, making them one of the best pants without emptying your wallet.
Disruptive Gen 2 Pants

i just quoted what you said twice, sorry, not 100% sure how to work this
is there any suggestion you might have for a gun and hopper as i have not bought by proto rail or invert halo too yet

This post has been edited by abateman1972: 08 May 2013 - 01:52 AM

[abateman1972]

iNicker, on 07 May 2013 - 05:04 PM, said:

welcome to the forums, and to paintball.
First, get a good mask. you dont want to spend less than 60 on a mask. if you can, go to a shop and try on all of them. see which one YOU like.
Next, buy a carbon fiber tank. ninja is makes amazing tanks and they are made in the usa.
Then, get some paintball pants. again, you dont want to cheap out here.
now get some pads. planet eclipse makes great knee and elbow pads. if you want, dye also makes some great pads but they are a little more.
nxe makes great packs. i would then get one of those.
Also, have you bought the rail and halo yet?

thanks for the help, i have not bought by rail or halo yet so im open to whatever suggestions you may have

[abateman1972]

sorry, I mistyped the first post I put up, I meant to say that I havn`t bought the 2011 proto rail or invert halo too yet so i`m open to whatever suggestions you might have, but for my total set-up, I only have £700 to spend, sorry for an confusion caused, thanks for all the help so far

[Orange Chicken]

Hopper? Go with a high end, or get one used. Gun? I say go with an eXTCy because of the board and the on off, but the rail is just as good of a choice. The rail is fine.

[abateman1972]

Orange Chicken, on 08 May 2013 - 02:11 AM, said:

Hopper? Go with a high end, or get one used. Gun? I say go with an eXTCy because of the board and the on off, but the rail is just as good of a choice. The rail is fine.

thanks for the advice, i think i might go with the eXTCY because then i can get a better hopper, pack, tank, mask and so on then i can upgrade the gun later, great help, thanks

[Orange Chicken]

No problem. But I do advise you not to upgrade such a lower end marker. I say spend that on paint and admission. Glad to help:)

[abateman1972]

Orange Chicken, on 08 May 2013 - 02:31 AM, said:

No problem. But I do advise you not to upgrade such a lower end marker. I say spend that on paint and admission. Glad to help:)

thanks, one more thing, if u had the option would u choose a ninja tank over all the others?

[Orange Chicken]

I would choose a Disruptive Tank over the Ninja, but Ninja over all the rest.

[abateman1972]

Orange Chicken, on 08 May 2013 - 02:52 AM, said:

I would choose a Disruptive Tank over the Ninja, but Ninja over all the rest.

I am about 5"10 and i`m 16 in a few days, i have a big head (height) but my head is also thin so i was wondering out of all the masks you suggested what one would be the best? I`m not really bothered about being shot in the forehead or jaw, i just want a light, breathable mask, which one would be best for me?

[Praetorian]

wtf, orange.. stop, I know you love your sponsor but stop.

A Ninja Tank will be good for him, and will cost 1/2 as much

[Orange Chicken]

abateman1972, on 08 May 2013 - 11:14 AM, said:

Orange Chicken, on 08 May 2013 - 02:52 AM, said:

I would choose a Disruptive Tank over the Ninja, but Ninja over all the rest.

I am about 5"10 and i`m 16 in a few days, i have a big head (height) but my head is also thin so i was wondering out of all the masks you suggested what one would be the best? I`m not really bothered about being shot in the forehead or jaw, i just want a light, breathable mask, which one would be best for me?

Empire EFlex or Vforce Grills would be great for you.

[abateman1972]

just to add, im from Scotland so in terms of shipping a ninja and american tanks would cost too much for me, here are the options i have from uk sights :

Gi sports 68/45

inspire 68/45

empire 68/45

dye throttle 68/45

empire ultra 68/45

pure energy 68/45, the other 2 tanks suggested- ninja and disruptive will cost like £220-250 for me because of shipping and tax, whereas the ones i mentioned cost 130-190 with shipping and tax

and i cant find any UK stores which sell ninja tanks, only regs

[Praetorian]

The Empire tank will be the same as the pure energy. Same company, but Empire will squeeze more money out of you for "cool colors".

While I really don't like Pure Energy Tanks, they will work if your on a money crunch.

[Orange Chicken]

No, the empire tank will be the same as pure energy. Not the ultra tank.
Dye tanks are great because they pass many international regulations, so it can be used anywhere

[abateman1972]

cheers lads, great help