[akt22]

I'd love to buy the best paint constantly, but the closest fields around me are FPO. Not much of a choice in the matter.

[slinkyaroo]

Good paint is hard to sell. They're shelf life is shorter too it seems. Also the highend tourney stuff isn't that great in the bush. It doesn't shot through the brush well since it's brittle.

When I was selling pb stuff I had Xball silver. I had to sell it at cost to get rid of it. Nobody wanted to pay 69.95 a case. So I never made the stuff available after that.

Also pb kids can be flakey. They run white box in the cold and then blame the marker for breaks. Why? Because they don't want to pay extra for winter paint.

[Cookybiscuit]

Made me realize I've shot only one good case of paint in my life, the effect was exactly like you described, hoooooooooooly shit. I've only been playing since 09 so maybe even that is crappy.

[PREDATOR 47]

I played back when good paint was available. But I only had the money to buy a good case once. Now that I have the money, I can't get back to that good case.

[FreeEnterprise]

I've been pushing the subject of good paint for a Looooooong time...

Here is a video I made showing how some paints work better at long range than others. It still gets tons of hits even today... And some of those paints are long gone.





Many perceive that paint will fly the same at different distances, but I've seen enough to know that some paint just flies WAY further than other paints, and also, some paints get wobbly at certain distances, but even out as they fly (the fill must affect their path).

So it clearly isn't an "exact" science, but once you use good paint, it sure stinks to go back to garbage stuff... The sad thing is, you buy it once and it is amazing, and the next box you buy, even though it looks the same, it just doesn't shoot as good... It is annoying how inconsistent paint is.

Here is a video showing what I am shooting now, and I wish they had more of it... It shoots great out of an apex (at 4 clicks) and still breaks at distance. But, it is hard shelled enough you can shoot maximum ramp and it rarely breaks on the ramp. But, if you squeeze it between your fingers, you can't break it. Throw it on the ground and it breaks easily... I wish I knew what it was. Draxxus something.

[The_Economist]

Thank you for elucidating something which has been running through my mind for years. Most paintball players have their priorties set completely wrong. They spend too much on gear and not enough on what matters. They buy the cheapest paint possible and then they complain about accuracy and bounces. They complain that paintball costs too much, because they shoot too much, because their paint is inaccurate and doesn't break at range.

When I get good paint, my paint usage drops considerably. I'm not wasting paint on misses and bounces. I save money in the long run.

This post has been edited by The_Economist: 29 November 2012 - 12:54 PM

[cockerpunk]

The_Economist, on 29 November 2012 - 11:39 AM, said:

Thank you for elucidating something which has been running through my mind for years. Most paintball players have their priorties set completely wrong. They spend too much on gear and not enough on what matters. They buy the cheapest paint possible and then they complain about accuracy and bounces. They complain that paintball costs too much, because they shoot too much, because their paint is inaccurate and doesn't break at range.

When I get good paint, my paint usage drops considerablty. I'm not wasting paint on misses and bounces. I save money in the long run.

and you have more fun, because you are more effective on the field.

nothing is more frustrating then a bad day because of shitty paint.

This post has been edited by cockerpunk: 29 November 2012 - 11:44 AM

[FreeEnterprise]

In my .pdf that I send out to all the players that attend my private games, I have a section on paint selection. And even though I harp on it often, guys still show up with paint that they haven't looked at until they arrive to play... (and stored it in their trunk of their car the night before... in below freezing temps...)

Keeping paint warm is critical to your success when playing in the cold.Here is what I put in there 7 years ago when I started sending out info on paintball.

"3. Paintballs 500-2,000 per player (this is up to you; it is easy to shoot a lot and run out), so buy enough that we can play for a while. Good paint is very round and the seam is smooth. If they have dimples they are bad news (they have been sitting for a while).

We typically play around 7-12 games per day.Your paint is the most important thing you will buy to play, bad paint breaks often in the barrel and cheap paint will shoot very inaccurately, making it much harder to eliminate your competition. Your best bet is to take your barrel into the store, and open a box to see if the paint is round and not dimpled. Then roll a paintball into your barrel, it should stop inside the barrel, and you should be able to lightly blow into the barrel and have the paintball roll out the end. Checking with a worker prior to this is recommended. They will usually give you tape to close the cartons again."

This post has been edited by FreeEnterprise: 29 November 2012 - 03:23 PM

[asthmaticrhino]

I play at a field where to bring your own paint incurs a $10 fee per case.the best paint they have is draxxus bronze, which is the "less shitty" paint mentioned being sold at 65 a case. Another field I love has a custom blend, specific to their field, that I absolutely love, it's brittle, trick fill, flys straight, and I hardly bounce anyone. Problem is its specific to their field, and it's blue fill. Other fields won't allow it cuz it "stains the bunkers"( it doesn't) I would use it all the time if I could, but can't.

This post has been edited by asthmaticrhino: 29 November 2012 - 03:56 PM

[unfated33]

So...related to this video, I guess I have the question of "What is good paint?" I watched Mike's video on the subject, which largely translates to the fact that it depends on the situation.

For me, a casual to nearly rec ball player that is mostly in the forest and uses a mech, what would be good paint? The best paint I've used at the FPO fields here locally has been Draxxus Field. On a separate occasion, that's also the worst paint I've ever used. Here are my local choices that I've seen:

Draxxus Field as mentioned above.
Diablo Heat is used by the majority of fields. It has a shell that will go through the woods but often bounces instead of breaks. Not the straightest but not too curvy.
XO Spectrum is used by 2 or 3 fields. I've never used it, but hear people say it feels like a marble and never breaks.
Valken Infinity is used at one field. It seemed to bounce less than Heat but didn't go very straight.
One field carries both Empire Custom Blend and RPS Premium. I know nothing of the former and the latter seems to get mixed reviews.

So given those choices, what's my best choice?

[FreeEnterprise]

It depends...What I do is look at what they are selling at the field I am at. Sometimes the cheap stuff is better than the high end stuff, and vice versa. If they haven't stored it well, or if the heat has gotten to it, it will shoot lousy, no matter what it costs. I want to LOOK at the paintball before I buy it, and a decent field/store should let you... I often end up buying less of a higher end paint as it is worth it to get 1,000 GOOD paintballs then 2,000 lousy ones...If you can see the seam raised, skip it, if it has dimples, skip it. If it won't roll across the counter without wobbling (meaning it isn't round) skip it. Lower end hard shell paints are less likely to break. So I try to stay away from them, as there is nothing worse than shooting a guy and it bouncing then he turns and takes you out.

[Hitman2513]

Sadly in just playing for a year going through about 100 cases ive never used this mystical "good" paint decent but never flew straight

[Bush]

Hitman2513, on 30 November 2012 - 01:00 AM, said:

Sadly in just playing for a year going through about 100 cases ive never used this mystical "good" paint decent but never flew straight

For it only being your first year, you went through a lot of paint. If you do the math on that and assuming you sat some weekends out due to holidays and other commitments (Just assuming) You would have went through around 3 cases every weekend for the whole year. That`s a lot of money on paint...

[Hitman2513]

Bush, on 30 November 2012 - 09:00 PM, said:

Hitman2513, on 30 November 2012 - 01:00 AM, said:

Sadly in just playing for a year going through about 100 cases ive never used this mystical "good" paint decent but never flew straight

For it only being your first year, you went through a lot of paint. If you do the math on that and assuming you sat some weekends out due to holidays and other commitments (Just assuming) You would have went through around 3 cases every weekend for the whole year. That`s a lot of money on paint...

Well actually about a year and a half and maybe a bit less. I remember I used to go a lot on every weekend because my friends car got smashed by a construction light post and they gave him a shit ton of money and we spent a lot on paintball. All the good times

[Kirko017]

thought that it was pretty well known already that good paint shoots better than horrible paint??

Oh well.. I have played many of times with the "premium" paint option at fields. Evil, premium, marbs, allstar, gold, silver, 5star, 4star, etc. Over Stinger, Heat, Bronze, 3star, etc.
It comes down to storage, weather, etc.
I have shot stinger during practice that shot more straight and broke better than a lot of the high end paints at some tournaments I have been to including a national tournament I was at. In fact that national tournament at some of the worst paint I ever shot and was the highest quality at a national event out of a temperature controlled truck. Some of the best was at a regional events where paint was kept on-site in a back room.

I have shot lower and higher brand quality premium paints in the same day more times than I can count. The paint is usually stored in the same area, and if the lower quality sucks that day, the more expensive brand tends to suck just as much too... And it varies field to field. Rather just buy the cheapest because it's all stored in the same conditions and shoots about the same regardless

If you want good paint, I suggest you tell your field/store to store it better, so that once you buy it, it is like it was from the manufacturer and you can continue to store it nice so it shoots good.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 03 December 2012 - 12:02 AM

[briguy503]

Paint at least at the fields that I play in Oregon has not been the best. Does the paint let me play and have fun? Yes I do have fun, but I would like the choice of better paint. I think that fields are going to have the biggest impact on the manufacturer. When I go to a local field to play I see a lot of newbies and second and third timers that buy the cheapest paint they can get their hands on. It is very good to see all these new players coming to paintball, but they do not have the mind set of wanting the best shot that they can get with a higher quality paint. Also they have not committed a part of their budget to paintball like some of us have. It will be up to us, the players that have committed a part of our budget to paintball to let our fields know that there are some who will spend the extra for the quality shot out of our markers.

Also I played for years with a etek 2 and it shot great, and was reliable. Recently I decided to get a new marker and got a good deal on a SLs. It has a smoother and a way quiet shot compared to my etek 2. Could I afford one brand new? No I couldn't, but I have committed a certain part of my budget to paintball. I just need some good paint to throw down the barrel.

[elraido]

cockerpunk, on 28 November 2012 - 10:03 PM, said:

exactly right. and it starts by convincing people, that maybe instead of spending 1000 dollars on hard goods that really, when the rubber meets the road, doesn;t really help you much putting paintballs on the other team - but spending a bit more for better paint, will actually make a difference in your ability to put paintball on the other team. and paying that 10-25 buck premium, is actually the single most cost effective way to help your game.

you sell that idea to players -> quality and availability of quality paint, will improve.

You should know, I live an hour north of Duluth. It is is a small miracle that we even have a place that sells paint (Dunhams), let alone high quality paint. But for what we play (THICK woodsball) we can only check to make sure it isn't dimpled worse than a golf ball....because that is the best we are going to get.

[bigschank]

I am still curious what make and model this amazing paint was...just for curiosity's sake.

[cockerpunk]

bigschank, on 04 December 2012 - 03:07 AM, said:

I am still curious what make and model this amazing paint was...just for curiosity's sake.

the make and model is irrelevant because i have have purchased the same make and model both before and after and it has ranged from mediocre to shit.

a large part of the problem, brands are not a very reliable way to determine paint quality.

[bigschank]

cockerpunk, on 04 December 2012 - 03:21 PM, said:

bigschank, on 04 December 2012 - 03:07 AM, said:

I am still curious what make and model this amazing paint was...just for curiosity's sake.

the make and model is irrelevant because i have have purchased the same make and model both before and after and it has ranged from mediocre to shit.

a large part of the problem, brands are not a very reliable way to determine paint quality.

Fair enough