Paintballing is a popular hobby requiring protective gear such as paintball vests when participating. The sport has become a trendy way for work colleagues to bond during team-building exercises. Furthermore, such is the popularity of paintballing that the sport accounted for 1.2 billion dollars in the US market during 2020.
Perhaps paintballing is an activity you have considered for family recreation, and you need to understand if paintball vests are necessary to protect you. Alternatively, paintballing offers a fantastic way to keep fit while having fun. Whatever the reason, you need to know what protective gear to wear and understand the importance of paintball vests.
What Are Paintball Vests?
Paintball vests form part of the protective gear you wear over your chest when you participate in the sport. As such, paintball vests include one of the most critical tactical items you may wear while playing. However, the garment is so much more than just a protective article of clothing.
If you plan to participate in paintballing, you should wear protective gear, including a vest, because it will protect the upper body from harm. All participants should wear a paintball vest to protect their bodies, but children need to wear paintball vests as they remain susceptible to injury.
The Different Types of Paintball Vests
Protective paintball vests usually consist of hardened layers of plating fixed over a body-hugging garment. The primary purpose of the vest is to protect the upper body from harm and injury while playing the sport. However, the vest may contain handy pockets to carry spare clips, water, and ammo.
Styles of vests
Three main styles of vests exist, which include strategic vests, chest rigs, and plate carrier pliers.
Strategic vests
Strategic vests form the most popular type of paintball vests where the pockets and protective plates remain static. Consequently, a strategic vest is laid out in a way that can’t be altered.
Plate carrier vests
You may configure a plate carrier vest in numerous ways. Rigid plates inside the vest cover vital organs to protect the body. Some vests allow the wearer to insert side and backplates. Consequently, plate carrier vests tend to feel heavier than strategic vests.
However, the use of plate carrier vests may prove a little overkill for the average paintballer.
Chest rigs
Chest rigs allow for speed and storage during an exchange because they are noticeably smaller and lighter than other styles. The vest tends to have less protective plating and more storage capacity, although you may add more plates to its configuration.
The chest rig is adjustable and stable, which makes it a comfortable wear.
Paintballing
Paintballing is a competitive team sport that consists of several players in different teams, with each team set to eliminate the other. An air-powered gun allows for projectiles made from colored gelatin capsules that explode upon contact. The resultant explosion looks like paint.
The type of gun used is a low-energy air weapon or paintball marker that uses compressed air to power them.
The sport remains a popular pastime and is played for recreational purposes. However, paintballing is used by companies as a way of team building. Additionally, the sport exists at a professional level with organized tournaments and competitions.
Health gains
As a form of exercise, paintballing provides an excellent activity as an alternative to the gym. The experience allows for a full range of movements such as running, climbing, ducking, and carrying weights in the form of the gun itself and paintball vests.
Full body workout
Such an active sport involves crawling, sprinting, dodging, and shooting, making it a superb form of a full-body workout. Furthermore, it provides an ideal type of cardiovascular exercise, which increases endurance.
Additionally, you will see health benefits in your arms and legs because the sport provides a good form of exercise for your limbs. Running and shooting will strengthen your arms and legs as well as aid with core stabilization.
Self-confidence
Due to the sport requiring teams of players to work together, it requires strategy and teamwork. Consequently, the sport encourages team spirit and leadership skills, which may improve a player’s self-confidence.
Weight loss
The intense exercise gained from paintballing may result in weight loss. Regular games will boost your metabolism and burn more calories. Furthermore, the release of endorphins into your body will improve your mood and may even lead to better sleep patterns. Consequently, the exercise gained while paintballing may reduce the risk of heart disease and blood pressure.
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Paintball for Stress Relief
What better way to vent your frustrations than playing an intensive game of paintball? The best part of that statement is that you may vent your pent-up frustrations without harming anyone.
The endorphins released during play help to eliminate mental stress and promote a calming influence, and this reduces stress levels.
It’s good to be outdoors
Such outdoor activities improve your mood, your outlook, and may help to boost your immunity. Outdoor activities enhance mental health and positivity and lower levels of depression and stress.
Does Paintballing Hurt?
There remains no clear answer to such a question because everyone has a different pain threshold. How much paintballing hurts will depend on several factors. However, paintball vests will undoubtedly help to negate injury or pain.
The gun, shot velocity, and the distance of the shot contributes to the pain level experienced during play. Furthermore, the quality of the paintball also contributes to the sensation.
The paintball
Lower quality paintballs have a harder shell and a less dense interior. Consequently, this makes the paintball harder to break on impact. Therefore, it is likely to hurt more.
Most manufactures make good quality paintballs. The idea is to ensure the paintballs don’ break in the gun but break apart easily on impact. Therefore, poor quality paintballs will hurt more on impact than good quality products. This alone makes the wearing of paintball vests essential to counteract injury and pain.
The gun’s velocity
The faster the paintball’s velocity, the more it is likely to hurt. To keep participants safe, most paintball organizations limit the velocity of the guns to prevent injury.
However, consider this. Someone is going to use an air-compressor gun to fire a paintball at you. It makes sense to assume that it may hurt, and that paintball vests prove an excellent idea to protect your body. Imagine how it would feel to have a capsule fired at your chest, and you don’t wear a protective vest? You don’t need a degree to understand that it will hurt.
Consider the distance
When you fire a paintball, it losses power as it travels over a distance. Therefore, the further away the opponent, the less likely the impact of the paintball will hurt.
Consequently, most paintball fields limit the shooting distance to 10 feet to reduce the potential for painful impacts.
However, even at a 10 feet distance, you may expect a high-velocity projectile to hit you. Wearing paintball vests in such a situation makes for common sense.
The point of impact counts
The pain of a paintball impact remains determined by the position on your body the paintball hits. A hit to the back where you find less muscle and fat may hurt more than a shot to the stomach where you will find natural padding.
Uncovered skin will hurt and sting far more than protected flesh. It remains sensible to cover up as much of your skin as possible, including masks, gloves, and paintball vests.
However, covering your skin may not prove as effective as wearing paintball vests. The padded apparel actively deflects the impact of the shot to decrease the painful effects of the sport.
X marks the spot
If a player continuously hits you in the same spot, it will hurt. Furthermore, it may result in injury. Try to vary your playing style and strategy to make it difficult for repeat shots in the same area. Wearing paintball vests will help to reduce the pain experienced from repeated shots in the same place.
Paintball May Hurt
The point of playing the sport is to avoid getting hit. However, it doesn’t matter how good you are because it remains inevitable that someone will get lucky and shoot you.
The impact of a paintball may feel similar to a sting from a bee. Imagine a rubber band firing at you. The pain experienced from a paintball impact should feel no different. The pain is fleeting, and while the effects may leave a bruise, sudden, brief pain is just that, nothing more than momentary discomfort.
Wearing paintball vests will protect your body from injury. Furthermore, the vest will absorb some of the painful stings. If you regularly practice the sport, you already understand the importance of wearing paintball vests. However, as a beginner, you may quickly understand the necessity of wearing such a protective garment.
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The correct clothing
Thick, long sleeve clothing remains the perfect apparel to wear because it will allow for some padding while covering a large amount of skin.
Wear paintball vests
Paintball vests provide extra padding specifically designed for impact sports. The vest will decrease your level of pain during a paintball impact.
Children
While children may participate in the sport, different states may have other age limits, so always check the legal age for minors in your jurisdiction. Many fields require the age limit for children to be 14 or 16 before they are allowed on the field.
Children should not take part in tournaments with adults. Adults may experience different tolerances and gameplay compared to younger members. Furthermore, the power of the guns used with paintballs will differ for children than adults.
Understanding the rules
It is essential that children understand and follow the rules for game0play to reduce risk and injury. Safe play should always remain at the forefront of your mind.
Wearing paintball vests
The protection of children and their safety remains paramount. Therefore, children should always wear paintball vests when participating in the sport. The additional padding the garment provides will protect their bodies and reduce the risk of pain and injury.
While paintballing remains a safe adventure for children, by understanding the rules of combat and wearing the appropriate safety gear, children may attain a better experience. Above all, safety remains paramount, and that includes the wearing of paintball vests.
Paintball Vests Explored
Paintballing is a contact sport. Therefore, you may expect to experience a certain level of pain. However, like all contact sports, it remains sensible to take the appropriate precautions to reduce injury. Safety is the dominant factor, and the wearing of protective gear forms a vital element of your precautions.
Paintball vests protect the body against impact and help to reduce the risk of injury. Furthermore, paintball vests provide pouches for storing ammo, water, and other vital supplies. Consequently, the padded vest remains an essential part of a player’s protective gear while participating in the sport.
Strategic vests, plate carrier vests, and chest rigs all provide valid types of paintball vests. The aim is the use of a vest that is both comfortable to wear and practical on the field while offering the best possible protection for your body.
The sport provides an excellent form of exercise and team building. Furthermore, paintballing constitutes an enjoyable sport experienced by adults and children alike. However, it remains the individual’s responsibility to play responsibly, and this includes the wearing of appropriate gear. As such, paintball vests form an integral part of a player’s equipment, be it, adult or child.
Do you have experience with paintball vests? Perhaps you have experience with the garments and can suggest the best types for gameplay. Why not leave a comment below and share your knowledge with us?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sean Kerr lives in Cardiff, Wales and is a published author with over 10 novels to his name so far and still counting. As well as writing his next bestseller, Sean also runs a successful Jewelry making business and sells his creations online.
Last update on 2023-06-03 at 03:02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API