Why Do Paintball Guns Hurt?
One of the main reasons that deter newcomers from engaging with paintball is the worry of suffering an injury form a high-velocity paintball round. If you play paintball often enough, you will almost certainly find yourself dealing with the occasional bruise or welt. However, the pain of a paintball round is relatively minor and there are steps you can take to minimize the chance of injury.
How Painful Are Paintball Rounds?
The answer to this question is determined by a host of different factors. For a start, we all have different pain thresholds. If you have a particularly high pain threshold, a paintball round is unlikely to cause you too much bother. However, it is worth bearing in mind that most paintball rounds travel at considerable speeds. An average paintball marker will release rounds at speeds of around 200 miles per hour. When these make contact with a sensitive area of the body, you should expect a notable sting.
If a paintball round makes contact with a sensitive area of the body, you can also expect the pain to be more considerable. If a pellet strikes a part of the body with minimal muscle and fat coverage, the pain can be extensive. However, if you take a paintball round to a fleshy part of the stomach or thigh, you will barely notice the impact.
Obviously, you want to avoid paintball rounds making contact with very delicate areas, such as the face or eyes. However, this is easily done by ensuring you are wearing practical clothing and suitable protective gear.
Minimize Pain by Wearing the Right Gear
Before you layer on protective gear, you should consider your basic outfit. Long sleeves and full-length combat trousers are always advised when playing paintball. You want to ensure as little skin as possible is exposed. In the summer months, you may find such clothing uncomfortable.
Rather than reach for t-shirts and shorts, opt for thinner material instead. Next, you need to ensure you have sufficient protection. A visor and mask is the most important aspect, as these will protect your eyes and face from bearing the brunt of an impact from an incoming paintball pellet. You may also want to wear a tactical vest.
These are handy in their own right because of storage capacity, but an extra layer of padding will help protect the chest and spine against paintball impacts. Gloves are also recommended. The hand and fingers are particularly bony, with little muscle mass and fat serving as a natural buffer against paintball rounds.
