Excalibur Paintball

Getting started in paintball is not difficult. You only need some basic paintball equipment and you will be ready to play. It doesn't have to be expensive, you can spend as little or as much money as you want.

Gun/Marker

Paintball guns (also referred to as markers) are the very basis for the sport of paintball. They come in all shapes and sizes, but to play you only need something that propels paintballs in a somewhat straight line. Decent paintball guns can be bought new for less than $150 or rented for $10-$20 a session from many paintball fields.

Mask

Paintball masks exist for the simple reason of protecting your face. A flying paintball can leave a small bruise if it hits your body, but a direct shot in the eye can blind you. Make sure your mask is approved for paintball and then use it as if your eyesight depended on it. Make sure it fits correctly and is comfortable. More importantly remember this, there is NO SUCH THING as a fog proof mask or lens. The best way to keep fogging to a minimum is to breath with your mouth shut!

Hopper

Paintballs need to get into the chamber of your gun before you can shoot them and the best way to do this is with a hopper. A hopper is a small container that sits on your gun and feeds paint into your gun.

Air Tank

The propellant to fire a paintball comes from compressed gas - usually either compressed air or compressed carbon dioxide (CO2). Markers require one of two kinds of compressed air tanks: small 12 gram tanks that also are used in BB guns or larger tanks that screw onto the gun. A larger tank of CO2 or compressed air will be able to shoot hundreds of paintballs.

Paintballs

Along with paintball markers, paintballs are what make paintball possible. These spherical containers of paint are loaded into your gun and then shot by the expansion of compressed gas. Many different brands and colors exist, and more expensive usually means a better ball. For a beginner, though, they all perform about the same as long as they are not too old, so pick what looks good to you and use it. Be sure to bring enough to last as long as you want to play. Most paintball fields will not allow you to bring your own paintballs. These are called “Field Paint Only” fields. This is for your own safety, if you bring your own, then that means you can also get shot by rock hard marbles from someone's year old stash.