There are many different brands of paintballs to choose from.  It’s great to have plenty of variety to choose from but this often leaves inexperienced players with the question of “which one do I choose?”.   The best answer to this question is ‘whichever works best with your paintball gun!’.  Unfortunately, trial and error is the best way to find this out.

Paintballs are produced by numerous different manufacturers, all using slightly different formulas for the shell and paint inside.  These differences will often produce slight variances in size and shape consistency that can greatly affect your shooting performance.  To make things even more confusing and complicated; most paintball gun barrels also have slight variances in diameter size that will also affect how your gun shoots the paintball you choose.

The best way to determine whether the brand of paintballs you choose is best for your marker is to perform a simple test.  Unscrew the barrel from your paintball gun and drop a paintball (from the brand of your choice) through it.  If it rolls right out, the ball is probably a tiny bit too small for your barrel and will not shoot well.  Obviously, if you drop a ball through and you have to shove it through to get it to come out, the ball is too big and you will also have problems with performance.  When you drop a paintball through your barrel, you should encounter some resistance but not a lot.  You want a good ‘seal’ between the barrel and the ball, but not too much so it slows it down.

Also, consider the grade of paintball your purchasing.  Some brands of paintballs offer different grades to choose from to match your type of play.  Recreational paintballs are generally much cheaper to buy but are not as consistent to shoot.  They often have a cheaper paint or shell or may have slight defects that will cause them to be not quite as consistent.  These are popular for practicing or for players who don’t really care how precise their shots are.

Some brands also offer a mid-grade and a tournament grade as well.  The tournament grade is often the most expensive but will give the most consistent performance.  The mid-grade is obviously in between the price and consistency of the other two extremes.  Choose the grade of paintball that best suits how you want to play.  Most players use recreational grades the most, saving their money for tournament grade balls for competitions, precision target practice or sighting in a tactical scope.

Sometimes, choosing the wrong brand of paintball can give the player a false sense that something’s wrong with their marker.  If the paintballs keep breaking before they leave the gun’s barrel, this could mean there’s something wrong with the gun; it could also mean you’re using a brand of paintball that has too soft of a shell for the gun you’re using.  Some brands of paint cater more to high-end, hi-performance tournament level paintball markers.  These guns are often very sensitive and can fire paintballs with fairly fragile shells. 

If your paintball gun is constantly breaking balls, first try using a different paintball.  Perhaps you’re using a brand that’s designed for more sensitive, hi-performance competition markers.  The next thing to look at is your paintball gun’s velocity.  Most markers have a place on them where you can adjust the velocity.  If your gun’s velocity is turned up too high, it may be too hard on the paint you’re using.

Buying paintballs are perhaps one of the most costly aspects of the sport.  If you practice regularly, it’s best to purchase your paintballs from a local source rather than mail order.  This is because of the added expense of shipping; a box of 2000 paintballs weighs approximately 15 lbs.  This means you can add another ~$15 to the overall cost using regular ground shipping.  Despite this, many players buy their paintballs over the internet/mail order because they simply don’t have another source – there’s no shops, fields or stores close enough to them!  You can also generally find a greater variety of paintball brands on the internet. 

The worst paintballs are Monster Balls.  These are the brand offered at Wal-Mart and generally run ~$26.  Even though they are cheap and readily available, most players complain their shell is too hard.  Some report they have even caused injuries because of this.  If you get hit with a Monster Ball, you will definitely get a bruise.  Most commercial fields outlaw them because they of the pain and damage they can cause.

Some of the best paintballs are produced by a company called Karnage.  These balls are great because they have the perfect balance of a shell that’s not too hard and not too soft.  Karnage brand paintballs are very reliable and come in 3 grades to choose from; recreational, tournament grade and an in-between level.  Karnage also produces a ‘winter formula’ paintball that allows players to continue paintballing throughout the colder months.  The consistency and price of Karnage brand paintballs makes them worth paying a bit extra to ship them through the mail.