The paintball helmet is not considered an essential piece of equipment, like the paintball mask; you cannot play paintball without a mask.  Despite this, you will see many players at the scenario game who wear military helmets when playing paintball.  The fact is, paintball helmets add extra protection and finishing style for completing your uniform.

Most paintballers who wear tactical helmets do so for the extra head protection they provide.  Paintball can be a rough sport with much running, diving, crawling and fast movements.  Most injuries in the game occur because of hurting yourself while moving, or stopping abruptly.  Protecting your head from a hard surfaced environment is an excellent idea. 

Tactical paintball helmets are also excellent coverage for protecting against paintball impacts.  Current paintball guns are made with the most efficient engines making them extremely fast and accurate.  Direct head shots are common when playing with experienced people. 

Once you’re hit in the skull with a paintball, you’ll be shopping for a quality helmet before your next session…. It hurts to get hit in the head with a paintball!  Paintball helmets are made of thick, hard plastic, lightweight metal or a combination of both.  They are extremely sturdy, will not break and offer complete protection from paintballs; you will not even feel the impact.

Paintball helmets also make a great finishing touch to your tactical uniform.  Wear camouflage BDU’s, matching paintball gloves, camouflage tactical vest and…. A US Army training helmet.  With a hi-tech looking mask, dark lenses and a decked out paintball gun assault rifle, you will look like a modern warrior from tactical military recon team. 

Wear an olive drab or desert colored paintball helmet with your specific camouflage clothing and equipment.  To match your uniform even better, you can purchase a helmet cover.  These are material covers that come in numerous different camouflage patterns to match your BDU’s.  Helmet covers are a very cost effective way to be able to use the same helmet with all different uniforms.   

When choosing a paintball helmet, make sure the one you get fits over your existing paintball mask.  Not all paintball helmets will fit over every mask.  Paintball masks that provide full or even partial head coverage will generally not fit under a tactical helmet.  For a helmet to fit correctly on top of a paintball mask, the mask must be face-only protection. 

Make sure the helmet you choose also has a chin strap or some method of securing to your head.  Most helmets are one size fits all with adjustable straps.  It’s best to be able to try on your helmet before buying, however this is not possible when purchasing from the internet.  Fortunately, most helmets fit well and are fairly comfortable with very little to no modification.

Now you can purchase a tactical paintball helmet that includes a tiny camera attached to the side.  Create your own paintball video by recording the action with your helmet cam.  Download the action and put your blockbuster paintball movie on You Tube, your team’s website or Facebook page!  Your videos can also be used for valuable feedback about strategy or movement for training purposes.