Paintball players wear specific uniforms during the games.  These generally consist of some type of loose fitting pants and jersey.  For tactical paintball, players often wear camouflage fatigues.  Other accessories also include gloves, shoes, a pod harness and a paintball mask.  These clothing articles are designed to protect you from being hit by paintballs during a game.  The paintball mask is the only mandatory piece of your uniform while other pieces and can be added later if you want.  A baggy uniform will also greatly reduce the sting of being hit; this is why most people wear them.  A matching set of pants, jersey, gloves and pod harness is definitely intimidating to other players on the field as well.

When you’re shopping for your paintball pants and jersey, make sure the material is breathable.  Otherwise you can overheat very easily or just feel miserable while playing because you’re too hot.  Some brands even come with built-in ventilation areas that also help greatly to keep you cool; this makes a huge difference.  Also, make sure the material is flexible and there is plenty of room to move; pants or jerseys that are too stiff or tight will slow you down very quickly.  Some paintball uniform pants and jerseys come with built-in elbow or knee pads.  These are fantastic and definitely help protect your corners when sliding, jumping and landing. 

The hottest paintball pants and jersey combos out right now are Valken’s Redemption and Crusade series.  Their new Vtac Tactical line of camouflage uniforms are also on everyone’s Christmas wish list.  These uniform sets are sturdy, fancy looking and have ventilation and padding in all the right places.  Matching pod harnesses and tank covers are also available for these lines as well to deck yourself out from head to toe!  Buy these paintball clothes big though!  They tend to run a bit small; if you get the wrong size, your better off with something that’s a bit too big than too small.

When buying a paintball jersey, pay special attention to the collar.  Make sure you don’t get one with a collar that’s either too small or rubs against your neck and irritates.  Make sure the collar is low cut enough to protect you but not bother you.  If you want to protect your neck, wear a neck protector.  These are small, cheap and easy to quickly put on.  When buying your uniform over the internet, you won’t have the opportunity to try anything on but in most cases you can just tell by the picture.  Most paintball companys are pretty about returns anyway in case you have to exchange it for a different size. 

The most crucial piece of paintball gear you will own is your mask.  Most masks sold specifically for paintball have a special ratings system to ensure it’s sturdiness from the high velocity of paintball.  While it may hurt to get hit in the leg or body with a paintball, it is not fatal and will not cause permanent damage.  Getting hit in the eyeball however can cause you to go blind.  Masks protect you from this happening and also guard your eyes from paint splatter.  Paintball masks come in numerous different shapes and sizes, most just covering the face but many also cover the entire head. 

When choosing a mask, make sure it fits comfortably on your face and has a good foam system inside.  If your mask isn’t tight enough on your head, it will move around some when it gets hit or bumped; this could limit your vision until your able to reset your mask.  This is why it’s crucial to have your mask strapped on tight enough to your head.  You also don’t want to have to keep messing with it in the middle of fast paced battles.

Make sure to get a mask that also has a good ventilation system that will help keep the mask from fogging.  It seems no matter what you do, your mask will eventually fog, however using anti-fog lenses and anti-fog lens cleaners help immensely.  Some of the hottest selling masks right now are the Save Phace paintball masks.  These have a great design, good ventilation and excellent internal padding system (making it very comfortable to wear).  But what makes these masks so popular is their custom air brushed graphics.  The stock designs are also fantastic with interesting camo patterns and realistic looking skull heads.  The Ghost Stalker and the Diablo are the biggest sellers.

Another important part of your uniform is the shoes you wear.  There are a few shoes on the market made specifically for paintball.  Some are a type of cleat to wear in speedball games.  Many tactical, scenario paintball players wear jungle boots or some type of military boot that best match their camo outfit.  Really, any comfortable shoe will do for a game of paintball, whether you play speedball or woodsball.  When choosing your shoes, it’s smartest to pick a pair that’s dark in color.  White shoes will get stained and muddy very quickly and sometimes painted different colors from paintballs. 

If you wear boots to play woodsball, choose a pair that’s very lightweight.  Footwear that’s too heavy will only get heavier if they get weighted with mud; this can only slow you down.  Shoes or boots that are lighter will allow you to dart around the field, sprint and jump faster.  In speedball, being nimble and quick on your feet can make all the difference.  Also, make sure the shoes you wear are sturdy enough; at least use a newer pair.  It may not happen often, but if your shoe malfunctions in the middle of a paintball game, you’re probably going to lose – don’t let your shoes be the reason you got hit!

Also consider using a pod harness as part of your paintball uniform.  Pod harnesses attach to either your thigh or around your waist and offer pockets to carry ammo in.  Some pod harnesses can carry up to eight 140 round pods; most harnesses carry 3-6 pods however.  Many pod harnesses that fit around your waist also feature an extra pocket designed to carry your air tank.  Use this pouch to carry extra air or disconnect your air tank from the paintball gun and carry in your harness while it powers your marker through a remote line.  Pod harnesses are available in many different colors and designs, often matching specific jersey and pants combos.  There are also pod harnesses available in every different camouflage pattern for the woodsball enthusiasts.

Finally, gloves are not an essential uniform piece, however many paintballers love them.  Players who’ve been hit in the hand with a speeding paintball swear they will never play without gloves again.  So, protection of the hand is nice, but so is the fact that gloves just seem to pull everything together with a complete matching paintball uniform.  Gloves for paintball come in all sizes, shapes and colors, many matching specific uniform sets.  Gloves are also available in full finger, half finger and 2 finger styles.  The 2 finger gloves are best for people who use their trigger a lot; sometimes the padding on a full fingered glove can get stuck in between the trigger guard and trigger, causing you to miss shots. 

Get more out of your paintball game by dressing the part!  You will find it’s much more fun to disguise yourself as a professional paintball athlete or a real, special ops recon soldier… getting lost in your game is exhilarating!  Paintball uniforms are more helpful than just looking the part however; they also provide valuable protection from being hit by a stinging paintball.  The best paintball jerseys and pants also include much padding over your knees and elbows to soften the impact from sliding, diving and landing in extremely active matches.