The Armoury

Lock-n'-Load:

With my introduction to paintball having come and gone, I can give you the full run-down on my 'balling set-up.

My Gear:

Again, this is my first paintballing kit, purchased as a package deal from Flagswipe Paintball's online store, "BuyPaintball.ca". I am unable to disclose the price -as it was a one-time deal- but I can tell you that the price and customer service quality were HUGE factors in my choice to work with them.

Marker:

For the foreseeable future I'll be rocking the ever-reliable, perennial performer known as the Tippmann A5 mechanical marker. I've not made any modifications to the trigger, hopper or cyclone feed system/paddles but  I HAVE added a 416 body kit from www.tactical-mod.ca and it surpassed my performance expectations at Skirmish Paintball's ION 2013. I debuted this little baby (now nicknamed 'Mandy) at the Fight for Asylum 2 event over the April 12th-13th weekend up at PRZ Paintball in Picton, ON.

I had no substantial complaints about the A5's performance, but its handling was another issue. As I made efforts to switch from right-to-left-handed firing I found that there are some rather 'crisp' edges around the grip and trigger. My problem with this was that, as I switched hands or even went to pick up the marker, I occasionally scraped my trigger finger and thumb which became a decent irritation on the field. All-in-all it wasn't a horrible inconvenience, but I've added a pair of gloves (a gift from my friend Valkyrie) to put an end to the nasty edge problems. With the addition of the adjustable stock and longer grip profile of the 416 body kit the handling problems have been almost entirely dealt with.

Propellant:

I've made the choice to run HPA rather than CO2 for a few reasons as listed here in my Proper Propellants article. The HPA tank's bulkier than its CO2 counterparts but it performs better in cold weather and it's a free fill-up as opposed to CO2 which typically runs about $10 to fill for a day at the majority of fields.

Mask:

I'm wearing the JT Proshield mask for the time being, and having worn it through an intense weekend of balling without incident I don't see me making a mask change for quite some time.

Black and Olive Drab

I just cleaned all of my gear prior to editing this and I will say that getting the paint out of the Proshield's nooks and crannies was a bit of a pain, but I'd assume the same goes for any mask so I've got no real complaints there.

Most people worry about their mask fogging up in the middle of a firefight but I managed to avoid that issue. Whether the Proshield is as good as its hype for being a low-fogging lens or if I just got lucky is yet to be seen but the only problem I had was completely clearing the paint off of it mid-battle.

If you're looking to get started in the sport, but you're also looking to keep your start-up costs low, the JT Proshield mask is definitely a great choice. I was able to see just fine (although glare was a problem during the night game that I played) and even taking a shot to the mouth didn't phase me as the mouthguard absorbed the blow. I've had a few people complain about shots to the ear, but I spent my weekend wearing a simple visored toque resulting in a lot of bounces and almost no energy transfer to my head.

Bandoleer:

I'm currently running a very simple black, 4+1 pod pack with 4, 140 round pods. The pods are mounted outward horizontally from the centre pouch. The centre pouch is the "+1" designed to hold your propellant tank to reduce the weight in your gun hand. This isn't just handy for handling your marker, but having the extra ammunition on-hand means being able to stay in the firefights with confidence.

A favourite motto of mine when it comes to packing on the pods is "if the only balls you have are in your hopper, you're gonna have a bad time". It's true stuff folks, and it doesn't hurt to listen to the alternate message of the motto about having a little bit of courage on the field ;)

Carrying Case:

I recently bought this off my mother's fiance believe it or not. Never been used, Team Canada wheeled hockey gear bag. It fits literally EVERYTHING I need for my trips including my tent, sleeping bag, a weekend's worth of clothing as well as my paintball gear.

I've gotta say, I owe it to Rick for selling me this... It's an insanely cool bag, it's patriotic and I'm betting it'll definitely get a few looks as I roll into Pennsylvania in two weeks. Here's hoping I don't get hated on TOO too much for my Canuck status :p Nah, I know I've got a great welcoming committee. 

Packing it In:

That's all I've got for gear updates as of the moment. When I make an addition to my armoury, I'll document it here so you can follow along with my development and outfitting so until next time,

Remember as always fellow 'ballers... Keep calm and throw paint!

Joshua J. Taylor - The 'n00b' Baller