What to Wear When Paintballing
The right clothing is really important! The time of year will make a big difference to which clothes you choose.
Footwear
Footwear is the most important piece of clothing, especially during the winter months, when it's muddy and you really need some good grip. Walking boots with a good tread or football / rugby boots are advised. The tread on trainers / shoes will fill up with mud instantly and you will find it difficult to move anywhere.
During the summer (when it's dry) a pair a trainers or walking boots are ideal.
Layers
Layers are strongly advised as it is easy to regulate your temperature. During the summer a T-shirt and a pair of shorts will be ideal to wear under your overalls. For the rest of the year a T-Shirt, sweat shirt / hoodie and a fleece combined with some tracksuit bottoms will be ideal.
Any clothing is likely to get splattered with paint and mud. This will generally wash out, but you should always wear old clothes just in case!
Gloves
Gloves are useful as they protect your hands / fingers from a direct shot (a shot on your finger is painful!), keep your hands warm and offer some protection from brambles / nettles in the woodland.
Fingerless gloves are ideal as you will be able to handle the gun better (trying to reload a gun during a game, under fire, wearing thick woollen gloves is hard work!)
Armoured fingerless gloves are the best option as they protect the back of your hand from pellet impact. The armouring is made from a flexible plastic / rubber material that allows your hand to move, but takes the impact out of any shot. We generally always have a stock of armoured gloves in (either fingered or fingerless) - these are available for £5 per pair.
Hats
Hats give the back of your head a bit of cushioning against a paint pellet from behind (if your own team shoot you or you're running away!), but they do trap the heat and sweat from your head, (you are likely to be running around a lot), and this can increase the likelihood of your goggles misting up.
Many Paintballers find a hoodie to be the best option as you can pull them up over your goggles easily and if you do get a bit warm you simply pull the hood down.
Other popular alternatives are baseball caps (worn backwards so your goggles fit) and bandanas – (look cool but don't offer much protection)!
Spare Clothing
Spare clothes are really useful if you play on a really wet / muddy day. The overalls we provide will keep the worst off, but water and some paint will go through to your clothes underneath.
Bin bags!
Bring a couple of bin bags for the end of the day. They are great for taking home your muddy footwear or for sitting on in your car (you may have wet and muddy trousers!)
