What to Wear for Paintball? Paintball Clothing

Paintball is one of those sports which demand a lot of things from their players. Professionalism, athletic performance, stamina, etc. are requirements of any sport. But, if we talk about paintball specifically then it not only requires all these things.

Mainly, Paintball demands its players to look cool while ensuring safety. 

If you are new to this game, you may be wondering what to wear for Paintball? Especially, if you want to play in Summer or hot temperatures. For this purpose, we will guide you through the process of choosing the most suitable attire to wear paintballing.

During this fun game, you have to remain safe, comfortable, and stylish. I want you to have a blast of your life where your opponents must be remembering you for your game as well as for your dressing. If we dig deep into it more, we will get three major factors

1. Safety
2. Comfort
3. Style

1. Safety

Safety is our prime concern during this game. It will retain its top position even when you become a pro in this game. Hence, never compromise on your safety. 

Paintballs can hurt a little if shot at a closer distance so the basic purpose of your dressing should be to ensure safety. Your protective gear will include primarily Masks and Gloves. But these are not only items. What you wear underneath it is just as important. Some players wear casual clothes, others wear camouflage. Whatever you wear is totally up to you. 

2. Comfort

Comfort is your second concern while playing the game. You should be agile in the field. During the game, your body temperature will rise and you will experience a lot of sweating. For this reason, you need to remain as comfortable as possible.

So, if you become too safety conscious and layer up too much. Then, you will be the prey of fatigue and suffocation in no time. I wear a loose and comfortable dress while ensuring my safety. In this fashion, I can run around freely while remaining fresh for a long time. 

3. Style

You can choose to wear a camouflage dress or you can wear just a normal jeans shirt with sports shoes. You can have a custom-colored paintball mask with funky gloves and nice paintball pants. Either way, your get-up should be matching with the game.

You should not be overdoing these things. You should be appearing as a stylish paintball player. Your entire body should be giving a confident aura so that others can remember you for a long time for your stylish looks.

What to wear to Paintball ? Paintball Clothes

Here are a few guidelines for the best outfit you can choose for your first game of paintball 

• Paintball Mask for Face Protection
• A headwrap, beanie, or anything to cover your head
• Paintball Gloves to protect your hands
• Shirts or T-shirts that are full sleeved
• Paintball Vests
• Paintball Pants
• Cleats or Running boots

All in all, the clothes must be loosely fitted as it would decrease the impact of the pallets. Wearing full-on military gear isn’t necessary, you can wear anything you want as long as it’s comfortable and provides protection. We will discuss in detail what you should wear while playing paintball.

1. For the Upper Body 

For your upper body, it is best to wear a long-sleeved shirt or t-shirt. Moreover, it should not be tightly fitted. Your full body needs to be covered so avoid half sleeve clothes, tank tops, and vests at all costs. Otherwise, you will regret your decision later on. 

Secondly, the piece of clothing you wear should be comfortable, and shouldn’t compromise your activity on the field. Furthermore, you should avoid wearing new clothes. As there are many chances that the game might get intense and there will be a lot of sliding, kneeling and crouching, etc. Thus, to avoid ruining both your clothes and your mood, you should preferably wear old clothes.

Thirdly, wearing too many layers of clothing isn’t recommended. Some newbies tend to wear too many layers of clothing for protection. This sounds alright but all the running around will make you overheat and instead of enjoying the game, you’ll be regretting your decisions. Thus, it is best to wear a maximum of 2 layers of clothing, a second layer being an easily replaceable one. 

As per personal experience, I would recommend you to wear a hoodie. As it will not only protect you from the stings of the pallets but also has the perfect removable layer. So just in case you get hot, you can easily remove it. 

2. For Lower Body & Footwear 

The same rules apply to the lower body as well. Try to wear something baggy as it will absorb the impact of the pallets. Something that is comfortable and doesn’t compromise your movement. 

Legwear is important as you have to protect your legs while running and moving freely. Thus wearing a loosely fitted tracksuit or trousers is recommended. And if you’re into jeans, you should wear the ones that are loosely fitted, to keep you comfortable and provide protection. 

If you are a regular player, I will recommend you to go and buy the paintball pants for yourself. It will be a key to your safety for lower body parts

Let’s talk about shoes now. The most common form of injury faced in paintball is ankle twists. So, we would recommend wearing something that supports your ankles and doesn’t compromise movement. Thus, hiking shoes are best for this sport, however, wearing any footwear that doesn’t compromise on comfort and protection is fine. In this case, trainers or running boots would be ok too. 

I wore blue jeans with running shoes the first time I went paintballing. And, it worked fine, it was comfortable and didn’t compromise on my movements. It worked great for me, would work for you too 

3. For Head & Hands

Wherever you will go to play, they will give you a mask for the protection of your face. However, you can add extra layers of protection by wearing something on your head, like a baseball cap or a beanie would do the trick. As it keeps your head protected during the game and absorbs the painful impacts of the paintball.  Or, maybe you can choose a paintball mask for big heads to cover your head fully.

And for the protection of your hands, you need gloves. If you are not wearing Gloves then pellets may sting you. Mainly, you should be looking for lightweight gloves. As it is one of the basic criteria of the best gloves to wear during the matches.

Any sort of gloves you choose, you should be giving prime importance to safety.

If you want to get a pictorial depiction that how you should look while dressed like a complete full package Paintball Player. Nothing new, just a picture summary of all that we have discussed.

Some Bonus tips especially for the Newbies

Firstly, it’s best that you wear according to the weather, as wearing too many layers of clothing during summer might make you too hot and frustrated to enjoy the game, and wearing too little during winter might make u too cold for the game. 

Secondly, make sure that the clothes you wear are lightweight, as there will be a lot of moving around during the game and you don’t want anything to limit your movement. 

And lastly, it’s best to wear old clothes as mentioned, you wouldn’t want your new clothes to be used and ruined in the match. 

What to wear to Paintbaling in the Summer

If you are living in a region where the climate is inclined towards the hotter side. Then, you must be aware of the fact that outside activities are tougher than a cold region. The same philosophy will apply to Paintball. You will be more exhausted in no time.

You will wear your paintball dress as per our above-mentioned guidelines. Nothing will be changed. The hot temperature will tempt you to remove your clothes, especially your face mask. But remember, this gear is for your safety. If you commit this mistake on the field, you may have to face dire consequences. So, we strongly recommend you not to remove safety gear in the heat of movement.

One tip we can share with you is that your dress should not be multi-layered. Wear single layer dress ensuring that your body is fully covered. But, never remove the mask, no matter how hot you feel. This is how you will dress up while playing paintball in a hot temperature region.

Safety is the prime concern.

Final Verdict about what to wear Paintballing?

There is a large pool of clothing available in the market that is best for a game of paintball. At the end of the day, your safety is what matters, thus wear what both keeps you protected and comfortable during your game. 

Also, we would recommend you bring extra clothes along with you as you wouldn’t want to travel in clothes covered in dirt and paint stains. Now go ahead and have fun!