Playing Paintball In The Rain
We all prefer to play paintball in perfect, sunny, and not too hot weather but unfortunately that isn’t always the case! Depending on where you live, you may have to play in the rain now and then. Playing paintball when it’s raining certainly has its challenges, as moisture will affect your paintballs and your gear dramatically. Read on to learn tips and tricks for playing paintball in the rain.
The first and most obvious advice is to try and keep everything as dry as possible. If you think it might, or know it is going to rain, then have a plan to keep your gear out of the rain during and between games. If the field doesn’t have enough overhead shelter then you need to create some. A pop-up tent with side screens or tarps with some rope to stretch across and tie off will do the trick. Try to position these so water will run off to one side and you won’t have to stand in it.
Keeping your paintballs dry is the #1 most important rule! Moisture in the air will already be causing your paintballs to swell and get ‘bouncier’, but getting water into your paint will destroy it quickly. Even a drop of water on a paintball will cause the shell to get soft and blister in that one spot. Keep your paint protected at all times, preferably in a cooler to keep it out of the moist air as much as possible. Most pods will seal out water well enough, but you can wear your jersey over your harness to keep the rain off the lids for additional security.
Use a hopper with the standard lid attached instead of a speedfeed. If you don’t have the stock lid then you will need to improvise; one of the bags your paintballs came in is a common emergency rain cover. Check the seams where the hopper comes together, and look around the feed neck for any gaps or openings that water can get into. A roll of vinyl electrical tape or cloth hockey tape is indispensable for a quick fix in situations like these.
Most electronic markers will be fine in the rain but a few precautions can prevent mishaps. Most circuit boards are sealed against moisture but keeping water out of the grip frame is still best practice. Some players just tape over the grips; some take the grips off and tape around the frame before putting the grips back on. The eye covers are another potential point of water entry. The drier you keep your marker’s internals, the better.
Water getting inside your paintball barrel will ruin the accuracy of any marker. Consider a barrel with little porting around the muzzle, or none at all. If your barrel does have a lot of porting down its length you have few options. You can wrap tape around the barrel when dry, or wrap it in plastic cling wrap like Saranwrap. You can also cut the end of the plastic tube that barrels come in off and tape it on to keep out the rain.
Prepare for your goggles to fog up. When the air is 100% humidity there is only so much current mask technology can do. There are two effects the humidity will have on the lens. The first is a light condensation on the lens, which appears as classic ‘fogging’. The second is a heavy condensation, which results in water build-up inside the mask and running down the lens, to the point that it is like trying to look out a fish tank. Make sure your mask is fitted properly, and maintains a good seal around the nose and eyes so your warm moist breath is exhaled away from the lens. A properly maintained, dual pane thermal lens with a coating of anti-fog solution will help prevent fogging as long as possible on the field. A goggle fan system is ultimately one of the most effective methods to keeping your lens clear in these conditions, as it draws air out through the fan and in from the mask vents. This circulation is probably the most effective method. Regardless of all precautions, the simple truth is you may need to plan on shorter stints on the field. If your mask came with a visor (or peak, as it’s known in Europe) then it is recommended to use it, to keep rain off your lens’s exterior for a unobstructed view. If you don’t have a visor, a hat with a bill or brim will do the trick.
If you’re wet and it is windy or chilly then get warmed up between games. Wet clothes combined with wind can chill your body to an unhealthy temperature. Bring extra towels for drying and wiping gear down between games. A few extra-large garbage bags are handy to have, so you can throw your wet and muddy clothes into it and save the car and your gear bag from needing a thorough cleaning.
We hope this helps you next time it's raining on game day. The #1 things to remember is play safe and stay dry!