Paintball is an ultra aggressive sport that is mostly played by the younger generations. Despite what you may hear about how paintball is safer than bowling or tennis the fact is that the people that play paintball are usually very competitive and that can mean for some serious competition. If you are not properly dresses for paintball all that aggressive competition can spell injuries.

When it comes to what you wear for a game paintball your first concern should be safety. That said you will need more than just plain clothing to keep you safe. Here is how you need to gear up for paintball:

•    Clothes: You can really wear anything you like as far as clothes go but you should be in a long sleeved shirt and pants as opposed to shorts and a t-shirt. You can certainly brave the battle field with little to nothing on but all that exposed skin will be easily welted should a paintball strike you. Obviously you will want to wear darker colors and camouflage is great for hiding your location. If you wear light and bright colors on the paintball field then you might as well scream out your location.
•    Shoes: You need to have your feet fully covered. That means you need to leave the flip-flops and sandals at your house. An uncovered foot is not a good idea while running around in the woods, especially when those woods contain paintballs whizzing by.
•    Head gear: You will need to have on a helmet that has a face guard either attached or that can slip over. The face guard should never be taken off in the middle of a game, not even to de-fog it. If it is too foggy then you need to declare yourself out and have a referee escort you to the ‘dead box.’
•    Goggles: Along with the headgear you need to wear goggles. You should never play a game of paintball without your goggles on and if you see someone not wearing their goggles then immediately report them to a referee.
•    Gloves: A bare hand getting hit by a paintball is no fun. You can lessen the pain significantly by wearing a pair of lightweight gloves.
•    Other optional equipment: You can also opt for other safety equipment if you like. One piece of safety equipment that is vital for guys is a groin cup. It may be a little uncomfortable to wear but if you get hit there with a paintball traveling at 250 feet per second, think about how much that will hurt. You can also obtain a chest guard to help absorb a hit to your torso and elbow pads and knee pads will help with all the jumping and diving you will be doing.

Paintball can be an extreme amount of fun but that fun can be cut drastically short if you are not properly dressed for the occasion. So remember, throw style out the window and focus on safety and the rest will just fall into place.