Best Weather to Play Paintball: In the Rain?

People play in the rain for the love of paintball and the rain adds so much interest and challenge to the game.

When playing in the rain, everything will be muddy and slippery: consequently running, stopping and crouching will be harder than normal; visibility will be lower; and wind can make paintball courses more difficult.  All of these make playing paintball challenging which is exactly shat paintball fanatics look for; the action and the thrill!

Here are guidelines so you can enjoy your paintball game on a rainy day:

1.  Put on something that keeps water off of your body, such as a raincoat, “slicker”, waterproof clothing or even plastic garbage bags. It is very important that you stay dry so you don’t shiver as this will affect your mobility, accuracy and can be very uncomfortable.

Remember to cover your head too.  Wear any waterproof covering but make certain that water will not be sliding down your face and cause fog to form on your goggles.  Wiping the fog from your goggles each time you pause behind a tree or a bunker can distract from your concentration on the game.   

2.  Take paper towels with you. The lens on your mask, even if it is a thermal type of lens, will fog up and paper towels come in handy; you can just wipe off the fog.  Do keep in mind that you should turn away from the action - in a “sitting duck” (crouch) position - before you wipe the fog from your mask.

3.  Wear boots or cleats instead of sneakers to keep your feet from getting wet.  

4.  Wear gloves to prevent cold and wet hands. 

5.  Having a soaked paintball can be really frustrating. You should pack extra garbage bags for use as spare coverings. These can be used to cover your gear and function as a raincoat in emergencies.  Huge plastic transparent bags also are great for covering the head, hoppers and the gun.  You can effectively turn your gun into a waterproof weapon by simply covering it with plastic and securing it with rubber bands.

6.  Shooting on a rainy day is much more different than the typical “hose down”. Consider the amount of barrel smoke that will be produced even when using HPA.  Bring along an “unported barrel” if you happen to have one.  Porting allows water to get into the barrel resulting in twisting shots. 

There are really so many ways to add thrill to your paintball game: just allow your imagination to run wild and experiment with things.  Have fun in the rain!

