I just read on another paintball blog, a post on paintball pads and how important they are for protecting you during play, which is true, however there is another reason why you should wear pads. Paintballers both in Woodsball or Speedball (tournament) playing styles absolutely must wear padding, but its not for the obvious reason of personal safety. The fact of the matter is that paintball Padding keeps you in the game longer!

Most people don’t realize that the more padding you wear while playing paintball, the more bounces you get. Yes thats right, paintballs instead of breaking on you, will bounce off thus keeping you in the game longer. Tournament players know this, which is why some tournament paintball circuits have rules against wearing “excessive” padding. I personally know guys that wear 2 pairs of paintball elbow pads whenever they play.

Think about it, when your paintball gun is shouldered and your shooting, the bottom of your forearms are exposed, they are pointing right toward your opponent, your forearms basically yell “shoot me”. Elbow pads like the Eclipse and Empire pads shield this exposed area and bounce any paintballs that hit them. I don’t condone wearing 2 pairs of pads, that is excessive and to me crosses ethical lines, however with paintball chest protectors, Elbow pads + knee pads, slide shorts and slide pants available, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be decked out from head to toe. Its almost like wearing body armor but for paintballs. Even Paintball Jerseys have some light padding in them designed just to get bounces.
Of course their is the personal saftey aspect of it.

Paintball pads can help prevent you from breaking a bones during a dive and can save your knees. Chest Protectors can even help stop welts from forming, however most guys who play paintball enjoy the welts. I hope this post has opened a few eyes out there. Good Luck!