Paintball and Airsoft are two very similar sports. For the newbies it might be hard to choose between the two. Both have their pros and cons and understanding them will help you select the better option for you.
Let’s start with paintball.
Paintball is a war or hunting game in which you can use a variety of guns to shoot out plastic balls full of colored paint. Once the paintballs hit the target they pop and leave a paint stain which represents a hit or kill.
Paintball pros:
One of the main pros of the paintball game is the clearly visible mark left by the paint. As once a player gets hit he or she goes out of the game, it is best to be able to mark that with 100% assurance. The bigger ammunition is also easier to track which helps in making correction.
High range and accuracy. Paintballs are heavy enough to ensure an accurate trajectory which can not be changed by a side wind or small tree branches. Paintball guns use compressed gas to shoot and this gives the shot enough power for a longer range.
Paintball cons:
It hurts. If you get hit in a non-protected place the heavy paintball will leave a mark and will hurt.
You get a lot of stains on your clothes. With all the paint stains on your clothes there is no doubt that you will have to wash your clothes for the next game even if it’s tomorrow. If you get hit of course. It is also not very easy to distinguish stains from different games in the same day if the teams don’t use paintballs with different pain color for each of them.
Gas containers are most of the times big. Compared to the airsoft gas containers the ones used in paintball are bigger as the guns use more gas for each shot.
The price of the guns and ammunition has a certain minimum which can not be lowered.
Airsoft game differs from Paintball only in the equipment used. Airsoft guns shoot with small plastic pellets which in size are up to 8 mm in diameter. Due to the fact that there is nothing to spill and clog the gun, airsoft guns can also be powered by a spring.
Airsoft pros:
Spring powered airsoft guns are cheaper to make thus their market price is lower than the paintball guns’ price. This makes this sport more affordable for the newbies. Ammunitions are also cheaper. High end guns the prices for both airsoft and paintball guns is similar.
Hurts less. Airsoft BBs are smaller in size and weigh and hurt less if you get hit.
Airsoft cons:
BBs’ trajectory is not that easy to follow thus corrections are harder to make.
Marking a hit or kill can not be guaranteed as BBs don’t leave any visible mark. This may cause disagreements and heated arguments during a game.
Accuracy and range are difficult. If you want to be more accurate on longer distance you will have to use heavier BBs to prevent wind interference. This lowers the range and BBs hurt more if you hit your opponent somewhere unprotected.
