Paintball VS Airsoft
Comparison of Airsoft to Paintball Guns and Games
Have you always wondered what the difference is between airsoft and paintball? Never fear, as I am more than happy to explain it to you! I totally feel that that it's necessary to compare the two in order to ensure that you have a thorough understanding of what each of these sports is all about and why they are definitely different!
So, without further ado, let's begin!
For starters, Airsoft is a game where players defeat members of the other team by striking each other with non-metallic pellets that are fired from a compressed air gun.
Airsoft guns can be powered through the use of either manual spring load, gas or a gearbox run by electricity.
Paintball is similar to Airsoft in that the objective of the game is to try to defeat your enemies on the opposing team by striking them with ammunition from your gun.
However, the paintballs in the game are filled with water soluble dye, and once you strike someone, it leaves a big colorful mark on them. In both airsoft and paintball, once you've been shot, you're out of the game.
Let's discuss some of the other similarities between paintball and airsoft.
One big difference between these two sports is the cost associated with them. Airsoft supplies tend to cost considerably less than paintball supplies.
For one thing when playing airsoft, it's much easier to get away with an inexpensive gun. This is because in airsoft, someone using a really expensive gun actually has very little advantage over another playing that's using a gun that didn't cost much at all.
However, with paintball, this usually isn't the case. It's okay to buy a fairly inexpensive gun when first starting out with paintball. Once you're ready to truly play on a competitive level though, it's pretty much a necessity to upgrade to a much more expensive gun.
For paintball guns used at the competitive level, it's not at all unusual to spend $1,000 or even more for your gun. Also, paintballs usually are pretty expensive when compared to airsoft bb's.
Whereas a bag of airsoft bb's will usually cost a player around $20.00, a bag of paintballs can run around $50.00 and can easily be used up in one day!
Other than the lower cost, another nice thing about airsoft bb's is that a bag of them will almost always last you at least a few games.
Another difference between the two sports, is the areas that they're both played in. Paintball is usually played in speedball fields that are rectangular shaped. There generally isn't very much cover at all to hide behind.
On the flip side, Airsoft is most often played in heavily wooded areas that offer plenty of good places to hide. Also, in Airsoft, many times there are imaginary scenarios that the players follow to help make the game more fun. There are tons of possible variations on this, but one example would be that your team's mission might be to take down a Columbian drug lord!
There is a bit of rivalry between a lot of the airsoft players and the paintball players, as both groups tend to think that their sport is the best.
Paintball games seems to be most popular with people that are into the more extreme sports where a lot of fast paced action is involved.
Conversely, airsoft players tend to be more into utilizing strategy and team work than they are fast paced action.
Many of the paintball players apparently think that airsoft is for wimps that are scared to get hit. However, that's really not the case as it's been reported that getting hit with airsoft bb's can at times actually be quite painful.
Also, a lot of the paintball players think that airsoft is for people that are fat, lazy and too out of shape for paintball. This is nothing more than a myth as airsoft is known to require a lot of physical activity, just like paintball.
Their games are just structured in a different way.
For one thing, many of the airsoft games tends to last much, much longer than paintball games, so one needs to have a lot of stamina to be able to keep up with all that running.
Another common myth is that airsoft is for people who for one reason or another got rejected by the military. This isn't the case at all as there are actually a large number of current as well as former military personnel that enjoy playing airsoft.
In fact, many citizen soliders utilize airsoft as a way to practice their skills and/or just to relax while home from a tour of duty.
When playing either paintball or airsoft, there are certain safety rules that you'll want to be certain to follow. First, let's start with what you need to know about airsoft in order to be safe.
For starters, never, ever bring an airsoft gun with you into any type of public place. The main reason for this is that airsoft guns are often very detailed and realistic looking, and many times they have been mistaken as the real thing by law enforcement officers.
Therefore, if caught with one in public, even if you're just carrying it around, you could be arrested or possibly even shot by an officer who thinks you might be putting the public's safety at risk.
Also, while playing airsoft, you need to always wear goggles to ensure that your eyes are properly protected. With paintball, always to be sure to wear your mask at all times. This is because some of the worst paintball injuries have been known to occur during times when a player for whatever reason wasn't wearing their mask. Never take it off for even a second while you're playing.
Also, try to get everyone involved to agree that they'll try their best to avoid doing many close range shots, as close range shots definitely tend to be the most painful.
So Paintball or Airsoft?
So now you can see the differences between Airsoft and Paintball games, supplies, costs, etc. Now the choice is up to you!
