How To Take Care Of Your Paintballs In Winter

July 13, 2019

How To Take Care Of Your Paintballs In The Winter

Winter is in full swing and there are some steps you can take to make sure you have the most fun possible paintballing in the chilly months. Paintballs themselves are a perishable product. They react to temperature and humidity changes, and with that, they perform differently. Here are some simple tips to keep your paint performing at its best all year round.

1. Buy good quality winter formula paintballs whether it be standard or tournament grade. All our Meteor and Elixir balls are winter grade and therefore deal well with the New Zealand conditions. Winter formula is made to be more resilient to the cold, but you should still follow the below recommendations.
2. Understand the type of marker you have. Low pressure (tournament style) markers are softer on paint which means that the bolt hits the paintball softer, so it can shoot brittle paint better. Entry level markers are usually high pressure and are a little harder on the paintball. Also, in very cold weather you need to consider the type of loader you are using. Some of the more expensive loaders can feed very fast, which means they must spin very fast. This can cause problems if your paintballs get too cold. If you can adjust the force or speed of the loader you should slow it down or use an agitator style loader. 
3. Remember that cold and/or dry conditions make the shell of paintballs more brittle and more likely to break in your hopper and markers. The opposite is also true, that hot and/or humid conditions will make your paintballs softer and bouncier. Moisture is not your friend! This will swell the paintballs causing barrel blockage and resulting in unnecessary time spent cleaning your equipment.
4. Keep your paintballs warm during your day of play. Keep the bulk of your paintballs somewhere warm and dry, inside a building or in your car. Only carry what you need for each game and restock in between. If keeping paintballs in your car you can even turn the heater on between rounds, just be careful not to cook your paint! The more constant the temperature the less likely you are to get dimpled balls.
5. Rotate the pods of paint in your pack. Most of us have a dominant side and will typically keep the marker in that hand while trying to reload with your other hand. This can result with you using the same one or two pods repeatedly and the other pods continuing to get colder and colder which translates into more brittle.
6. Our paint brands generally have a shelf life of at least 12 months from date of production. With new batches arriving every 6-8 weeks, fresh paint is always available. After a year of sitting through New Zealand’s changing temperatures paint can become less than optimal. If it has been sitting for long periods check your paint for dimples or swelling before use. If in doubt do not put it through your marker. Have old paint you want to use but can’t put through your marker? Why not get the kids (or young at heart) a slingshot? Hours of fun in the backyard without the danger of clogging your gun!

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