I agree I started playing paintball back in 2001, I followed the pro teams and subscribed to all the magazines. But there was not a field in my town then. We all played paintball with tippmann and spyders, all used shitty Walmart paint and owned multiple co2 tanks. We played in the woods and created our own bunkers out of junk. I always had problems with my markers and was fixing them constantly. I stop playing in 2007 , but starter back up in 2015. I was amazed, no more co2, cheap hpa tanks, better equipment.
I started playing around 2000 and then stopped in 2005ish. I recently got back into it in the last year. No doubt that the equipment and quantity of fields is better today. I do kinda miss all the aftermarket upgrades you could get and the numerous companies making guns/parts.
Aw man. Just brought back memories of me fixing teammates guns between matches. Timmys, Cockers, and Shockers where constantly going down. Mainly due to neglect. Then we all got Egos and that changed everything. I also miss the comradery at the local fields. Made a lot of friends at the PBField.
Brad, agreed with everything you said... minus 1 point. The equipment then didn't suck. I use alot of it today, but I turn down the performance to today's limits. All of that stuff was meant for 20 + bps, shoot the velocity with an angel fly set st 10 bps and they will run all day.
I like how you pointed out it's hard to get play time consistently if your not on a team, it's the same down here in Southern California... I think it's part of the fields fault in the sense that they don't want to be open for a few players at a time might not bring in as much money where as teams is like booking groups
You touch on less mingling and openness from people, story of my life. 25 (m), and I don't know how to really make friends unless through current friends. People are so closed off, maybe shy? But like I feel you.
NPPL 06/07 years were the biggest. I think the NXL events would be bigger then they are, they pack people into the stand with no room left. That clip is also the finals in downtown Orange County.
I agree with you 100%. I started playing in 1998. I have A LOT of nostalgia for "the old days", but paintball today is so much better in a lot of ways. You can play Xball, woods, milsim, or even old school hyperball. Every field now has a setup that caters to everybody, which is awesome. I'm glad you brought up equipment, though. I think we got pretty good with mechs by the early 2000s. Like, I knew I could take my automag or Tippmann 98 and a revy and not have any issues all day. But my Shocker SFT was a HASSLE. My Defiant 2 was a HASSLE. Nowadays, my cheapo Dye Rize (which, let's be real, is just a highly refined Ion) is literally trouble-free. Just replace the eye pipe once in a while, and lube it. My SpireIR literally never jams, and the speed feed is awesome. Even the pants and jerseys are lighter and more comfortable now. My old NXE pack was great, but my Dye Assault pack weights literally half as much and does the job just as well. My HK pants weigh in under a pound, whereas my old Dye C6's were like, almost 3 pounds. Along with that, I've been playing more magfed lately, and having a blast. It's so different, and doesn't carry the annoying attitude that I hated about airsofters. It's like semi-auto stock class, and I've always liked stock. I keep a Nelspot around for games. I don't know. I really enjoyed paintball back then, but I think might be having a better time now. I think we're coming into a second golden era, even if it doesn't take off like it did back then. Paintball is a blast these days.
Everyone misses the outlaw times of any scenario. But like most things the bigger it gets the more unstable it is. Still miss what it was though and wish it could have stayed there
I played a lot of paintball back in 2000-2002, and then just let it go. My friends and I all got CCI Phantoms and absolutely loved pump. We just started getting back into PB and love the fact that pump is now a thing that is respected. We used to show up to the fields as high schoolers and ppl gave us shit for playing pump. Great to see these vids. I just ordered a KP3.5, and can't wait to get back into it.
Things were good back then honestly, I thought guns were pretty reliable for the most part. It helped to have an o ring kit and the tools to tech your gun if need be, but back then everyone worked on their own gun. What was truly awful, as you said…loaders. The plastic always cracked, they’d break at the feed neck, wires would get pinched replacing batteries, lids would break off. Just awful. ASA’s were a pain too. They were often super hard to turn on and off. I had a fixed reg MacDev tank, which performed amazing, but the on/off lever would turn your thumb black and blue or rip your nail off trying to turn it off. I remember dealing with it only because my Timmy with aka regs and an eigenram would shoot +/- 1 to 3 fps all day long, which was impossible with my crossfire tank, but god I hated that on/off. Packs were really bad too. Pods bounced like crazy, especially if you had a full pack. Still, those were the glory days when the sport was huge, there were tons of different guns that were all distinctly different and development was crazy, with loads of quality aftermarket options. But the biggest reason things were better back then…pbnation. Having damn near the whole sport on a single forum was awesome, and really fostered a feeling of tight knit community even when you weren’t playing. It was possible to be fully immersed in paintball 24/7, between pbn and the magazines. Truly a special time.
really enjoying the channel. i stopped playing back in 2002 because of school and kids but there grown up now my oldest is just now where he can get out there and ball. im about to get some new gear and also get my Angel G7 back up and running. i miss the old days for sure. the local field in west texas kinda died out. so i stepped up and build a local place, setup sup air field and even got a full service compressor. my buds and i built a huge group from some old semi pros to young guns. i loved the old Saturday mornings getting up early setting filed setup and seeing all the players arrive. was some of the greatest times i had in paintball. hoping my local field here in Austin still has a good group of regulars.
I started in 98.. I agree…the equipment is way better now..that’s a fact..the tournaments have changed a lot..not the way we played in 04-06..but overall I’m glad paintball is still here and being played in the woods or on the turf..luv da game
I miss the mingling and the plethora of aftermarket parts. All the aftermarket parts on all the available markers had everyone talk to each other about their gats and other equipment.
Im playing like 12 years now, mostly woodsball, and there was huge change here in Poland. Back then we have tipmans, there was few a5, didnt see much electronic. Bought 500 balls and played whole day. Today only mechanics are rental. Guys even in woods using often geos or Cses, spraying 1000 bals for round. Its fun, but its more for money adwantage, then tactics, skills,etc. Thats one of The reasons, that on our field we play only hopper style. Makes rental guys have more chance against regular players. And make it less expensive, so more ppl can have this fun. Cheers
I'm very blessed then. Play at dynamic in colorado, and it may be because of the owner, we still have that openness. The more experienced players have been great at teaching and giving tips and just very friendly. I hear that some of the other fields in the state are like you described, one of the biggest complements to our little field is just how much more fun it is. And going back to the owner, he used to play professionally. He wants people to come out and have fun. The staff want people to come out and have fun. And honestly, that's why i took this up as a hobby.
The guns 15 years ago really weren’t that much worse. They were bigger, louder and a little less efficient but they weren’t less accurate or effective. I didn’t have many gun problems back then either. Maybe one lemon gun and I had many markers. YMMV as always.
Biggest advancements are hoppers... tanks are the same, guns still 10.5 and shoot straight. Loaders are lightersmaller makes a bigger difference than anything I’ve noticed coming back to the sport. My shock tech dm5 with ultra lite frame was keeping up with the geo, ego, new dms. Come tournament time it’s nice to have light stuff but practicing is fine with a older marker that has a board capable of millennium mode and 10.5. Also pants and jerseys ands pads much lighter and less padding which is smart. Cleats, goggles, headwear, marker, tank not too much difference as 06-09. Although it is nice to have not macrolines 👍.
I've recently got back into after starting 15 years ago and last consistently playing 7 years ago and I love the current iteration of speedball. The style looks better. The team aspect is better. And the high pace competitive pace is an absolute blast.
Funny how all that high end shit used to break... meanwhile my spyder SE and VL revolution just worked all the time. It wasn't the fastest, most accurate, or prettiest gun in the world, but it NEVER EVER failed.
I played my first paintball game in Sept. 1997/1998, I'm in the camp about paintball being better in the good old days. @Xtian C. hit alot of good points as well but I believe the spirit and mindset behind paintball was different back than compared to today. Technology wise absolutely, much better than it was back than to an extent: better hoppers, lighter tanks, markers that shoot more efficiently. For all those technological advances, the community of recreational paintball seems to be in decline from what I've observed. When I say that I mean I've observed instances where there are people (grown-ups and kids) with rentals playing for the first time getting ready to enjoy a day of paintball with everyone when you see particular.....individuals......who will come in light them up and turning them off from paintball and never coming back. In the past, we would always encourage them and show them reasons as to why they should continue to play this great and fun sport. But it seems the mindset of those certain people now is lets cause as much damage as possible and to hell with everything else as long as they have fun. As for the business side of things, the mindset that I've observed from the bigger companies are maximizing profits, where as in the past most companies were how do we grow the sport into something bigger and people doing things for the love of the sport. You still see the latter mindset to some extent, but no where near as it was all those years ago, those are just my thoughts on this topic.
played 2003 - 2006 went through 6 guns 2 of them like never freaking worked my first one was great and my last one was great, but I only played with it for like 3 or 4 months. at the height of my skills in paintball my equipment was extremely bad.
Started around 2001 myself is a middle schooler. Oh man, this sport has changed. Technology has advanced for sure, and mostly in good ways. But the "feel" isn't quite the same as far as quality goes. Still a lot of quality modern items, but the business side of paintball has gone in the way of mass produced for cheap, it seems. I personally am not a fan of "speedball" or air bunker field, and sadly that has taken over. New kids go out for a bday party and rent a junk gun, still might have fun and want to stick with it, but are automatically directed to electro speed guns and wasting tons of money of paint and the newest and best gear. Quality fields have seemed to disappear for the most part as well, at least where I live.
This. All you have to do is look at the design and effort put into just designing the markers. Now - just like cars - they all look the same. Very few brands that are still producing real quality gear. Paint is the worst
Paintball was more fun back then because is was a game instead of a "sport". It was also edgier and more violent, and I mean that in the best possible way. Yes, the equipment was temperamental, but that also allowed people who invested the time to really understand their gear to have extraordinary performance just by knowing how to dial everything in.
Really? There was one field around me and we'd have to drive a few hours for an airball tournament. Now there are at least 3 fields within an hr drive.
The problem why both paintball and airsoft are steadily growing instead of a spike like they use to is because of parents not letting there kids being experience the world
I remember falling in love with the sport at 2006 NPPL Huntington Beach. Miss the days where the NPPL series was on ESPN also
I agree I started playing paintball back in 2001, I followed the pro teams and subscribed to all the magazines. But there was not a field in my town then. We all played paintball with tippmann and spyders, all used shitty Walmart paint and owned multiple co2 tanks. We played in the woods and created our own bunkers out of junk. I always had problems with my markers and was fixing them constantly. I stop playing in 2007 , but starter back up in 2015. I was amazed, no more co2, cheap hpa tanks, better equipment.
I started playing around 2000 and then stopped in 2005ish. I recently got back into it in the last year.
No doubt that the equipment and quantity of fields is better today. I do kinda miss all the aftermarket upgrades you could get and the numerous companies making guns/parts.
Aw man. Just brought back memories of me fixing teammates guns between matches. Timmys, Cockers, and Shockers where constantly going down. Mainly due to neglect. Then we all got Egos and that changed everything. I also miss the comradery at the local fields. Made a lot of friends at the PBField.
Agreed I heard so many people say they never had issue then find out they only play 3 times a year
Brad, agreed with everything you said... minus 1 point. The equipment then didn't suck. I use alot of it today, but I turn down the performance to today's limits. All of that stuff was meant for 20 + bps, shoot the velocity with an angel fly set st 10 bps and they will run all day.
I like how you pointed out it's hard to get play time consistently if your not on a team, it's the same down here in Southern California... I think it's part of the fields fault in the sense that they don't want to be open for a few players at a time might not bring in as much money where as teams is like booking groups
You touch on less mingling and openness from people, story of my life. 25 (m), and I don't know how to really make friends unless through current friends. People are so closed off, maybe shy? But like I feel you.
It looks like way more people actually attended the events to watch back in the days (like the clip you showed)
NPPL 06/07 years were the biggest. I think the NXL events would be bigger then they are, they pack people into the stand with no room left. That clip is also the finals in downtown Orange County.
I agree with you 100%. I started playing in 1998. I have A LOT of nostalgia for "the old days", but paintball today is so much better in a lot of ways. You can play Xball, woods, milsim, or even old school hyperball. Every field now has a setup that caters to everybody, which is awesome. I'm glad you brought up equipment, though. I think we got pretty good with mechs by the early 2000s. Like, I knew I could take my automag or Tippmann 98 and a revy and not have any issues all day. But my Shocker SFT was a HASSLE. My Defiant 2 was a HASSLE. Nowadays, my cheapo Dye Rize (which, let's be real, is just a highly refined Ion) is literally trouble-free. Just replace the eye pipe once in a while, and lube it. My SpireIR literally never jams, and the speed feed is awesome. Even the pants and jerseys are lighter and more comfortable now. My old NXE pack was great, but my Dye Assault pack weights literally half as much and does the job just as well. My HK pants weigh in under a pound, whereas my old Dye C6's were like, almost 3 pounds.
Along with that, I've been playing more magfed lately, and having a blast. It's so different, and doesn't carry the annoying attitude that I hated about airsofters. It's like semi-auto stock class, and I've always liked stock. I keep a Nelspot around for games.
I don't know. I really enjoyed paintball back then, but I think might be having a better time now. I think we're coming into a second golden era, even if it doesn't take off like it did back then. Paintball is a blast these days.
Man I wish I was born in the 90’s there was so many sports that were just at its peak then like skateboarding and paintball
Everyone misses the outlaw times of any scenario. But like most things the bigger it gets the more unstable it is. Still miss what it was though and wish it could have stayed there
I played a lot of paintball back in 2000-2002, and then just let it go. My friends and I all got CCI Phantoms and absolutely loved pump. We just started getting back into PB and love the fact that pump is now a thing that is respected. We used to show up to the fields as high schoolers and ppl gave us shit for playing pump. Great to see these vids. I just ordered a KP3.5, and can't wait to get back into it.
I hate that feeling knowing that your marker will most likely need repair sooner rather than later
Things were good back then honestly, I thought guns were pretty reliable for the most part. It helped to have an o ring kit and the tools to tech your gun if need be, but back then everyone worked on their own gun.
What was truly awful, as you said…loaders. The plastic always cracked, they’d break at the feed neck, wires would get pinched replacing batteries, lids would break off. Just awful. ASA’s were a pain too. They were often super hard to turn on and off. I had a fixed reg MacDev tank, which performed amazing, but the on/off lever would turn your thumb black and blue or rip your nail off trying to turn it off. I remember dealing with it only because my Timmy with aka regs and an eigenram would shoot +/- 1 to 3 fps all day long, which was impossible with my crossfire tank, but god I hated that on/off.
Packs were really bad too. Pods bounced like crazy, especially if you had a full pack. Still, those were the glory days when the sport was huge, there were tons of different guns that were all distinctly different and development was crazy, with loads of quality aftermarket options.
But the biggest reason things were better back then…pbnation. Having damn near the whole sport on a single forum was awesome, and really fostered a feeling of tight knit community even when you weren’t playing. It was possible to be fully immersed in paintball 24/7, between pbn and the magazines. Truly a special time.
i just miss uncapped semi, man. so fun.
really enjoying the channel. i stopped playing back in 2002 because of school and kids but there grown up now my oldest is just now where he can get out there and ball. im about to get some new gear and also get my Angel G7 back up and running. i miss the old days for sure. the local field in west texas kinda died out. so i stepped up and build a local place, setup sup air field and even got a full service compressor. my buds and i built a huge group from some old semi pros to young guns. i loved the old Saturday mornings getting up early setting filed setup and seeing all the players arrive. was some of the greatest times i had in paintball. hoping my local field here in Austin still has a good group of regulars.
Combat Paintball Park began Open/Walk-on Airball on Friday nights! This is what I've been wanting from a park! So glad; is awesome!
We are almost spoiled with how reliable equipment is now. It seemed like we were always waiting for our gun to start leaking or not cycle etc.
I started in 98.. I agree…the equipment is way better now..that’s a fact..the tournaments have changed a lot..not the way we played in 04-06..but overall I’m glad paintball is still here and being played in the woods or on the turf..luv da game
I miss the mingling and the plethora of aftermarket parts. All the aftermarket parts on all the available markers had everyone talk to each other about their gats and other equipment.
Im playing like 12 years now, mostly woodsball, and there was huge change here in Poland. Back then we have tipmans, there was few a5, didnt see much electronic. Bought 500 balls and played whole day. Today only mechanics are rental. Guys even in woods using often geos or Cses, spraying 1000 bals for round. Its fun, but its more for money adwantage, then tactics, skills,etc. Thats one of The reasons, that on our field we play only hopper style. Makes rental guys have more chance against regular players. And make it less expensive, so more ppl can have this fun. Cheers
Yoo I miss the old dynasty shocker and San Diego dynasty era. I need tortements for RI Massachusetts and the east coast tournaments.
I'm very blessed then. Play at dynamic in colorado, and it may be because of the owner, we still have that openness. The more experienced players have been great at teaching and giving tips and just very friendly. I hear that some of the other fields in the state are like you described, one of the biggest complements to our little field is just how much more fun it is. And going back to the owner, he used to play professionally. He wants people to come out and have fun. The staff want people to come out and have fun. And honestly, that's why i took this up as a hobby.
I'd play with today's equipement in the good old day's if I could.
The guns 15 years ago really weren’t that much worse. They were bigger, louder and a little less efficient but they weren’t less accurate or effective. I didn’t have many gun problems back then either. Maybe one lemon gun and I had many markers. YMMV as always.
Biggest advancements are hoppers... tanks are the same, guns still 10.5 and shoot straight. Loaders are lightersmaller makes a bigger difference than anything I’ve noticed coming back to the sport. My shock tech dm5 with ultra lite frame was keeping up with the geo, ego, new dms. Come tournament time it’s nice to have light stuff but practicing is fine with a older marker that has a board capable of millennium mode and 10.5. Also pants and jerseys ands pads much lighter and less padding which is smart. Cleats, goggles, headwear, marker, tank not too much difference as 06-09. Although it is nice to have not macrolines 👍.
I've recently got back into after starting 15 years ago and last consistently playing 7 years ago and I love the current iteration of speedball. The style looks better. The team aspect is better. And the high pace competitive pace is an absolute blast.
Funny how all that high end shit used to break... meanwhile my spyder SE and VL revolution just worked all the time. It wasn't the fastest, most accurate, or prettiest gun in the world, but it NEVER EVER failed.
I played my first paintball game in Sept. 1997/1998, I'm in the camp about paintball being better in the good old days. @Xtian C. hit alot of good points as well but I believe the spirit and mindset behind paintball was different back than compared to today. Technology wise absolutely, much better than it was back than to an extent: better hoppers, lighter tanks, markers that shoot more efficiently. For all those technological advances, the community of recreational paintball seems to be in decline from what I've observed. When I say that I mean I've observed instances where there are people (grown-ups and kids) with rentals playing for the first time getting ready to enjoy a day of paintball with everyone when you see particular.....individuals......who will come in light them up and turning them off from paintball and never coming back. In the past, we would always encourage them and show them reasons as to why they should continue to play this great and fun sport. But it seems the mindset of those certain people now is lets cause as much damage as possible and to hell with everything else as long as they have fun. As for the business side of things, the mindset that I've observed from the bigger companies are maximizing profits, where as in the past most companies were how do we grow the sport into something bigger and people doing things for the love of the sport. You still see the latter mindset to some extent, but no where near as it was all those years ago, those are just my thoughts on this topic.
played 2003 - 2006 went through 6 guns 2 of them like never freaking worked my first one was great and my last one was great, but I only played with it for like 3 or 4 months. at the height of my skills in paintball my equipment was extremely bad.
Dude that gun breaking comment is so on point. I would take two guns to the field.
Started around 2001 myself is a middle schooler. Oh man, this sport has changed. Technology has advanced for sure, and mostly in good ways. But the "feel" isn't quite the same as far as quality goes. Still a lot of quality modern items, but the business side of paintball has gone in the way of mass produced for cheap, it seems.
I personally am not a fan of "speedball" or air bunker field, and sadly that has taken over. New kids go out for a bday party and rent a junk gun, still might have fun and want to stick with it, but are automatically directed to electro speed guns and wasting tons of money of paint and the newest and best gear. Quality fields have seemed to disappear for the most part as well, at least where I live.
This. All you have to do is look at the design and effort put into just designing the markers. Now - just like cars - they all look the same. Very few brands that are still producing real quality gear. Paint is the worst
Paintball was more fun back then because is was a game instead of a "sport". It was also edgier and more violent, and I mean that in the best possible way. Yes, the equipment was temperamental, but that also allowed people who invested the time to really understand their gear to have extraordinary performance just by knowing how to dial everything in.
Very true I like all that.
Younger Tourney players these days will never know how cool it was playing on the sand in Huntington Beach.
I still rock my tippmanm 98 and smartparts shocker and ion
Used my A5 last weekend 👍
@@RuinedClips The A5 man... that was pretty cool. I just checked how much they cost and they still run around $300
Expensive HPA, F’n slow death of Viewloader and Halo blenders... I’m alll about RECALLING the past but NEVER would I go back there for any reason.
Give me a VLocity any day over the current 13bps loaders that jam constantly
I still watch “paintball 2xtemes” on here. 15bps... dude people are going to watch lol
Hi I have a paintball channel and it’s bin really hard to record can you recommend a camera under 25 dollars?
For $40-60 you can get a used GoPro Hero 4, Session or Hero 5 if your lucky. I wouldn’t mess with anything under $30.
There probably not anything worth buying
Ok
I wasn't even born before 2000
There were also a lot more fields back in the day compared to now 😢
Really? There was one field around me and we'd have to drive a few hours for an airball tournament. Now there are at least 3 fields within an hr drive.
Paint ball was a fraturnity back in the day...
The problem why both paintball and airsoft are steadily growing instead of a spike like they use to is because of parents not letting there kids being experience the world
I’m toxic I use my speedball gun in woods ball 🗿
Electric guns ruined paintball imo
pronunciation nazi here: its pronounced "es-pecially", not "eck-specially". sorry just looking out for ya 🤓
What about punctuation?