Aside from your marker, paintball masks are by far the most important piece of equipment that you will own. I have seen people wear masks merely for the look of them, not the feel. It could have been the most uncomfortable mask manufactured, but they will continue to wear it day after day because they like the way that it makes them look. I, myself, have always preferred the masks that offer the highest amount of protection and comfort, even if that means sacrificing some style points. Over the years I have tried some other masks, but I seem to keep coming back to  the  JT ProFlexes. In my opinion they are the most comfortable mask as their foam is the softest and fits snugly around my face and does not bounce around while I run. The bottom portion of the ProFlexes also sit far enough away from my face and has enough venting that it doesn’t feel like I am yelling in a box and I can breath easily.

Another cool aspect  to the ProFlex goggle system is that the bottoms can be removed from the frames. This allows for the masks to be customized. You can have a different colored frame and a different colored bottom and have a really cool looking mask. So if you are one of those players who likes to have the coolest or most customized gear, this mask is for you!

While the ProFlex is an older goggle system, it is a mask that has stood the trial of time and is still one of the most popular masks in the industry and is still worn by pro teams. The ProFlex shows no sign of going away. The ProFlex has succeeded where other, even newer, goggle systems have failed and I think that it will continue to do so. This goggle system does not disappoint and those who wear it will tell you over and over how much they love them. If you are looking at getting a new mask, I highly recommend the JT ProFlex. Checkout Hustlepaintball.com’s review of the ProFlex here.

These players love the comfort of the ProFlex

Black JT ProFlex

Hooligan’s Hole is a very popular scenario field in Pueblo, Colorado. While it is small and its size limits it from holding larger scenarios, it never disappoints because the action is fast and the firefights are intense. On this fantastic 4th of July weekend they are holding a pump/pistol/limited paint game on the 3rd. Hooligan’s Hole is one of our favorite fields in Colorado; we have never been disappointed by the games that have been hosted at the Hole, our favorite being the Call Of Duty scenario on July 17th, 2010.  If you do not know what a pump/pistol/limited paint game entails, you can use any marker as long as you do not have an electronic hopper and you can carry no more than 200 rounds, but they highly encourage pump markers! HPA and CO2 are more than likely going to be available at the field. If you are in Colorado and would like to have a great day of paintball before celebrating the 4th, we highly encourage you to come down and play! The Hustle Paintball Factory Team: Anomaly will be there and they hope to see you there as well! If you need directions to the field or have any other questions, call us at (877)-298-8188.

Ethan Hall at Hooligan's Hole

~Trevor

Planet Eclipse has released two new color schemes for their wildly popular Etek3; the Etek3 now comes in Urban HDE Cam and Forest HDE Cam! These two color schemes are replacing two previously existing color schemes Forest Dig-E-Cam and Urban Dig-E-Cam. HDE Cam stands for HD Eclipse Camo or High Definition Eclipse Camo. Planet Eclipse has had their Dig-E Cam line for years now, and for 2011 they decided to change it up, which,  in my opinion, is fantastic! These camo patterns are sure to impress and will rake in the compliments. I think that the HDE camo pattern looks much more classy than the previous Dig-E-Cam patterns and certainly fits in every type of paintball that you can play! Not only do these markers look great but they are backed by the Planet Eclipse brand name. Planet Eclipse really outdid them selves on these camo patterns, and they certainly accent the performance of these fantastic markers!

If you want to get the best setup on the market for this already great marker, think about throwing on a Dye Rotor and a Guerrilla Air HPA tank. The Dye Rotors are the most durable and reliable hoppers on the market, and Guerrilla Air tanks have the smallest regulators which drastically cut down on the weight of the tank. Guerrilla also offers some of the best customer service in the market, and also offer the revolutionary G2 Myth regulator which allows you to place the regulator where you want so that the fill nipple and gauge are not digging into your hand!

~Jeff

Dye Rotor

Guerrilla Air 70/4500 HPA tank

Etek3 Forest HDE

In every kind of play, be it speedball, scenario or hard-core milsim,there are always some players who make the big moves; and those players often fall into the category of “Front Players.” Now, in scenario and milsim they are not called “Front Players” but in speedball, where people are given specific field positions, there are Back players, Mid players, and Front players. Front players are so important for any team because they are not afraid to try new things, fit in tight spots, run down opponents, and listen to their team mates. What makes a good Front player is someone who is fast on their feet and can make game changing moves in the snap of a finger, but what makes a great Front player is someone who will listen to what their team is telling them, and act without hesitation. If all you have is someone who can run down the field and make those big moves, but does not listen to their coach or Back players, you will find that your team will be far weaker than if you had a Front player who listened. A Front player who listens to their team or coach is going to be far more successful because their Back players can see more of the field than the Front players and will be able to relay them more information that would be helpful in planning a move.

That is what makes a great Front player, but a good Front player is so important because they can get much closer to the opposition. By being closer to the opposition they have better shots on the enemy players; this allows for them to create gaps in the enemy line that the rest of the team can utilize in moving further down the field.  Front players cannot do it all on their own, as they need a great web of players and teammates to make them successful. They need great Mid players to fill their spots in case they are shot out, and they need fantastic Back players to relay them information as the game progresses and to give them accurate cover fire so that they can make it to their bunkers.

What kind of player do you think is the most important to have on a team? Why? What style of play helps with Front players getting to their bunkers? Fast and aggressive or slow and steady? We want to hear your opinions, so let us know!

~James

As some of you may know, Paintball had its 30th birthday on Sunday, June 26th 2011. Like a lot of sports, paintball has had some weird gear in its past, so in celebration of this fantastic milestone, let’s look at some of the coolest and wackiest stuff that the sport has produced!

World's First Paintball Marker; the Nelspot 007

The Gravity Defying, WARP FEED!!

HUGE Drop Forwards

OG Venomwear Chigos

Tippmann C3

High Rise Feednecks

Max Flow HPA Tank Regulators

Old School JT Proteus

I have been to quite a few scenarios, and the ones that have stuck with me over the years are the ones that had the most detailed missions/objectives with multiple things going on and utilized props to further enrich the story. Unlike a lot of other styles of play in paintball, scenario really focuses in on the story of the game and on the experience that the players as individuals have. Most scenarios will award points for either capturing an objective, holding an objective for a certain amount of time, etc. but the prop or objective only counts for the points, nothing more. If you do not complete the objective in the time that you have to, you are not awarded the points. But in some of the best scenarios that I have played in the props count for something other than points. There was a scenario that I attended where the prop we had to capture was a CD/DVD and it was “software” needed to use captured Alien weapons, and even though we were unable to get to it in time for the points for the mission, we were still able to use the prop to power the weapons.  It’s like a video game; you may die when you have a cool gun, but you will still respawn with that gun at the last check point.

Here is one of my ideas that could really make a scenario fun. The game win is determined by the final score. You can earn points or you can cost the other team points.  A 600 player game that had a self contained intelligence and counter intelligence team whose sole responsibility is to figure out what the other team was doing and bust their missions. Total, the unit is approximately 30 players. 20 of which are a death squad whose job is to intercept and disrupt enemy missions.  The others are deployed in ghillie suits who carry radio communications back to the HQ or headquarters and just report troop movements and direction of the enemy. Some may not even carry markers as their sole purpose is to observe and report, not to engage the enemy. The General’s aid will receive all the incoming radio transmissions and maintain a map with enemy troop concentrations for the General and field Commanders to use to plan and deploy missions. The General would then radio the Death Squad and route them to intercept the enemy. During the night game, they could plant a radio bug just outside the wall of enemy HQ and the next day they would know where every mission would be going before the squad was assigned to do it. The really cool part would be that only a few people would know that this group exists. Not even the producer or field owner knew of this group. The other side had no clue why their missions were being shot up all weekend long!

Now that is only one exception, there are many things that make a great scenario and in my mind those things are the involvement of the players, how deep the story line is, and the effective use of props. What are some of your experiences? What makes a scenario fun for you? What do you hate to see in a scenario or vice versa? What goofy things have you seen?

Defending the Base

Hustle Paintball is featuring an exclusive premiere and sale of Sandana’s 2011 line. Sandana and Hustle Paintball are teaming up to be the only online retailers of the 2011 colors.  This includes Limited Edition colors that are exclusive to Hustle Paintball. The new 2011 Sandana headbands and head wraps are all made from high quality 12 oz Bull Denim material, as opposed to the thinner 10 oz Bull Denim that they originally used. There are new colors and old ones, and when we say old we mean patterns that haven’t been released since 1997!

Not into headwear? That’s ok, because for the first time in 14 years Sandana has brought back Venomwear. The line of quality shirts and paintball pants in the Classic Sandana Flying Skulls or Snakestripe will make you stand out and look the part. Sandana only used the best materials: the jersey is 8 oz jersey knit cotton and the pants are a durable 12 oz Bull Denim Material with 1000 Denier Cordura impact zones. This gear will last. You’ll be the envy of all the players out there.

It gets even better… Hustle Paintball and Sandana are teaming together to put together a phenomenal sale!

Here’s how it works:

Option 1:    Buy 1 pair of the Sabotage Pants in any color and get a headband OR Proline in any color (except the Limited Edition ones)

Purchase the Limited Edition Sabotage Pants in Lemonade Snakestripe and Get the matching, Limited Edition Lemonade Snakestripe Headband OR Proline

Option 2:     Buy 1 Player Tee and get 50% off ANY headband OR Proline including the Limited Edition colors!

To get your set, got to: www.hustlepaintball.com/2011-sandana

THIS DEAL ONLY APPLIES TO THE FIRST 50 PIECES Of Venomwear SOLD! So get yours quick!

We, at Hustle Paintball, have locked in the rights for the 2011 Sandana gear which means ANSgear, Paintball Online, Zephyr Paintball, and any other online store, will not have access to this gear.  It is being exclusively sold by www.hustlepaintball.com and www.sandanapaintball.com

Get your 2011 Sandana gear and join the tradition! www.hustlepaintball.com/2011-sandana

Have you guys ever wondered what paintball is like in other countries? Well here is a look at paintball in Columbia. A group that we’ve worked with and corresponded with a lot is COLPATAC or the Colombian Association of Tactical Paintball. It was formed back in 2010 by a group of friends and teams who wanted more regulation and recognition of the sport in Columbia in a positive way. COLPATAC has a big game/scenario the third Sunday of every month, which an excess of 200 players attend. They usually play on farm land outside of Bogota; but they occasionally play in abandoned factories (this is a rarity, as they are difficult to find).  COLPATAC has a board of directors who have rules that the teams are expected to follow in COLPATAC. Each team that belongs to the association must host a monthly COLPATAC game, “inviting” all of the other COLPATAC teams to participate and play. Every team plays under COLPATAC rules and the COLPATAC code of conduct, which includes, but is not limited to, no real firearms allowed at events even if the owner has a firearm permit, no alcohol, and no drugs or smoking. While these rules may not seem like that big of a deal since it is common sense for most paintball events, it paves the way to make sure that the event is dedicated to paintball, teamwork and good clean fun.  COLPATAC takes it very seriously and respects the sport. If some of the rules are broken severly by one of the players, they must face a conduct committee and can be taken out of the game, along with their team being fined. It’s something that really keeps everyone safe and aware that things like cheating, disrespect for the game and other players is not tolerated. Sometimes I feel like paintball in the U.S. needs a little more structure like theirs.

Other than setting a standard for the sport, COLPATAC also raises money for charities and humanitarian causes. Twice every year the association hosts its “COLPATAC Social” in which all of the money raised from the events goes to a charity; this year they raised approximately $2,000 USD which is approximately 3,575,540 in Columbian Pesos, and that money went to the Mercy Hospital for Children with Cancer. Not only are these players dedicated to playing, they are also dedicated to helping the community around them! Their next game is on Sunday, June 29th and the theme of the scenario is the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. It must be a thrill to play in that kind of a climate. Here in Colorado its not very humid and although cacti can be a challenge sometimes, I don’t know how I’d do in the wet/very humid climate of Columbia.

These players love the sport of paintball so much that they are trying to promote it in a positive light around Columbia and having a great time doing it! And, in fact, some of their players have bought some of their equipment from us! I think that what they are doing is very influential in a positive manner and we need to see more players of this class and dedication in the U.S. They play for the love of the sport and want to see it grow so they are courteous towards the public and each other, which expands a positive influence for everyone. To learn more about what COLPATAC is all about go ahead and visit their Facebook page. Click Here for COLPATAC’s Facebook Page or via the Hustle Paintball Facebook Page.

And if you’re in Columbia, make sure to check out one of their games!

~Josh

One of the most talked about aspects of paintball is accuracy.  People always want the most accurate shot, so that they can hit the other guy before they, themselves, are hit. There are many misconceptions surrounding accuracy in paintball. Many people believe that a longer barrel will give them more range, better accuracy, and a tighter grouping. But once your barrel’s length passes 14″, the barrel will make your marker less air efficient. This is because with the increased length of the barrel, there is more friction between the ball and the barrel. This causes the need for a higher velocity to power the ball out of the barrel, which takes more air to do so.

Empire Axe with Techt iFit

What really helps with accuracy is having a higher quality paint that will not dimple and retains its shape, and bore sizing. In the past, if you wanted to size your paint to the bore of your barrel you had to buy multiple barrels ranging in width on the inside of the barrel. The reason that you would want to size your paint is because paint is not uniform in their size. While most paint is .68 cal the paint varies in its size so you would have to buy barrels that could match the varying paint sizes. But, in 2001 Smart Parts came out with their freak barrel system, which had a small barrel back that allowed for bore sizing inserts to be dropped in. This took away the need to buy a ton of barrels and still have very accurate shots. It was an awesome system but sadly, Smart Parts went out of business and the technology was never further developed.

Now, Techt Paintball Products has come out with their iFit kit, which has taken the idea of the Freak barrel system and expanded and improved upon it. If you are a player looking for the product that will give you the most accurate shot, the iFit will deliver! The iFit packs a lot in a very small package as it only adds about 1″ 3/4 to the end of your barrel! The iFit comes in two kits, one with 6 inserts and the other with 9. The kit with 6 inserts comes with bore sizes: .685, .682, .679, .676, .673, and .670. The 9 piece set comes with sizes .667, .670, .676, .682, .688, .673 , .679, .685, and .692. So the 9 piece kit offers more specific sizers than the six piece, but the pieces that are missing from the six piece kit can be purchased separately. There are also different thread adapters available for purchase so that no matter your marker, the iFit will work.

~Jeff

Planet Eclipse has announced this week that, as of now, they are not going to be releasing any more Ego markers. A new Ego has been released every year since 2004. Planet Eclipse says that the Ego line has not ended, they just want to give their R&D department more time to test and develop some new innovations. The Ego 11 did so well and is so innovative that the list of upgrades and improvements to it was so insignificant that they decided to not release an Eg0 12. Planet Eclipse will be deleting the year stamp on the Ego 11, and it will become just “Ego”.

We think that this is a very positive move from Planet Eclipse and really shows that they care about their customers and fan base. This means that the release of the CSL makes the CSL the last Ego to be made for an undefined amount of time. If you have not checked out the CSL, you really should! The color schemes for the CSL are very luxurious and almost every screw and accent on the marker is gold. The SL Ego line has always been more high class than the regular Egos. Their limited availability has always made them very desirable in the paintball community. The CSL is no different, there were 300 released to the U.S. and a total of 500 were made.

Now, with the announcement that there is not going to be an Ego next year leaves a few questions, will they release more colors? When will they drop the year stamp? Does this increase the value of older Egos? One thing that we can be sure of, is that Planet Eclipse is working for us as consumers and players, and they will not let us down!

~Trevor

Panther CSL