Webbing and Battlepacks
What for?
Unless you're extremely conservative with ammunition, you'll need to carry paintballs onto the field. These are usually stored in 140,100 or 50 round shot pots:
You might be able to squeeze these in your pockets, but its much more ergonomic to keep them in a battlepack:
Battlepacks similar to these are often issued by paintball sites and usually carry 4x100 pods.
Woodsball
Depending on what sort of player you are, you'll want to carry more or less ammo onto the field. If you've got your own marker, you may wish to carry tools and implements such as barrel squeegies. You may want to carry a radio, smoke grenades and other pyrotechnics. You might want some milsim gear to go with your cammies. If this is the case, you've got a number of options: Assault Vests, Webbing, or Chest Rigs.
Worn by soldiers and police, assault vests come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some may be specifically designed for paintball, while others may be purely designed for military purposes. Some military vests aren't particularly suitable for paintball - they may not contain pockets large enough for 100 or 150 round shot pots.
Tip: If a magazine pouch can carry 3xM16 or AK47 magazines it will fit a 100 shot pot. If a magazine pouch can carry 2xM16 or AK47 magazines it should fit a 50 round shot pot. 140 shot pots might fit in either, but it is very unlikely you'll be able to get the pouch lid closed.
Assault Vest Pros: Can be cheaper than webbing as you can potentially fulfill all of your load carrying requirements with a one of purchase. Some customisable and top of the line vests can be more expensive than webbing however.
Assault Vest Cons: some vests aren't customisable, you made end up with empty pouches that make you a bigger target. You can't always detach or add pouches between games.
Player on a budget: Vest for under £30
Viper South African Assault Vest
The South African assault vest is an ideal starter for the woodsballer.
It can fit all the equipment you will require as a woodsballer for £30 or less
4x100 paintball pots
3 x 50 paintball pots
1 x radio
1 x CO2 tank or N2 tank [on reverse of vest]
+ extra pouches for smoke grenades, gloves, maps, tools etc.
The vest is also machine washable and can be obtained in a wide range of camouflage patterns.
Military webbing comes in several forms: British PLCE, American ALICE and MOLLE. Modern webbing is made of cordura and is fast drying. Military webbing is a viable option for a woodsballer as magazine pouches designed for 3xM16/SA80 magazines will happily fit 100 round paintball pots.
Webbing Pros: Customisable: once you've got a basic belt and harness/yoke, you can buy those particular pouches you want and fit them where they are most comfortable for you.
Webbing cons: A customisable set-up can be expensive, although there's plenty of webbing available on ebay.
What webbing bits would I need then - its all very confusing?
PLCE Belt - A heavy duty adjustable webbing belt with a number of slots in for attaching pouches. £10 or less if second hand
Yoke - a suspension yoke that can help spread the weight across the shoulders as well as the waist. Attaches to the belt. Not essential if you're only carrying a limited load on the belt or have a hip pad. Can cost from £5 for a second hand PLCE yoke to £35 for a new top of the line Arktis yoke.
Double Ammo pouches: These pouches are designed to carry 2 lots of 3 M16 magazines. As such they will fit 2x100 paintball pods. For paintball purposes, Webtex or Arktis ones are preferable over official PLCE ones as they have slightly more 'give' in them and have a simpler clip system. Webtex ammo pouches are cheaper because they are not IRR treated to camouflage them from infrared scopes. While in a real war this would be important, for paintball purposes it is irrelevant, so such gear is an ideal choice.
Hip Pad: This is a foam pad that attaches on the inside of your PLCE web belt. It stops the belt from moving when running and prevents 'webbing rub'. Its a useful investment as not only does it provide padding, it can make wearing webbing much more comfortable. The best hip pad to get is the Wyvern/Vanguard one; not only is the shape more ergonomic, but it has two clips at the front that you can use for attaching a yoke to.
Suggested basic loadout
1 x PLCE webbing belt
1 x PLCE webbing yoke
2 x webtex double ammo pouch
This loadout with allow you to carry 400 paintballs and give plenty of room for expansion or customisation at a later date: see below.
Suggested Advanced Webbing Loadout:
1 x PLCE webbing belt
1 x Vanguard/Wyvern hip pad
1 x Arktis Yoke
2 x Webtex double ammo pouch
1 x opsgear CO2 tank pouch
1 x Viper 2xM16 mag pouch
1 x Arktis mobile phone pouch
1 x webtex multitool pouch
This loadout will allow you to carry
400 paintballs
1x CO2 or N2 tank
1x PMR Radio
1x smoke grenade
1x multi-tool
Opsgear
Commando Chest Rig