Paintball Buyer’s Guide: Harnesses

How a player carries their paintballs onto the field and through a game is an important choice. Since the earliest days of paintball, players have searched for ways to carry their extra paintballs, from a pocket full of cigar tubes holding ten paintballs each and loadbearing vests and pouches for 100 round tubes to modern packs, harnesses and loadbearing tactical vests for 140 round pods and magazines! Choosing the right pack, harness or loadbearing vest to carry paintballs onto the field can help a player be more effective on the field, reload faster, carry enough paintballs to do their job and help their team win!

One of the first things a paintball player new to the game notices when they’re playing their first games of paintball is that heading onto the field with only the paintballs in their hopper generally doesn’t make it. Then, as that player grows into the game they love and decides how they enjoy playing paintball, whether speedball, woodsball, tactical mag-fed games or scenario games, they begin to figure out what gear setup is best for their playing style, and this includes how they carry their extra paintballs. From the high tech packs worn by serious tournament competitors like the HK Army Magtek harness or Dye Attack Pack harnesses to the high speed loadbearing vests used by mag-fed tactical players and the various harnesses and pouches found in-between, there are numerous choices to suit any playing style or personal preference!

The first step in selecting a pack, harness or vest for carrying extra paintballs onto the field is understanding what type of paintball a player enjoys most. A high-end tournament-style paintball pack like a Valken Fate GFX harness is ideal for tournament paintball and can hold its own in the woods as well, but it doesn’t do such a great job carrying magazines full of First Strike rounds for a tactical player. Conversely, a tactical loadbearing vest packed with a hydration system, radio, field map, pistol and all sorts of other items isn’t exactly ideal for tournament play, where every player is worth points and anything hard enough for a paintball to break on should be kept away from the opposition.

Players planning to roam the field in a scenario environment and their mag-fed tactical counterparts may want to consider a tactical vest like the GXG G-26 Tactical Vest, as it allows a player to carry a tank for a remote setup, plenty of pods, a hydration system, radio and more, with all that weight evenly distributed across the back and chest slung over the shoulders. Recreational players who intend to feed their paintball guns with a hopper can always make a Valken Alpha4 harness, or even a 2-pack on a pistol belt, work, as these styles of harnesses are extremely affordable yet provide plenty of paintballs to players enjoying recreational games at the local field!

Paintball athletes serious about the game and making a run a glory on a tournament field will need a more advanced paintball carrying solution like a Valken Agility harness, Valken Alpha4 harness, Valken Fate GFX Harness or an HK Eject harness. Paintball athletes competing for the big money have roles to play when the paint starts flying, from the fast front players who push up the field early in games and do a great deal of sliding and diving to back players whose job it is to survey the field, communicate and keep paintballs in the air to dominate the opposition. Paintball harnesses keep all the pods at a player’s back, away from incoming paintballs from the other team, while still allowing a player to reach back, pull a pod and reload quickly during intense games where every moment and every movement counts. Tournament style harnesses like the HK Army Zero-G harness or Bunkerkings 5+8 paintball harness can be adjusted for an ideal fit and are designed to stand up to sprinting, sliding and diving all while carrying from three or four pods to ten or more!

Making the right choice when selecting a paintball hauling solution is certain to help a player be more effective on the field of play! Whether an occasional player looking to carry a couple of extra pods on a simple belt to a mag-fed tactical operator or tournament competitor needing a high-tech solution and plenty of paintballs at their fingertips, carrying paintballs the right way can make the difference between making the critical shot and watching from the sidelines!