Airsoft vs Paintball

[The Shootist]

I'm n ot going to argue the pros and cons of these games. There are already infinite articles written on this particular subject.

Instead I want to discuss a frequent topic I've run into, when discussing Airsoft with people who don't know much/anything about it.

People seem to think that airsoft is more painful than paintball. A lot of us have played both, and/or know the relative Joules that are involved in each sport.

Airsoft shoots at lower ENERGY than does paintball. A paintball, technically, has the ability to pierce the skin. Whereas airsoft guns tend to be only capable of bruising at best.

Other than offering to shoot your friends, anyone have any idea how to really relate this to other people?

[mongoman]

I think the Airsoft guns are more accurate at engagement range.
I feel the Airsoft guns look a whole helluva lot better than the PB guns.

I feel that the week in, week out, airsoft ammo cost a FRACTION of what paintballs cost.

That is all I have

Mongo

[danielout]

"Airsoft shoots at lower ENERGY than does paintball. A paintball, technically, has the ability to pierce the skin. Whereas airsoft guns tend to be only capable of bruising at best."

Not true. I've definately had BBs break skin from stock guns at normal engagement range. (10ft) However, I definately agree that paintball hurts way more.

[The Shootist]

danielout said:

"Airsoft shoots at lower ENERGY than does paintball. A paintball, technically, has the ability to pierce the skin. Whereas airsoft guns tend to be only capable of bruising at best."

Not true. I've definately had BBs break skin from stock guns at normal engagement range. (10ft) However, I definately agree that paintball hurts way more.

Ahh, but they do tend to be lower power. There are more low end spring and crap airsoft guns, than high end expensive systema "training systems".

I agree with your premise, that there are guns capable of drawing blood, out-of-the-box.

However, semantics is fun and statistics are statistical.

[danielout]

Well, for the sake of "training", I'm going to spend all day tomorrow playing with one of the M4 markers. While I do love airsoft with all my heart, it's better than nothing. And I get to do it and call it work.

[mongoman]

I know that I had a shot to the bicep that broke the skin, left a welt, and a bruise about the size of a half dollar. Hurt like hell. Looked really cool.

Mongo

[bigwheat]

The entry on Wikipedia is pretty good, with lots of interesting, though semantic, information:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft#Comparisons_with_paintball

It's a good read, especially for anyone new to airsoft.

BigWheat

[rugia]

okay i was thinking about that same question about a week ago so i looked up sum stuff now this is a fact to properly play airsoft all u need is a gun face/eye protction and a jacket but for pb u need a gun(200+$) a mask(19+$) a good protective jacket(30+$)paintball(20+$just for like 2000)and sum good pants it cist alot and it cost alot to play at public locations becouse of law suits and refs feild manitenances and so on so in my oppinion airsoft is funner cheaper and has a hell of alot more custimization involved

[mateba]

for some airsoft is cheap, for others its paintball. I have spent more on airsoft but I also have gear to show for it instead empty paintball bags. The cost of an AEG in comparison to a paintball gun are very comparable but since both sports require more than that its hard to come to a defiant conclusion. AEG, battery+charger or paintball gun, CO2/HPA tank. I usually don't count the cost BBs when talking about how much i have spent on airsoft but in this case it would be a mistake not to. In my opinion paintball costs more to play in the long run. An AEG w/ bat + charger tends to cost more but the the money saved with the rechargeable energy source is a great asset. BBs are an obvious gain to airsoft, but gear is at least equal to paintball. BDU, 2-ways, optics, boots are upgrades are just the start of the hungry hungry airsoft money-pit. Although it is not necessary to but a whole lot of things to play I find it hard not to once you play. I am of course speaking from my experience of playing both sports. In the end you are the biggest factor on ho much either costs.

[Tripps]

I agree with mateba on this. I had gear to FULLY (i.e. butt-packs, markers, mask, etc.) outfit four other players when I played paintball. My cost was about $500. I spent that in airsoft the first month I played! I can only outfit one other person ( two if I do a light load)! The only major price difference I find is in the ammo and "power source" for the guns.

I'm a tinker nut so airsoft is the way for me. Not much upgrading in paintball.