If you have ever played a game of paintball, you would know just how painful it can be once a ball hits you. Wearing paintball protective gear is the only way to reduce the hurt from these shots. However, the eyes are a vital part of your body and you need to protect them from paint to avoid possible injury so paintball masks is a definite purchase.
What to choose? Paintball Helmet Full Face or Paintball Goggles – Which One Is Best? The full-face paintball helmet is the most popular paintball mask for those that play the game. It offers full protection for your head and your face. On the other hand, there are also goggles available, which should keep your eyes protected, but do not cover the rest of the face.
The question you might have is which one is the best and this is where we come in. After playing with both the helmet and the goggles, I can speak from experience to what the benefits and drawbacks of each would be. This article aims to help you understand which one you should consider using:
Paintball Helmet
To start, I will look at the paintball helmet, which is also the most popular option for most players when buying paintball armor.
The paintball helmet features a visor, with built-in goggles, which offer you lenses to see through. However, the lenses are protected from the sides by plastic, which wraps around the front of your face to ensure you have maximum levels of protection when needed.
Depending on which helmet you choose, it could either have protection for the rear of your head like a motorcycle helmet, or you might have an elastic strap that should keep the helmet in place.
Benefits
- Full Protection: These helmets offer you full protection around your face, which means you won’t catch a bullet to the cheek.
- Inspires More Confidence: If you know you won’t be hit by an accidental shot to the face, you will have more confidence on the paintball field.
- Easy To Wear: The great thing about these helmets is that you simply put them on and you are ready to go.
Drawbacks
- Weight: Compared to goggles, the full-face helmet tends to be much heavier and could slow you down.
- Warm: A full helmet might be warm inside if you don’t have great moisture-wicking properties to keep the moisture at bay. They might also fog up.
- Expensive: The biggest drawback when comparing the full helmet to the goggles is that the full helmet is more expensive.
Best Full Face Helmet For Paintball
While there are numerous paintball helmets and you can often find some of them costing you hundreds of dollars, my experience with the Carbon OPR Full Head Coverage Thermal Helmet proves unique. It offers double-layer protection and a thermal lens with a built-in visor.
The ventilation ports would provide optimal ventilation and the contoured profile makes the helmet feel ergonomic. From personal experience, I would suggest finding the right size and you won’t need to worry about a helmet for paintball ever again.
Paintball Goggles
Much like the full helmet, the paintball goggles are made from various plastic components and serve to keep a screen in place, which would fit around your eyes. These lenses often feature anti-fog materials, which would keep the goggles clean when you are running around and prevent fog from building up inside.
The goggles have a strap, which is made from elastic materials, which wraps around the back of your head to keep them in place. They have become extremely popular in games like speedball due to their lighter weight and ease of use.
Benefits
- Lightweight: Depending on the paintball goggles you choose, they can be less than 2-pounds in weight, which makes them much easier to use.
- Inexpensive: If we look at the price of the full helmets, we notice that paintball goggles are much cheaper.
- Easy To Use: They are still very easy to use and should simply slip around your face with the elastic keeping them in place.
Drawbacks
- Limited Protection: Unfortunately, the goggles only serve to protect your face partially and do not have protection for the rear of your head.
- Quality Of Lenses Varies: While you can find exceptional lenses from professional companies, cheaper versions will only have a plastic cover, which fogs up.
Best Paintball Goggles
If you are looking for some exceptional paintball goggles, the Dye i5 Paintball Goggle is one of the top options on the market today. Featuring the GSR Pro Strap, the helmet provides the perfect level of tension to provide you with performance. Due to the anti-fog coating, you don’t need to worry about your goggles fogging up.
What should you look for in Paintball Masks
If you have come to your senses and you also believe that paintball head protection is essential, there are a few things to keep in mind. Before buying, you should look at the following elements as your guidelines.
Materials
The most important part of the helmet is the materials and you want to make sure that you have some form of hardened plastic. Polycarbonate is the most common plastic material used to ensure that helmets are durable and offer adequate protection.
Lenses
The lenses need to be clear and you should consider looking for an anti-fog coating. Since you are running around with the lenses and sweat could build up, it is best to find lenses that can wick away moisture. Having good ventilation could also help to remedy the problem.
Fit/ Size
You need to make sure that the size you select will fit. If the size is comfortable, you will find that the helmet is that much easier to wear. You must make sure the helmet is the correct size and fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need A Paintball Mask?
Depending on where you play, the rules might require you to wear paintball masks. The most important rule according to PaintballUSA is that every player should wear a mask, either a paintball helmet or goggles. The main idea is to protect your eyes from the impact and paint splatter.
Can A Paintball Damage My Eyes?
Much like airsoft bullets, paintballs can cause massive ocular damage to the eyes, which is why you must cover your eyes. If you don’t want to use a helmet that covers your entire head, you should wear some form of mask or goggles to prevent eye damage.
Wrap-Up on Paintball Masks
Choosing between a full-face helmet and goggles can be daunting. However, you should add in at least one of these Paintball masks when buying paintball equipment. I would recommend the goggles due to their functionality and lighter weight. However, the full-face helmet is also useful. Let us know in the comment sections which one you would prefer.
Other Articles of Interest : Dye I4 Paintball Masks (Goggles) Review – Most popular on the Market