Posted by: Clayphoto on October 06, 2003 at 01:15:46

It wouldn't work in real life paintball. Yes, the mask would work perfectly well for the impacts it was designed for. Specifically, single hits from straight on to no more than about a 45 degree from straight on and with a minimum without extreme angles from high or low, and with a minimum of movement from the user. That does not describe paintball. First off, I take the bunker move against a distracted player. In those situations the shield would actually increase the danger to the face and not help. First off, there would be no protection to his eyes from the rear. Even if the shot was angled to miss his head by a quarter inch, the paintball will end up breaking on the inside of the sheild, sending hard shell splattering around within an inch of the eyes. The food coloring, wax, and soy oil alone will put an end to any more playing that day at best. At worst, hard objects (like the shell) flying into the eye at 100MPH always carries a risk of cutting and bruising of the eye. Then we have the issue of the shield assembly moving or coming off with multiple hits. Then there is the dangers of just playing in the first place. Sniper or snake crawling with a foot ball piece of plastic in front of your chin creates an obvious Mask/Shielf off danger. Then there is the weight of the shield with the movement of hard running. A normal shield will bounce up and down from the strap since the hinge is not designed for hard running. If you stiffen that up, then you create a situation where the entire assembly will want to come off your head. Sure, you could make a chin and head strap, but with real live humans, especially newbies, how many people would decide that's to uncomfortable? I do see your point in that you can make a shield that can withstand a higher impact. But if lack of impact resistance was a serious issue paintball, then the standard would be increased to withstand a 400fps hit and could be easily done by the companies. And truth be told, I’m sure the lawyers for the mask companies told them that they will make their masks to withstand a higher velocity than stated just for liability purposes. There’s more reasons than that, but I’m sure that should be a good enough start. :) : : what u r describing r safty glasses...and would u want a paintball flying into ur mouth causing lots of damage unimaginable...i understand what ur saying but safty glasses stopping paintball...i wouldnt do it if i was paid : I want to clarify. I am not describing safety goggles, as these only cover the eyes. I am describing a face shield, something like welders use. It covers the whole face. Also, in the early days of paintball, safety glasses were used, as masks had not yet been designed. And people often took shots in the goggles and face. Still, I want to emphisize, I am not describing goggles, but full face shields.

Follow Ups: Post a Followup Show your name as: DefaultRealnameBothNickname E-Mail address (eg: joeschmoe@aol.com): Show your e-mail address? DefaultYesNo Your Password: Don't have a password? CLICK HERE - Forgot your password? CLICK HERE Subject: Subject:Message: : It wouldn't work in real life paintball. Yes, the mask would work perfectly well for the impacts it was designed for. Specifically, single hits from straight on to no more than about a 45 degree from straight on and with a minimum without extreme angles from high or low, and with a minimum of movement from the user. : That does not describe paintball. First off, I take the bunker move against a distracted player. In those situations the shield would actually increase the danger to the face and not help. First off, there would be no protection to his eyes from the rear. Even if the shot was angled to miss his head by a quarter inch, the paintball will end up breaking on the inside of the sheild, sending hard shell splattering around within an inch of the eyes. The food coloring, wax, and soy oil alone will put an end to any more playing that day at best. At worst, hard objects (like the shell) flying into the eye at 100MPH always carries a risk of cutting and bruising of the eye. Then we have the issue of the shield assembly moving or coming off with multiple hits. : Then there is the dangers of just playing in the first place. Sniper or snake crawling with a foot ball piece of plastic in front of your chin creates an obvious Mask/Shielf off danger. Then there is the weight of the shield with the movement of hard running. A normal shield will bounce up and down from the strap since the hinge is not designed for hard running. If you stiffen that up, then you create a situation where the entire assembly will want to come off your head. Sure, you could make a chin and head strap, but with real live humans, especially newbies, how many people would decide that's to uncomfortable? : I do see your point in that you can make a shield that can withstand a higher impact. But if lack of impact resistance was a serious issue paintball, then the standard would be increased to withstand a 400fps hit and could be easily done by the companies. And truth be told, I’m sure the lawyers for the mask companies told them that they will make their masks to withstand a higher velocity than stated just for liability purposes. : There’s more reasons than that, but I’m sure that should be a good enough start. :) : : : what u r describing r safty glasses...and would u want a paintball flying into ur mouth causing lots of damage unimaginable...i understand what ur saying but safty glasses stopping paintball...i wouldnt do it if i was paid : : I want to clarify. I am not describing safety goggles, as these only cover the eyes. I am describing a face shield, something like welders use. It covers the whole face. Also, in the early days of paintball, safety glasses were used, as masks had not yet been designed. And people often took shots in the goggles and face. Still, I want to emphisize, I am not describing goggles, but full face shields. [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ WARPIG Tech Talk - Miscellaneous ]