Paintball pants vs. BDUs

[~WarpedRT#2~]

BDUs are junk. Atleast for paintball. I went through two pairs of them and both ended the same way. They tore in the crotch first, from sliding, and then after numerous times of stitching them back up, the knees gave out and just fell to pieces.

Truthfully, DYE pants are near indestructable. I hate DYE though. I have some Draxxus pants and they have a better outer material, which help alot with sliding, but dont last as long as the DYE ones.

[Doobie]

I wear BDU's for work so maybe I wear Paintball specific pants to feel like I'm not working? :)
I have been wearing the Smokin products pants for about a month now. I have the Hemp knee version. (they also make a condura knee) I find them breathable, comphy, and practical. The squeege pocket is in the perfect spot. The cargo pocket is useful for larger items, and with the XTC knee pads in, the padding is right where I need it EVERY TIME. And I don't have the constricting feeling around my knees that other pads give me. I do kind of wish they were a little "flashy" because, you know, looks add another 5 bps !
In the woods for Scenario games though, it is hard to beat the old tried and tested BDU.

[davidnj]

I use BDU's. Cant beat the price and durability. Got the pair Ive worn nearly every pball trip in 1994 and they're still going strong.

I recently added some black bdu's and a pair of 'winter' bdu's. As long as I keep in shape I don't see why these wont last 10 years also.

It is just way to hard for me to justify spending more than what I paid for my BDUs ($20) on paintball specific pants. Until they stop doing what I want, Id rather save the money and spend it on something else.

[Albinonewt]

You know what I don't get about the "saves money" angle?

We shoot guns that cost $1,000
our masks cost $50-$100
We'll shoot anywhere from $20-$200 of paint in ONE day
A drop forward for a tank is $60 (with ASA)
A compressed air tank is $200
For crying out loud a straight squeegee is more then $10

Does saving $30 on pants really matter at this stage of the game? Paintball is a money intensive sport. I totally get wearing BDUs because you prefer them, but to save a few dollars, why bother? Paintball is the kind of sport that if you're in for an inch you're in for a mile

[GoatBoy]

Originally posted by Albinonewt
You know what I don't get about the "saves money" angle?

We shoot guns that cost $1,000
our masks cost $50-$100
We'll shoot anywhere from $20-$200 of paint in ONE day
A drop forward for a tank is $60 (with ASA)
A compressed air tank is $200
For crying out loud a straight squeegee is more then $10

Does saving $30 on pants really matter at this stage of the game? Paintball is a money intensive sport. I totally get wearing BDUs because you prefer them, but to save a few dollars, why bother? Paintball is the kind of sport that if you're in for an inch you're in for a mile

This is ... not sound logic. Yes, saving $30 on anything matters. "You spent $1000 on your gun" doesn't sound like a particularly compelling reason to waste $30 extra dollars on pants. Go with what you are comfortable with. You should know what you want, and you should know what you're willing to pay for it.


As far as who you "give" your money to, I would rather NOT "give" my money/business to a paintball company, basically because I don't believe I deserve to be gouged on prices for the roughly same product simply because I play paintball.




OK, moving on.

Those BDU's in the CTD catalog look pretty nice; I might pick up a pair myself. I have worn BDU's in the distant past; I guess they lasted alright. I did rip them and decided it wasn't worth buying a new pair. They weren't like these fancy cotton/poly ones though.

I somewhat question the durability of typical BDU's though, particularly, how long are they meant to last? I mean, I know they hand them out to the military... but then again, I think the military knows that they're not all out there crawling around in the rough most of the time.

[steveo356]

Yeh i wear dye but i still have BDU's in my closet. my c4's are made out of a mu8ch stronger meterial i believe its balistic nylon or sumthin like that that pads are nice n the pockets are about perfect for any thing i could thing of. as far as the bdu's go, I do not believe that ther cotton blue-jean like metierial is meant to hold up to slides as well. one of my 2 pairs of bdu's has both knees ripped out of them.


think of it this way, If u where a government and u had to arm and uniform thousands of troops on a budget are u going to creat several thousands of top quality pants or save some money on assembly line pants that we can jus make new ones. military life unless in a time of war isn't constant sliding jump up run slide again like paint ball and in a live fire faight what would you care if ur pants get ripped you got your life to worry about

[than205]

Originally posted by D-CeLL
ummm, I wear clothes that are on clearance at Target. $6 Jeans for getting trashed sound good to me.

I did $15 cargo pants from the clearance rack at Penny's.

I also picked up a pair of BDU's for $20 at the local Army/Navy.

I wear BDU's, because now, they are out of the norm.

My desire is to get a pair of Smokin pants. Big time. Still a little pricey though.

[Buff]

Money intensive?
lol
I get co2 for free, bdu's for free, paint for wholesale, guns/parts almost wholesale....

but anyways,
I like BDU's. I have been using the same ones for about 3 years, dont understand about having to have the perfect pockets....I dont carry anything on field except my gun, pack, and leg sqeegie holder Who puts sqeegie in pockets anyways, when u can get a sidecar holder for the mag

[Albinonewt]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by GoatBoy
This is ... not sound logic. Yes, saving $30 on anything matters. "You spent $1000 on your gun" doesn't sound like a particularly compelling reason to waste $30 extra dollars on pants. Go with what you are comfortable with. You should know what you want, and you should know what you're willing to pay for it.

Well, since i specifically said to BUY WHAT YOU LIKE i don't understand how its a waste to spend the extra $30 on something that you prefer. My point is simply if after you've sunk a grand or more into the sport why balk on pants that you prefer because of $30?

Plus saving $30 only matters if what you're purchasing is comparable, which by most people's accounts here it is not. If the BDU's were lasting everyone as long as the paintball pants were then it wouldn't be a contest. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

As far as who you "give" your money to, I would rather NOT "give" my money/business to a paintball company, basically because I don't believe I deserve to be gouged on prices for the roughly same product simply because I play paintball.

Apparently on the nexed pants the products are similar, but i've never seen anything like the C4 pants except from dye.

Plus, who cares where it comes from? Supposadly your paintball gun came from a paintball company, so theyve already got your support. If someone likes their pants "I don't support paintball companies (the very companies that make your posrt possible i might add) seems like a pretty lame excuse.

Those BDU's in the CTD catalog look pretty nice; I might pick up a pair myself. I have worn BDU's in the distant past; I guess they lasted alright. I did rip them and decided it wasn't worth buying a new pair. They weren't like these fancy cotton/poly ones though.

I somewhat question the durability of typical BDU's though, particularly, how long are they meant to last? I mean, I know they hand them out to the military... but then again, I think the military knows that they're not all out there crawling around in the rough most of the time.

So you're saying that the BDU's aren't exactly cut out for paintball, yet the extra $30 for pants designed for the sport are a waste?

I don't follow

[Albinonewt]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Buff
Money intensive?
lol
I get co2 for free, bdu's for free, paint for wholesale, guns/parts almost wholesale....

Well good for you buff. Would you say that is normal of most players or the exception to the rule?

I suppose it's the exception to the rule, and although it may be nice for you its hardly the standard by which most people live by.

And I suppose the $800 e-mag in your sig doesn't count as money intensive?

[Buff]

Well good for you buff. Would you say that is normal of most players or the exception to the rule?

well, it aint normal, but I am not a part of the industry, I just ordered from a certain website, they took a while to ship, called them up.....to amke a long story short I now buy everything from them, and my pals buy stuff through me....

and thats not an emag in my sig, its an emag body:P its a classic valve I spent about $150 tossing a cheap mag together from parts I got cheap.

cheap all the way!!!!

[Jig]

yea, #30 matters to me. my current gun cost $70(sidekick stock..i love it for no apparent reason), i spend about $9 a month to play once a week(on average i shoot 100 balls a day and use 1-3 12 grams). all total i've spent about $120 on my gear, and about $100 for A YEAR OF PLAYING EVERY WEEKEND. i definately dont play that often.

however, at this point im looking at the smokin' outlast pants. they are considerably more expensive then bdus but it seems like a good investment. they are around $60-80 on most sites. thats a fine deal if you asked me. $140 C4s...not a good deal. not to mention everyone has them and older players are labelling dye kids as TWiBs.


and the funny thing is, im not cheap. i spend a ton of money on clothes to look fashinable, during the winter i spend $30 a month on tanning, i buy too many shoes, too much hair product, lust after expensive cars, and buy pretty things for women...haha and now most of you assume i'm gay...

i just went way off topic.
sorry guys,
bottomeline: bdus, cost effective but in most PAINTBALL SPECIFIC cases dont last, paintball pants: can be a good investment or a waster of money.

Thanks,
Jig-half coherrant, can't spell, can't put strings of sentences together intellegibly.

[xXHavokXx]

C4s are great. Half me team wears them, they are the half that hasnt gotten a ball to break on their lower half yet. That extra cash translates into reduced breakage which buys more fun.

[Tyger]

Originally posted by Albinonewt
We shoot guns that cost $1,000
our masks cost $50-$100
We'll shoot anywhere from $20-$200 of paint in ONE day
A drop forward for a tank is $60 (with ASA)
A compressed air tank is $200
For crying out loud a straight squeegee is more then $10

Does saving $30 on pants really matter at this stage of the game?

Well, the logic is sound, except that pants are an object that is a seasonal buy. You don't replace your gun, mask, and air tank every year. Pants, you do.

Plus, hate to say it, pants are a fashion accessory PLUS they're disposable. You go through a pair a season, just like shoes and jerseys. And even though EVERYONE will deny it, a lot of the players want to look "Good" when they play, and it involves wearing the "Hip" clothing. And ripped up clothing doens't look as "good". Some people don't care, true.

One other thing too, some guys don't buy $1000 guns. These guys pinch every penny, so they're saving every penny they can. It's why they shoot "cheap paint" too.

Besids, it might just be me, but he C4 pants look like they're "Anime" inspired, like those big giant robots kinda thing....

-Tyger

Slightly edited because I wanted to make something more clear, and I forgot to put it in the first time...

[ghideon]

Originally posted by Tyger


Well, the logic is sound, except that pants are an object that is a seasonal buy. You don't replace your gun, mask, and air tank every year. Pants, you do.

Plus, hate to say it, pants are a fashion accessory. And even though EVERYONE will deny it, a lot of the players want to look "Good" when they play, and it involves wearing the "Hip" clothing. And ripped up clothing doens't look as "good". Some people don't care, true.

One other thing too, some guys don't buy $1000 guns. These guys pinch every penny, so they're saving every penny they can. It's why they shoot "cheap paint" too.

Besids, it might just be me, but he C4 pants look like they're "Anime" inspired, like those big giant robots kinda thing....

-Tyger

Actually, for me, I try not to replace pants. The only reason I got the Nexed pants was cause I tore through 4 sets of BDU is 8 months. I need something durable.

I have a durable gun (Mag), a durable mask, etc etc, so why not shell out for something I will rarely have to replace? For me, busting out $60-80 is better than having to go to the store or rummage through the closet every month when I blow out another knee, or another crotch, etc.

But, I did break down and get a set of Smokin pants, but that was more because of the knee pads. When I think about, I'm gonna miss wearing my Nexed pants (so comfy).