During my past years, I used to throughly enjoying playing paintball. Ive seen the progression of equipment and clothing from its early infancy to today. Street clothes were what I wore in my initial forays into the game. However, the de facto garb was the military battle dress uniform, BDU. The pattern didnt matter much though most people were wearing woodland camoflage as this was the easiest to get. Tiger stripe, Rhodesian, and other patterns would make an appearance onto the playing field. This lasted for several years. As the popularity of the sport grew and the dynamics of the game changed, so did the gear. People started to wear brightly colored jerseys made of fabric that wicks away sweat. Some patterns were bold and others subdued. The same thing went for the colors as well.
I fell into the trap and started giving up my BDUs for these jerseys. I had owned several similar to those shown below. Prices went from $30 and up. You could get them cheaper for last years model.
The evolution continued as things such as forearm padding were being integrated. Each manufacturer was trying to stand out either through styling or innovation.
One trend that I never bought into were the paintball pants. These things could run upwards of $200. I was not a hardcore player who would dive headlong or feet first into a bunker. These pants would be heavily padded in the knees and crotch. Some had kevlar linced shin areas for those who appreciated a good knee slide. although pockets were designed out of much of these items, little areas were sewn in to hold squeegees and other small items. I stayed with the BDU pants that held up well for me. They were inexpensive and could be had for as little as $20. As a concession to fashion, I did get the black ones because they went with my jerseys better.
