My thoughts - I'm puttin' it out there

Since I got a gold star from Aaron on this , I'll post it as he suggested.

This is not meant to "hate" on any of these places or the people, it's meant to pass on what I have found in my meager travels through the "local" paintball scene. All these places are good places to play, staffed by very decent and honest people who want to win and keep your business. This is just a list I have put together to be used as general guidance on saving time and money. These places/people will change too so this is really just a snapshot in time.
All three of these fields have both air and C02, I know there are others in the area that only have one or the other. We can’t use C02 for our electronic markers anyway but our no electrics can, if in a pinch.

Performance:
The good:
- low cost paint and entry (see paint info for Running Wild below)
- great selection of stuff in the store
- nice staff
- nice/fun people who hang-out there (generally)
- good outdoor field
- Can easily set the rules for the game (i.e. go where you want, play how you want, as long as others agree, the refs are cool with it.)
- Standard rental is the SP ION (with a decent barrel).
The bad:
- High cost for repairs (no personal experience with this but I have heard this from others)
- Generally, they will nickel and dime you with stuff. (“Let me just do this to the marker because I like to …” then he charges you for it. Wait, you said you like to do … why do I have to pay for it. Based not only on my experience but others as well. They have to make money so I guess I can’t blame them but just be careful.)
- Small indoor field. I don’t know how people move around in there.
- Usually not too many people show-up for open play, have a back-up plan (NVP) or come with a bunch of friends.
- User forum is a ghost town

NVP
The good:
- Awesome indoor field
- Can rent an SP ION with stock parts for a bit more if needed.
- They run sales on field paint (rarely but it happens) and have a lot of free or cheap entry days (i.e. St. Patrick’s Day Party)
- Cheapest air/C02 fills of the three mentioned here. (I’m talking about just going and getting a tank filled during the middle of the week.)
- Best service department. Friendly and cost effective. They will often look at your marker and find/fix minor problems at no cost to you.
- Best user forum I’ve seen. Tons of users.
The bad:
- Paint can be expensive and of low quality (i.e. red Conquest balls, they were like chalk). Watch the cheap entry days; these seem to be the times when they haul out the lowest quality paint at the regular price (i.e. dimpled, out-of-round, brittle…)
- Low selection of stuff in the store.
- The clientele can be a bit “clicky”. Not a big deal nor too widespread but just don’t always expect people to be friendly, especially when they are there with their teams.
- Generally, don’t piss-off the refs; I have heard some of them tell people to bunker or bonus ball others who are being “d-bags”. I have no idea what they did to incur this kind-of treatment but I just try to play the game and walk off the field when I’m hit. I’m sure I’ve been a d-bag too so … I don’t know, just watch-it.
- Your stuff is out of view while playing and waiting in line. I am always worried someone will steal something. I haven’t had this happen yet (knock on wood) but I have read posts from others stating this. Just be careful. They have lockers though.

Running Wild:
The good:
- Good paint and entry cost, paint is very similarly priced with Performance (see below for more info).
- Very nice people who work there.
- Generally friendly and fun people who show-up there.
- Great outdoor fields with a lot of freedom to play how you want to. Woodsball, pallete town, x-ball. Go where you want and generally make the rules as you want.
- BIG SECRET: They have used the exact same paint as Performance (Reaper Paintballs) so, you can easily use paint from both fields without getting in trouble. Please don’t think less of me but since they are the exact same, I have used paint from both. I haven’t shown-up with cases from either fields but I have definitely split cases where half is used at one and the other half is used at the other before it gets too old. I WOULD NEVER TRY THIS AT NVP. They use different paint all together, just deal with the cost there.
The bad:
- Far away. It’s in Nunda FREAKING NY! Took me ~50 minutes each way!
- Bring friends or make sure there is a tournament, no guarantee on the number of people who show up.
- Only Tippman 98s and BT non-electric markers available for rent. Not a big deal for us but you never know.
- They have had bring your own paint days but it was expensive to get in. Entry alone was like $40 or something. I did the math (like Cramer and Newman did when they wanted to run cans to Michigan for the 10 cent deposit) and I couldn’t see the savings. Maybe on Mother’s Day weekend the numbers would work out.
- Little to no gun repair available at the field. It’s literally a shack in a field so if something goes wrong; you’re on your own, for the most part.
- You can see your stuff from the palette and x-ball fields but you are about a ¼ mile away from it. Forget about seeing it on the woodsball field. Again, nothing stolen but might be best to keep expensive stuff in the car (which can be right next to your table if you want, it’s all one big field) just to be safe.


OK, I’ll shut-up now, thanks for reading.

Nice, five gold stars for you!

Very unbaised reviews, written clearly.

Ahhh, go on, your making me blush!

This is just going to encourage me to write more long-winded-blowhard postings. I'm such an insufferable asss!