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Clothing
Paintball is a very active sport, involving a lot of running, diving, crawling and sliding. Accordingly, the clothing worn for paintball should be tough and durable. For woodsball, camouflage clothing is effective for blending in with the environment., so it is not uncommon to see players wearing army surplus military fatigues, BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) or ACU (Army Combat Uniform), particularly DPM styles. For speedball, however, the small field and artificial obstacles make camouflage ineffective. Speedball players therefore wear clothing which forms a uniform amongst the players, usually in threatening colors or styles (flames, for instance, are particularly popular). For scenario games, players will tend to dress themselves in a style appropriate to the character or force they are representing. In order to minimize the sting of close-range hits, players often wear extra layers of clothing padding as well.
Clothing worn for tournament paintballing is also constrained by the tournament rules, which expressly prohibit thick padded materials which are likely to adversely affect the chance of paint breaking on the target. Combined with the need to allow adequate padding to protect the elbows and knees during slides on hard ground, tournament paintball gear can take on a rather unusual appearance. Often, in an attempt at gamesmanship, players will wear the baggiest clothing they can reasonably get away with, as this also makes paint more likely to \'bounce\'.
Footwear varies enormously between Speedball and Woodsball/scenario games. In woodsball, the rough terrain and uneven, often muddy ground makes footwear with good grip and plenty of ankle support a necessity. This lends itself to boots, either military style or walking/hiking boots. In speedball, however, the added weight of thick boots is a distinct disadvantage, as is the reduction in mobility. Speedball players therefore tend to wear sneakers or cleats.
Drop forward
A drop forward is a marker add-on which is used to reposition the air canister to a more comfortable position, or one which improves the balance of the marker. They usually tilt the canister onto a slight angle and move it forward of its original position. They come in all shapes and sizes, however, so it is a personal preference which direction the tank is \"dropped\" - it is possible to mount the tank vertically, reversed or almost any other conceivable position. Most players use it to assist with balancing the marker, or to reduce its total length to make it more maneuverable (particularly if it has an extremely long barrel). Some marker designs do not permit the installation of a stock if the air cylinder is left in its standard location, necessitating a drop-forward if the player wishes to install a stock to improve accuracy.
There is a dispute among many players, however, that a drop forward will make the player\'s profile unnecessarily tall and wide, as the tank pushes the loader higher up above the head and may cause the player to hold his/her arms out wider in play to make up for the unnatural angle the drop will put on a grip.
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