Paintballs are small capsules, usually made of gelatin, and filled with dye. They are designed to explode on impact, marking the target with paint inside them- hence the name paintballs. Since the dye isw non-toxic, you don't have to worry about accidentally swallowing it, although I really wouldn't advise it.
A number of companies like www.sakworldpaintball.com supply paintballs. There are good and expensive paintballs and not so good inexpensive paint balls. You can buy paintballs in almost any color in the world and in just about any quantity.
The paint is water based, so it will easily wash out, although this might be annoying if you want to play in the rain. The place you play paintball is usually outside, and so is referred to as a field even if it is wooded as many are. Most such places ask you to buy their paint, but some will allow you to bring your own for a small fee.
The kind of paintballs you will be purchasing for yourself will depend on how you intend to use it. Some have a thicker fill, some have a thinner fill. Take a look at http://www.sakworldpaintball.com/paintballs.html for different types of paintballs.
If your paintball has to be practical, you won't need a high end product and can buy something cheaper which will still work. Of course, for tournament play, the quality of the ball is the most important factor. You need to get balls that won't burst easily inside your gun, or on contact with the air. At the same time, you need bals that will burst when they hit your opponent.
Besides the quality of the ball, you must also think about its size. The ball needs to fit easily into your gun, which means it must be the right calibur for your barrel. All paintballs are .68X, but the final number varies. Most balls these days are .689, however if your local field paint is the wrong size, you might want to consider getting a different barrel for your gun. You can find a variety of barrels available at http://www.sakworldpaintball.com/paintball-barrels.html .
Usually, most paint gun barrels are of .68 calibers. But knowing the exact measure of your paint guns barrel is a pre-requisite for all paintball purchasers. If your ball doesn't fit into your barrel your shell will break and none of the balls will leave your paintball gun in one piece.
Like paintballs, paintball guns also come in a number of varieties. Let s take the Ion paintball gun for instance. It has of course all the features you expect of a normal paintball gun but its best feature is undoubtedly its versatility. Decide what gun you want according to the level of your skill and expertise, budget and competition. You can find a list of paintball guns here http://www.sakworldpaintball.com/paintball-guns-markers.html
Take another look at the Ion gun. It has a 17/sec fire rate, and an automatic fire rate of 10 balls/sec. This alone makes it worthy of consideration, but its price is so low that it could be used for recreational play as well as tournament. So go to http://www.sakworldpaintball.com/smpaionpagun.html and have a look.
If you want a top end paintball gun, then have a look at Planet Eclipse (http://www.sakworldpaintball.com/planeteclipse.html). Planet Eclipse makes guns which shoot over 30 balls/sec, and are some of the best available.
But if you don't know what exactly you want, have a look at SAK WORLD PAINTBALL (http://www.sakworldpaintball.com). They are one of the best online stores, and keep up to date with the newest guns.
