What is the most important piece of gear for paintball? Any experienced player knows that you can grab a flag without a paintgun but you can't even get on the field without goggles. Goggles are obviously essential to the sport yet players don't always put a lot of thought into buying them.

When you play paintball you wear your goggles for long periods of time. They must fit comfortably and provide good vision in addition to protecting your eyes, ears, and face. The IPPA set standards for paintball goggles and as long as you buy goggles made for paintball from a reputable paintball equipment manufacturer you can be pretty sure of meeting or exceeding those standards.

If possible, before buying, ask other players if you can try on their goggles and what they like or don't like about them. Expect to spend $70 to $125 (Goggle prices are dropping. $50-$100 is probably a more accurate range. Jan 20/03) for good goggles and plan to spend a little more for an extra lens and fasteners. Take good care of your goggles and follow the manufacturers instructions and you may never need a second pair.

Players Code of Conduct
1) I will keep my goggles on while playing paintball and will not play with scratched, cracked, or otherwise unsafe goggles.

(Originally printed in The Excellent News July 29th, 1994)