More RAP4 Box Mag Videos

Trench warfare:


First person testing:


Don't forget to get in on the preorder for the RAP4 box mag to take advantage of a big discount.

Video Fix for 99% of Proconnect Leaks

It has yet to be seen if Doug will appreciate me posting this vid, or hate me for drawing attention to his modest self, but too late it's up there! Be sure to head over to his Youtube page and subscribe/pester him to do more videos.

Click here for my review of the Proconnect.

A-TACS in an Urban Environment

Update - July 29th 2010:

Here's an exclusive photo, courtesy of A-TACS: 

For those A-TACS haters out there *coughmikecough*, go take a gander at some new urban environment photos released by A-TACS. 

Milsig Mag Winder Sneak Peak

Should be a nice little tool to get, especially since it looks like you can attach it to a sling with the quick-disconnect sling mount. Very good for those running lots of mags, cause I'm sure your hands feel like this by the end of the day:

WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC IMAGE TO FOLLOW, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN IF DON'T WANT TO SEE IT

S-Thunder Water and Powder Landmine Review

Product: S-Thunder Water and Powder Landmine

Price: About $60 USD from S-Thunder

Options: Black or Yellow

Coincidentally, the first HD (720p) video on Grey Ops.

New Ottawa Paintball Field - Real Deal

Description from Real Deal's website:

"Why are we the Real Deal?

Our Referees are St. John's Ambulance trained and as they are responsible for your and your children's safety, they have passed a police background check.

We rent reliable Tippmann Paintball guns, genuine army issue uniforms, proper paintball tube harness and quality safety masks.

Our on site Caterers provide delicious meal options to give you the energy you need to keep playing all day.

Members of our construction battalion include Historians, Master Modelers and Hollywood North Special Effects experts. They have spent hours conducting research and building our field structures.

Instead of having you play elimination games, we challenge your abilities with dynamic scenarios to put your abilities to the test.

To make sure your memories last, we post photos of every player to our Facebook account for you to share with your friends. Not only do post videos of your group in action on Youtube, we provide each group organizer with a gun camera for one hour!"

S-Thunder CO2 Accessories

I have to say, I'm very impressed with the myriad of S-Thunder CO2 accessories. As seen above, they're all very easy to use, and with the use of their regulator it's easy to conserve gas when filling grenades or landmines. The two stage CO2 powerlet adaptor is particularly usefull, and you can fill a good number of grenades with it.

A couple things that I haven't shown but will revisit soon include a refillable CO2 reservoir, and a CO2 core replacement.

MIKE’S RANT OF THE MONTH – Commando Paintball’s [lack of] safety practices

I’m generally a pretty Zen, relaxed guy. But every once in a while, with no warning, I come across something that makes me angry...VERY angry. This conveniently happens around once a month...so why not turn it into a monthly feature on Grey Ops?

The following opinions are mine alone, and don’t necessarily represent the views of Connor or any other writer on the Grey Ops team. Please direct all wrath, angry comments, law suits, and profanity towards myself (Mike), and spare all innocent parties.
****

Commando Paintball is a large paintball field operating in Navan, Ontario (in the Ottawa area). The owner, Dave Pitts, has been involved commercially with paintball for over 25 years, and seems to know what woodsballers want. He’s crammed his fields with dozens of real scrapped trucks & boats, towers, pillboxes, bridges, and other props. His park now boasts 10 working fields, each with its own theme and setting. This is in contrast with a lot of other fields in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, which feature woods & bunkers on one field, and more woods & bunkers on another.

So one would think that with all this going for the field, that customers could expect a fun and safe paintballing experience at Commando, right?

RANT ON!

New Video Page

Added a Video page to the bar up top, it will redirect you to Grey Ops' Youtube channel. While you're there feel free to subscribe! It doesn't look like much now but I hope to have more of a video presence in the near future.

Valken and G.I. Milsim Get Friendly

Some of you may remember G.I. Milsim. Some others might not, and you certainly won't be faulted for it. Many of you will know who Valken is, as they've exploded on to the paintball market with great success. Well now Valken will be distributing the elusive G.I. Milsim products to the masses in the United States. The full release can be read here.

Here's the question I put to everyone out there: Good move or bad move for Valken? Do you feel that the revolution is upon us?

Marked on the Rocks

A recent Ottawa Citizen article describes the legal battle Marked Paintball is fighting for its survival.

Although a lot of details are left out (including the time one of the neighbours in the article followed Allie up the road on foot, screaming at her and threatening to kill her), it gives an idea of the gist of the battle: Rural dwellers upset at the intrusion of a paintball field and its customers into their living area, trying to use the power of the city to bully the owners into closing. With day jobs, and with the field being a weekends-only operation, the owners have had to sink over $30,000 of their own cash into their legal defence so far, with no end in sight. Also, their huge Milsim field under construction (including towers, trails, and a swamp) has been put on hold until the issues are settled.

However one has to wonder, with all of the money the Militkys have paid in legal fees so far, how much has the City of Ottawa spent on this debacle? And are the taxpayer funds being spent to placate a few complainants worth the trouble?

The comments section of the article is particularly revealing, as some of the comments posted demonstrate the ignorance of the average citizen when it comes to paintball, or running a business in general.

Regardless of the outcome of this conflict, as players at any field we have certain responsibilities. First, respect the boundaries of the field you're at, and don't trespass on adjoining properties, or shoot paintballs over the property line. Consider yourself a guest at any paintball field, and as a guest don't litter the area or be disrespectful towards your host's neighbours. This means keeping the music in your car down on the way to the field and back, and not tearing up and down the street that leads to the field. Most importantly of all, be friendly and polite with the local residents, and be an ambassador for the sport. Despite paintball's growing popularity, a lot of people still view us as weirdos in camo running around the woods preparing to overthrow the government. Show them that this isn't the case, by being personable and approachable.

Stay tuned to Grey Ops for the latest news on this story in the coming weeks and months!

Paintball After an Injury

While playing at Sgt Splatters last January, I had the misfortune of getting injured...badly. As some kids had shot out a few of the lights in the place the night before, it was pretty dark, and with the dark sand floor I never saw the 4-foot drop in my path as I sprinted for cover. My left foot hit the ground in a weird position, and POP went my knee for a split-second!

It was a little numb at first, but by the end of the day I could barely bend it without excruciating pain. I'd suffered a sprained LCL, which was followed by a case of painful Plica Syndrome for several months. Playing Paintball was out of the question.

Thankfully, 6 months later I’m now back at it. Here are some steps I took to keep my sanity during my hiatus from the game. If the worst should happen and you get hurt playing one day, these suggestions should help keep your morale up until you heal!

Nerf Going Milsim?

Belt-fed Nerf gun.

If your childhood or adult-childhood has thus far not come into contact with anything Nerf related, you have sorely missed out. It wouldn't be surprising that those that played with Nerf blasters and the like in their youth would naturally congregate to activities such as paintball and airsoft. In fact, many milsim players still have that link to their Nerf past, in using Nerf Vortex rockets as tank-busting ammunition.

Do-It-Yourself MOLLE Tank Pouch

Here's a quick how-to on converting a MOLLE canteen from TRU-Spec or Flyye into a tank pouch for a 48 cubic-inch HPA tank, or a 20oz CO2 bottle.

TM-series Rip Clip shortage

"GET SOME" may be the slogan for the recently-released TM-series Rip Clip, but if you're looking to get one, you may have to wait a little longer. The coveted sound-activated loader is sold out pretty much everywhere you look. A couple of dealers I've spoken to have said that even BT/Kee doesn't have any at the moment, and none are expected to be available before late August.

When the TM-15 marker was released in mid-2009, BT included a Rip Clip adapter in the package, dangling a carrot in the face of owners. After the product was finally released about 2 months ago, it now turns out BT has serious supply issues with it. So if you're looking to add a Rip Clip to your TM-series Milsim marker, be prepared for a bit of a wait!

Some Goblin News Stuff

There are advantages to me being nocturnal. For one, I can bring you guys updates when companies put up new stuff in the middle of the night. So you saw it here first, actual pictures of the Goblin Deuce! 

What's more, PBGear.ca now has the Black Goblin Solo in stock! Check it out here.

Pictured on the left is the elusive (and transparent) Goblin Phantom.

Keep your eyes peeled for more Goblin news.

MultiCam vs. MultiSham - Part 2

In Part 1 of this article, we looked at the versatility and effectiveness of the MultiCam pattern for Milsim paintball, and the reason for the relatively high cost of MultiCam items. In this part we'll see how the Chinese replica items measure up, and if they truly are close enough to be a good value.

MultiCam vs. MultiSham - Part 1

MultiCam has become a very popular camouflage pattern among Milsim paintball players in recent years, and is sure to become even more popular with the exposure it'll get when US Army soldiers are seen wearing it regularly on the evening news:



Now, MultiCam isn't the prettiest pattern to look at up close. I've personally nicknamed it "Vomitcam" myself, and some have compared it to "wearing dirt", but there's no denying its versatility for Woodsball. The problem with some modern camouflage patterns like CADPAT is that they rely heavily on dark green for blending into deep woods. But paintball fields, which have usually been cleared of a lot of vegetation, and have been heavily traveled by people on foot, tend to favour lighter patterns.

S-Thunder Water Spraying Landmine Review

Product: S-Thunder Water Spraying Landmine

Price: $35 via S-Thunder

Options: Black or Yellow

Water Transfer Printing

I recently took a course that featured a focus on the industrial applications of polymers/industrial chemicals with a portion dedicated to thin films/coating/plating that lamentably mentioned nothing about water transfer printing. The process is an alternative to other traditional methods of laying designs on 3D objects (spraypainting/powder coating) that allows for complex patterns to be used on any non-porous surface. What this means for you and me is the ability to put complicated camouflage designs (Multicam, Mossy Oak, A-TACS) on anything from masks to markers.

A while ago I mentioned that A-TACS now has their design available for water transfer, but the process itself is cool enough that it's worth looking at. Here's some videos that will give you a sense of what the process involves:







I'd love to discuss the science behind it... but I can't seem to find any documentation (even at libraries) about the chemistry of hydrographic printing. The basics are that a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, a polymer) base film with a solid ink component is placed in water, where it sits on the surface. An activator is then sprayed on the film, dissolving it, and leaving the ink floating as an oil-like liquid on the surface of the water, which then wrapped around the object being printing upon.

If you're in Canada and looking to get your marker etc. dipped, then check out WT Deco, based out of Québec. Here's a pic of a Hummer they "dipped":

Check back soon for more water transfer articles!

How CO2 Powerlets are Made

I have a problem. I, like many others, find "How It's Made" intoxicatingly addictive.

If you've played paintball for a while now, you've surely come across some CO2 powerlets (also called 12 gram cartridges). You know where this is going:



So the next time you pop a 12 gram into your Tiberius T8 or DSG, think about all the work that went into making that little metal canister. Or don't. You're probably having more fun playing paintball anyways.

CidaSoft Airsoft Hand Grenade

A lot of airsoft hand grenades scare me. The idea of a plastic container rupturing/exploding so as to create a loud bang (and occasionally a BB shower) doesn't sit well with me, as all I imagine is an errant piece of plastic flying through the air at who know's what velocity. CidaSoft offers an interesting alternative to the aforementioned grenades, using the tried and tested technology shown below:

Smoke is Good For You

If you're trying to stay out of harm's way in a paintball game that is.



The name Sport Smoke has been circulating online recently, and looking at the above video you can see why. Marketing products for paintball, airsoft and various other outdoor activities, the grenades are relatively affordable (but the hazmat fees might kill you) and from what I've heard, perform really well.

How To: Multicam Duracoat Walkthrough, Courtesy of sargent_oakley

Want to turn this...

Into this?

Centurio - "Fight with Light"

Centurio is a European company dedicated to using the power of light as a less lethal weapon and training tool. Amongst the products in their lineup are: several hand-held flashlights, weapon mounted lights, civilian and law enforcement ranged less lethal devices, and a battery operated flashbang grenade (sounds like fun).

Operation Craig

Some of you may know Picton, Ontario as... um... the filming location of Canada's Worst Driver?

Downtown Picton

Ok, so maybe Picton isn't one of Canada's national landmarks, but former CFB Picton holds a little paintball gem that is worthy of everyone's attention. Say hello to Operation Craig, the site of a dilapidated and abandoned hospital turned prime paintball location.

Photographing Your Paintball Marker - The Proper (Doug Brown) Way

Shots of markers like this are a dime a dozen, and worth about as much:

Well over on Milsim Empire, industry vet Doug Brown has stepped up to the plate and created several simple rules for photographing your paintball marker in an aesthetically pleasing way. The following is taken from Milsim Empire with several edits, when you see any personal pronouns used, it is referring to Doug, not me. 

Sunday Snapshot - July 4th!

Happy Independence Day!

A-TACS Nylon Gear Now Available

A-TACS nylon gear is now available for purchase. Here's the press release from Digital Concealment Systems:

Digital Concealment Systems and Tactical Assault Gear are proud to announce that A-TACS Nylon gear is now available for purchase. Since it’s beginning in 2001, CEO Chris Osman and his team have continually strived to produce some of the most durable and feature-rich nylon kit on the planet. Now, with the addition of A-TACS to thier product line, TAG’s products become even more innovative.
Tactical Assault Gears’ products will be among the first in the industry to feature A-TACS printed Loop and Nylon Webbing giving operators the option of more concealment coverage than ever before possible.
A-TACS is available on a wide variety of gear across TAG’s product line including thier rugged plate and armor carriers, packs and MOLLE pouches.
For more information on A-TACS Nylon Gear, visit TAG online at www.tacticalassaultgearstore.com or call them toll free at 1-888-890-1199.

Sudden Harm at JTs Frontline Paintball

In a day and age where most Milsim paintball teams barely last a season, Quebec's Sudden Harm is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. This Saturday, July 3rd, the team will be playing a game in the Ottawa area! JTs Frontline Paintball will be hosting a game featuring Sudden Harm, open to any Milsim players in Ottawa and the surrounding area.

Sudden Harm contributes scenarios annually to the Big Game at Arnold Paintball in Havelock, Qc. Last year over 300 players took part in their scenario called CARTEL, where the DEA and the private armies of two Columbian cartels fought each other over cocaine packs dropped over the jungle by a pilot about to get caught by authorities. This year's scenario will be a Three Kings-styled battle over Kuwaiti gold bars, in an event called Saddam's Gold.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! Have fun and enjoy yourselves responsibly!

Taken outside of the Canadian War Museum.