This apparently innocent looking game can actually get lethal. Paintballing is a great fun sport enjoyed by kids as well as adults. You shall do well to be aware that paintballs can break glasses.
So Can Paintballs Break Glass? Yes. They can break glasses. Not all the glasses, as the balls are fired from a low energy gun, but glasses up to a certain thickness may shatter upon impact. When playing paintball, the glasses need to conform to the specific safety criteria.
Non-prescription glasses are weaker, hence they break upon impact. If you drop steel ball of one-inch diameter from a height of 50 inches the glass will break. So make it a point not to use non-prescription glasses while playing paintball.
Prescription glasses are recommended. However, thin prescription glasses are not allowed. Thin prescription glasses can be used only if they meet the high-impact testing requirements set by ANSI standards. Earlier, prescription glasses were supposed to have a minimum thickness of 3mm, which made them heavier than normal glasses.
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Ratings of the glass matter
Plus mark– This mark indicates that the glass has passed the high-impact test.
V” mark and mark —V stands for photochromatic, while S stands for special tint. Although these are useful for welding and soldering jobs, in certain conditions they may be relevant to paintballing too.
How to protect your eyes while playing paintball?
Headshields for paintball come with eye protection too. You got to make sure that the glass has a high-impact rating as there are some guns used in paintballing that can fire up to a high speed of 180 mph. Needless to mention, never take your shield off during the game.
Protect well with good mask lenses.
Goggles — These are designed to provide protection up to speeds of 90 m/s only. At greater speeds, they may break.
Thermal glasses — They are double-layered. Hence, they protect against fogging too. The outer side of the thermal lens is made out of polycarbonate which provides great protection. However, whenever there is an event of high-impact, it is best to replace them.
Now, let’s understand paintballs.
Paintballs are spherical gelatin capsules consisting of polyethylene glycol, dye, and some water-soluble substances. They come in the sizes varying from 0.67 calibers to 0.71 calibers.
The fillings are mostly water-based, which means they can freeze under extremely cold weather conditions. They tend to have thinner shells; they are meant to break upon impact.
Can paintballs break windows?
Can they? Yes, however, it varies which kind of window. A typical house window can break very easily.
Car windows have a lesser probability of breaking as they are a little tougher. The windshields are very strongly sheeted with toughened glass. It is a rare sight for car window to get broken by a paintball.
Can paintballs break bottles?
Since paintballs can travel of speed up to 180 mph, most of the bottles will break. Bottles made out of very thick glass may withstand the impact (Absolut vodka bottle)
Can paintballs kill?
U.S. SWAT teams often use balls that look similar to paintballs, fondly called pepper balls. They are filled with oleoresin capsicum. This is an active ingredient of common pepper spray, meant to be a non-lethal incapacitation method of incapacitation.
Also Read – Can a Paintball Gun Kill a Bird, Rabbit, Cat or Squirrel?
However, these pepperballs are shot at a much higher velocity than is considered safe for paintball players (above 110 m/s (360 ft/s)) and the shells are definitely not made from gelatin.
They are made from a frangible plastic to render the shots more painful for faster effect on humans. Any paintball marker can be used to shoot the Pepperballs.
Sometime back, the company HydroTec released a new paintball. It deploys a corn-based shell and a filling which is 98% water. The paintball shell withstands temperatures of up to 49C.
These features, in addition to a unique construction process, make for better consistent paintball. As already mentioned, paintballs can freeze under winter conditions. If shot in this solid state, at a speed of 180 m/s, can break most of the glasses and also hurt the players seriously, leading to injuries.
Frozen paintballs– Too risky, first of all, it might break the barrel of the marker. When shot, it may damage the item it comes in contact with. High-quality paintballs do not freeze as they are filled with polyethylene glycol additive.
Paintball guns and markers also play a role on the extent of the damage.
Ever since paintballing has witnessed increased popularity in the form of recreational activity, an increasingly large majority of people have gone ahead to purchase their own gear because they want to customize it, upkeep it well and enhance the output.
The critical component of the gadget is the paintball gun which is alternatively known as a paintball marker. Owing to the knowledge that they can shoot these paintballs at very high speeds at opponents. There is a wide and varied range of paintball markers available at all the leading outlets.
A couple of key features that impact the performance- accuracy and the firing rate.
Electronic markers come with a much faster frequency of firing and accuracy. This is mainly influenced by the build quality. The highest quality paintball guns are available for playing in a tournament where precision and firing rate has to be nothing but unsurpassed.
Coming back to paintball masks and goggles. While playing paintball the most significant and critical component of your kit is the paintball mask.
A good paintball mask is going to protect your ears, temples, and eyes. Many people know them paintball goggles because it relates back to those times in the past when all those players used to wear was a pair of normal eye goggle. These days, it is not permitted nowadays due to the advent of more advanced gears.
You can buy paintball masks of various different brands like Dye, JT, Empire, Extreme Rage, Proto and Vforce. All the leading stores carry these brands that can provide protection not only for your head but eyes and ears as well.
Conclusion: Can Paintballs Break Glass?
I hope this article clarified your doubt that Can Paintballs Break Glass? Next time when you go for a paintball game, be careful not to shoot on window panes or other glasses, as they might break.
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