balls breaking !

The problem is that it's seventeen degrees.

ok i didnt know if it was the paint or not thanks

The type of paint is the variable here. Most paints can't take the cold. 

Edited by hybrid-sniper - 16 January 2007 at 1:15am

That is very vague. Worthless can have many meanings.

If the paint is too brittle, it will break more easily. For some reason I doubt that they sell brittle paint when it's as cold as you say it is. At that temp, no one could shoot Hellfire or Inertia Pro or anything like that. So, they sell cheap, rubbery, hard shlled "worthless" paint. (This is speculation on my part.)

We do not know what the poster was shooting, so assuming that the gun was at fault is erroneous. Most people wont shoot "good paint" under 40 degrees farenheight anyway.

Edited by hybrid-sniper - 16 January 2007 at 1:19am

I never mentioned anything about anyone knowing more than anyone else. I said "we do not know what kind of paint he was shooting" or something to that effect.

Most, if not all, paintballs will not freeze.

This is all really a moot point, so I don't know why this is still going.

Alright, since just about everyone who has posted in this thread knows
absolutely nothing about the process of making paintballs and their
assorted compnents, I'll set the record straight.

Paintballs are composed of Gelatin (Shell) Polyethylene Glycol (Fill) Dye
(Fill) and then other substances (all water soluable) to thin down the fill so
that it actuall spills out of the ball when the shell breaks. Polyethylene
Glycol is a non-toxic substance that is found in virtually every aspect of
manufacturing, food preparation, and medicine today. It is the main
ingredient in most cough syrups (it is what makes syrups thick so they
coat your throat and mouth) and is also found in laxatives, sexual
lubricants, spandex, lithium batteries, and even Dr. Pepper (anti-foaming
use). It is extremely stable and has a very high boiling point and equally
polar freezing point. The major difference in paintballs are the grade of
shell (determined by how much gelatin is used in their composition as
well as the gelatin's purity) and the thickness of the fill. Most of your
cheaper rec-sport kind of paintball uses a fairly impure and thick shell
(which allows for more manufacturing defects without severe deformation
or breakage in transit/play) which is tougher, meaning more bounces,
due to the fact that it is less brittle. Some see these qualities as an
advantage for both winter play and woods ball as the thicker shell means
that the paint won't shatter in cold weather as easily and it won't break as
easily in underbrush/grass when playing in wooded areas. The fill for
these cheaper paintballs tends to be very thinned out and easy to "wipe"
as it absorbs into the clothing quickly (due to high concentrations of
water and less PEG) making the break look like an "old hit".

Tournament grade paintballs tend to have a thinner, more pure gelatin
shell so that the rounds break at even the slowest speed on their
intended target. The fill is also extremely thick (owing to a higher
concentration of PEG) which not only brings up the specific gravity of the
round (making it heavier, giving it the potential for better accuracy due to
weight) but also makes it extremely hard to "wipe" as it globs-up on
whatever object is hit, making it extremely hard to rub into clothing or
wipe clean off of a solid object. These rounds tend to get a bad
reputation with woodsballers as they do not hold up to small twigs/
underbrush/grass very well. They also become extremely brittle in cold
weather (below 50*F) which means they don't work as well in cold
weather.

Many companies also make "winter paint" which has a thicker shell but
maintains the thick PEG filling to provide tournament players with the
consistency that they are seeking. The formula for the shell is precicely
calibrated to make the shell (even though it is thicker) break as easily ON
TARGET as normal tournament grade paint does in nominal condidtions.

I hope this settles all the questions you guys have.

Oh, and trivial, I'd love to know how you kept from getting frostbite
playing at -30*C, or was that the wind-chill that day?