Odst Paintball Suit

[Outlawwolf117]

i think most people on the site are anti paintball because of the physics behind "stopping paintballs". think about it; if you threw an egg, what would be a better way to stop it? if you used something hard like a brick wall, it would shatter the egg for sure. if you used something like a sheet or a tablecloth, there is a great chance that it will stop the egg from breaking. now apply those theories to paintball. what would be a better way to stop the paintball to cause less force upon impact? the only good thing (in my opinion) about an airsoft/paintball suit is that it looks badass. it seems completely unfeasible as armor, plus you have to add the fact that the suit will cut peripherals, constrict some motion, and it will be HOT!

 

[Kasterborus]

the only good thing (in my opinion) about an airsoft/paintball suit is that it looks badass.

That was half my idea to begin with...

it seems completely unfeasible as armor

I'm not intending it to be armor, I'm happy to play in shorts and a t-shirt with nothing but a helmet to protect me, and have done multiple times.

plus you have to add the fact that the suit will cut peripherals, constrict some motion, and it will be HOT!

You can't see much in a mask anyways, so that won't matter.

Well, that makes it more of a challenge, but I may alter it to make it easier to move in.

And hot, well, yes, but not that hot, I mean, my Firefighting Uniform probably gets hotter. After all, when fully kitted up, I'm dragging close to 50 kilograms around on a day where the air temp is 45 degrees Celsius in the shade, and when fighting a bushfire the air temperature is around 65 degrees Celsius with a direct radiant heat temperature of a couple of hundred degrees.



-Kaster

 

[Tafumi]

You can't see much in a mask anyways, so that won't matter.

Well, that makes it more of a challenge, but I may alter it to make it easier to move in.

And hot, well, yes, but not that hot, I mean, my Firefighting Uniform probably gets hotter. After all, when fully kitted up, I'm dragging close to 50 kilograms around on a day where the air temp is 45 degrees Celsius in the shade, and when fighting a bushfire the air temperature is around 65 degrees Celsius with a direct radiant heat temperature of a couple of hundred degrees.



-Kaster

Indeed. I've spent (literal) days at MOPP4. Wearing full BDU's, J-List coat and pants (thick, heavy layered pants that have coal in them for neutralization of chemical agents), cotton gloves under rubber gloves, rubber over-boots as well as your standard US military Gas mask with hood with a flak jacket on and your kevlar helmet... it gets darn heavy and darn hot. Even more-so if you're carrying weapons on you. You can't see much, if there's a problem with the filter or the mask seal you'll fog up your visor, etc. It's heavy, hot and you can't move too well. But we still manage to get around in combat situations.



So while it might not be as maneuverable as more commonly worn paintball attire, it can be done~ and it sounds like you're kind of used to it already so it's probably not that much of a leap for you.

 

[Kasterborus]

Well, this:

Is the best pic I can find of what I usually do when not working (Doing the same thing actually), I love fighting bushfires, it's in my blood now



I personally cannot see this being any heavier, or hotter:

In fact, what do people think of my ideas of fans and/or liquid cooling?



-Kaster

 

[ImaGonnaGetYou]

I just had another thought cross my mind... if you can get your hands on kevlar, then make a mold... make a kevlar cast and place your visor in... then fineto!

I'm fairly sure that would be both expensive and extremely difficult to pull off

 

[Kasterborus]

Plus, as a Civilian in Australia, getting hold of Kevlar to undertake such a task is very, very hard, and if I could, it would be very, very expensive.



-Kaster

 

[commandoman]

I understand... I figured you guys would say that, I just figured throw some ideas your direction... It does sound like you have a good basis of where you want to start though. I'll follow what you are doing, and I wish you best of luck!

Edit on 8-3: Just thought of something else, if you can put together how to make the tempered-glass (plastic layed in glass), it might be the best way to re-inforce your helmet.

 

[DiveFreak]

There is alot of bashing of your ideas, and I hate to see that. There are some people on here who have been supportive, and it seems these are the same ones I see from other post. Yes there are concerns when it come to getting this to work, but I'm trying to do the same thing here in the States. I've been apprached to do another charity paintball event and I want to do a Red vs Blue Halo theme. The last one I did was a Star Wars based game and it went pretty well....



My idea has been to make a mold, cast it in the same material as skateboard helmets, and wear JT goggles underneath. In the bill of the helmet (I'm mainly focusing on MC helmets) you can mount fans that are not that loud, with vent holes hidden in the cast for air circulation. Comms in the ear pieces and a mic in the chin guard. I even thought of mounting the visor in a way where it could slide up into the upper portion of the helmet for fun. There are lots of ways to make this work if you just put your mind to it. I spend all my free time thinking of paintball. I built my own team into a buisness, and hopefully will open a field in a couple of years.



I support your idea fully, just be careful!!! I think alot of people who bash this idea just doesn't understand your idea. I think they may have only seen speedball on ESPN or something, or see all the bad press of idiots shooting people driving down the street, or even the reports of kids in Japan shooting people with marbles out of their paintball markers. To those who don't know, there are other paintball games out there. Scenario games usually get people out to them dressed in costume. Even if not that, there are lots of people who play scenarios who dress in full combat gear, with markers that look just like real guns.



I would love to see what you end up with. I might get a few other ideas from your ideas.

 

[mc halo3]

Though just dont use it for airsoft,it will shatter in like 50 bullets.

 

[Kasterborus]

Yeah, I don't plan on Airsoft, I'm not that silly



One thing I was thinking of was have a dual visor, one that is off a Motorcycle Helmet, that is polarized and can slide up and down (The pretty orange one), and another that is fixed in the front of that shield which is the actual paintball face-shield and will protect me from paintballs. This will also enable me to have either a clear visor that people can see into, or a polarized one like in Halo ODST. Like at the end of the "We are ODST" video where they out the helmets on and THEN they polarize.



-Kaster

 

[Iren00]

awesome can't wait to see how it works out. good luck to ya

 

[Outlawwolf117]

Yeah, I don't plan on Airsoft, I'm not that silly



One thing I was thinking of was have a dual visor, one that is off a Motorcycle Helmet, that is polarized and can slide up and down (The pretty orange one), and another that is fixed in the front of that shield which is the actual paintball face-shield and will protect me from paintballs. This will also enable me to have either a clear visor that people can see into, or a polarized one like in Halo ODST. Like at the end of the "We are ODST" video where they out the helmets on and THEN they polarize.



-Kaster

to emulate that effect, you need an OLED screen. it's not cheap.....

 

[haji]

a paintball has a greater projectile impact than airsoft btw. Its more likely to stand up to airsoft better. Which i hear is not that easy to play in australlia.



Well man, the uncomertability is not your concern and neither is expesne, then go for it.



Cast your helmet, with multiple layers of smooth-cast. You could get really thick plexiglass and heat it to shape then bolt in (your going to need a heavy duty dremel though)and that will elimanate a need for rigging a mask inside.



Dont worry about the armor being reinforced, since its not one your concerns. Your going to want reinforce the leg parts since they will be constantly hitting the ground and shakeing while you run.



Kneepads? just you use a pair of tactical one instead of making them



to prevent excessive fogging, I play airsoft and ive drilled 3mm holes in the corner of my ESS goggles and they help a lot.



You could do that with the ODST visor but i dont know if that will violated any regulations, you can drill a few bigger holes on the helmet. I did that with my Replica plastic MICH helmet, but it didnt work very well with my real PASGT helmet which is made from kevlar.

 

[DiveFreak]

I don't know the rules in Australia, but here in the states, unless you have an industry approved goggle system covering your eyes, then you would not be able to do what you are talking about with the double pane visor. I love the idea, and plan on storing it in the back of my mind. Getting it approved wouldn't be impossible, but I'm sure there are alot of loops you would have to jump through to get it done.

 

[Kasterborus]

to emulate that effect, you need an OLED screen. it's not cheap.....

Yeah, I might look into that, then again, I could also use such a screen to go waaay more advanced and have a HUD and such...but that might be overkill...

a paintball has a greater projectile impact than airsoft btw. Its more likely to stand up to airsoft better. Which i hear is not that easy to play in australia.



Cast your helmet, with multiple layers of smooth-cast. You could get really thick plexiglass and heat it to shape then bolt in (your going to need a heavy duty dremel though)and that will elimanate a need for rigging a mask inside.



Dont worry about the armor being reinforced, since its not one your concerns. Your going to want reinforce the leg parts since they will be constantly hitting the ground and shakeing while you run.



Kneepads? just you use a pair of tactical one instead of making them



to prevent excessive fogging, I play airsoft and ive drilled 3mm holes in the corner of my ESS goggles and they help a lot.



You could do that with the ODST visor but i dont know if that will violated any regulations, you can drill a few bigger holes on the helmet. I did that with my Replica plastic MICH helmet, but it didnt work very well with my real PASGT helmet which is made from kevlar.

Airsoft is Illegal here, due to the fact that Airsoft guns look like real guns to idiots (i.e. 99% of the general population...then again, so do paintball guns)



With the visor, I need to be able to swap it, and use an approved one. The HELMET itself isn't regulated, just the actual eye covering, if I don't use an approved eye covering, I can't use the helmet.



I actually was looking at tactical kneepads....but I would like to reinforce SOME of the armor.

I don't know the rules in Australia, but here in the states, unless you have an industry approved goggle system covering your eyes, then you would not be able to do what you are talking about with the double pane visor. I love the idea, and plan on storing it in the back of my mind. Getting it approved wouldn't be impossible, but I'm sure there are alot of loops you would have to jump through to get it done.

I plan on heading down to the range next weekend and asking the bloke a few questions.



-Kaster

 

[haji]

In that case, Rip off the 2 visors from PB masks, bolt them together to form the angle. You can use dremel to shape them, then bolt them to the helmet

 

[Kasterborus]

Just did a little playing around with my Helm in Photoshoop, this is what I came up with:

-Kaster

 

[Flyerfye]

Lookin' good, I like what you did on the helmet coloring. Not quite screen-accurate but hey, it's your armor! As for cooling, your armor will DEFINITELY be more comfortable, cool, and lightweight than full fire gear (only had a chance to try that stuff on once, but I do know how heavy it is). You're much hardier than us forum-pansies, so you won't have any trouble in this sort of gear, I believe. As for cooling, you'll probably have room in the helmet for some small fans and vent slots, which should help out a lot. Also, liquid cooling is a dang nice idea, even if it just means some ice packs in your armor (see the link, these are AWESOME... you know, until they thaw out).

 

[Kasterborus]

I was actually looking at a system such as This from an old computer to fit into the helm.



-Kaster

 

[Sean Bradley]

I've let this thread go on because theres good discussion going on here, but I will remind you and all reading this that the official 405th standpoint of using costume armor as protective equipment is not recommended or endorsed by the 405th.



In short; play at your own risk, don't say we didn't warn you.



Just had to say it. I'm kinda like obligated to do so.





Carry on, just be safe please.