“The right paintball gear makes a whole lot of a difference in a match, be it a paintball marker, paintballs, or safety gears”; is a statement we make quite often based on our paintball experience and testing. Among all the essential gear, a paintball pod is another necessity for long-hour paintball games.
These pods hold extra stock of paintballs to be used during a match. And like other equipment, you will find a variety of brands in the market which means a lot of research and hard work to be done before finding the right one.
- Durable build quality
- User-friendly design with a spring-loaded lid
- Have more capacity than standard ones
- Comes in six paintball tubes
- Available in both lower and larger capacity
- Design-build is classy and durable
- Reliable advanced lock lid system
- Different color variations
- Durable build quality
- Can store up to 150 rounds
- Comes at an affordable price
- Available in different colors
Paintball Pods/Tubes
For those who are new to paintball, paintball pods are hard plastic containers that hold your paintball supply for emergencies. Approximately you can store up to 140 rounds of paintballs but you can find pods with less or more storage space.
These are known by other names like tubes or guppy pods also and some come with spring-loaded lids for more ease and fast pace for smooth hopper filling with the help of just one hand.
We have compiled a list of the top 8 best paintball pods after thorough testing of different brands like HK Army Paintball, Maddog, TheraBand, Generic, and with different price ranges.
To make your research even easier, we have listed down a few buying pointers that will help you in narrowing your final choice of the best paintball pod.
Key Buying Pointers For Best Paintball Pods
We all know that the main buying factor is always the budget but other key factors tell you the quality, effectiveness, and reliability of the product.
By checking your choice of paintball pod through these pointers, you can make the best out of your purchase.
User-Friendly Design
In the middle of intense paintball matches, fast refilling of your hopper with just one hand is crucial. Easy access to open the lid of the paintball pod is the key to doing so.
Focus on the design that offers more ease of lid opening and closing mechanism. The user-friendly design ensures paintball pod quality and reliability.
Strong Build
Paintball is a fierce and rough & tough kind of sport. Therefore, its gears need to have a strong build to withstand any vigorous physical activities; the same goes for the paintball pods.
They are usually made of plastic but could be damaged if not handled properly or carried around securely on an ammunition belt.
Paintball pods made of more durable plastic have more quality compared to the others. However, these are a bit expensive as well. If you prefer quality over budget then we recommend going for the durable ones.
Paintball Storage Capacity
The main use of paintball pods is keeping an extra stash of paintballs, so you need to look out for the storage range capacity of the paintball pod you are considering buying. It is always recommended and professional practice to have a large or at least a significant amount of paintballs on standby.
Most of the time, this factor can drastically affect your winning position. Imagine running out of ammo at the most sensitive time of the match; this is where paintball pods can save you from losing the match.
The standard pods have a capacity of approximately 140 rounds which is sufficient for average paintball matches.
If you are more into rapid-firing then we suggest you look for options that offer a capacity of 160 or 200 upwards. You will also find lower-capacity paintball pods that are used for short-hour paintball matches with pistols and shotguns.
Budget
Among all the paintball gears, pods are the ones that get lost more often and are prone to more damage, especially the cheap ones. Many players often consider the cheap ones because of the risk of losing them; however, the cheap pods also have lower quality and can’t withstand any damage.
However, we still suggest getting moderate-quality paintball pods so you won’t risk losing precious ammo during a crucial moment because of unexpected breakage of pods.
Although you need to be careful not to misplace them more often and carry them around securely on a belt or in a paintball sack.
Weight
Paintball pods aren’t the only equipment you will be carrying around. Playing paintball requires a lot of carrying around different equipment to win, each item has its weight.
So make sure that you don’t carry extra unnecessary weight around. Getting lightweight pods will be of great advantage in a paintball match.
Top 8 Best Paintball Pods
You need to keep in mind the above-mentioned buying pointers while scrolling through the list of our top 8 best paintball pods.
This way you will be able to pinpoint THE ONE paintball pod that fulfills your requirements, and style and is best for your gameplay.
1. HK Army High Capacity Red Paintball Pods
- Dimensions: 13.5 x 8.46 x 5.98 inches
- Weight: 0.74 Kilograms
- Material: Polypropylene (Hard Plastic)
These paintball pods have a high capacity of 150 rounds so you don’t have to carry around so many pods. The package contains a total of 6 red tubes, enough to even share with your playmates.
These have spring-loaded lids for easy opening and closing in the heat of battle. With its enlarged thumb groove, the whole process of refilling could be done speedily. These pods’ sizes are compatible with any harness so you can fit them in any style or type of harness.
These proved to be very effective during our trial and doesn’t make a sound. The body build is pretty durable to withstand any rough handling.
The locking mechanism is reliable as well. Its enlarged thumb grooving feature is the unique one that enables easy and swift handling; something other brand pods don’t have.
- Durable build quality
- These pods have an enlarged thumb groove for easy handling
- It has a user friendly design with spring loaded lid
- Compatible with all types of paintball harness
- It has a larger storage capacity than the standard ones
- It comes in 6 paintball tubes
- It did spill some content while being in a harness
2. Dye Alpha Paintball Pods
- Dimensions: 12.5 x 12.4 x 5.4 inches
- Weight: 1 kilogram
- Material: Polypropylene
You can stock up your emergency supply of paintballs with a DYE alpha value pack of 6 tubes with a capacity of 150 rounds.
These pods are compatible with all types of paintball harnesses for convenient carrying around. These come in three exciting visible colors, lime, red, and smoke. These are made of strong rigid plastic to withstand rough falls.
We liked how it was easy to tell if there is a paintball breakage inside because of its semi-see-through body shell, which we didn’t encounter.
However, it’s not that visible to figure out the fill color. These have standard normal flip top lids with flip guards that proved to be reliable and durable. Although refilling won’t be as quick as compared to a spring loaded lid.
- The build is reliable and durable
- It has a capacity of storing 150 rounds
- These are all types harness compatible
- It has a flip guard to avoid accidental opening
- These come at an affordable price
- Available in different color variations
- Faced a little bit of difficulty with the lid; it was too tight
3. Virtue PF165 Paintball Pods
- Dimensions: 11 x 8 x 6 inches
- Weight: 1.06 Kilograms
- Material: Robust Plastic
Virtue offers an advanced mechanism in its “PF165 Paintball Pods” that is press flick locking lid for a speedy refiling process with just a push of a button. We find its semi-see-through body very handy for filling the pods correctly and fully.
Except for the black ones, the others are semi transparent. We were able to squeeze in more paintballs than its given capacity of 165 rounds without any breakage or leakage. A great advantage for professional players as they can carry more ammo in fewer pods.
You will also find another model of virtue, the paintball pod PF 135 in the market that offers the capacity of 135 rounds. You can choose whichever suits your need as these are of the best quality.
It has a durable body and a reliable advanced locking lid system to eliminate the risks of any spills. A total of 6 pods come in the package and are a bit expensive for beginners.
- You can find both lower and larger capacity
- The design build is classy and durable
- The advanced lock lid system is reliable as well
- It is designed in such a way that you can fit more paintballs in these pods than the offered amount
- Different color variations
- The button is quite sensitive. You need to secure it well in a harness to avoid any accidental opening.
4. Dye Precision Lock Lid Paintball Pod
- Item Dimensions: 7.48 x 5.91 x 11.02 inches
- Item Weight: 0.22 Pounds
Another good paintball pod product from DYE is the Precision Lock Lid Paintball Pod, which has a capacity of storing 160 rounds each.
You can get them in smoke, cyan, and lime color as well as in a pack of 6 or a single paintball tube. It has a secure latch lid system that opens up by downward sliding thumbs over it.
The outer body has an anti-slip dents kind of design on it for a secure grip which we find very helpful with sweaty palms. Although we went through some struggle putting them in strapless packs with these dents.
- These are super durable.
- You can store a significant amount of paintballs in it.
- The outer shell dents offer you a secure grip in the middle of intense matches.
- Different color variations.
- Easy to open for refilling.
- The lids are not very reliable
5. HK Army HSTL Pods Starter Package
- Dimensions: 15 x 10 x 5 inches
- Weight: 1.8 Pounds
If you are thinking of a long term solution kit that has everything needed to be attached to the paintball marker; then you might want to take a look at HK Army HSTL Pods Starter Package. It includes a paintball pod harness, 4 sturdy paintball pods of standard 140 rounds, and a paintball remote line.
This remote line is compatible with all .50 Calibre size markers along with Tippmann, Spyder, BT, Smart Parts, GoG, Dangerous Power, Luxe, Planet Eclipse, Bob Long, Field One, First Strike, Milsig, Kingman, JT, 32 Degrees, D3Fy, Dye, Luxe, Empire, Gi Sportz, HK Army, Invert, Proto, SP, and Valken.
You can choose this package in three colors: blue, red, and smoke. We tried fixing this harness on different CO2 and compressed air tanks and it fits perfectly in all sizes.
The pods are made of sturdy plastic material which is durable as well as has a reliable flip open lid system.
- The package includes all the important gears needed to be attached to the marker.
- A great value package.
- The pods are extremely functional.
- These have great durability and reliability.
- Different color variations.
- The harness is of just okay quality.
6. HK Army Skull Paintball Pods
- Dimensions: 37 x 6 x 9 inches
- Weight: 14 Ounces
This paintball pod option is a great choice for players who love unique and cool designs like skulls. These skull shaped pods have a capacity of 150 rounds and a total of 6 tubes come in the package.
Light smoke, black, lime, and purple color variations are available in the market. These pods have the iconic HK Army spring loaded lid mechanism for fast reloading.
Even with the skull design, we find these well matched with almost all paintball harnesses. These proved to be very strong and reliable even during intentional drop testing. Their enlarged thumb groove feature enables quick reloading.
- These work perfectly fine
- Paintball pods have a reliable and durable build design
- It has a unique sense of design
- It has a larger storage capacity than the standard ones
- It is compatible with all types of harness
- It has an enlarged groove thumb for quick reloading
- The skull design might not be appealing to some players (not much of a con though)
7. HK Army High Capacity Paintball Pods
- Item Dimensions: 53 x 6 x 9 inches
- Item Weight: 14 Ounces
Another good option from HK Army is its High Capacity Paintball Pods of 6 packs with a storage capacity of 165 rounds of paintballs.
And just like other HK Army models; these are also compatible with all kinds of paintball harnesses. By far in our paintball pod testing trials HK Army products scored the most.
These pods have a push button lock for perfect security from paint spill and spring powered lid for speedy restocking during a fierce match.
You will find colors like dark smoke, grey, and black in the market; whichever suits your style the best.
- It has a larger storing capacity that is handy for long hours of matches
- A push button lock for securing paintballs inside safely
- For speedy reloading, these pods have a powered spring lid
- These paintball tubes are made of sturdy plastic for a durable shell and reliability
- The buttons are a bit tricky to get used to
8. Valken Gotcha Paintball Pod
- Dimensions: 5.51 x 2.1 x 1.9 inches
- Weight: 0.02 Kilograms
These are perfect for storing less ammo with you like around 100 rounds of paintballs. These are the only pods with a clear spring loaded lid.
We find these pods the ideal choice for short matches with paintball shotguns and pistols.
- The opening and closing of the lid are functional and secured
- The body build looks sturdy enough
- These pods hold fewer paintballs than their given capacity
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you fill the best paintball pod?
Before filling up the paintball pod make sure that it is clean from the inside. Secure the paintball bag around the neck of the pod and tie it to ensure that you don’t spill any paintball.
To keep the paintballs safe and secure in the pod make sure there is no extra space left in the pod for shaking. You can check this by shaking your pod a little with the lid closed down.
If there is no witness shaking then you’re good to go but if there is then add more paintballs in the pod until there is no space left for shaking.
How do you put on a paintball pod pack and harness?
Always wear the paintball pod load around your hips because wearing it any higher than your hips might cause breathing trouble or any lower might cause difficulty in movement.
The strap should be pointing towards your legs.
Why is it essential for a paintball player to use a paintball pod?
Paintball pods hold extra rounds of paintballs as a backup during a match.
A paintball player needs to own a pod to eliminate the risk of running out of paintballs during a match at the most sensitive time of winning and losing situations.
How many pods should I carry in paintball?
On average 3 pods on the field are safe to carry along however it solely depends on the game style you are going to participate in.
What is a paintball harness?
A paintball harness is a belt that helps a player carry paintball pods around. The best place to wear a paintball harness is around the hips for better mobility.
What size are paintball pods?
The standard size of paintball pods is 140 rounds but you can get a smaller size or larger size according to your gameplay pump players tend to carry around 100 round size paintball pods. Whereas the tournament-based players carry around more than 200 round paintball pod size.
Conclusion
Thinking about getting a worthwhile paintball pod is essential in improving your overall gaming skills. Since these pods’ main purpose is to store an extra supply of paintballs in case of emergencies, finding a good paintball pod is a game-changer.
You don’t want to end up spilling your emergency supply of paintballs at the most crucial time or not being able to refill your hopper quickly just because the lid got stuck or opened on its own.
Consider the above-mentioned pointers before finalizing a paintball pod because there are many factors other than the budget that could affect the functional performance of the paintball pod.
- For us, our top pick would be “HK Army High Capacity Red Paintball Pods” because these performed efficiently and exactly the way they should.
- For the best value, we would recommend “Dye Alpha Paintball Pods” because of their durable and resistant outer shell. What fascinated us the most was the see-through shell from which we could tell the status of ammo stock without opening the pod.
- Last but not least we liked how “Virtue PF165 Paintball Pods” offered more space than its given capacity, although it is a bit expensive for beginners if you can go for it then we would suggest getting these for long hours of paintball matches were carrying extra ammo along with is another step towards winning.
