You need to read your manual. If you are reading this but haven’t read your manual your priorities are out of order, or a team mate sent you this to try and convince you. On one hand modern paintball markers are easy to service and keep running, but we are also in an era where few people are starting with blow backs that need a couple drops of oil every couple cases of paint. I am mostly going to be talking about paintball guns in this article but all of this applies to your other gear as well.

Your gear is only as reliable as you

Your manual will have a guide of how often and how to maintain your marker. This is crucial for keeping your gun in working order. Regular maintenance will also improve the longevity of the seals within your marker saving you both money and headaches. Some of this information may not be in your quick start guide so be sure to check out the full manual if it is online only.

Troubleshoot your way out of trouble

The troubleshooting guide in your manual is key to solving issues. If you have a leak or your marker won’t fire, check through the guide and you may find your answer. If you don’t have a physical manual I highly recommend printing this part off and stashing it somewhere in your gear bag as it can be a life saver at the field.

Knowing is half the battle

Your manual is also the first step in truly knowing how your marker functions. Seeing exploded views of all your components can give you a much better idea of how your bolt system manages to send a paintball down field. On top of this it can make it much easier to narrow down issues that may or may not be listed in the troubleshooting guide. If your manual doesn’t have a good explanation of how your markers bolt system works I highly recommend checking out the marker animations at ZDS Paintball.

Try before you buy

I also highly recommend reading the manual for equipment that you are considering purchasing. You will know ahead of time how easy or difficult they are to take apart, how and how often they need to be serviced/maintained, and if there are any wear and tear parts that you should know about.

A note to manufacturers, a good manual is worth it

As much as I like my Spire IR2, its lack of manual has soiled my opinion of the company (though I do still like their loaders). On the other side of the coin I recently picked up some Planet Eclipse Ethas and was blown away by the quality of their manual. It would not surprise me if half of PE’s reputation for reliability comes from proper documentation making it easier to diagnose and fix issues. It helps that they make a solid product, but their manuals should be an industry standard and not the stand out that they are.