Born On Dating for Paintballs

There's nothing like going to a store or field and buying a case of paintballs and then opening them to discover dimples, oblong balls and broken shells.  Often the reason is because you lucked into a case that had been at the bottom of a pallet and had been sitting for months or longer in less-than-ideal storage conditions. Alas, that is part of paintball.

While I don't feel that paintball companies need to put a "best by" date or expiration date on paintballs (since the simple truth is that paintballs will last different amounts of time depending on how they are stored), I would like them to put a born-on-date on each case that says when the paintballs were originally manufactured. Imagine if you go into a store and you see that there are two brands of paint - one that was made (born) last month and another brand that was made six months ago - which would you be inclined to choose?  I know that the date wouldn't guarantee the younger balls would be better, but it sure makes it more likely.

Of course, if a manufacturer really stands behind their paint or a store really believes in the quality of the product they sell, both could put an expiration date on the paint and guarantee that up to that date the paint will be round, dimple free and without a break in the case. That, though, might be a little unrealistic at this point.

If any manufacturer who reads this takes the plunge and adds born on dating to their paintballs, it would definitely get my business and it just might inspire a change in the industry.