 Lamby |
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Monday, May 19th, 2003 |
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Period of
Field Use: |
Just once |
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| Date There: |
N/A |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Picasso Lake - Much better experience
M.C. - Slightly better, better prices but only one field
Jack Frost - Better, Similar Prices, but much better fields
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| Review: |
I actually have two different experiences at this field. My first experience was close to 8 years ago... it was a pump-only game, and the guns were a mix of Trracers and SL68-II's... it was one of the most enjoyable paintball experiences I've had. I recently returned to Poco Loco for another outing, and I'm left to wonder what happened.
The prices are ridiculous ($99 for a case of Zap and $30 for a field fee?!) and you are almost guaranteed to pay more than you plan to. Hidden costs are tacked on everywhere, we arrived at the field only to learn that our safety equipment was sub-par and were forced to purchase new "Poco Loco Approved" safety equipment. Supposedly, this is why this field has a "perfect liability record", at least according to the woman in the trailer, but I guess that doesn't include the person that fell off of "castle rock" that our referee told us about. The process of getting the renters equipped was slow and arduous, and the younger members of our group were shamelessly grilled by the staff to spend their money to needlessly "bump up" their rented Tippman 98 Customs to Compressed Air from C02. The equipping / orientation process took over an hour when it could have been finished in 15 minutes.
Our group was guaranteed a private field, but was instead placed with another group that came on site. We weren't consulted on this, and when we finally found this out (when we were about to go on field) the woman in charge said that they didn't have enough fields and essentially we had no choice.
In all fairness, the two referees we had were excellent, they were very polite and helpful. However, some of the other staff on the premisis were very unprofessional, and even immature. Equipment was mocked (my equipment is hardly "top of the line" but it was at one point... after making fun of my gear, I asked the staff member if he even knew what kind of gun it was... he didn't... and it was a VM-68). While the emphasis on safety is of utmost importance, a simple reminder the first time a barrel shroud is removed is often sufficient, not yelling in the face of a 14 year old until he is on the brink of tears for an innocent mistake. This shows the lack of tact and class of this field.
The fields aren't bad, but nothing special. They are mostly all wooded, with large rocks and various natural obstacles. There is a small speedball course, and a castle for attack and defend. Avoid these fields if you can unless you have a bottomless wallet, because they will get you on paint.
In conclusion, it would seem that Poco Loco is out to capitalize on the naivete of the new player. Most people don't know that paint doesn't actually cost $99 a case, field fee shouldn't be $30, and that field staff shouldn't be pompous idiots. Poco Loco is able to line it's pockets off of this ignorance, but it definitely isn't ensuring its continued success. People have fun because PAINTBALL is fun; once they make the game come before the bottom line, I may come back. Until then, I give them a 2, simply because the refs we had did a good job. |
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