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pbReview.com / Splat Tag Paintball Field / Splat Tag Paintball Field / Splat Tag Paintball Field / Splat Tag Paintball Field
Splat Tag Paintball Field
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Reviews: |
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Website: |
Click here to visit the field's website. |
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Email: |
Click here to email the field. |
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Phone: |
651-488-7700 |
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Location: |
Burkhardt, Wisconsin 54016
USA |
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Distance: |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
June 6th, 2009 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
northside sports,the place at prokart indoors < crappy >, most hikely fields,splat ball inc |
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| Review: |
even though alot of the reviews for this place are bad i realy love this place. i go there every year for the giant big game and it is always great. i didnt have a single problem with their paint. they had refs everywhere in the course which is saying somthing because it was a 200 acre playing field and i was everywhere there. never without a ref for me to yell "paintcheck" at. the game play on the premesis is tremendous. . . all in all dont listen to these losers flaming this place because only true woodsballers can HANDLE this place. . . most of the peeps putting this place down are xballers who play woodsball once a year and they suck at it. no offense of course i dont mean any trouble. in conclusion. even though this place is being put down alot i loved it and im sure u will also |
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Podshot |
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Thursday, October 16th, 2008 |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
October 11th, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
SCP, Fredrick Paintball, Northside Sports, Combat Paintball, PGI paintball |
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Directions
to the Field: |
Out past Burkhart, directions on the site. |
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| Review: |
Ok, first I would like to say that Splattag is one of the best paintball fields I have ever played at. They were the first field that I ever played at, and was so pleased with how they were run that I decided to continue to play there. The refs are nice and will help you with broken guns.
FEES: The paint is not that expensive, around 50 a case normally. They also let you B.Y.O.P for only 10 dollars. The entrance fee is quite cheap, 15 dollars for the whole day and that includes all day air. They have rentals there, individual or a package. The package includes a 98 rental, Empire mask, and 3000psi air tank. You can upgrade to an A-5 or X-7 for more money. On busy days they also have pro carbines and PCS guns for rental. You can also pay extra for pod packs if you want to rent those.
9/10
STAFF: Above average staff, they know the game and fields, and how to run them both. I've seen many people have their own guns break down and the staff at splattag give them a free rental for the day.
10/10
FIELDS: Splattag has a huge variate of well kept fields. Many have complex bases and different areas of more "open" for speedballers and more brush for classic woodsballers. Splattag has a new d-day field where they run a d-day scenario of allies v.s axis. Splattag also added a new urban field. It's a small completely open city like field, where the bunkers are like buildings. It's very fun to play on.
8/10
EVENTS: Splattag runs some of the best big scenario games I have ever been to. Organized, fun, and always a good turnout.
9/10
I could go on and on about how fun Splattag is but the best way to find out is just to go and play! I give Splattag a 9/10 because in my opinion nothing is perfect but Splattag comes pretty goddamn close.
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| The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page. |
Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
July 5th, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
SCP, Bubba's, First Strike. |
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| Review: |
Despite all the bad reviews about this field, a friend and I choose to give it a shot anyway since it was one of the few fields open on July 5th.
REFS.
Splat Tag is a big field and the prices are close to others in the area. There were about 50 people there that day and of the 3 refs present, 2 were playing. Yeah.... 1 ref for 50 people. They refused to start other games. There was a half hour wait in between each game. One game they put 30 people of all ages and experience levels on a 5 man speedball course all at once. (unintelligent in so many ways)
I talked to a few members of the field who openly admitted to half assing because the owner wasn't there that day. We even filled our own tanks... which was a first... Im sure the fields insurance company would allow that....
PAINT
Their paint was stored in a steel shed... in the hot sun... which = very hard paint. It was very easy to overshoot someone on behalf of all the bounces. The fields are uneven and the woods ball fields have really thick brush.
We were there for a total of 3 hours and decided to leave... luckily I was able to get a refund on 3/4s of a case... it didn't pay to keep it, for I wouldn't dare take it to another field and shoot it...it was that bad. The only thing that kind of paint is good for is shooting chipmunks in the backyard.
FINAL VERDICT
You are better off playing in your backyard.
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
April 27th, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Hinkley, MN - Hinkley had a better selection of fields and more organized |
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| Review: |
I have played paintball for 4 years now and Splat Tag was a new experience for me. I went to the first Jungle Rumble game of the year that they hold every month on the last sunday of the month. There were about 100 people there.
The Field: The fields they had there for woodsball were below par in my opinion. The brush was thick and impossible to shoot through in most places, and this was before the trees had leaves, I can't imagine how they play when the leaves are on the trees. They did have paths but it didn't help much. The sides were usually uneven which made it suck for Capture the Flag. The speedball field or "town" which consisted of a bunch of bunkers and plastic black pipes was a great playing area for Attack and defensd and this was by far their best field.
The Prices: Paint was alright for price, cheap brand $55 a case I think, there was a $10 fee for bringing your own paint. The cost for the day was $35 If I remember right.
The Refs: Good and Bad, the refs were very good during the games to pay attention and control the game, BUT they didn't know much about the game when asked! Our team asked if we had to bring the flag back for Capture the flag to win and he told us the wrong thing, half our team last the game early cause they said no more re-insertion and then changed it.
The Game types: Pretty fun, attack and defend stuff, good missions and re-insertion and a lot of fun despite the fields and confusion. I hated the last game of the day of Terminator, peope got too close and got shot up pretty bad, basically no control over it. I won't play that again.
The overall experience: It was bpar in my opinion, there was good and bad but I don't think I'll ever go again due to the field. I give it a 5. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
August 25th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Northside, Just Paintball in Minnesota. Sherwood Forest, Indiana. CPX Illinois |
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| Review: |
This field is the best operated field I have played at. The owner is very concerned about the safety of the players and goes to great lengths to insure everyone has a good time. Splat Tag has many fields to play on and they can be combined to make a field that is huge. Their Giant Big Games can get 100s of players. The Refs do a good job and are also safety concerned. The only negative comment I can make is the road getting to the field is fairly rough.
I give this field a 10.
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fanky |
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Thursday, August 30th, 2007 |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
August 25th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Only other field I have played at is First Strike in Chippewa for a night game. Splat Tag is a bigger field, and I like playing there better. |
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Directions
to the Field: |
If you're coming the Wisconsin way (I-94 West), get off at exit 4 (HWY 12 North). Take a right at the end of the ramp and follow 12 until it turns into HWY A. You'll go on that for a few miles then turn right onto Highway E then one more right turn at the driveway. |
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| Review: |
Overall, Splat Tag is a great place to play. I've been going to the Monthly Jungle Rumbles and attended both Giant Games this summer. The owner, Darrin, is a great guy that makes sure you have a good time. I'll break up my review into a few key points.
Travel: The field is really easy to get to once you get off I-94. There's a State Park not even 5 minutes away as well that usually has sites open if you need to stay overnight at a good price ($15 a night and $7 for parking unless you have a pass). The driveway can be pretty rough in a few spots, but just drive slow and you'll be fine.
Cost: The entry fee of $25 for the monthly Jungle Rumbles isn't bad considering what you get. A full day of play with at least a hundred people or more usually, Free air/CO2 fills, and a ticket in the raffle which usually has some goodies and a Tippmann X7. The field paint is only $50 or so a case, and BYOP is $10.
Field Layout: The whole field is about 20 acres, but not all of it is used at once. There are plenty of hills, bases, and towers to make games interesting and challenging. My only complaint is that the woods are really thick, but that adds a new dimension to the game and gets you in closer to the other team.
Refs: For the most part, I like the refs at Splat Tag. They're great guys/gals that will help you fix your gun and answer any question. They really enforce masks on and barrel plugs, which is a good thing.
I can't really think of much else to say. It's a great field, that's why I keep coming back. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
March 29th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Combat Paintball |
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| Review: |
Well, Let me just start off by saying that Splat Tag is good if you're a beginner. They treat you very well there and saftey is their #1 priority. This field to me isn't as appealing for the people who have been playing for a while. But if you're new, this is a great place to start out at.
Prices-Pretty expensive compared to combat paintball. 25 for big game plus 10 for B.Y.O.P. Free CO2/Compressed Air, which is nice.
Rules- Like any other place they have good rules and they keep safety in mind at the same time so that they have fair rules and it still is safe and fun to play.
Fields- Awesome. These fields are neatley set-up with plenty amount of cover, but sometimes it gets unorganized and the fields get all mixed up and 30 min out on the field is wasted just because the refs don't know where the insertion point (s) will be and where the limits to the field are.
Refs- Fine. One guy thinks the S*** though. You'll probably know who he is once you go there a couple of times.
People that go there in general-A lot are really nice and will help anyone who is new and needs help. You do get the occasional idiots, but that's not Splat Tags fault.
Food- It's food.
Overall-Good if you are new to the sport and just want to go to a place. But once you get more into it, combat is better. When you see Splat Tag guys and the owner going to combat, that kinda tells you something. But it is a nice field and recomended to the new player and if you just want to try it out for a party and have never played paintball before. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
April 29th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
I have played several fields around the metro area, but I usually play at a private site that we have built ourselves. |
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| Review: |
I have been playing paint ball for about 5 years, splat tag was one of the worst experiences I have had in my 5 + years playing and here are the reasons why.
1.) The fields - All of the fields that we played were either one sided or were just not laid out very proportionally. Advantage to one team works for some games, king of the hill, and fort. But when you are playing team elem or flag over and over you do not want one team to have the advantage. All of the courses we played were very hilly and it seemed like one team always had the advantage. Also the thicket was terrible, the underbrush was absolutely horrible. There was the main trails and then there was woods it seemed like very little in between. None of the underbrush had been cleared out so even in spring with very little foliage you couldn't get any long shots off. Another thing is the total lack of cover, splat tag has a very small amount of cover on field other than downed trees, logs etc.
2.) The Ref - Okay this was one of my BIGGEST pet peeves about splat tag. If you pay approximately 50 bucks you should get a good ref, one at minimum 2 should be standard for a 25+ group. Other fields I have played at I had 2 refs for about the same size group. We were given one ref, and the kid was 13 years old. Only one ref for 30 people is sparse but can be managed if the ref is decent. This ref was beyond green, I could have put my 8 year daughter out there and had more accomplished.
We have all had that jerk on the field that thinks hes special and doesn't call out when you shoot him, talks to players on field after being shot to give away your position, and stays on the field after calling out. Now imagine the worst player you have had to deal with, I played with that guy today. His kid came down after being shot and calling out gave up our locations to his dad, as my friend was shooting at him(the dad that wasn't out yet) the ref told my friend to stop shooting because he was out. My friend stopped shooting but jerk off didn't, then I shot this guy totally by surprise and hit him, and he turned to me and shot me after the fact and the ref called us both out. Also while we were playing we got booted off the field we were playing mid game because they needed it for a big game that they were doing, mind you this was mid game it wasn't at the end of the game.
3.) Management - Being a cog in the corporate machine I understand good management can be a very difficult thing to come by. But this was down right shameful, the complete lack of organization was apparent. Not only was our ref unqualified (13 year old kid that probably hasn't shot a paint ball gun let alone ref'd a day of paint ball in his life) but the ref didn't seem to know what was going on what so ever as he wasn't even granted a walky talky to communicate with "Base" or a Horn to start / stop games. You can' t really blame the kid for being unqualified and not having the right tools to do his job you really have to look at the management. They are truly the ones responsible for this abomination in paintball named splat tag.
So in summary, if you are thinking about going to Splat Tag I would highly advise against it. There are many other courses in the metro area that will give you a far greater bang for your buck. The only way I would ever go back to Splat Tag to play was if it was free.
If any of you would like to further converse about my experience at Splat Tag feel free to email me at acidflash07@hotmail.com. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
March 31st, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
This has been the only field i have ever played at more than once. |
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Directions
to the Field: |
well you can go to there site, and find them its very, very easy to find. |
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| Review: |
Splat tag is a very good place to play your first time or however long you have played. they tell you everything you need to know, and will answer any questions you have. there prices of entry,paint and rental are phenomenal. the owners are fun and are very uptight on safety and having a lot of fun. Splat tag has many fields, ranging from small to enormous pending on what is going on or the population of the group. the games them selves are switched up a lot so you have the max amount of fun, such as capture the flag (middle flag, or where its on both sides), or elimination,terminator, torso shots only things like that. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
September 15th, 2006 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Special Forces Paintball in Buffalo, MN. is really the only other large, commercial scenario/woodsball field within 30-45 minutes of the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area. While I enjoy SFP, a large portion of their field is turned into a swamp w/ even a little moisture/rainfall. Wet years also produce swarms of skeeters. |
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Directions
to the Field: |
5-10 mins NE of Burkhardt, WI. Easy directions can be obtained from the Splat Tag website. |
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| Review: |
Splat Tag-
Let me begin by stateing some facts right up front:
- No, I am not an employee of Splat Tag.
- Yes, I play for a team that has chosen Splat Tag as one of our team sponsors.
- No, I was not requested or instructed to write this review.
- I am reviewing this field using woodsball criteria as I am primarly a woodsball/scenario player.
- This review is for the Burkhardt field, not the Baldwin field where Splat Tag had a presence several years ago.
FIELD-
Splat Tag has 8 woodsball fields encompassing a total of around 200 wooded acres, as well as an area set up for speedball. Each field has its own distinct feel to it. There is a field w/ large pine trees, a valley field that has a long ravine running right down the length of it, a field with a crashed plane, and numerous forts constructed on several of the fields. The only downside to the set up is that Splat Tag RENTS the land. This prevents them from building any permenant structures or facilities.
Vegatation and Terrain-
I want to be really clear that these fields are in a wooded forest environment, not a bunch of schrubs, small saplings, or barrels, and wooden spools thrown out onto an open grassy field. Many of the trees are mature with wide trunks that make good hard cover. Depending on what time of year it is, and what part of the field you are on, underbrush can be anywhere from thick to relatively open under the forest canopy. Many of the fields are somewhat hilly with small hills, valleys and ravines. They are not so hilly as to be hard to climb w/ full gear though, just enough to make things interesting.
SAFTEY-
Safety is a priority at Splat Tag. They strictly enforce mask rules, First time violators will be reminded to keep their masks down on the field (by both refs and other players). Repeat violators will be asked by staff to leave plain and simple. I have seen it happen, and I am glad they have this policy. I don't want to be the guy that shots some person's eye out cause they were lifting their mask on the field. Also for Commercial fields to stay afloat financially they need to have affordable insurance premiums (no accidents), so its in everyones best interst to see that the safety rules are followed if they want to continue playing at commercial fields. While chronoing guns on any one of the several high quality radar chronometers is and should be the players responsibility, The refs randomly will chrono EVERYONE entering a game. Many of the refs also carry handheld chonos to randomly check players during the game.
RULES-
Splat Tag uses the typically standard rules for woodsball;
-Guns MUST be chronoed 300fps or under. Some games may impose lower limits.
-Masks MUST stay down while on the field, regardless if the game is in play or not.
-Velocity ramping is NOT allowed.
-Full-auto is ONLY allowed for select games, See Splat Tag website for details.
-ANY hit and break of a paintball on a players person, gun or equipment counts.
-Friendly fire is not friendly, it counts as an elimination.
-10 foot rule. While more of a strictly enforced guideline, players should be offering an opponent the chance to surrender at close range, or you can simply tap the person with the end of you gun barrel to gain a prestigious silent "barrel tag" elimination. This rule is really an anti-bunkering rule (to use speedball terminology). You can not run up on someone hiding behind a tree/bunker and lite them up at close range.
-NO physical altercations will be tolerated.
-You MUST yell out in a loud voice "HIT" and place you marker and hands up in the air and walk off the field when you are out. Failure to immediately do so may result in subsequent shots being fired at you. It is also your own responsibility to get out of the line of fire and off the field, On you way off the field, keep your hands up while yelling "Dead Man Walking" to reduce the risk of being accidently shot again.
-Of course there is the standard "No real firearms, knives, unapproved fireworks or unbreakable tripwires allowed" rule as well.
SERVICES-
Splat Tag is a Factory authorized repair center for Tippmann paintball markers.
They do not have a Proshop or store. But paintball supply dealers / vendors like Northern Command Paintball, CC Military supply, and St. Croix Paintball do set up canopies for the Giant Big Games and some of the month end Jungle Rumbles.
Food is usually available for most weekend games. Fare includes, hotdogs, hambugers, chips, soda, gatorade, and water. Please note the food vendors are independent, and not Splat Tag Employees.
HOURS OF OPERATION-
See Splat Tag's website for specifics...
They usually have open plays on weekends,
Parties, small groups by appointment.
Larger "Big Games", now called "Jungle Rumbles" on the last Sun of every month.
"Giant Big Games" twice a year. 500-800+ players for an 8 hour game.
I believe Splat Tag may be trying some short (2-4 hours) night games for the 2007 season as well.
PRICES-
Splat Tags prices seem very reasonable.
They have Tippmann 98 customs, and A-5 (I think) for rental, as well as mask rentals. Check the Splat Tag website for prices.
$15 per person for open play. This also covers HPA and CO2 fills.
$20 per person for month end "Jungle Rumbles". This also covers HPA and CO2 fills.
$45 per person for biannual Giant Big Games. This also covers HPA and CO2 fills.
If you play a lot, Splat Tag's Yearly membership for $195 can actually save you money. This gives you discounted paint, and free admission to all Open Play, and month ending Jungle Rumbles, plus it is free to use and bring your own paint.
Paint-
Paint prices are as follows:
$65 per case for Open play
$50 per case for month end "Jungle Rumbles".
$45 per case for biannual Giant Big Games.
Splat Tag is a field paint only (FPO) field, but for an extra $10 you can bring and use your own paint.
Splat Tag uses RPS PMI paint exclusivly. Their paint should be pretty fresh as they order it almost weekly from the factory. They typically stock Rampage which is a decent and affordable rec/field paint. Occasionally, they will also stock Premiums, an intermediate grade of paint, and Marballizers (which our team shoots) which is considered a tournament grade paint.
FACILITIES-
As I mentioned before, Splat Tag rents the land the fields are on. The land owner, whos driveway you pull into to get to the field will not allow Splat Tag to make any permenent changes to the property. This fact, and the fields rather isolated location, means that there is No running water. Electricity for the lights, and air compressor are provided by a large generator. Bathroom facilites typically consist of a commercial single PortaPoti (multiple units are brought in for Giant Big Games). HPA airfills are somewhat erratic probably due to their power situation. I have a 4500psi tank, but I am rarely able to get a fill over 4K. Sometimes fills are in the 2500 to 3K range, but they average in the mid to high 3K range. The dirt road leading to the fields from the property owners house/ driveway is 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile long and can become VERY potholed after rainy weather. I have never had any problems driving my car, but a lot of people drive pickups & SUVs. I can't be too critical of the road because I know that several times a year Splat Tag pays thousands on replowing and filling the road to keep it semi-decent.
REFFING-
I have read a very small minority of reviews for this field that have been somewhat critical of the Refs. I can not say that I agree with them at all. I have visited this field since it was first opened, and can honestly say I have never had an negative experience with ANY of their ref staff. I think part of the problems may come from the difference of expectations players have between speedball refs and woodsball refs. It seems in speedball you really are not out till a ref pulls your armband. Speedball refs are a lot more involved with watching for and checking players for hits. That fine and dandy for a 3 on 3 or 5 on 5 speedball game. But you can't expect there to be the same ratio of players to refs when you often have 50 to 100 players on [i]EACH[/i] side. In woodsball, it is the player's responsiblity to call himself out, if you can't see if a paintball broke on you, ask a ref or another player, but don't expect the Ref to check it for you. The Refs will call you out if they see a ball break on you, and question you about old hits from previous games. That and ensuring that the safety rules are being followed is their primary responsibilities and they do a pretty good job of it. But in Woodsball you have to have a little more integrity and self honesty and call yourself out even if no one else saw the paintball break.
Should a ref go on company authorized break, and choose to jump in a walk-on game, who cares? When they do so they are no longer reffing and they will and do call themselves out just like everyone else. You gotta realize that most refs are also players, so can you imagine reffing all the time, but never being able to play?
PLAYERS-
99% of the players that REGULARLY frequent this field are stand-up, honest, people, that have the personal integrity to call themselves out when they are out. I have noticed that for some of the larger games, particularly the Giant Big Games, that there occasionally seems to be some wiping and playing on happening. This unfortunatly seems to be on par for larger events as you just can not have enough refs to make sure it never happens. I have played all over the country and played in some of the largest events (Michigan Monster Game, and Oklahoma D-Day). So I can say with authority that Splat Tag does a pretty good job in reducing the chance of encountering a cheater.
IN CONCLUSION-
Positive;
This is a great field, and I have pretty high standards when it comes to woodsball/scenario fields cause I have played on some of the best in the country.
To sum it up, it has great foliage, vegetation, and terrain for good paintball. I have to give props to the owner Darrin as well. He lives, breathes, and dreams Paintball. It is not just a job to him, it is his life. Because of this he really brings a lot of excitement, energy and new ideas into his games.
Negative;
Property rental situation handicaps Splat Tag from making any kind of major permenent improvements to their fields and services.
HPA airfills need to be higher and more consistantly higher.
Neither of these issues are too serious, and I know Splat Tag is seeking solutions for both of them as I write this.
I give Splat Tag an Honest 9/10!
Hope to see some of you out there this summer!
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