How To Pick The Best Paintball Air Tank Size

Hey, guys. John here with Pro Edge Paintball. I've got another weekly video for you. We get a lot of questions, and I mean, a lot of questions. And this is something we deal with a lot in the stores as well. A customer comes in, they say, I want a new compressed air bottle. I want a new air tank, but I don't know what size to get. And especially if you're shopping online, I understand that this is completely impossible for you to know without watching 27 videos and having a little bit of experience of what size your buddies have or what size you've tried before. So, today's video, I'm going to basically try to go over the most popular sizes on a couple of the very popular guns that are out there. And that way you get an idea based on how tall I am, if I'm similar height as you, which air tank would be the best for you, and at least give you a little more insight on what to watch out for when you are out there shopping and understand how we think when we try to help a customer get set up. So, just to get started, I have the two most popular brand air tanks out here.

I have the Ninja bottles and I have the Empire bottles. Empire doesn't make a ton of bottles, but I do have what they're call their 68 megalite. They do have a smaller 50 bottle that I did not grab out here today because it's almost identical to the Ninja 50. I've got Ninja, of course, all the way up to the 90 cubic inch, which is enormous, to the 77, their 68 and down to their 45 cubic inch style. So, just to give you a quick rundown, what I just said was a 90 cubic inch bottle means it's 90 cubic inches. So, I like to compare a 20-ounce Coke bottle compared to a two-liter Coke bottle. So, this would be like a two-liter Coke bottle. And this, of course, would be like a 20-ounce Coke bottle. They still both hold Coke. They just hold more or less of it. So, as far as comparing apples to apples and trying to understand what those numbers mean, that's probably one of the best ways, in my opinion, to understand that. I have the new Shocker Amp. So, this is a Shocker paintball, Shocker Amp. It's got a different frame on the back of it.
That's why I grabbed this. So the length of this one may feel a little bit different than a Planet of Clips gun or an Empire gun, so I wanted to grab that one. Then, of course, I have probably the most popular gun under $400, the Empire Mini-GS. If you have one of these, this is extremely popular, the way it fits and everything. I'm going to start with the Amp first and go over it. I'm almost six foot tall. So, with shoes, I'm six foot tall. That means your arms are a certain length. I play in the back of the field, so I shoot a little bit more paintballs when I'm playing. I typically would lean towards a little bit larger bottle. But more importantly, for most of you recreational players out there, air and efficiency really isn't an issue because when you go play paintball, you play on the left side of the field, you play your game, you play on the right side of the field, and you come back and you get free air. Most of your places, at least in Houston and Texas, have unlimited air. So, you don't need a giant bottle for playing recreationally unless you're just shooting that much paint every single game.
Typically, the size of the bottle is going to be about your comfort. How comfortable do you feel? How tight can you play? Is it too heavy for you? Stuff like that. I'm going to go ridiculous first to get started. I'm going to grab the amp and I'm going to go with the Ninja 90 cubic inch bottle. I think this is the largest. I think Gorilla Air makes a larger bottle, like a 114. But this is a pretty ridiculous, huge bottle. Just to give you some fundamentals, I don't know if you can tell from the video, but it looks ridiculous compared to the size of the gun. But all right, let's just start over real quick. I'll start with this, break it down. So, what I look for, there's a measurement, there's a joke online or a thing online. People say if you can take the air tank and put it in the bottom of your arm here, and I don't necessarily agree with that. Actually, I don't agree with that at all. Typically people can have longer arms, shorter arms. That's a pretty good rule of thumb to get started. But if you want to be as picky as I'm about to be, I don't think that's a good idea.
With this size, what we're going to do is going to put it in our shoulder here and point it at the camera so you can see. One good thing about the length of this is I'm able to tuck my arm completely underneath the bottle here. For example, when I come out to play, if I'm shooting at a flat area, I can come out and play and my arm is completely flush with the side of it instead of being out like this or something. But the downside with this is there's no way I can play close to my bunker with how long this is. You'd have to put it up like this. But for a taller person, let's say you're 6'3, 6'4, 6'5, I would definitely consider going with a 90 bottle because of the length of your arms would be a little more comfortable. So this here is a little uncomfortable for me just because of how far out I feel like I am like this. Here, good to go. So, that's a 90 right there.  Again, that does not match up. Obviously, it's going to be too long, which I do like that.

Okay.

Probably my favorite size bottle that I've ever used is probably a 77 from Ninja or an Empire 80. They don't make the 80 currently, but it is probably the one I'm using currently and I like it a lot. So, this is a Ninja '77. My guess, without actually putting this up to my arm before the video is this is probably my favorite size. So, again, it's pretty close. It's a little bit longer than my bend on my elbow here. Actually, I must feel a little too short. So, again, what's nice about this is the length of the bottle here, my arm isn't scrunched up like this to try to play. It's a very natural setting here and I can put it into my shoulder like this. And again, I'm pointing straight at you. You can see how my arm tucks right in. It's not sticking out like this or anything like that. So, Ninja '77, for somebody that's about six foot is probably a pretty good size.
And depending on your gun, of course, will really determine how many shots you're going to get out of the 77. I'm going to throw this on the mini real quick to see. Because each gun is made a little bit different as far as the way the frame is mounted to the angle, whatnot, really determines what bottle you go with. This is almost a little more comfortable on the mini. This actually is more comfortable on the mini of the 77, because it's a little further away from my face here where the amp I felt was a little closer here. But as I go through this, you'll notice sometimes the bottle can be too long, but the gun sticks back further. For example, on the amp, the back of it sticks a little closer to my goggles. But the tank might have felt a little too long at the same time. So, this one here feels pretty comfortable. Again, I could tuck my arm in right there. It is longer than my bend and my own arm, but it does feel pretty good. So, that's the 77. Again, about six foot tall. The 77 is probably going to be my go-to.
Let's go with the… This is the Empire Mega Light. So, this is our 68. I like the Empire bottle mainly because they're reliable, but also the price is significantly less than the Empire bottle. So, if you're getting started and you want a good budget air tank that has a good warranty on it, check out Empire paintball. Check out proedgepb.com and just search Mega Light. I think it's... Or click on Air Tanks, Empire Air Tanks to pull it up on you. Again, so this is almost the same length as that's 77, but because the way this is fit in the back of it, I think this is a much better fit. Again, my arm can tuck in there like that. You notice it's flush. The reason why I like that is me being real picky. But when you go to snapshot or shoot at somebody, instead of your arm sticking out like this, because the bottle is in the way on some of these, you'll see that, and my arm isn't scrunched up so my elbow wants to stick out, it naturally wants to sit right here and it's very comfortable. As I shoot, this would probably be my size for the 68.
If I wasn't worried about air efficiency and shooting a ton of paint, I do play competitively. I play in the back. I shoot anywhere from eight pods to 10 pods, depending on the type of format, I guess you could say we're playing. I have to have a bigger bottle and that way I can shoot more paint. So, you give up a little comfort for that. But as far as normal playing, I would say that the amp with the Empire 68, I'm going to throw the Ninja 68, it should be almost identical on there, would probably be my favorite. You put a little tank grip on the back of it, that way it doesn't slide off your arm. Boom, good to go.

Yeah, that's probably my favorite right there. Of course, it matches. Does it match? Yeah. All right. This is the white. This is a metallic Ninja 68. This is a light bottle, Ninja 68 Light, but it's our collab special edition. It actually has like a flake, like a metallic inside the bottle. So, it looks pretty cool. You might not be able to see on camera, but good to go. Okay, so that is a little bit… I want to compare the length of these.
I think this one's a little shorter because I can start feeling the gun pull closer to my face like this. Again, I love it. The arm sticks in, sits here, good to go. This would also work. I'm going to compare the lengths of these real quick. And the way I'm going to do that is I'm just going to stand them up. I don't know if you'll be able to see in the camera. But the 68 is maybe a quarter inch shorter than the Empire bottle. So, again, I'm being extremely picky. Now, that's probably not the bottle size itself, it's probably the regulator length. So, you can see on there the Empire regulator length. This part right here is the first thing I saw. It's definitely larger. This is a little bit longer. Again, six-foot tall. This would be the best size. If you're maybe 5'10, 5'9, maybe go with the 68 light, or at least a Ninja regulator, be a little bit different. It fits a little bit better on there.

All right, so let's go with the... This is the Ninja 50 Lite. I'm going to go with the mini. This is the bottle I recommend for a lot of newer players that are smaller or shorter or women that don't want a real heavy setup or younger players or guys that don't want a heavier setup, this is what we would recommend a lot because it is, of course, it's a lighter bottle.

Remember, like we said, you don't have to worry about air efficiency, really. All of these guns nowadays are extremely air efficient. You're going to be able to get on this size here, if I remember right, probably close to about seven to 800 shots out of one air fill. That means you get about four hopper fulls. Go play a game, shoot a hopper and a pod, and then go switch size. Go play a hopper and a pod and be able to fill it up, be good to go.

All right, so this is going to look ridiculous, but see how tight this is to my face and how my arm. This is not comfortable. If you're watching this video, just take your arm and stand there like this. It is not comfortable at all. And that's what this is going to put me into a game because of how small it's going to be. Whereas a shorter person, it may feel like it's a little longer like the longer ones do for me, something like that. So, if you want to play real tight, this would be a good little setup for you. You can play. Of course, it's going to be lighter, real compact.
The Empire also makes a version. It's a 48 cubic inch compared to the 50 like this one. It's going to be a little bit longer, just like we said with the other Empire versus Ninja. But as far as the weight goes and the size is going to be almost identical. But this is definitely smaller. This is great for the mini. I would definitely recommend that if you're looking for a small, compact setup. I'm going to throw it on the amp. If you're a smaller player again or you like a smaller, more compact setup. This is crazy tiny. The way this is designed here, it kicks. It feels like the gun is further back, but the bottle is more forward. So, it's even smaller. It's so tight here. I mean, my goggles would probably hit.

Yeah, my goggles would hit the back of that. So, unless you're just really looking for a small setup, I probably wouldn't recommend the 50 for the amp. But yeah, as you can see, my arm is pretty compact in there. Good to go. This is probably my favorite bottle. It's not as popular as it used to be. This is a 45 cubic inch.
So, a 45 cubic inch compared to a 50 cubic inch. But if you notice the length is different. Let me show you real quick. So, you're going to get a handful fewer shots out of the 45 cubic inch versus the 50 cubic inch, obviously, because that one, five cubic inches is smaller. But you notice the length is there. I love that because what happens is you can still go with a small compact bottle, but not be as compact and as uncomfortable in your arm. If you can see the difference, if you can go back between this clip of this video and the one I just did, you'll notice the other one was like this, and now this one is here. And I'm putting it the same part in my shoulder each time.

So, this is actually pretty comfortable for a smaller player. It's a little bit longer, so I'm able to get in there tight. I could play with this if I had to, where the other one I just would not feel comfortable at all. Again, put a little tank cover, a little tank butter, some grip tape—athletics tape something on the back, so it grips in on your shoulder, so it doesn't slide around.
But yeah, you could definitely play with this on the amp. I like this. I'm turning on the menu real quick. I'm going to do a little way difference so you can see the weight between each one of them. There we go. This is a bit longer. That's good. Arm is tucked in tight. Good to go. Good to go there.

Again, a little too short for me on this one. I think the amp almost felt a little better with this length, but I could definitely play with this if I had to. Good to go. What I was going to show you a second ago, let's see if I can get one of these to do it. Depending on how you're trying to hold your gun, sometimes the bottle will get in your way right here and make your hands stick out a little to the side like that. Depending on the bottle you're going with, this one doesn't really do it because I'm used to tucking my wrist straight down. But, if you're trying to hold it like that, what's going to happen is your wrist is going to stick out and so your elbow is going to stick out and so it's just going to be uncomfortable.

Again, a little bit longer bottle, it helps that wrist sit right into that spot right there and that way it's a little more tight. Naturally, it's more comfortable on that one.

That's not a quick breakdown, but that's my breakdown for it. Again, I wish I could create a little chart. If you're six foot to five, I go with the 77 or the 90, depending on what level of the spectrum you're on, how close you are to the top or the bottom. If you're five, let's say 5'10, 5'9 to 6 foot, you can go with your 68 Mega Light or your 68 Ninja Light bottle on that one. If you are shorter than that, let's say you're five foot to 5'5, you can definitely probably go with either one of the Ninja-50 or the Ninja-45-45. Again, efficiency on most of your guns really isn't going to be an issue. You're going to get 1,000 shots, 1,200 shots roughly off of the 68 bottles compared to, of course, more.
The 90 is going to give you the most, probably closer to 1,500 to 1,700 shot, depending on the type of gun. Some guns are just crazy efficient on that one. But yeah, let's do a weight comparison real quick. I do have a scale right here outside of the video frame. We're going to start with the Ninja 45, 45, 27.6 ounces. These all have, if you've done a little research, you notice there's a pro reg and a standard reg. These are all going to be the standard regulators. The least expensive option for both of them, for all of the bottles, actually.

Okay, let's go.

So, 27.6 ounces for the 40, sorry, for the 45. Twenty seven point six ounces for the 50. I mean, sorry, for the 45. Twenty-seven point six for the 45. Thirty point four ounces for the Ninja 50 Light. 35.4 ounces for the 68 light metallic bottle. What was that again? 35.5. This one I'm curious about the Mega Light versus the Light. We have 35.5. So, 35.5 for the Mega Light. 34.9 for the Ninja. 38, 34.9. Not even a full ounce. Not even a full ounce lighter is the 68.
The Empire bottle will be a little less expensive and it'll be a little bit lighter. Then, of course, you have the Ninja 77. This is an SL2 Ninja 77, 34.4. This is great, 34.4. I'm going to go back to the Empire 68. The Ninja 77 bottle is actually lighter than the Ninja 68 and the Empire bottle. So, this is saying now it's 35 ounces. Thirty-five. The 68 is going to be 35.4, but the 77 is 34.4, 34.5. If this one is in your budget, they are quite a bit more expensive, probably at least 50 to 75 dollars more expensive. If you want more shots, excuse me, if you want more shots with a lighter bottle and a little more comfortable if you're around that six foot, I would definitely recommend the Ninja 77. If again, six foot, six one, that's going to be your best fit and it's lighter. Of course, you are going to pay for the price because they're super light is what they call that.

All right. Okay, let's go. Ninja 77, 34.4 and then the 90. I don't even know what this would be. I have no idea. I can't even guess. 34.4, so 41.9, 41.8, depending on it's going back and forth, 41.8. Obviously, the biggest bottle is the heaviest.

Hopefully, that answers some of you guys' questions. Hopefully, this video isn't too long, too ridiculous. Hopefully, it made sense to everybody. If you do have specific questions about another brand bottle that we didn't cover or another type of gun, I wanted to cover two different guns that way different players out there that have experienced them, they have a little more to compare to. We're definitely trying to get better at our videos, make them more cater to you guys that are shopping online and for the players that are coming in the store, you're a little more prepared coming in. You have a little idea.  Maybe this video helps you narrow it down to two bottles instead of seven bottles or something like that, or maybe even helps you choose what gun you want. If you guys have many questions, make sure to comment below. You can reach out to us always through social media. It's @proedgepaintball on Instagram and just search Proedgepaintball on Facebook. This year, we are trying to hit 5,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel.
So, if you could, take a second, go ahead and hit the subscribe button down there and please take this video. I know you got 30 seconds. It doesn't even take you 30 seconds. Go ahead and share this on your social media. Maybe if there's a Facebook page that you follow or that you read up on, go ahead and share this video with your friends. I'm sure somebody would find some use out of all of the information that was just given here. Again, we appreciate everybody's support. We're trying to hit 5,000 subscribers this year. By the end of 2021. I think we'll do it, especially with you all support. So, thank you so much. Again, any questions, comment below. Otherwise, we'll see you guys next time.