EMEK Rentals - The story so far 📗

Saying that our Eclipse Emek has revolutionised the rental experience for customers, and park owners, may seem like one heck of a boast–which isn't usually our style–but in this case we 100% stand by that statement. We recognised that something drastic needed to happen for the future of the game, to help it compete with other leisure activities and to make it a really fun experience for everyone. And to succeed, to really make a difference is something we're very proud of. But don't just take our word for it, our park owners agree.

We spoke with Tom from OSG in New England (USA) who had this to say >

Tell us a little about OSG.

 

OSG Paintball is located in Barnstead NH. Paintball started in New Hampshire and we have kept the tradition alive and thriving in the state since it all began in1993. 

OSG is the largest, most developed paintball park in New England. We have 12 themed fields which span across 43 acres. You’ll find everything from a large Pirate Ship, a Halo Scorpion Tank, to a Western Town and a two-story Star Wars AT-AT. We are 100% woodsball. No speedball here. We recently upgraded our food service, adding a food truck and a 32 foot bar serving delicious food and local brews, appropriately dubbed The Bunker.

 

When did you replace your fleet with EMEKS?

 

We finished the full transition of our fleet by June 2018. 

 

What drew you to the EMEK?

 

So this is an interesting story. In 2017 we reached out to Planet Eclipse to replace our entire rental fleet with Gmeks. We saw the Gamma Core as a perfect all-weather rental replacement for a northern New England field. We were ready to pay a premium at the time to save us on maintenance, limit cold weather issues, and improve the overall first-time player experience. Each Gamma Core was tested for 5x the amount of shots of the standard rental gun, so even though we would be paying 3x the price, spending the extra up front was a no-brainer over the long haul.


Luckily during the early stages of conversations with our sales rep, we were told that something was coming that we should wait for that would check all of the same boxes. Next thing you know, we have Emeks show up at the field to test. Within 6 months we were running the largest rental fleet of them in the USA. The rest is history. 

 

Has the EMEK made life easier for staff?

 

This was the driving force behind the switch. Maintenance is easier. Cleaning is easier. Longevity is substantially better, and being able to shoot more brittle paint lets us shoot a higher quality field paintball. In this case, we are shooting a custom G.I 4 Star ball with a 3 Star fill. 

 

How have EMEKs changed the customer experience?

 

Our journey–since 2016–has really been all about improving the customer experience and trying to bring it to a level comparable to other outdoor recreation activities. We added thermal masks to our rental packages in 2016, for example. Making players pay an upgrade fee to be able to see is a horrible business practice as far as we are concerned. In 2017/2018 we wanted to level the playing field by offering a rental marker that was a bit more on par with what our regular players were using. When we made the switch, things immediately became more competitive and fun. Rental players were making shots they simply couldn’t make before. They shoot more paintballs (a 25% increase to be precise), and players were buying them left and right because it was a fun, inexpensive option to add to their marker collections. 

What features have really made the most difference?

 

The Gamma Core. We get more shots per tank, little to no maintenance, we can shoot brittle paint, all weather reliability, and it makes shooting rentals fun! 

 

Do you use PAL or PAL QD loader systems?

 

The PAL system is great in the hands of an experienced player. We found that it worked as advertised. The issues we ran into were when we put it into the hands of a first timer. They shoot long, fast streams because the gun is so easy to shoot and they don’t hold the gun vertical. Training this out of new players is hard, especially on top of all the other information they need to take in on day one. Does the PAL system work? Absolutely. Our rentals are better because of it. 

That being said, we are aiming to switch our entire rental fleet to Speedster loaders for 2022. The PAL system was always a bridge to get to this point. Luckily, PE has an affordable, durable solution in the Speedster loader. We expect this to be the final piece of the puzzle to offering one of, if not the best first time paintball experience you will find anywhere in the USA. 

 

Any interesting stories that the EMEK has been a part of?

 

We have actually cerakoted a bunch of these to make a few incredibly unique markers. The Halo 2 BR, a Mandalorian themed marker, an American flag version we dubbed “The FreEmek”, a Zombie themed version, and a few other more generic distressed colored emeks. The ability to customize these markers is endless and we love them even more for that. 

 

Any last thoughts about the EMEK you'd like to share?

 

The Emek is the best thing to happen to paintball since the thermal mask. It has helped us create a first time experience on par with other, much larger sports like mountain biking and snowboarding. It has not only changed the player experience at our field, but it’s changed the culture. We have weekly mech games, players are customizing their markers again, and we are proud to be on the forefront of it all. 

 

Thanks for your time Tom, much appreciated.

So, if you're in the New England area and wanna take your buddies to their field for a blast...


OSG Paintball

1053 North Barnstead Rd. Center Barnstead, NH 03225

OSG Website

OSG Facebook Page

OSG Instagram