Here’s the thing. JT is paintball legacy. I was so big into paintball from 04-09 and pro flexes and the jt pants were such a staple. In 06 jt made the different colored frames and skirts plus all the new straps. It became such a hit. JT is and always was paintball without trying to be gimicky or cheesy or trying to hard or play into the quirky niches of becoming tool bait. I loved white frames, smoke lenses, and a black skirt. The proflexes fit tight to the face without bubbling out like frog eyes on the vforce profile. Sometimes there are inventions that are just a gold standard. Levi’s jeans, Glocks, iPhones, and in this case the pro flex. Hell who remembers Sandana real tree or tree bark patterns going for 1500 bucks lol. Agg
Paintball is secretly an IRL MMO and proflexes, a sweaty and sun bleached Sandana that hasn’t been washed in 20 years, and custom anno give you good stats. I washed my pink sandana for the first time since 2010 and my speed dropped 12 points.
The MSRP of the all black, non-"limited" edition ProFlex is still $85 and you can get them everywhere. No other goggle system has ever been more comfortable IMO than the spectras. I've been playing in them since 1998 and always find myself coming back to them after dabbling with other brands. Swapping lenses suck. It has gotten worse with the new plastics GI is using, but that's another reason why OG frames are desirable to some, it's a tiny bit easier to get lenses in and out.
phenomenal video, when I started getting into flex gear about 2 years ago the prices did not really bother me, I considered the fact most of the material was older and hard to find, certainly did not help the new flexes had such poor quality, it seemed like a no brainer to just browse around on a BST and get parts you wanted to make a mask. Was not super crazy into the look of the flexes, but the amount of customization I had at my disposal and the lack of interest I had with other masks, performance more than looks, I was hooked on it. Seeing other people buy in on it too and making their own flexes was cool to me, was like a weird little group of dudes trying to make their perfect mask. However a long the way you start seeing massive waves of people desperately trying to make money off people and using bait tactics when selling items. Now it is in a strange area where about 10 dudes decide how much to up charge everyone in an "open market". On top of that the pool of items available is diminished by the people who want to buy about 30 masks worth of parts just to have it sit on a shelf and never be played in. People are treating their proflex parts like an investment or a show piece. At the end of the day these masks and parts are meant to be used and played in not tortured on your shelf while you post on facebook how much you paid for it. This all being said I have spent far too much money on proflex parts and I am worried I will never recover from this financial blunder. And if you have made it this far, do not forget that however cool JT is, UGLYpb will always be cooler, thank you have a good day.
I showed up to training one day in my new Proflexs, they were beaut. One of the field's team, saw me looking happy in my shiny new gear. Took me out on the field and taught me the domination drill, never done it before. My goggles were new after that and only after :') They definitely shouldn't sit on the shelf.
I think the Proflex just looks fine. Not too much but protects enough to be able to play. Besides all the customization with colors straps and all you can really make it something unique.
The setup in the early 2000s was soft earpiece pod if needed. Roll the bottom up and put in the lenses you want and choose your custom strap. Add beanie or sweatband
I have a mix of new and old masks. Proflex's, Push Unites, Dye I5's, and at the end of the day, I still wear Profilers still my favorite mask of all time. Lots of good info in the video #1 bit is that cats do not like to be held.
My favorite cost effective mask back in my day, was a vforce vantage foam. It was cheap, looked decent, breathed well, and literally an actual thermal single pane quick change lenses. Didn't get the support or recognition like their more popular masks did, but it was still a great mask for little money.
During the golden era of Pbnation, 02-08, had the same problem with "OG" flex parts. The 90s pieces were expensive then, the "rare" straps that came off their motocross goggles (referred to as "racing" straps), the bubble straps, techno straps, bubble straps, even the pro and classic straps all ran from $100 to the upper end of $300 back in the day. Then for mask parts, when Jt released their limited parts at Nppl HB in 04/05? (known as HB frames, bottoms, & the HB strap) those things went for $150 to ridiculous amounts of money, easily. There was always this weird phenomenon with "OG" gear in paintball. Look at what people paid for "OG" Sandana products from the 90s, like the brown leaf, tree trunk, & proline headwraps. You had people spending $500-$1000 like it was nothing on a Sandana headwrap and spending $100-$700 for the 90s early 2000s print headbands ("LE" Flying skulls colors and Snakestripes). Same thing with the pro jersey market back in the day, way too much money for an old used jersey of something that has no real investment. 9 times out of 10, the people who were selling this OG gear on pbnation didn't even play paintball anymore. Then when the recession hit in 08 and everyone started leaving the scene in droves, the prices for "OG" gear just kept decreasing significantly with each year. Money wasn't there for paintball and neither were the kids with their parent's money anymore. It wasn't until the past 5 years that prices have been more "expensive" because of the rise of these scummy FB B/S/T groups. Paintball has always had this weird side thing where people will pay a lot for yesterday's gear and there will always be those who are willing to capitalize on that nostalgia.
Yeah, I don’t get the sandanna hype or the expensive straps. My favorite straps are off a set of snowboard gogs that have a metal clasp in the back so I can just unsnap the clasp and drop my mask. Cost me nothing.
I started playing in the early 2000's. Proflexs were the mask then, and when I came back 15 years later, they were still king. Knowing the pitfalls of the mask, I couldn't pay what they're going for. I do love the breathability, the simplicity, and customizability, but the $$ and how difficult it is to change the lenses made me steer away from JTs version. I will probably always wear an Empire Eflex. It's the poor man's proflex, but in my opinion, it addressed the drawbacks of the proflex and is right up my ally. Great video. Thank you.
Man I feel bad about how nice we had it from about 1998 to 2008. When a Jt was just about a given. Some used other mask but it turns out they were probably weirdo’s
JT stands for Tijuana - "By 1970, the pharmacy was closed and the side business had become a full-time operation for the couple from San Diego. Selling mostly through mail order, JT Racing Imports (named by Rita in an inversion of the initials of the sock’s place of origin, Tijuana or “TJ”)
I bought a JT ProShield (I think) back in 2002 or so because it was around ~$40 and my friend recommended it. I actually never knew I could take the lens out. I tried a couple times and thought it would break if I did. When I got back into paintball in 2016, I found my mask in my duffel bag at the bottom of my closet, and the lens had been crushed, so I just threw the whole mask away, lol. I figured it was out of date anyway.
Force was my first mask had it for almost 7 years. Most amazing lenses to change. So east and simple and was a great mask for 40 bucks in 2004 ish. Now I rock the dye i4s those are nice
Great video. This being said I have 2 now. But I think they look sick and my whole team has them. I rocked proflex x’s for over a year but everyone said they looked trash 😂 (loved the quick change lenses but they do not look as good, have worse foam and it’s harder to hear from them.)
The proflex looks cooler than most masks out there. But that is beside the point. The breathability is the best. Honestly. I think the E-Flex is the best version of the goggle.
old video but was that picture of the dude with the purple teal jersey pant mask setup at paintball country in ohio?? i play every weekend there and i cant help but notice it lol also i look just like that kid cause i got an empire set for a damn good price cheap so now im that obnoxious loud colored player lol
I enjoyed this video thoroughly. I love my Evs, so easy to maintain and parts are available. Def want to build a nice flex some day but I’m in no hurry
Been playing since 94 and what I have seen in my time of playing is paintball go from pro player to pro industry around the late - mid 2000s and it's just gotten worse from there. these brands will milk anything for a dollar, from Pro-flexs to vintage paintball products that can be cheaply manufactured in China and that's where the loss of quality is. then turn around and sell it to me and you for 3-5x the cost to make them and they will continue to keep riding the coattails of these products until us the consumers. stop buying and for the few companies that haven't went down that path I'll gladly support.
The purple and Teal HK outfit/equipment comment had me weak AF for some reason. I didnt realize this was a common occurrence at other fields lol Loved the vid, bro
I don't get it either. I had two pairs over the years, but once I had a Profiler and the Empire E-vents and E-flexs I never looked back. Changing the lenses to clean them is way worth it to me and the JT masks are terrible for that.
I liked the Scott masks more, but I wore a JT Spectra for a really long time, not sure what the actual mask itself was called back then. I kinda stopped wearing them because I didn't really want to be part of the trend and tbh better masks came out. I thought the Zleader and Vforce masks were kinda neat, Dye made the i5 which has a neat strap, and I now wear a Contour II which is a better mask than the Proflex in most ways.
I remember jt pro flex being the cheapest and most plentiful option. They were good, but I dont get the hype. The fist mask I ever had was a "vents" that came with my stock automag I bought as a package out of Action Pursuit Games back in like 97 or 98. I later bought a camo proflex for like 30 bucks. Guess I should have held onto it. Crazy how .vintage" or "retro" stuff is such a big deal now.
So I've been playing since the late 90s. owned dozens of pro flexes and flex7s and other JT goggles (yes there were others). The lens change is horrible. I was lucky to have a JT sponsorship in the early 2000s which basically meant I didnt need to change a lens at an event. More recently I've developed a problem with the skin on my hands and it has made a JT lens change virtually impossible for me. A friend was playing with a push sponsored team and that mask has become my go to now. Lens change issue solved for me
@11:38 There was mentioning of HK not making a customizing platform with their KLR mask. They actually did allow you customize/buy your KLR mask at one point. However, whether or not it's still a thing is beyond me. I took a screenshot of it and may start looking for it if it's no longer a thing. Never the less, I'm surprised that there has been no customized JT stuff from HK. They've done it with a shocker RSX, but time will tell.
Great vid. It’s kind of funny how much proflex guys will defend the mask like their life depends on it. I still love the Proflex but when you hear it’s hands down the best mask you gotta wonder what they’re smoking. There is so many better options on the market. It’s just still continuing to be a trend. I still wear a proflex even though I think it’s hands down worse than a Pushi unite, e-flex, Evs, vios. Because I’m a idiot 😂
This one piece of equipment has survived all these years and the fact that you're doing an entire video talking about it kinda disproves everthing you've said here. There is no other product in the sport that has withstood the test of time other than painballs themselves.
My brother in christ the only bad thing I said about the mask was that it's a pain to change the lens, I wear proflexes almost exclusively, this video is more about how wild the hype culture about them was a a little over a year ago
@@painteaterpaintball The mask price you're upset about is the same as it always was. I was working as a ref when that mask came out. It was $80 to buy a stock black mask and then you had to purchase the individual pieces to upgrade it. The spectra lenses came later and those were another big cost. I had a pro flex that I spent $150 bucks on in 1998. Twenty five years later it's still the same.
I cant for the life of me find a replacement for a stolen JT Flex 8 in woodland camo for under $100 when I originally bought it upon release for $75. 😩
i got a hk klr and hated it so i got a vforce, hated it... then i got a proflex and i loved it, maybe its my head or whatever but the klr didnt cover me super well and it was loud when you were yelling. Overall the proflex is just super comfy and it doesnt weigh much. I hate how you change the lense though.
I was a hardcore Grillz guy til I gave a flex a chance one humid oklahoma day... it was life changing lol. I could breathe, and it also didn't sound like I was yelling at myself when calling positions.
I’m in that same boat. I’ve tried some newer stuff (CMD/Push) and the Grillz are more comfortable to me but Jesus it sucks running around in the summer in them. I’m tempted to get another set of Proflex.
One thing that is cool with proflexes is that you can change everything and customize it. However I really feel the CMD is such a better mask lol. You can often get them on sale for like 50% off. BunkerKings just doesn’t make cool and unique straps for whatever reason??
I still wear my first set of proflexs but I picked up some Eflexs on the cheap and they're almost as good with an easier lense change. I refuse to buy the new JTs cause it's not the best value anymore since all the prices increased there's just better stuff for less money.
But anyway, the reason I love my proflexes is because it's super comfy, breathable, and light. The lenses are difficult to change relatively speaking to modern masks but once you change the lense once, it's a lot easier to do and I can probably have a lense changed within a few minutes. You don't need cotton swabs, just run the frames under hot water and you're good.
All they had to do was sponsor X Factor and now I’m rocking a black and teal proflex over my far superior Zebra EVS.. fuckin hell nostalgia. Pod pack might as well be Tippmann, but it’s teal, so… gotta have it.
Thoughts on the proflex when it comes to mouth shots or ear shots? I thought about getting a proflex but I’m also thinking about the mouth shots, I was also thinking of getting the vforce grill 2.0 instead and I think I’m leaning to the grill, lmk your thoughts
@AdrianSal-r6y if you're worried about mouth coverage I'd recommend v force profilers, I primarily use proflexes when I'm doing media for comfort and beathability but when I play I like wearing profilers because I feel like I have better face coverage
I wore the same Spectra pro shield for 25ish years. What modern mask has a similar feel with hard ears and lots of coverage but easier to maintain and breathe through sprints? I got a KLR but the ears suck.
I disagree with the comment on non educated people not thinking proflex's look cool. when I first started playing I bought a gi proshield bc it was cheap and I thought it looked cool and later on bought some flex 7 bottoms. 2 years later I now own 2 proflexes, a flexX, and a proteus
The HK masks look terrible, bro. Personally, I think the Proflex is the best looking mask on the market besides the Carbon Zero. But the Proflex is less than half the price.
Your hate for HK is obnoxious. They are pioneers of the sport. They went from a small group of friends grinding every weekend to selling headbands out of the trunk of their car, to some of them becoming professional players, to being a multi million dollar brand. HK Army is the paintball dream while looking cool doing it. Its also clear that you've never actually played with any of them because they also happen to be the most chill and down to earth people that just want paintball to flourish. Talking down on HK makes you look like a fool.
Stick around because im currently working on my next video focused solely on hk and im sure youll be glad to see how my feelings towards them have changed since i released this video
@@painteaterpaintball looking forward to it. Didn’t mean to be so harsh but I grew up playing with these dudes every weekend and have seen first hand how much they love paintball and how hard they’ve worked
It's true that I haven't been in the sport nearly as long as a lot of people, what's the threshold I need to pass before I can publicly speak about this sport that I'm heavily involved in and I'll stop posting content til I reach that point
How long have you been playing? Cause let me tell you.... OG Flex parts and straps of all kinds had a huge aftermarket even in the mid to late 2000's. I hear a lot of the talking points in this video and these are all things I've heard said on a field at one point between 2006 and 2010. There isn't really anything you can do about outside from making a RU-vid video about...