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Old Guy

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It frowned upon to make your own gear? I want to have the full 'military' experience but as a noob I don't want to invest too heavily before i get a taste for airsoft. So far I have a adapted a skateboard helmet, will soon have a mesh mask to modify and must get some goggles to go over my specs but I would also  like a plate carrier. Will I be laughed off the field if I make my own?

 
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Hey, at the end of the day we are all playing dress up and an advanced version of 'Soldiers' with expensive toys. In my view Airsoft is one of the most accepting communities there is. Everyone has the same interest and everyone seems happy with that. Believe me when I say, I come from a completely different world of Professional Motorsport and that is one of the most pompous and clicky communities going!!!

How are you going to make a plate carrier? I would assume if you turned up with a cardboard version (?) you may get a few initial looks but then people would just get on with it. If you are going to stitch one together then definitely no. I think people would be impressed that you even attempted it. However, I would have thought it would be cheaper to buy one wouldn't it. Viper make some pretty cheap plate carriers. I know this is on offer but here is one for just over £20 (Here). Add a few pouches and you should be all in for less than £50.

 
loads of people make or modify their own kit, it's one of the great things about this hobby.

i have run mountain bike helmets in the past, mainly at night shoots for the primary goal of preventing me splitting my head open walking into low hanging branches. if you look at a lot of the operator style helmets they do share some similarities, after all protecting a human head from trauma forces a similar evolution.

 
As long as your goggles are up to spec you shouldn't have a problem. I've seen a lot of people run BMX helmets for airsoft and they look a lot like the old Delta force lids if you care about looks. As for making a plate carrier I'm not sure why you would when you can get them so cheap but don't let that stop you. I can't remember who but someone on here makes their own pouches and rigs and most people have at least modified their kit

 
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@Old Guy ?

Simple you play for fun and want to make something different Unique for yourself, hence the term “customise Loadout”, it works for you and you never know you might inspire other people to be creative! ??

1 example:

My friend, made a basic VC camo ring, we tested it out on a Skirmish day and the entire enemy side laughed at me.... guess who had the last laugh, being undetectable and taking them out! ??

Funny the next week, everyone tried to copy me.... learning the hard way! ??

?GAMBLE?

 
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Old Guy said:
It frowned upon to make your own gear? I want to have the full 'military' experience but as a noob I don't want to invest too heavily before i get a taste for airsoft. So far I have a adapted a skateboard helmet, will soon have a mesh mask to modify and must get some goggles to go over my specs but I would also  like a plate carrier. Will I be laughed off the field if I make my own?
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Don't bother, go lightweight with a small molle satchel bag such as the one I've pictured from Kombat uk, bout 20 quid & available in various colours, slap 2 or 3 mag pouches on the outside, bottle of water & a bag of bb's inside & your ready to go, no need to wrap yourself in layers of sweat inducing cordura pc's, sure it looks the bollocks but it's essentially overkill, definitely not a necessity, plus you've then got a handy manbag for when your not playing.

same goes for helmets etc, unless your playing in an environment where your risking head impacts, think low pipes/doorways etc, then again it's overkill & may interfere with the fitment of the mask your considering.

as for modding or making kit, sure if done well it looks good, but your just as likely to look like the lovechild of a scarecrow & a poor sir Lancelot.

starting out, get the go-bag/satchel I mentioned, a half decent mask that works with your specs without triggering horrendous fogging, & boots that offer decent ankle support, everything else you can plan for as your playing style & likes evolve, & in the meantime you'll reach your potential because you won't be weighed down with all the unnecessary poser shit.

if it's good enough for Jack Bauer in 24, surely it's good enough for the rest of us ?

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Thanks for all replies to this point, especially RobHedley for the pointer to the cheap plate carrier. I am tempted but I have some materials here ready to make my carrier. I can'y help thinking that a lot of these items are more than they need to be so I am planning something that will just take the sting out of a well-placed shot and look OK too. I am too old to worry much about other peoples opinions really and I doubt that at the age of 63 I shall have a long active life in airsoft, my knees went years ago, so investment is being kept to a minimum. Thanks again!

 
No offence @Old Guy, while I applaud creativity, by your own admission (& your user name), your no spring chicken, nor are you 100% fit, so when you can get a proven design chest rig or plate carrier from manufacturers like 8Fields for little more than the price of a takeaway, why would you spend god knows how many man hours knocking one up, never mind the cost of buying nexus buckles & sliders etc isn't cheap, & likely to push costs higher than a shop bought item.

Your gonna put in a lot of effort for something that may not be ideal & will probably have zero resale value.

Have a look on gunfire.pl or Taiwangun, both have considerable stocks of tactical nylon at cheap as chips prices, that if down the line you decide playing isn't for you, you'll shift at probably no loss in the classifieds.

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No offense, Tackle  taken but I think we have a generation split here. I come from a background of make and do, in fact half the fun is in the making. I won't expect my kit (if I can get around to it) will look 'pukka' but it will suit my needs. I call what I propose a plate carrier because it will resemble one but will, in fact, just be a lightweight B-P-V style tabard with added hard plates (already made). I have a collection of bits and pieces salvaged from bags and rucksacks etc. along with webbing of all sorts so i have the materials, I just don't know if I will find the time If I am renting a rifle I won't need pouches for mags as these renters seem to be hi-cap and refilling between rounds won't take a moment. I am all for the spirit of the game but authenticity and comparing your £300-worth of kit to my £20 won't be an issue; at least at the start! ?

 
Old Guy said:
No offense, Tackle  taken but I think we have a generation split here. I come from a background of make and do, in fact half the fun is in the making. I won't expect my kit (if I can get around to it) will look 'pukka' but it will suit my needs. I call what I propose a plate carrier because it will resemble one but will, in fact, just be a lightweight B-P-V style tabard with added hard plates (already made). I have a collection of bits and pieces salvaged from bags and rucksacks etc. along with webbing of all sorts so i have the materials, I just don't know if I will find the time If I am renting a rifle I won't need pouches for mags as these renters seem to be hi-cap and refilling between rounds won't take a moment. I am all for the spirit of the game but authenticity and comparing your £300-worth of kit to my £20 won't be an issue; at least at the start! ?
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Mate your only 10yrs older than me, & I remember when nothing was thrown away, if it couldn't be repaired it was "repurposed" lol, plus having served in the military when much of the kit was shite (early-mid 80's), we were always modding non parade kit, or mixing with better stuff from other services/nations, which makes me appreciate the exceptional quality load carrying kit that can be had so cheaply.

I get if you want to have a tinker to see what's achievable, fill yer boots, but if enjoying your first few skirmishes is a plan, then going with the super lightweight option I recommended first, little man bag etc, will pay you dividends, especially with knackered knees etc.

Mine are fooked & awaiting surgery, which won't happen anytime soon, & even when we hopefully return to some semblance of normality I should imagine orthopaedic ops are gonna be bottom of a very long list, even my radiotherapy's been cut short by two weeks......BUT when we get the ok to start playing again, I'll be out there "running" (aka hobbling) the the manbag & slung rifle, no struggling for me.

Sorry if I've kept on & laboured the point, but other players will back me up on this, that we've all seen players who are not at their peak, for any number of reasons, & who are struggling in inappropriate sweat inducing kit, often before they've even left the safezone at the start of the day.

Whatever happens, make sure you post up pics of what you knock up, I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice & a smidge of constructive criticism.

Good luck

Mark

 
I’m with the “Old Guy” here, I’m a fairly new Airsofter (since Oct last year) but a very old paint baller of the 90’s era and being of the larger build and trying to find things that either fit or work for me with out the need to pay the crazy prices has been hard.

I have already “modded” my goggles with mini laptop fans as the glasses steam-o-death problem was annoying and I didn’t want to pay the insane prices for a fan mask, I’m also testing/tweaking a air blower goggle without paying the £80 for ex-fog system - the fans work nicely but the air-blower is a little noisy to the user so I need to rethink the system.

I am in the middle of making a new lower face mesh mask and then I will be then turning my focus on a hooded (removable) Ghillie top.

I know I could buy a ghillie suit from numerous places/people viper/kmgs/nov/chinese/amazon etc etc for this or that amount but I managed to snap some cheap (in price) camo material @ £4 a sq/yrd and bar the time it will take to make I’m hoping to make a half decent one that is a custom fit for £20-ish and with the lock-down in place and in all reality it’s gonna be 2-3 months before we are let loose into the wild again time is one thing I/we all have.
I am aware lots are all about the “tacti-cool’ looks but doing this crafting/tweaking is fun/enjoyable and tbh I thought that’s what airsoft is meant to give everyone and as they say - what ever floats your boat \o/

@Tackle I wish I was Jack from 24 as I would have all this made “Within the hour!!!  :)

 
MiK said:
@Tackle I wish I was Jack from 24 as I would have all this made “Within the hour!!!  :)
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Give JB 24hrs & he would have eradicated covid-19, all without stopping for his dinner & a poo, unlike us mere mortals ?

 
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I have a chinese style chest rig you could have, frankly I've nowhere to put stuff I'm not likely to use other than the garage and it'll likely go mouldy in there.

 
Cromulon1994 said:
I have a chinese style chest rig you could have, frankly I've nowhere to put stuff I'm not likely to use other than the garage and it'll likely go mouldy in there.
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That's a kind offer and I am tempted but I have sort of set my heart on making my lightweight 'anti-sting' carrier-type-thing and now it's just a matter of getting around to it. So many other things to do first!

 
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