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As for cost of the hobby I know how expensive it is, and there is no way I'm opting for a cheap mask.

Who told you that you can't? I was told for years by specsavers that I could not get contacts, I went to an independent opticians', and they told me that what specsavers were not saying to me was "[specsavers] don't stock obscure brands of contact lenses for conditions outside the norm". I now wear them daily. Don't take false hope from this, but be sure you get a 2nd opinion. EDIT: Furthermore, you only need a contact lens in your dominant shooting eye.

Ahem...

True but then those "bog standard" ones on ebay often aren't worth the money. I realise that a lot of new airsofters are young and not earning but safety and protection are the things you really shouldn't scrimp on and $60 is NOT a huge price to pay for eye and face protection. You don't need to go to the lengths of a Devtac Ronin mask but you should at least have enough respect for yourself to want to spend more than a tenner on protecting yourself. Equally, as much as you can airsoft on a budget, generally it's NOT a cheap hobby. If you start off questioning spending £40 on a piece of essential kit then the cost escalation once you get into it will scare the bejesus out of you!

PT247, yeah all good with that barrel (TY) and got new bucking, Hop Up and 2.03 TBB on order to try/test all combinations to my liking ;-)

What Hudson said, X-fire are PDI's shop. If your going to R-Hop your first barrel expect it to be naff, I've never seen anyone fit an R-Hop perfectly on thier first attempt. It's usually why people say R-Hops are not that good, as they've tried fitting one them selfs and done a poor job.

PDI 6.05 from x-fire, if you don't mind ordering from abroad.

I hear what you're saying but £70 for a "real steel" piece of kit? It's really not much when you look at what you get. Granted the needs of airsofters aren't really up there with actual soldiers so maybe some of us need to lower our sights in terms of how gucci the kit needs to be?

Modifications don't really add value unless you, the buyer, [specifically] want them. These cost £180-£230 new. Seems like bad value if you've got UKARA. Be sure to ask if the seller is including all of the original parts which have been replaced. - Could turn this trade around imo.

Not even close to relevant in this regard however.

As above - best not to buy cheap - unless you're going with mesh. If you want goggles/mask over mesh though - "Save Phace" seem to be the best, I've heard that they're among the best for players who need glasses too, as the shape allows a little more room between the eyes and the mask. A little pricy though! www.savephace.com/Tactical

Charging just before a game is a good idea, but depending on how much charge was in the battery before will effect how long you need to charge it to get it fully charged. It's always best to check the voltage before you start charging. A 9.6v Nihm is discharged if the voltage shows 9.6v, but fully charged if it shows around 11.2v. The formula for charging a Nihm battery is: mAh x 1.5 divided by Amp output of charger. So for your 1600 mAh Nihm charge time is 1600 x 1.5 = 2400 divided by the charge rate of your charger. Charging slowly is better than fast, so if you have a charger that you can vary the rate on, charge at the lower end, e.g. 120mA. On that basis, the charge time would be 20 hours. If you have something that charges at 500mH then charge time is 4.8 hours, but usable time will drop. Also, depending on how trigger happy you are, the mAh of the battery equates to about one BB shot per mAh, so 1600 bbs or 4-5 M4 hi-caps, probably a bit less if using semi only. Oh and for the CYMA 030, do not overcharge the battery, as they die quite easily.

Mate i like my eyes, i maybe blind as a bat with out my glasses but i want to keep my sight. As i'm new to the sport i throught i'd sort out the most important bit of kit first (turning myself into a weekend warrior comes next lol), as for price you cant put a price on it can you.

And the SMERSH is a superb bit of kit that you will use for a lot of other events.

SMERSH £60 Plain coloured Gorka 3 - £80. Done

It’s always good to have something a little different to everyone else. Grey and black Multicam would be different. I’ve posted this a few times along the way but everything is done. M4 painted and Pmags to match. I’m pretty happy with it.

I managed to get a Condor Gen 2 in Tan new for £14.50 delivered, will see how I get on. Am loving the drop leg platform though, finally a comfortable reliable method of holstering my side arm.

I've read that you should roll about in the dirt and get it absolutely honking , and just keep it in your garage and not clean it or something. Vaguely remember something about smoke from a wood fire to get rid of smells and bugs?

Thinking of kicking off a SWAT style black loadout and having been watching a lot of Hawai'i Five-0 lately I wondered if anyone could ID the vest McGarrett is wearing here:

Agreed. Mid caps offer more realism and no faffing about winding them. Welcome to an expensive hobby most my wage seems to go on airsoft now haha

Ta Dah! http://www.zerooneairsoft.com/product_info.php?products_id=2089 or in Tan: http://www.patrolbase.co.uk/airsoft/ares-g36c-ecu-2rnd-burst-version-tan.htm#.VhPlNPlViko and again in black: http://www.patrolbase.co.uk/airsoft-g36-variants/ares-g36c-ecu-2rnd-burst-version---black.htm#.VhPlePlViko Note - this IS the same gun (the listing on Evike plainly states that it's the Ares OEM version). The Umarex version will have trades as they hold the licence to put them on but this is the same gun nonetheless.

Nope, I just stick my head out & get it shot at

Just use some electricians tape. Not too tight as to press the switch, but tight enough that the pad won't move. Never had any issues after many skirmishes

Warrior Assault Systems. You can't go wrong with their kit tbh.

I recently purchased a battle belt by Warrior Assault Systems (no surprise as I am a fan of their kit) for about £45 for the PLB enhanced belt. Strong construction with plenty of adjustment around the waist and well padded for comfort. There is a decent range of WAS pouches to put on the belt, or other brands with Molle. It has loops for attaching straps/suspenders, etc. I currently have my belt fitted with: a triple M4 mag pouch, slim dump pouch, medium admin pouch, pistol holster, and double pistol mag pouch.

Glad you like the sport but say goodbye to seeing money in your wallet

Its not more high maintenance than most other guns its just crap. Ares are generally crap would rather have a G&G combat machine its better quality £100 less and looks better, and trust me I am no big fan of G&G.Recommending the honey badger is like saying chicken is better if eaten raw. Actually would probably take salmonella over the honey badger.

I own a TM one. Allow me to go off on one here: It's big. Really big. Pistol's quite large too (ba-dum-tiss). Only realy way to holster it is with a Viper belt mounted adjustable holster. it's as big as a desert eagle. If you have small hands, forget it. If you want a pistol that is 'fast' forget it. If you want to be able to transition to it quickly, forget it. (Admittedly I do alright with mine, but I've used it almost every skirmish for the last 3 and a half years, often as a primary.) If you have the suppressor attached whilst it's in the holster (and you'll want to) your draw length is from grabbing the pistol at your hip, the pistol isn't free and usable until you have lifted the pistol grip up to your armpit. Don't think you can get around this with a leg holster, then you'll never be able to kneel down again. There are a lot of negatives with this pistol. BUT. Jesus christ. If you want a pistol that you can rely on, buy one. and only one. You will only ever need one. This has to be the most robust anything ever. Mine had taken a beating over the years. Then I dropped it. Fell out of my holster. Lost. Gone. My favourite RIF lost. not to mention it was £200 worth of pistol. This happened in November 2012. Every game I played I looked around for it. Then. Mid August. Peeking out from under some leaves. NO. FREAKING. WAY. 9 bastard months. The coldest winter for years, plus all the usual yorkshire countryside weather. Plus the heat from summer. My MK23 had been out in it all. I would guess temperatures ranged from -5 to about 20 degrees over those months. I picked it up. looked over it and pulled the trigger. 'thumf'. sheeeiiiiiiit It still worked. Hadn't let out ANY guess. Aimed at a target 'thumf' again, straight as a die. better check it over before I do any damage to it. Popped the mag out, took out the takedown lever and slid the slide off. yup, frame looks fine. Check the upper. a slug, A mother fucking slug. right in the mechanism. and it wouldn't let me down. The pistol is awesome. It outranges most peoples AEGs all day erryday. It cannot be heard outside of 10m and is impossible to locate the exact direction of the shooting within hearing range. It's had more kills on its own that the entire rest of my arsenal, I'm convinced of it. Some days I'll take out £800 worth up Laylaxed up VSR and do better with the MK23. If I'm unsure about what to take to a game, I know I'll still have a good time if the MK23 is coming with me. oh, and just for balance, I DO also have the ASG one (same as KJ etcetcetc) and it's wank. Just utter crap. Yeah, I know what other people say about theirs, so maybe that shows how highly I hold this pistol. (and how terrified other players at my site are of it) and to clear up some misinformation in this thread so far: the TM MK23 and mags DO take Greengas, it will also take duster, 134a, 144a, red gas AND Guarder Black gas. I would imagine it handles propane fine, but I am NEVER putting that stink through my lovely pistol. Special forces don't use it 'a lot' it is too big and too heavy for a sidearm. and to agree with some other sentiments from the thread: If you use one, you cannot be cooler. They are stupid accurate. They are THE BEST sniper sidearm They are THE BEST woodland sidearm, regardless of playstyle They are (playstyle/game dependednt) one of the best CQB sidearms. BUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYITBUYIT