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3000 players at GZ? Yeh...nope. That is just going to be a shit show. I would rather a play a day with 30 honest, decent, objective-playing people with a decent scenario than 3000 half-pissed (and some half-stoned) folk lighting up anything that moves on the Somerley Estate. Quantity =/= Quality

I use the AKU pilgrims as everyday footwear when I am not wearing a suit. They are great boots, very comfortable, reasonably sturdy and probably ideal for indoor CQB. However, I would not trust them very far over rough or difficult ground. The only thing that a couple of us have found with them is that the insoles seem to be designed for people with supinated (high) arches and can be uncomfortable for those with neutral or hyperpronated arches. However, insoles are easy to change. For light use, I would also recommend looking at the Iturri patrol boots.

This must be a worrying time for anyone who has dumped bodies in a reservoir...

How did you get on with this? You inspired me to swap the frame on my Gen.3 (Which also has a Guarder slide and barrel). I'm glad I did, this is definitely the more the version I remember in movies from my childhood.

I'd strongly recommend whatever pair you buy, you try them on first. Easier said than done nowadays, but a trip to Cotswold outdoors or blacks would be sensible. Your footwear can have a bigger impact on your morale than you'd initially think. I think the right pair is the pair that fits you the best and that will mean spending a bit more cash, ultimately though these won't just be something you wear for Airsoft so hopefully you can justify a bit more. I'd also suggest thinking about the type of sites you play, regular at the trees or other very rugged sites and you'll need proper boots, leather, waterproof (like althergs,akus) etc. Some sites can get away with light weight/minimal ankle support (merrels, lowa zephyrs).

My thoughts exactly! Busiest day I've had at GZ was just over 200 players and it was pump. Give me a day of limited numbers, with no drum mag, 50 rd a second dickheads who've grandslammed themselves from the night before, and I'd be there. As it is, I'll give it a swerve. Having said all that, I do get the social aspect and have chatted to quite a few players over the years who have ventured into Ringwood for a beer.

Jokes aside, Glocks without light rails are the shit. Really nice looking one you got there!

Edit: Just Googled it! Your memory is obviously far superior to mine, as I watched Die Hard 2 not so long ago. Although, I'd need to file-off the 1 from seventeen for it to be accurate!

I'm sure you just go for the velcro patches....😜

Seventh year for us. Team Diamond Dogs. Bravo.

I've updated the owners thread 👍

Finally picked mine up from 'my guy' on Saturday, thought I'd provide my findings on accessory fitment: -Real collapsible F stock required the rubber buffer removing then further metal milling under where it sat, my example also needed some material removing from the tops of each stock bar. Unfortunately I can't provide further detail as I didn't witness the process. -VFC lighted forend goes right on; the TM pin is a bit of a bugger to get through as things stand so I may ream out the hole in the handguard a fraction but it can be used as stock with some persuasion, nothing too serious. -Magpul plastic handguard is tight af to get on and off where the rear of it goes around the round chamber area of the receiver, pin is fine though. I think I'll take some sandpaper to the inside of the handguard to make battery changes more reasonable in the safe zone. Just my personal findings with my gun and accessories.

We had a thread about boots not too long didn't we? I can't remember the recommendations for light-weight (i.e. "CQB sensible") boots, they're what I'm in the market for now... edit: Here's the thread and here are the lightweight AKU boots I'm gonna buy

Yes, the Gore-Tex guarantee now seems to expire as soon as you put the boots on. For serious walking, I use issue Iturri CWW boots; they are utterly solid, completely waterproof and very comfortable, but quite heavy. I would not use them for airsoft as they are far beyond what is needed. My son swears by his issued Defenders for walking. However, for outdoor sites, I do think a good, solid pair of waterproof boots are essential, which, for me, means leather boots and either Graingers Waterproofing Wax or Altberg Leder-Gris.

I wear German para boots and have found them to be comfy and hard wearing. This is especially important for me as I wear them for work too However, as others have posted, footwear is a very personal thing and what works for one may not for someone else so try to get to try them on before you buy

100%

Cant go wrong with Salomons. I buy from sports direct/decathlon as they normally always have a sale on - when they do I pick up at least two pairs which 9 times out of 10 equates to the normal price of one pair. Below are what I wear which are the Salomon forces but I use them for all out doors stuff not just airsoft so were a worth while purchase and the only difference being is that mine have the speed lace system. Echoing the above always try them on and make sure you buy to fit, I know that sounds stupid but buying off size will for the most part end up with either an uncomfortable wear or blisters/ankle problems from slipping. If you are on a set budget I would look at Karrimor, Altberg, Addidas or even Regatta. My suggestion would be to stay away from anything "surplus" military as for the most part the are generally heavy and clunky but do lend themselves to being more weather proof than your run of the mill off the self brand. "walking boots" generally come in a trainer-esk material these days and have differing levels of weather proofing but are a hell of a lot more comfortable than the leather boots I have seen some wearing while still offering ankle support from the high winged sides. Boots are another thing that a large number of people will throw you suggestions of what to wear but as long as they offer ankle support and fit generally you cant go wrong and again the best advice is to go to a local outdoor shop and try things on.

Emergencychimps has hit the nail straight on the head. Fit is everything. I'd spend in footware much readily than the latest kit, and a good pair will last and be versatile so you can wear them more.

Both my walking boots and playing boots are the same, worn them for years and are still as good as the day I bought them, Altberg defenders. You can find them new for sub 100 or super grade 1 surplus for around 45-50 quid. Full leather boot, great ankle support and meaty tread.

Much nicer pic of the m21 as I realised I hadn't taken one since getting my new phone with a fancy camera. Going to be working on it this week to try and get the jamming issue resolved by taking a dremel to the gearbox shell. I really want it to work and be reliable since it's up there with my HPA VSR as my top performing gun. HPA VSR is my 2.3J sniper rifle, this is my 1.1J no MED sniper rifle. Usually covered in a rifle wrap in game because bush cosplay is important.

First was Doom with the rocket launcher All time favourite was Doom 2 with the Double barrel shotgun

Dress code. I was called into my manager’s office over the weekend because of my dress code. He told me that I wasn’t allowed to wear pyjamas for work. So I replied “everyone else does” To which he replied “that’s because they are patients".

you're doing it wrong. airsoft reviews are 90% listing how ambidextrous it is, 5% chrono test and 5% accuracy test all conducted within 20 minutes of opening the box you're not supposed to give people actual information or give them any notion of longevity.... i jest of course, good work actually reviewing the thing properly over a period of years.

Went to the bulimia clinic today. It was heaving.

Today I ran my second game day, a tribute game for my best mate's young son who passed suddenly last year. Connected games based on a post apocalyptic idea with 'zombie' super soldiers thrown in to the mix ! Went very well with a turn out of over 70 players and a very hot day, all good natured and everyone seemd to have a good time. Marshalling certainly gives you a different view of our sport and an apreciation of how hard good marshalls work ! And we raised just under £430 for charity, all in all a great day of airsofting .

Before anyone gets triggered, I don't care at all if people do or don't wish to do this, matters zero when being shot with BBs vs bullets from a firearm, this is info purely for those who may be interested. For some, if you've never shortened the straps on your rig this may well improve comfort for you in general, but especially when doing any leaning, sitting, squatting etc; as obviously your chest is comparatively a static/solid block of rib cage, whereas your stomach area does the bending and most people's rigs hang low. The basic guide that's banded about for users of common real armour plates in popular modern PCs (JPC, Slickster etc) is that the very top of the plate should be right at the point your collar bones meet at the base of your neck. Most players buy a replica armour/plate carrier of some type and never adjust the shoulder straps, so 90% of the time they'll be lower than they 'should' (emphasis on parenthesis) be if it was real. Again, I know it isn't. Dirty selfie from yesterday's game where, if anything, my carrier is maybe a small smidge high on account of having featherlight fake 'plates' in it and it riding up a bit while in play. But from what I've seen pretty much all combat shirts have similar 1/4 zip length and as you can see about half of mine is covered up. It's actually running down to around the mid point of the English flag. End of the day, if you've never tried it it's totally free to just adjust the straps on the kit you've already got and takes about 1 minute, maybe worth a go. I think this quick and free change can potentially improve the look of a kit by a decent bit without buying anything at all. If that's not of interest though, have a nice evening ✌️

HICAPS?

You can't believe what most people say on airsoft forums about camo, they're emotionally invested in their purchases, same as phone OSs and everything else. Most of the advice is regurgitated from being read on other airsoft forums and passed on through 10 gens of players with the original info coming from kevin down the pub who was gonna join the TA but 'decided against it' (too fat). Look at your site pics in summer and winter, wet and dry, find the dominant colours and match as best you can; assuming you don't just wanna wear MC Black or whatever. Over the years I've come to a very rough rule that if you can have 4 uniforms of the common military style you'll be fairly well sorted almost everywhere you go in Europe, these are some reasonably obtainable/practical examples as of 2022: Dark green (very heavily vegetated woodlands with little floor vis) - US Woodland, Temperate DPM, Tigerstripe, MC Trop, Ranger Green Light green (ground is most covered in standard grass plants) - Multicam+family, AOR2, Concamo, Tropical DPM Dark brown (probably most common, soil is brown) - Temperate MARPAT, Flecktarn, Coyote Brown, Concamo Brown Light brown (dead leaves on the ground when dry) - Desert DPM, AOR1/Desert MARPAT/NWUII, Desert Tigerstripe, US 3 Color Desert Obviously there's a billion caveats, there's in-betweens, variances in batches, variances between mil surp and commercial stuff like mil-tec, there's at least dozens if not hundreds of variants of just Tigerstripe and none of this takes in to account different garment types like softshells or GTX etc etc etc... I always liked this image I got at a game as a good example of the 4th category. Typical English woodland but DPM would be shit here. I looked up pics from the site's facebook page in advance and chose accordingly; should've gone full AOR1 if anything. I think GreenZone and ATACS-iX could maybe be considered quite well rounded as multi-area patterns for UK woods much of the year and the design technology advancement in them vs the '80s movie' families (US Wood, DPM, CCE etc) is clear. But Multicam has the most consistent results all around in my observation, which obviously lines up with its' mass adoption around the world - part of that is because it's cheaper to issue 1 set of course.