Fatboy40

For your first point a simple solution, but maybe not that elegant, is a good old school sweat band on your head as that's what they were invented for (keep a few in a kit bag and swap them over frequently). I wear glasses always and I'm very happy with my Guard Dog Evader 2 goggle and how they fit perfectly over them. However, I'm a sweaty betty as well and when I'm huffing and puffing they will fog, with Revision wipes from eBay helping somewhat, however this weekend I'm playing for the first time with my new helmet and ExFog setup (tubing carefully routed with velcro retaining it) so I'm hoping for a totally different experience regarding fogging. One thing I'd say that has helped with my fogging is getting rid of my mesh face mask and getting a Delta Mike Facepro Snood. The mesh mask directed some of my breath upwards towards my goggles, but this is all gone with the Delta Mike, and another big plus point is that I've gone from a bulky mesh mask to something skin tight so my peripheral vision has improved so much (especially looking directly down to my chest rig and what I'm walking over / up / down on).

Is it the Core or Edge?

Sold! 😁 Worthwhile reading this thread just for that stock, which I never knew about, and I WILL now buy. You'd be able to get 3,000 mah nunchucks down there

I'd take the "Specna Arms SA-E07 Edge 2.0" out of the two, with the prime reason being the "GATE ASTER" (which is hopefully the "v2" model, but Patrol Base doesn't confirm this). Get your self the "USB-Link" dongle for the GATE ASTER and there are then so many things you can configure in the "GATE Control Station" app on a smartphone... https://gatee.eu/products/aster

My favourite type of game as well, as long as the marshal's properly manage the falling back and the location you go to each time, and as you say pure skill / how expensive your gun is is not needed to keep things moving. You get variety as well through the different classes of players, one game it's a hail of BB's on bursts of auto, then another time you take ages trying to find "Mr / Mrs Sneaky Pants" hiding in a bush that no one can find.

The 2S are the most important, had a mess with batteries at the weekend (not my fault guv, bloody nephews not charging their batteries properly).

Well, nothing of any use to me (yes, 2S) 😛

I need to get a few more LiPo batteries, of various voltages etc., however looking around it seems most places are out of the good brands / what I need (covid/logistics/lockdown have screwed supply up). HobbyKing has nothing in the UK. Where are people going to right now to get good LiPo's at a fair price?

All the good / competitively priced LiPo batteries seem to be out of stock everywhere as well, I'm assuming hit by covid / logistics / people buying gadgets during lockdown that use lithium batteries

So, not a review per se of their Alton (near Winchester) site, more a few notes on my day there today (22/8/2021) with myself + my son + his two cousins (12 + 11 + 13, and all good sensible boys taking their hits and playing fair, with the 11 year old being a "Silver" rental). To start with I have to say it's the best site I've been to yet in the almost year I've had since playing airsoft, my son really liked it and it's his new no1 site (we've played mixed indoor / outdoor and full on indoor CQB). I didn't take any photos as I was having too much fun, which is what it's all about, and the Google Streetview points all around the site pretty much show it as it is however it was a little more overgrown than shown and all the better for it (snipers could properly hide, one game not moving onto the next round when everyone though it was over as he was so well hidden) and there was lots of good green cover). It was a nice day in the end, mild and sunny, however I think once winter hits it could get quite muddy and you'll loose the leaves of the trees so maybe easier to spot others with more ambient light). There's definitely small stone / flint about here and there so I was very glad to have good "Alta Industries" knee pads which helped a lot with keeping low. It's a big site, the car park, safe zone and the various gameplay "zones" they have (most of which are in the forest). The briefing and chrono were both good, however the marshals were very good being nice and loud for all to hear them and pushing on teams that were slacking, plus friendly. Site shop pricing was very fair for ammo and stuff, but I'd say bring your own food as the variety offered was just book in advance pizzas and chocolate and crisps (but lots of chilled drinks). The toilets were clean and well looked after, for me a sign of somewhere that cares about their image. The safe zone was good, but be aware that only a third or so of the picnic benches are under cover so if it's a rainy day get there early to claim a covered one. I'd say a solid 8 to 9 out of 10, and will definitely be going back. Edit: I think a good part of the day going well was due to this guy... https://www.instagram.com/sheezdog/ .. who was the head marshal / managing the games, and on the day was always polite and friendly no matter how many lame questions I put his way. Edit 2: And keep your eyes out for an almost new PTS EPM 1 mag out there somewhere 😢 (I should never have let my son borrow it, they're so damned expensive, and to be honest a wind up high cap feeds my DE M904E just as well)

Should I feel ashamed if this is sort of a goal for me? (am I now off to the Airsoft Forums UK sin bin for 24 hours with Kicking Mustang videos on a continuous loop)

Not the M904E, however others in their range are.

Come to the Double Eagle M904E dark side for £140 to £170, mwa ha ha...

I'm going to the Alton site this Sunday 22/8/2021, myself and three teenagers I'll be desperately trying to look after for the day, with three of us bringing our own AEG's / pistols and one being a rental (so I'll be able to comment on their chrono procedures). Online there are very few useful photos of this site, pretty much just marketing ones, so I'll try and take a few if I can. Is there anything others would like me to keep an eye out for at all?

Another option for you could be the Double Eagle M907E (note the "E"), everything you get with the above AEG but you get an optical trigger as well, however they're out of stock everywhere (I was quite interested in the second hand one EDCase listed, for my son, however now I've skirmished with an optical trigger I'd not buy anything without one).

@JVacation I'm following you like a bad smell 😉 The inner barrel in the M904E is a funny length at 215mm, it's not a size that most AEG's have. Personally I'd be looking at ZCI barrels from here... https://www.ak2m4.co.uk/ ... but you'll have to go with a longer one and a dummy suppressor of some sort to cover it. Go with a ML Macaron 60 degree if you're sticking to the stock 340fps 👍

Interesting to note. Before I even used it in anger a ML Macaron 60 degree went in it, I've been using it with 0.25's, and accuracy for me has been pretty good with an effective range of around 40 meters. What do you personally consider as a "longer range"?

@JVacation Just being nosy to see if you've got your M904E yet and what you think of it? (I love mine but get a little nervous when recommending it as no two people are the same)

As a glasses wearer I use these... https://www.specs4sports.co.uk/evader-2-over-glasses-goggles--camo-frame-clear-lens-5534-p.asp ... and also have a pair of... https://www.jtntools.co.uk/bolle-safety-coversi-coverall-platinum-safety-goggles-ventilated-clear-lens-55360-p.asp ... as a backup, but I primarily use the Evader 2's as they have foam covered holes for ventilation and have their "ANSI" rating printed into the plastic rims. Even with the ventilation holes the Evader 2's can fog up, and if you're someone who gets a bit hot / sweaty it's more likely to happen. I've got "Revision" wipes from eBay to help with fogging, and as an extreme solution I've also recently bought an "ExFog" that I've not yet setup (I want to test of the Revision wipes some more first, but the ExFog will have to be used for indoors only CQB as at Z-Mart I fogged like crazy). One thing I've found out about fogging, as a hot / sweaty / heavy breathing bloke, is that the face mask you use can have a negative effect in that some unfortunately channel your breath upwards so it hits or potential enters the goggles. I've dropped my Nuprol face mask now for a Delta Mike Snood, so the ear and nose protection is not as good as previously, but my hot breath is now not channelled vertically 👍 (as an aside I'm too risk adverse to ever wear mesh goggles, I don't trust cheap bio BB's not shattering, and I don't let my son wear them either)

All I'd say is be cautious about rating systems that could have an effect on the public perception of a business (and its bookings / revenue), the business may expect some sort of arbitration system if a dispute over a rating occurs, it could be legally a little sticky?

Be aware that they take an absolute eternity to arrive, two months later I'm still waiting for mine, they have to wait until AW ship them to them first as a special order. Just like the AAP-01 hammer it's only a matter of time until the AW drum mag clockwork spring goes if you use it heavily (I repaired mine but it's never felt the same since).

My M904E has just only had a Maple Leaf Macaron 60 Degree swapped out with the stock bucking, and it hops the 0.25's I use fine (the motor did give off that "new" electrical smell until it had been used a few times). If you bought the one from Patrol Base it's practically spot out of the box getting 340 FPS +/- one or two on 0.20's, so if you have a 350 FPS AEG limit at your favourite site there's little to do other than the bucking for better grouping / possible hopping heaving BB's (you could easily hop 0.28's with a Macaron for some more range but will lose some speed).

For me a Maple Leaf Autobot 60 Degree 2021 Silicone, just that on its own, radically changed the accuracy / grouping. Previously shown veered slight to the left and grouping was OK'ish, post the Maple Leaf swap shots were dead center and 20m or so grouping was infinitely better. The stock hop unit is great, I saw no need to replace it.

The externals of them depend upon the model you buy, some are an alloy and some are polymer, e.g. the M904E and M907E are identical internally and look identical as well but the M907E has an alloy handguard and receiver. Everything I know about them implies that they're quite reliable, however there are not many of them out there so it's not a certainty (but I'm fine if one day mine fails as I know it's bog standard internals and I can just swpa parts out). If you look online there's nothing that confirms this either way, and some have made assumptions based upon the use of the word "Eagle". All I know is that Double Eagle are a Chinese toy manufacturer, it appears that they make RC cars / toys primarily, and they imply that they have their own facilities for manufacturing (moulding plastics etc.). I'm just making assumptions but I've a feeling that their guns are a bit of a mongrel with some parts being theirs, some being other OEM's, and they assemble them themselves? Edit: If anyone's interested they, DE, list part of their address as "Fujian Qing An Precision Machinery" in China, and this factory has made shipments to both Umarex and Crossman so I'm assuming that this factory manufactures for them. This factory also used to own the trademark "QAP" who sold airsoft products, who's logo was two eagles (hmm, double eagles eh). This has sent me off down a rabbit hole so I think it best I just outright ask Double Eagle if they manufacture themselves or use an OEM. Edit 2: If you go to DE's website... http://www.deairsoft.com/ ... they actually have the "QAP" logo in the top left corner of it so they are one and the same. I've now directly asked them about their manufacturing as one way or another I now have to know. Edit 3: I really must stop this and get back to work, reading their website properly (rather than making assumptions) they say... ... so it looks like they may well make the ASG Scorpion Evo 😲

A recent video that you may find useful (with potential naughty words as it is "you know who")... https://youtu.be/0CDqyk2vUiw ... which does help in knowing any brands to steer clear of.