jcheeseright

PIG do some gloves called FDT Alphas (I think) which have really, really thin material on the palm and fingers which allows for very good dexterity, might be worth a look, they are expensive though.

Yes, illegal, not 'considered illegal', actually properly written down in law illegal, as in against the law. IMPORTING A RIF IS AGAINST THE LAW. Regardless of your chances of being caught, it is still a crime.

It is absolutely illegal, importation is importation!! driving over the border with a RIF is AGAINST THE LAW. Even for those of us with a valid defence, it is still illegal, it's just that defence means that you cannot be prosecuted for breaking that law, doesn't mean we're not breaking it!

It is illegal, importation of a RIF is against the law. Importation means the item coming from another country into this one, doesn't matter how it gets here, without a valid defence against prosecution you could be prosecuted under the VCRA 2006.

No, OWNERSHIP is LEGAL. There's no requirement for a defence or license of any kind to own a RIF, you don't need to go airsofting with it, or be a reenactor, or any of that shit, OWNERSHIP IS NOT LEGISLATED AGAINST. IMPORTING the RIF is illegal however, so I'd ask how you intend to get the item while staying on the right side of the law.

I didn't quote you out of context, I cut off the last half of your wall of text. When you reference 'owning a rif' with the word defence people get the wrong idea, especially when you don't specifically state that referencing that was in relation to buying/importing/manufacturing. With subjects like this it pays to be concise (not one of your strengths, I'm aware) and not rely on people reading between the lines. Tad managed to explain the law on the subject pretty comprehensively in 106 words, your 545 word essay didn't actually explain any legal points at all and somehow managed to shoehorn in references to domestic terrorism.

I'll stop you right there. THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT FOR A REASON TO OWN A RIF. NONE. You can OWN as many RIFs as you want, unless you commit a crime with them the police cannot do anything. The things legislated against are SELLING, IMPORTING, and MANUFACTURE. Posession of a RIF is not something you require a defence for. EVER.

ninja edit while you were typing, I re-read my post and thought "actually, pathfinders aren't UKSF... should change that!"

£220? he's hardly remortgaged his house!

mechanix are top notch, if you get fastfits they're cheap too.

they're 'special' but Special Forces for the US military means the US Army Special Forces. It's a common misconception over here, largely because UKSF covers 22SAS/SBS/SFSG/18 Sigs/SRR etc so anyone in any of those units is referred to as Special Forces (or support), the US Army however have a unit that is specifically called Special Forces, otherwise known as Green Berets. Worth noting that for UK stuff now, 21 and 23 SAS are no longer under the umbrella of the directorate of UKSF and are now part of 1st intelligence and surveillance brigade.

no one sells spare magazines for spring pistols.

Legal to own... illegal to import without a suitable defence. Which as far as customs are concerned is UKARA or nothing. No such thing as a license, never has been, never will be.

Chock, 'Special Forces' when referring to US military units ( certainly with official sources) almost always means US Army Special Forces, other wise known as green berets. They're a specific unit split into 7 groups. It's a common misconception that the term special forces refers to all SOCOM and JSOC units, or anyone that's not conventional infantry... But with the yanks, it's just that one unit; US Army Special Forces.

There we go then, confirmed Army SF.

was looking more at Milsim West, as they tend to be a bit more hardcore. Last thing I'd want is to fly thousands of miles only to find that it's a big themed tan vs green skirmish.

I personally do my paintjobs in a more 'organic' way than that; I paint it so it's pristine and perfect, then I use it and the wear happens naturally! Don't go heavy with the paint, a light dusting is better than a heavy coat as it'll bond with the flat areas just as well as a heavy coat but it'll chip away easier on the rails/grip/magwell/etc.

heavier the better, I aim to have between 260 and 300 fps with whatever ammo I'm using regardless of the energy output; that's the sweet spot where you have the best trade off for travel time vs BB stability in flight.

no. just, no.

Won't do you any good in your corridor, go out and get some shots in-game

Yep, the combination of the fan and the thermal lenses makes them pretty fog proof

Me and the rest of the Cobalt guys have kinda made it our mission to get to a MSW game sometime in 2015-16, should be good to see how the yanks do it compared to Stirling and Tier1 over here. Will require a fair amount of planning getting a load of guns onto planes and a load of gen3 night vision and various other ITAR shit into and out of the US

ESS make thermal lenses for their goggles already, I have one in my profile turbofans, they won't make any for their glasses though... what's the point? Air can get in on either side so the whole premise of having 2 panes of plastic is negated.

Reference condor, people give it a bad rap because a lot of airsofters use it, but it's made in the US and berry compliant. That alone puts it a jump ahead of quite a lot of the clone gear.

Osprey is wank though, certainly if I were getting shot at with real bullets the coverage it provides would be welcome but for airsoft it's just not all that good an option. CKinnerley's suggestion for the tactical tailor plate carrier is right on the money, I had no idea they made a basic plate carrier for that little money. Nothing you'll be able to get from China will come close tactical tailor in quality.