Ex paintballer that seen the light

[beermonsta]

Well it's been a few years now since I sold off all my paintball stuff and after turning 40 I am getting a little soggy in the mid section (Fat) so thought I know let take up paintball for some exercise and it will be nice to get back into grass roots level play that's where the fun is.

OMG has paintballing got expensive or what? never was cheap but jeeez.

Airsoft real looking guns and played by real enthusiasts sounds great.

Now I know all the legal stuff and planning to hire for a while rather than have to buy a blue gun but a question I can't seam to find an answer to on here is eye wear, It would be nice to get away from steaming up goggles so what's best?

Good ole paintball goggles (JT snappers mine as I remember)

Mesh eyewear looks weird and can you see out of it ok?

Safety glasses, every video you see has people wearing nothing more that glasses, I'm no wuss but a BB in the cheek has got to sting. Are these people super hard or being filmed in the car park to look cool.

Want to get some stuff but want to get the right stuff from the offset not have to keep buying stuff, also don't want to look like a spanner on my 1st outing done up like something from a predator movie.

Thanks in advance and maybe see some of you around soon.

 

[SheriffHD]

A lot of us wear just the glasses (ESS ICE are highly recommended as they can withstand a shotgun). Dont see many people with full face masks other than kids really (nothing aginst full face masks BTW, id advise them as chipping a tooth is what you want to avoid) I just stick to glasses because I hate Limited FOV and not being to get a proper sight down my rifle.

Mesh id advise against. (Plastic Hitting mesh at high speed = thin plastic share to the eye. Doesnt happen alot, but id rather proper glasses)

as for gear to buy/wear. other than rifle and mag which will be provided in your hire.

Good boots

Combat trousers/Hiking Trousers.
Hydration pack(Not essential. but its something Id recomend to any one as its better than a water bottle)

Saftey glasses/googles.
​A hat/scarf

And when you get your own rifle a Vest or a Chest rig to fit you mags. thats about all you need. everything else is just to make you look cool really.

 

[beermonsta]

hydro pack good idea, I sell those at work as well as all the clothing so that's no problem, good point about sighting face mask gonna get in the way. Still not looking forward to a shot in the mush no pain no gain I guess.

 

[Pointman PUG]

I use mesh goggles but I have to wear glasses...so im fairly limited to what I can wear.....I suppose its personal preference really.If I had a choice id'e probably opt for the cool looking shooting glasses but not tinted (we dont live in afgan and woods can be quite dark)...I also wear a neoprene camo facemask which takes the sting out of a face hit....but it can get clammy on a hot day so I choose to not wear it

 

[Chippins]

Getting hit in the face (or any other none covered up area) does sting a little, but I'd hardly call myself well 'ard for not wearing a facemask. you could try wearing a scrim scarf if you want to protect your teeth.

 

[Ian_Gere]

I've been airsofting 15 months - I've personally seen 1 tooth snapped off clean at the gum and 2 have not insignificant corners taken off. I have a permanent BB scar on that soft skin where cheek joins eye socket. Hits to the cheek sting, but they don't usually scar. Hits directly to the teeth often break them.

Sighting can be a problem in a mesh or plastic mask, but not always. Depends on the gun and mask. One combination I can personally vouch for is G36's with a 1/2face mesh mask. Neoprene masks cause no problems to sighting with any gun, but, as said above, they get sweaty on a warm day once you start running around.

There are 2 types of mesh: woven wire and perforated sheet. Perforated sheet comes in 2 broad categories also: wide circular holes with substantial dividers between and small circular holes through much finer sheet.

Woven wire makes for the least visual interference: it just disappears from your view after a short while wearing it. Unfortunately the standard woven mesh in goggles is not impervious to damage, although it does not give way to anything you could be hit with in one go, it's just that the wires do deform so over time there must become a steadily increasing risk that one could fail. The mesh in full face masks, like fencing masks with camo paint and cloth patches, is much more solid however it does create the slightest shadows over your visual field.

Small hole perforated sheet creates no artifacts in the visual field, but it does darken it like wearing shades: fine on a sunny day, not so good in bad light trying to spot camouflaged people in foliage, fcuking dire at night. Also if you test small hole mesh to destruction, it can give way much more readily than you'd imagine. Still, if you work out the circumstances that would have to occur for such a failure to happen in use, you'll see that they are actually next to impossible.

Large hole perforated sheet is probably the toughest mesh available right now, but it creates the worst shadows across the visual field but doesn't darken it by much. In some types, such as Hero Shark, those artifacts never disappear from view no matter how long you wear them.

As you know, lenses fog. You can get lensed goggles with a fan to remove the moisture from sweat, but the more common solution is vents and/or gaps around the edges that do not seal tight against the skin. Some people worry about fragments of BB making it through mesh holes, others worry about BB's getting past unsealed edges, some people realise too late that being a bit of a fat bastard (like me) means you will sweat more than mere vents can help with...

I have been hit in the eye by a fragment of BB which made it through my Hero Shark Daggernose goggles. It was just like getting a bit of sand blown into my eye at a beach. I know that Airsoft Ed had a similar experience, but recently somebody else on AF-UK got a scratch to the eyeball which annoyed them more (we dunno if that also involved rubbing it with the fragment still in the eye though, IIRC).

It is going to be a compromise of some sort. I always say to people who are about to make this decision that what it boils down to is what do you consider to be the most likely risk to you: being blinded by a fragment of BB or falling over something you cannot see through fogged lenses? Nobody in the history of airsoft has yet been blinded while wearing mesh or lensed goggles, but I felt so worried about not being able to see 1st time I played that I bought mesh goggles before the next time.

 

[sp00n]

+1 to what ian said

I recently had a fragment of bb make it through small hole perforated steel goggles, the only reason I was wearing them was my neoprene mask kept causing my ess ice glasses to fog up

I am still trying to work out what is best to wear, as I want good protection, and good visibility, and still be able to see through the sights of my guns .... But finding a solution, can be tricky or a compromise.

 

[SheriffHD]

I use mesh goggles but I have to wear glasses...so im fairly limited to what I can wear.....I suppose its personal preference really.If I had a choice id'e probably opt for the cool looking shooting glasses but not tinted (we dont live in afgan and woods can be quite dark)...I also wear a neoprene camo facemask which takes the sting out of a face hit....but it can get clammy on a hot day so I choose to not wear it

I have glasses too. I have an Insert on my ballistic glasses So I can have the insert doen to my prescription.

As for faceware. A nice slim line PB mask is a nice idea vs a fabric mask if you want to protect your checks.

SLY Or DYE have good masks with good FOV, and I would say just throw on a riser so that any optics you mount are still usable when you look down the rifle.

General Ideas

http://www.rap4uk.com/Sly-Profit-Goggles-Black-Digi-Camo-p/sly_blk_digi.htm

http://www.rap4uk.com/20mm-Look-Thru-Riser-Mount-for-Tippmann-X7re-p/8815.htm

You can find the risers much cheaper on the internet. just besure you check that you get the right one for your rifle (As MP5's and AK type rifles can have differnt style mounting for optics.

 

[beermonsta]

Thanks for the input guys, I am thinking slim line goggles and half mesh mask (maybe ACM) sounding good to me, I try not to run much to keep the heat down. I guess with summer coming up (Or what passes for it in the UK) getting it right maybe trial an error anyway a little with extra heat around. Wont be needing to buy full on combat jackets just yet either.

 

[AaronBull]

Welcome to the site, i haven't been airsofting for long really, a few months, but i find that a mesh face mask (just to protect my teeth and nose) with mesh goggles and a baseball cap work really well, i also have a neck protector after being shot in the voice box on my first shoot!

Olive cargo trousers with a dark custom hoody (for purposes of my forum) and an olive iper molle belt rig. 4 mag pouches, a deployment bag and a dump pouch (for empty mags) .. Boots are a slight over cry if you ask me, granted people want to look the people but surely comfort is more important, i just use a pair of plain black trainers, comfy and easy to run in! Unless your spending £130 on a pair of altberg sneakers, boots are pointless, big, heavy and noisy!!

 

[Mike636]

Boots are a slight over cry if you ask me, granted people want to look the people but surely comfort is more important, i just use a pair of plain black trainers, comfy and easy to run in! Unless your spending £130 on a pair of altberg sneakers, boots are pointless, big, heavy and noisy!!

They can be yes but Mendel Desert Foxs' are fairly light weight and comfortable, also some sites insist on the wearing of boots to protect your ankles.

 

[AaronBull]

They can be yes but Mendel Desert Foxs' are fairly light weight and comfortable, also some sites insist on the wearing of boots to protect your ankles.

Yea thats a fair one, i've been in the military nearly 7 years, altberg sneakers are the way forward, pricey but theyre so comfortable!!

 

[sp00n]

Aaron be careful, some sites will not entertain anyone in trainers ( I think this is due to a lack of ankle support etc).

 

[AaronBull]

When i return to camp i'l be bringing my altbergs back!! CQB Tactical allow trainers and thats the only venue im visiting over the next few weeks, too many commitments at work to venture too far unfortunately

 

[Ian_Gere]

Took some effing about with Scholl pads, and some Chinese gel pads, as well as 2 pairs of insoles, but I've got my German Para boots set up nicely. My ankles need the support later in a day when I'm knackered, but also solid leather boots protect me from brambles and the stagnant, stinking, fcuk-knows-what's-living-in-it-water in some of the puddles at my local site.

After eyepro, my boots are my most important piece of kit.

 

[Mike636]

Ian

Have a ganger at this if you have snags with boots, I know there are a few companies around the Catterick area that can custom make boots for you.

http://www.altberg.co.uk/fitting/custom-boot-fitting/

 

[Ian_Gere]

Sounds interesting, Mike, but my feet are well within 1/2 a size / 1 width fitting of each other and I haven't got bunions, heels spurs, or duck-paddle feet, so I'm not so sure what they would do for me. That said, I do have a slightly weird way of walking: I tend to step onto the balls of my feet first, ie before the heel, whenever I'm not walking on a level flat surface.

My main problem with boots is that my toes are quite long and slim so if my feet slip down the boot they bend easily and get crushed at the tip and blistered on top. The same slipping makes the boot rub my achilles tendon. Basically I have to do them up nice and tight, and add shaped padding under the balls of my feet, so that when my weight is transferred forward, there is something to push against. But adding that padding slightly changes the angle of my foot in the boot, so to keep it comfortable I put a wedge shaped gel pad in the heels too.

 

[Mike636]

I used to run like that on the balls of my feet, spoke to a physio, did some calf exercises and a visit to a podiatrist sorted me out, still hate running though! Turns out walking funny can lead to all sorts of problems it messed with my back a little too as I was compensating for the odd walk with the wrong muscle groups

 

[Ian_Gere]

I suspect it's the other way around with me: I got injured in my teens so I have a slight scoliosis to my spine. Although, apparently, having teeth removed affects your gait and i've lost loads! I did have inserts in my shoes for a while to help my gait after the karate vs spine episode. My dad was something in the FA so he got me set up with a sports physio he knew well. I know what you mean about calves mind: when illness floors me, which happens from time to time, when I next walk any distance, beyond pottering round the house, my calves kill me!

 

[beermonsta]

I live in Berghaus boots to be honest so plenty of spare pairs knocking around.

I also sell work wear clothing inc boots for a living. This year we discontinued our Magnum range so selling them off cheap, so I thought a nice pair of Magnum Spider 8.1 boots sub £35 why not..... on Monday I raid the warehouse and find we only have size 12 left. Tried a pair and they ok but feel a bit like clown shoes and the chances of me getting shot in the foot were trebled so no new booties for me. If anyone knows a number for big foot or King Kong and they thinking of taking up airsoft you know where to come.