Is playing dress up becoming more important than playing airsoft?

[albawarrior]

The game is most important. I love the thrill. Takes me back to my army days. Mostly have noticed games slow down alot now due to gun malfunctions and kit breaking etc. Yeh its nice to be in full CEFO to make it more real but not at the expense of not being able to storm the kill house and diving for cover or spotting that unaware lone player.....

 

[TheFull9]

Personally, to try and reply as directly as possible to the OP, yeah I'm more interested in gear. Overall, I'd rather own firearms and maybe 1-2 airsoft replicas just to play the game occasionally, but I can't have the guns I want in this country so I just stick to BBs and what I get to play with in work.

However even if I can't personally own the guns I want, I can own gear that's 'on a par' as it were with the sort of guns I'd shoot if I could. I like to collect gear, I'm interested in the way it's made, the work that goes in to designing and manufacturing it, the whole industry that surrounds it, the similarities and differences between various sporting/defence applications for civilians, general outdoor use and military applications of all kinds of different apparel, load-bearing rigs, pouches etc. So I buy a fair bit of kit in order to actually look at it closely, then every now and then play airsoft in it in order to see how it performs on a very basic level (wicking sweat, friction points, retaining mags, pistol draw etc etc).

I've long been aware that playing in a half-arsed fashion would be detrimental to the other folks on my team, but personally I can't do things by halves anyway so it's never a problem. I either go to a skirmish or milsim and go for it with 100% effort, or I just stay at home. I'm not a good player, I always get hit more than I score hits, but I do enjoy the sounds of GBBs shooting, pyro going off and the like and it's a great social activity all around. Myself, I can't say I've ever seen bunches of guys dressed to the 9s in kit stood around the regen point mouthing off instead of getting stuck in; the people I've seen doing that have covered every 'type' of player there is. Fact is, unless you're a lottery winner/retired on a massive pension and all you do is travel up and down the entire UK playing game after game multiple times per week on a constant basis, you simply can't claim there to be any set trends amongst what certain 'types' of players do (or don't do as the case may be).

(apart from a few snobs that everysite has)

Does "every site" have those though?

 

[Mr Monkey Nuts]

Airsoft has three distinct aspects, Skirmishing, Dress up and Tinkering, although they are all mutually linked, none are more or less important than the others.

If you asked on Airsoft mechanics, i would hazard a majority rarely played, if you asked a russian loadout group, the majority would rarely play. Its not a bad thing as these airsofters are paying into and supporting the industry. It's a very good thing we are so diverse we can not tie ourselves into one direction.

Take Car owners clubs 50% just want a social gathering of likeminded people and a driveabout once in a while, 50% want to know every intricate detail about the car down to ridiculous details. All are accepted and bond unanimously.

Personally i have donned my kit more at home than at a site recently, because in the wake of the Paris Shootings, i cant help but throw the thought that as we go out skirmishing we are replicating the hell these people lived and died; for fun. Saying it out loud seem abhorrent to me.

There is no prize, there is no award, there is no reason or purpose, we are just going out to replicate killing each other for shits and giggles.

And i'm not alone in thinking this, many other players I have spoken to share this reluctance. Of course we are too deeply involved now to just quit so carry on and bury our moral objections.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Airsoft has three distinct aspects, Skirmishing, Dress up and Tinkering, although they are all mutually linked, none are more or less important than the others.

If you asked on Airsoft mechanics, i would hazard a majority rarely played, if you asked a russian loadout group, the majority would rarely play. Its not a bad thing as these airsofters are paying into and supporting the industry. It's a very good thing we are so diverse we can not tie ourselves into one direction.

Take Car owners clubs 50% just want a social gathering of likeminded people and a driveabout once in a while, 50% want to know every intricate detail about the car down to ridiculous details. All are accepted and bond unanimously.

Personally i have donned my kit more at home than at a site recently, because in the wake of the Paris Shootings, i cant help but throw the thought that as we go out skirmishing we are replicating the hell these people lived and died; for fun. Saying it out loud seem abhorrent to me.

There is no prize, there is no award, there is no reason or purpose, we are just going out to replicate killing each other for shits and giggles.

And i'm not alone in thinking this, many other players I have spoken to share this reluctance. Of course we are too deeply involved now to just quit so carry on and bury our moral objections.

Think your going a little bit off track there pal.This thread is about what sort of player are you and how annoying it is when you get people who turn up to a skirmish who are more interested in how they look than playing properly.

At the end of the day if people want to just dress up then maybe re-enactment is where they should be not an airsoft field.

Nothing wrong with getting your enjoyment out of the toys more than playing but thats not airsoft.

Comparing it to car clubs is completely irrelevant. A car meet is not a competitive sport/activity its like minded individuals who have an interest in a particular item meeting up to look at said item.

If playing airsoft after the terrorism incident bothers you then dont play, its a perfectly understandable moral choice. But if anyone connects airsoft with real war then its time to look at their own head more than airsoft because maybe they are getting too caught up in the fantasy.

Airsoft is just tag with projectile weapons. I never even think in terms of real military or real guns because its not even close to the real thing.

The best airsofters are those that can balance all aspects and those who play for the love of playing. Those that turn up just to dress up should stay at home.

 

[Sacarathe]

Airsoft has three distinct aspects, Skirmishing, Dress up and Tinkering, although they are all mutually linked, none are more or less important than the others.

Haha, wargaming, painting, modelling. ^^

For years I shunned the 2nd one, now it's my favourite, and I never do the first one. Love 40k fiction though.

Personally i have donned my kit more at home than at a site recently, because in the wake of the Paris Shootings, i cant help but throw the thought that as we go out skirmishing we are replicating the hell these people lived and died; for fun. Saying it out loud seem abhorrent to me.

There is no prize, there is no award, there is no reason or purpose, we are just going out to replicate killing each other for shits and giggles.

And i'm not alone in thinking this, many other players I have spoken to share this reluctance. Of course we are too deeply involved now to just quit so carry on and bury our moral objections.

Not sure how you got there, last time I check airsoft was about armed on armed.

In my mind airsoft has more in common with DICE's battlefield than war. That said, I found out about it originally from LegoCap.

Playing is definitely most important to me, as a distinct and unashamedly disabled player, the thrill of feeling normal for an afternoon is priceless, even if I'm pretending I'm not in as severe pain as I actually am.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Airsoft has three distinct aspects, Skirmishing, Dress up and Tinkering, although they are all mutually linked, none are more or less important than the others.

100% completely disagree.Yes they are linked but playing is by far the most important.

Airsoft is a sport that uses bb guns as a tool but the core of airsoft is the player. Being able to play as part of a team and test yourself personally against others in a non harmful but combative way and to have the outcome based on everyones ability to show honour and play fair is what airsoft is all about.

Dressing up is just an add on.

 

[Sacarathe]

100% completely disagree.

Yes they are linked but playing is by far the most important.

Airsoft is a sport that uses bb guns as a tool but the core of airsoft is the player. Being able to play as part of a team and test yourself personally against others in a non harmful but combative way and to have the outcome based on everyones ability to show honour and play fair is what airsoft is all about.

Dressing up is just an add on.

Where do you draw the line between safety equipment and 'dress up'? What I mean to say is, if a person can justify an item as safety equipment (or load carrying for that matter), does that exempt their purchase from inclusion in 'dress up' or is it a matter of personal perspective, and individual justification be damned.

Is 'dress up' defined by the wearer or the observer?

 

[jcheeseright]

100% completely disagree.

Yes they are linked but playing is by far the most important.

Airsoft is a sport that uses bb guns as a tool but the core of airsoft is the player. Being able to play as part of a team and test yourself personally against others in a non harmful but combative way and to have the outcome based on everyones ability to show honour and play fair is what airsoft is all about.

Dressing up is just an add on.

I think what you're saying here is that playing is by far the most important part of the hobby... to YOU.

For me the gear is just as important as the playing, for you it isn't.

Your appreciation of this game (it's not a sport, really) is just as valid as mine, but it is different.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Where do you draw the line between safety equipment and 'dress up'? What I mean to say is, if a person can justify an item as safety equipment (or load carrying for that matter), does that exempt their purchase from inclusion in 'dress up' or is it a matter of personal perspective, and individual justification be damned.

Is 'dress up' defined by the wearer or the observer?

Protective or load carrying gear isnt dress up. All the uniforms and other things that are not really necessary are dress up.Dressing up to play airsoft is not a bad thing whether its military, cosplay or even a crocodile onesy its all part of the fun.

My issue is those people who forget that the game is still the main point.

Only thing that should never be worn is a morph suit because that bloody hurts.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

I think what you're saying here is that playing is by far the most important part of the hobby... to YOU.

For me the gear is just as important as the playing, for you it isn't.

Your appreciation of this game (it's not a sport, really) is just as valid as mine, but it is different.

Thats kind of it but not entirely what I am aiming at.You state that gear is just as important as playing which is exactly as it should be. When you play you play to the full and I completely respect your choice on what gear you use because you use it to enhance your enjoyment of the game.

You have a balance which is a good thing and is how it should be.

My issue is purely the people who put the dressing up way ahead of the game.

As I stated in a previous post there is nothing wrong with enjoying the kit but if you turn up at a game turn up to play and give it your all.

Edit; As for whether its a sport or a game

https://www.google.co.uk/search?site=&source=hp&ei=uiiRVv-mNIf6PunqoIgO&q=is+airsoft+a+sport&oq=is+airsoft+&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.1.3.0l5.2021.5306.0.7236.12.12.0.7.7.0.273.1987.0j10j2.12.0....0...1c.1.64.mobile-gws-hp..0.12.908.3.q1J-WEkKrzQ

 

[Sitting Duck]

As this has gone off topic - then back on, then off again.....

Airsoft is a little like married sex - just a little

Now if you are lucky you get to sample the above loadout - very very few times

(on ya GF I meant but if you like to cross dress I suppose whatever floats ya boat)

helps to make the event more enjoyable but as we all know it is the taking part that counts

and after a while you ain't gonna so no if their kit isn't as good

yes its nice all kitted/strapped up etc...

but if its basic loadout & you get to play or not playing at all....

you just pick up ya weapon and go for it - that is what counts

Final thought thought chaps....

If Mrs Duck is gonna show me a loadout like the above end of Feb - our anniversary btw 29-02-92 = leap year

then you will not be seeing me at the Mall I'm afraid

I might be daft and act the fool but even I ain't that f*cking stupid

somebody try and steer it back on course but leave you with another pic to consider if thinking of getting hitched

AND NO MRS DUCK HASN'T LET HERSELF GO THAT MUCH !!!!

it is not our pics before you ask

(before any smart ar$e chimes in)

 

[jcheeseright]

Is airsoft a sport? - Airsoft Society
www.airsoftsociety.com › ... › General Airsoft Discussion
13 Aug 2010 - 10 posts
Is it a sport because my friend keeps saying it isn't but I know it is and Can you give me a website or some proof on how its a sport.

Solid arguments from google!

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Is airsoft a sport? - Airsoft Society
www.airsoftsociety.com ... General Airsoft Discussion
13 Aug 2010 - 10 posts
Is it a sport because my friend keeps saying it isn't but I know it is and Can you give me a website or some proof on how its a sport.
Solid arguments from google!

Lol.I was going for the top part or Wikipedia once I see ask yahoo or the words my friend said I steer clear completely.

 

[i3666]

Granted, I am quite new to airsoft but my principle is LESS IS MORE and focus on being agile as I play CQB. Concerning clothing, anything really goes!

The thing I like about CQB is it can be the guy with the old shitty hoody & battered AK which is better than the people that have all the MilSim kit. You really have to approach all players with an open mind and not judge until you see people actually play!

Also, I would like to see more threads on game play and techniques!

 

[Fumps]

I just see kit as a small part of the fun. If you notice its there, then its not doing its job properly & will get sold & replaced with something that does work. Its the same as a RIF. If its a faff then its not doing its job properly.

I'm not a gun nut nor a military kit perv. I just like having a laugh & meeting other people with the same sense of fun and sense of humour. the rest is just details to me.

 

[sniperslucky]

Airsoft is the next best thing to real war, whether in camo or old clothes in the end its the BB's that decide end of.

All want to look the part some better than others.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Airsoft is the next best thing to real war

And the prize for worst comment ever goes to......

 

[sniperslucky]

Hey it must, be i've seen 50yr old blokes dressed better than the British Armed forces ! talk about spend the kids inheritence

 

[TheFull9]

dressed better than the British Armed forces !

Well.. that's really not difficult.

 

[Bencupra]

It does look good when people have full tactical kit and I can see why they do it, think loads of boys always like the idea of being a soldier and for most this is as close as it will get. I'll get kit but will be tan in colour and comfy boots decent gloves and eye protection will be what has the most money spent on. Being uncomfortable while playing can ruin the day ie uncomfortable boots been there before never again lol. For me the guns is what I'll spend the money on and chances are a small armoury will be built up over the year just because there are so many guns I like lol.