Legal to Import?

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Im just getting into airsoft and I run a very light CQB setup. I have been looking for a chest rig or somthing similar that would fit a CQB role. I ended up finsing this : http://www.evike.com/products/37709/ . As i'm new to airsoft I was wondering if that will be pulled by customs if its imported. If you can find a UK alternate link taht would be even better!

[Airsoft_Mr B]

I really doubt it. A RIF maybe, but it's fine if you have a defence. Ian ordered a gun recently, and you can buy from Europe no problem. A vest like that should be fine.

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I really doubt it. A RIF maybe, but it's fine if you have a defence. Ian ordered a gun recently, and you can buy from Europe no problem. A vest like that should be fine.

Thanks, I don't suppose you got any recommendations for other starting equipment?

[Happy]

Recently got one of these myself for £25 at a boot fair. A fun but of kit but be careful about bit taking hits as you don't feel them as much but it makes quite a loud noise. Buy a pair of fast mag pouches for your rifle of choice and you're laughing!

 

For other gear get obviously eye pro/a decent face mask depending on your age (or enjoyment of being shot in the face), gloves to protect your hands/fingers, knee pads are something to consider as well - my worst injuries have always been on my knees from kneeling on sharp objects/BBs - and obviously some good boots to support your ankles and keep your feet dry. Everything else is more or less optional - even your tactical vest.

 

Just be careful ordering from overseas as custom charges can apply.

 

Edit: Another thing with this vest: take a friend with you for the sole purpose of clipping you up in it. Getting the clips in on your own can be tricky haha!

[Baz JJ]

I dont think customs will care about neoprene armour plate.

Check out Evike on here, They dont seem to have an unblemished reputation for service. Cant comment personally as never use them.

[Ian_Gere]

Pretty much everything which comes from the USA gets hit by Customs for VAT - although stuff which comes from China/Hong Kong ought to also, due to the way the customs declaration form is filled out, often the latter gets through unmolested (in my experience about 6/7 parcels). You can get that vest from ehobbyasia here.

 

Gloves like these are very good for CQB as they protect your fingers from close range hits, which do sting. You can get them even cheaper used, typically a quid plus P&P...

 

A 1/2 face mask like this, with 2 straps, stays locked to your head better than a single strap design. This is important so the mask does not move when you run (see my avatar for what happens when a BB hits between a loose mask and goggles at close range). Many people find these uncomfortable, but if you modify them to add a couple of pads to the cheekbone areas, they are very comfy.

 

I have a big nose so that extra bit of velcro loops stops the mesh bugging my nose tip.

Choose eye protection which forms a seal against your face, so that ricochets cannot get behind the frames/edges of the lenses.

 

Edit: the avatar i mentioned, for posterity...

[n1ckh]

I 2nd what Ian said about the face mask

 

I got hit on my upper lip, while it hurt like a bitch its reminded about the use of masks

 

Eye pro all the way, I've lost count of the amount of times a bb's hit/glanced my glasses

[Chock]

Things which come from the US often get hit up by customs in the UK for the import duties taxes etc, but not always. With that in mind you should always consider adding maybe 20 percent or so to the price of anything you buy from the US and think about whether it would still be an acceptable price to pay (which it invariably still is). Sometimes you can get lucky however. I think the last thing I got from the US a few weeks ago was some USMC Multicam BDU combat pants, jacket and helmet cover, and I only got hit up for about 3.09 (Sterling) as a DHL handling charge, which was of course not a lot to pay.

 

As far as legalities go, there should be no problem because it is not anything offensive, but defensive, so you couldn't actually harm anyone with the thing. To all intents and purposes, it's basically just an item of clothing.

 

Where weapons are concerned, you should just be at pains to put your UKARA number on the additional comments bit when ordering online, asking them to note that on the delivery label, but the fact is, that if customs X-Ray a package and see that it is a gun shaped item, they probably are going to open it up, and then it's something of a dice roll as to whether they'd let it through. For example, a fully metal Gas Blowback weapon is going to be hard for someone not in the know about such things to distinguish from the real thing, as most of them strip down in a similar way to the real thing, and feel like the real thing too in terms of weight and such. So you should never be all that surprised if you get issues with something like that coming through customs.

 

In fact, I did a bit of a test on this the other day, buying an AEG AK74SU from a dealer in the Czech Republic (it was only about 25 quid, but it is black with wood-coloured plastic foregrip, so it 's a RIF, and is a Class D firearm as far as the EU is concerned, even though in reality it is basically a toy BB gun). I'm not totally convinced that it's going to arrive without problems even though that's within the EU. If it doesn't make it, I'm only out by 25 quid, so I think it'll be an interesting experiment. I'll be more pissed off if the four spare mags for one of my other guns, which were on the same order, get stopped as a result of being in a package with that RIF.

 

With regard to other stuff for airsoft, I'll echo that you want good face protection. I've seen people get teeth shot out at skirmishes, and despite this, I see many people only using minimal eye protection and nothing on their lower face. Yes it is a bit of a pain to have to wear stuff covering all your face, but that's better than a ruined smile and a big dental bill. Personally, I use wire mesh goggles (which were 12 quid) and a wire mesh lower half face mask which can be bent to fit your face well (think that was about a tenner). They give good protection which is almost 100 percent effective. I say almost because last Sunday at a woodland site, I got a hit on my right cheek by a BB which managed to just get in between where the goggles and the lower face mask meet, which is only a tiny gap, and that was from an L96 sniper rifle, so it was probably 500 feet per second. It did leave a mark and make a slight cut which took about a week to disappear. Actually I got another one down my right ear too (that bloody hurts lol). The lesson here is clear, if there is a gap, you can be sure a BB will find it at some point, so don't risk getting your teeth shot out.

[Airsoft_Mr B]

USMC MultiCam?

If you're looking for a lightweight loadout I'd recommend a minimalist plate carrier such as a Flyye Gen 1 FAPC or a chest rig like the Tactical Tailor Mini MAV. The one you're looking at could be good if it works out cheap though. It's TMC so I'm not sure how good the quality will be.

[Chock]

USMC MultiCam?

 

Yup. Only cost me just over 20 quid too, and it works great in UK woodlands:

 

http://www.tacticalgeartrade.co.uk/usmc-us-marine-army-navy-multi-camo-bdu-uniform-set.html

[jcheeseright]

tacticalgeartrade is a Chinese webstore, you've been had.

 

FYI, USMC don't wear multicam, they wear MARPAT in desert and woodland varieties:

 

[Chock]

tacticalgeartrade is a Chinese webstore, you've been had.

 

FYI, USMC don't wear multicam, they wear MARPAT in desert and woodland varieties:

 

 

No, I have not been had. I did a bit of research on it before buying, because I liked the kit, although to be honest, even if it was incorrect I'd probably still have bought it anyway. But as it turned out, it isn't incorrect, USMC do indeed wear Multicam on occasion, and even with official permission to do so:

 

Whilst it is true that the standard USMC pattern is MARPAT and also true that Multicam is a DoD US Army pattern, thus technically illegal for other forces to wear it, and against USMC regulations for Marines to wear it (although historically, it's the Marines who've tended to be more picky about who can wear their official patterns), there are several non US Army units which have been granted permission officially by the DoD to wear Multicam in Afghanistan because it is more effective in that terrain, and this includes some Marine units. Amongst the non US Army units wearing Army Multicam with official permission, are the United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command, aka MARSOC - basically the USMC special forces, and the US Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers aka JTAC - basically FACs. So yes, there are Marines who are officially issued a Multicam BDU set, and indeed some US Air Force personnel too, in spite of 'the rules' saying they don't wear that pattern.

 

Interestingly, there is currently a widespread campaign on Facebook et all, to allow all USMC troops in Afghanistan, and other desert theatres, to be granted similar privileges, with many US people writing to their congressmen about the matter, since Marines have been complaining that Marpat is not as effective as Multicam in that terrain (which it quite plainly isn't when you look at pictures). It is known that some USMC have been wearing Multicam unofficially on operations in Afghanistan, although since it contravenes USMC regulations to do so, naturally they tend to keep quiet about it in the same way that grunts picking up AKs in Vietnam and using those when they found them better suited to the conditions, were hardly going to shout about it to their COs.

 

In other words, it's like a lot of 'boots on the ground' situations, where the by the book rules go out of the window in favour of practical measures in theatre. A classic example of that is the keffeyah. In the 1991 Gulf War, US Troops were expressly forbidden to wear them, by the second Gulf War there were so many troops ignoring that rule and wearing them anyway because of their practicality in theatre, that the rule got changed and now they get officially issued one, as indeed do UK troops, when deploying to those theatres.

[jcheeseright]

Tactical gear trade is based in Guangzhou China, the stuff you've bought came from there. It's as close to official USMC kit as a hello kitty onesie, MARSOC have indeed been granted permission to use multicam in theatre, however there's absolutely no evidence to suggest they've actually worn it, 99% of the MARSOC photos kicking about have them wearing M81 woodland in order to blend in with the local forces they're mentoring.

 

As for multicam being an official US Army pattern, couldn't agree more, USMC and US Army are 2 very different beasts though.

Not only that, if MARSOC were to wear multicam, they'd be wearing crye gen3 cut stuff, they're a JSOC/SOCOM unit and don't have the same supply lines as the regular USMC.