OneTigris helmet - eye protection suggestions needed

[boskee]

Hi guys,

 

I'm new to the sport, having only spent one day at the Airsoft Plantation a week ago. I am, however, obsessed and am trying to complete some gear for the next 2 games before I can start thinking about RIFs. Being new to the sport, I bought this OneTigris helmet with goggles and foldable face mask included. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Y84MBRW

 

They advertise those goggles as being "EN166:2001" certified, but I couldn't find any certification markings anywhere on the frames or lenses so I doubt they are safe. So, with that in mind, I am faced with either returning the whole thing, or replacing those dodgy goggles with a proper eye protection. Can someone recommend goggles that would be:

- properly certified

- go over the glasses

- work with that helmet and face mask

 

Cheers

[Emergencychimps]

Honestly, id recommend holding off and returning anything you have bought if you can.

 

Pretty much everyone who tries airsoft loves their first day. The sport isn't perfect and when you play your 2nd, 3rd day etc the things that hold it back start to become visible and a lot of people then give up the sport, often leaving them with a small fortune of money invested in kit that is hard to resell and won't recover the money spent on it. 

 

Also, some people love helmets, alot don't but almost every new player thinks they need one. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I love it, but lots of people think they do on game day 1, spend a fortune and don't make it to game day 5. 

 

If after 3/4 game days you're still loving it, then yeah, start to buy kit and guns etc. Before spending, chat to people on site who have what you're thinking of getting, is it any good? What do they wish they had known before they bought it? Knowing what they know now, would they rebuy that one? Are they super experienced players who have their stuff squared away or relatively new players spunking cash. 

 

I get its tempting, a helmet is only £50, rig is another £50, sling is £20 etc and you could want all in operator. But it adds up and you'd be better off to wait, make sure you love the reality of the sport and build some knowledge on kit before spending your hard earned money. There is a lot (and I means loads!) of crap airsoft kit that isn't worth anywhere near what they charge and it's the stuff new players look at and seem to spunk cash on. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by Emergencychimps
Spelling /grammar

[mp5a4]

I like my Guard dog Evader 2 over glasses, comfy with a fast helmet and mask

[MrTea]

Personally, I have a £35 Emersongear helmet that I got off of Patrolbase and slapped a £10-£15 cover on it. For eye protection, I bought some ESS Profile Pivots that attach to the rails of my helmet. They're expensive at ~£130. I paid the premium because I didn't want a band around my head/helmet that may come loose. They're MIL-DTL-43511D rated and from what I remember they test this spec at about 14 joules of energy. WileyX also make some helmet mounting options for their own goggles.

 

I'd always suggest wearing goggles over glasses, it's much more likely that a BB will sneak around glasses than goggles.

Edited February 28, 2023 by MrTea

[hunter511]

Eyepro........

 

Always go with recognised real steel brands you only get one set of eyeballs.

 

Emerson, OneTigris etc are IIRC china based and can make as many claims as they like but are untouchable by any form of enforcement. Bolle, ESS, Oakley, Revision and other real steel brands are tested and proved......

 

TLDR Version, spend good money on boots and eyepro.

Edited February 28, 2023 by hunter511

[boskee]

1 hour ago, Emergencychimps said:

(...)

 

I get its tempting, a helmet is only £50, rig is another £50, sling is £20 etc and you could want all in operator. But it adds up and you'd be better off to wait, make sure you love the reality of the sport and build some knowledge on kit before spending your hard earned money. There is a lot (and I means loads!) of crap airsoft kit that isn't worth anywhere near what they charge and it's the stuff new players look at and seem to spunk cash on. 

 

Solid advice, however I absolutely hate the full face mesh mask provided with rentals as it obstructs my vision too much, so I decided to spend money on head protection first. Worst case scenario I'll sell it or give it to one of my friends who took me to my first Airsoft game

 

46 minutes ago, mp5a4 said:

I like my Guard dog Evader 2 over glasses, comfy with a fast helmet and mask

 

I can't find them anywhere (in the "Earth" variant), except ebay, and I'm scared I'll get a cheap knock-off there. What are some reputable UK stores? I checked PatrolBase and their goggle offering was very lmited, to put it mildly. 

 

37 minutes ago, MrTea said:

(...) For eye protection, I bought some ESS Profile Pivots that attach to the rails of my helmet. They're expensive at ~£130. I paid the premium because I didn't want a band around my head/helmet that may come loose. They're MIL-DTL-43511D rated and from what I remember they test this spec at about 14 joules of energy. WileyX also make some helmet mounting options for their own goggles.

 

Price is not an issue, as I'd rather pay premium than risk losing an eye, but like with Evader 2s above I can't find any UK store offering them. Any ideas where to look?

 

18 minutes ago, hunter511 said:

Eyepro........

 

Always go with recognised real steel brands you only get one set of eyeballs.

 

Emerson, OneTigris etc are IIRC china based and can make as many claims as they like but are untouchable by any form of enforcement. Bolle, ESS, Oakley, Revision and other real steel brands are tested and proved......

 

TLDR Version, spend good money on boots and eyepro.

 

Thanks for brand names, I will look them up. As for the OneTigris helmet, I guess it may be a good idea to return it (since those goggles are dodgy) and get similar helmet + face mask separately. How much would you expect to pay for a good FAST helmet and a face mask? 

Edited February 28, 2023 by boskee

[hunter511]

@boskee define 'good'.

 

From experience I'm not a fan of helmets, sweaty, not great vent and not particularly comfortable especially cheaper end of the market tho I did run a genuine protec for a while and it was still sweaty and hot. If you jump to actual ballistic helmets there's also 'heavy' in the equation. Tbh I normally run a baseball cap, revsion eyepro and a mesh/fabric lower guard. 

[MrTea]

1 hour ago, boskee said:

Price is not an issue, as I'd rather pay premium than risk losing an eye, but like with Evader 2s above I can't find any UK store offering them. Any ideas where to look?

 

 

Powair6. A store in France. They're very good, 90% of the time they pick/pack and ship your order same day. When using the DHL postage, i've had stuff arrive in two days. I've used them a few times and never paid any tax, import, duty or whatever you want to call it.

 

I've hyperlinked the store name so you can click it and be taken to the exact page you need.

 

I'd suggest returning that OneTigris setup and, if you're adamant on using a helmet, just buy a standalone helmet. I have one made by Emersongear and it's been completely fine. The higher end of airsoft helmets are with PTS MTEK Flux and FMA as far as I understand but my £35 EmersonGear one has never done me wrong in over a year of use.

 

If you're looking at facemasks you have endless options. I used to have my facemask attached to the clips in the corner of the arc rails on my helmet but have recently switched to a Delta Mike as i've got helmet mounted hearing protection which blocks the mask on the helmet.

 

Ignore the mismatching camos, this was used as an example.

 

Edited February 28, 2023 by MrTea

[mp5a4]

 

1 hour ago, boskee said:

I can't find them anywhere

https://www.specs4sports.co.uk/evader-2-over-glasses-goggles-otg--earth--clear-lens

[boskee]

14 minutes ago, mp5a4 said:

 

https://www.specs4sports.co.uk/evader-2-over-glasses-goggles-otg--earth--clear-lens

 

"Due to Holidays orders will not be processed until Monday 13th March 2023"

 

Sigh...  I may have to wait  

 

23 minutes ago, MrTea said:

 

Powair6. A store in France. They're very good, 90% of the time they pick/pack and ship your order same day. When using the DHL postage, i've had stuff arrive in two days. I've used them a few times and never paid any tax, import, duty or whatever you want to call it.

 

(...)

 

Cheers. Did you use them post Brexit? 

[MrTea]

Just now, boskee said:

Cheers. Did you use them post Brexit? 

 

Yep. Used them for those goggles when I started getting my own gear just over a year ago and ordered some CYMA MP5 hop units from them only last week.

[Krisz]

Bolle Pilot safety googles. Cheap and comfy. Sadly when you use a lower face mask and a helmet you create a perfect seal and it's gonna fog up... I drilled small holes into the rubber part and helped a bit. For indoor use it's perfect because of the fps limits. For outdoor you may buy a better one because it's tested up until 120 m/s.

 

Main reason I bought a helmet because I had enough getting shot in the forehead. Best investment so far. Being not comfortable is absolutely a personal issue. I paid 25 pounds for mine and I don't even notice if I wear it because it's padded.

 

You don't have to spend a small fortune on gear in general. Cheap chest rig/plate carrier is gonna do the same job like an expensive one. Different material for sure but for airsoft purposes makes no difference.

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Krisz

[boskee]

8 hours ago, Krisz said:

Bolle Pilot safety googles. Cheap and comfy. Sadly when you use a lower face mask and a helmet you create a perfect seal and it's gonna fog up... I drilled small holes into the rubber part and helped a bit.

Thanks for this. I bought Pilot goggles. Will see how they fit before considering more expensive options posted earlier. Cheers!

[boskee]

On 01/03/2023 at 13:26, Krisz said:

Bolle Pilot safety googles. Cheap and comfy.

Perfect! 😅

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by boskee

[acrxil]

I mean if you're looking for affordable mil spec eyepro could just get a revision sawfly set comes with 3 lenses and a neck strap, never failed me once

[Duff Beer]

^absolutely agree

 

You can’t go wrong with Revision; they’re rated to stop a shotgun so they’ll be fine for anything we go against.  
 

That’s my setup above.  They’re Revision Sawfly’s with the clear lenses over the prescription insert.  The lenses are extremely well made so don’t have any distortion.  The helmet is a PTS MTEK Flux, and there’s adequate room for the mesh mask to not cover the mic’s on the hearing protection.

 

Whilst there’s a tiny gap in skin protection on my forehead, the chances of getting hit there instead of the rest of me are minimal so I’m happy with the reduced risk.