Getting started in Airsoft can seem like a daunting proposition. Other players boast of their guns, gear and grenades, but the good news is that having an enjoyable first skirmish doesn’t mean worrying about all of that.
So, here, without omission, is everything you’ll need to play your first game as a “rental” player, to ensure you have a good time. Some people might tell you these are optional, but I would strongly advise the lot. If you really don’t want to spend too much money, view the stuff in this list as an aspirational collection of things you can ramp up to in your gear bag.
This guide will serve you from your first day of Airsoft up until the part where you’re looking into getting your own gear. Buy this stuff first: my advice for everyone is that if you only have £100 to spend on airsoft you should be spending it on eye protection and boots. There’s plenty of time to buy RIFs later.
Eye-protection
Not to get all Dad about it, but the only scary thing about Airsoft is doing damage to your eyes. A good pair of eye protection (or “eye prot”) pretty much negates this risk, and it’s not even that expensive to get a cracking pair of eye protection.
Some sites will offer eye protection as a rental, but as it’s your eyes you’re protecting, I’d always recommend picking up your own.
There’s three types of eye protection.
- Glasses
- Goggles (closed frame full-seal)
- Mesh
It’s up to you how much you want to spend here, Bolle have metal framed glasses that are absolutely the business and cost less than a tenner, but you can also pick up a pair of Edge Tactical FastLink glasses, which are what I wear for pretty much every game. They stop you “fogging up” generally, which is a problem for people who are a little bigger, those that sweat a lot and everyone when it’s humid out on the field.
These are lightweight options, so if you’re going to wear them, put them on in the mirror first and check there’s no direct access to your eye externally.
my advice for everyone is that if you only have £100 to spend on airsoft you should be spending it on eye protection and boots
If you want full-protection or you want to wear glasses underneath eye prot, you can get full-seal eye protection. This essentially means goggles that make a solid seal against your head, meaning there’s a “full seal”. These are a little more expensive and more prone to fogging but closed-frames offer the most protection possible. These Bolle goggles are decent, and although I can’t recommend buying this more expensive pair for your first game, if you decide goggles are your bag, they’re very solid.
Finally, there’s mesh. These are cheap and don’t fog, but they can occasionally shed paint, which makes people claim BBs shatter on impact. the BBs don’t shatter on impact, but it’s still not great to get flecks of paint in your eyes.
If fogging is a problem, Heroshark does some great mesh goggles, but as all of their kit is made to order, it’s probably for down-the-line rather than ahead of your first game.
Whatever you buy, it’s up to you. Remember to keep it on at all times in the game zone, and if you notice any damage to your eye protection at any point, replace them immediately – not at the end of your game – immediately.
Lower-face protection
I don’t generally wear lower face protection, but this is a do-as-I-say-not-what-I-do thing. Also, ten years ago I knocked myself unconscious with the butt of my MP5 so I probably should wear lower face protection, but I only really wear it for CQB games.
For your first game, you’ll be wearing lower-face or full-face protection. If you’ve come from paintballing, a Paintball dye mask will work and will cover your eyes too, meaning you can skip reading all of my stuff above… the stuff you’ve already read.
Elsewhere, there are a lot of different face masks you can get. A Shemagh will look the bit in a pinch, but let’s be prescriptive to keep it simple. This Nuprol mesh mask will keep your face safe from impacts; buy this, shape it so it fits comfortably on your face and wear it for your first game.
There’s a lot of weird masculinity around wearing a mesh mask. I’d say that if you don’t like to be shot in the face, wear a lower mask. If you find that it’s unwieldy or uncomfortable and that’s more inconvenient than taking BBs to the face, stop wearing one. As many sites will tell you, you do it at your own risk, so to avoid you losing a tooth while trying out a new hobby, wear a mask for your first game.
Later, if you want something more serious, Delta Mike Face Pro is well regarded. I can’t pass judgement because I just r recently placed my own order, and they’re expected to arrive in a couple of weeks as there’s a long wait time. I’ll update this when that happens, though.
Footwear
This one could get long, so I’m going to skirt around it: wear some good boots that you don’t mind getting muddy or scuffed. A military surplus place can probably sell you decent boots for 20 quid, but if you already have some excellent boots with solid ankle support, feel free to wear those.
If you’ve never worn boots properly before, you should lace your boots to the halfway point and then jump to the top of the boot and lace downwards, tying the bow in the middle. Your ankles will thank you.