Getting Started: An Overview
Introduction
At this point, I have been playing airsoft for just over two years and I get a lot of people asking me about my gear. What is it? Where do you get it? How much is it? Those kinds of questions. I have spent a lot of time and money putting together my loadout, making it proper. I have also wasted a lot of time and money, too! A lot of it. Of course, some of that is part of the process of experimentation and learning. My hope is to help you streamline that process significantly.
With that I have prepared a series of articles that will help you to build your loadout, step by step:
- Choosing and setting up your primary weapon.
- Putting together your essential loadout.
- Protecting your head (eyes, ears, and face).
- Choosing and setting up your plate carrier or chest rig.
- Choosing your secondary weapon / side arm.
- Choosing and setting up your battle belt.
- Putting together your head-to-toe uniform.
- Upgrading your primary weapon in stages.
- Transporting and carrying your gear.
- Setting up basic communications.
- Completing your full loadout.
You can choose to go through the series in order or you can skip around. Whatever works for you. Before we begin, however, let’s get into some philosophy. This is important because you might have a totally different philosophy or set of goals than I do when it comes to airsoft. Just read a little bit more before moving on.
My Abridged Airsoft Philosophy
I will probably write an entirely separate article on my full airsoft philosophy, but for the purposes of this series I will go with the abridged version.
First, I recognize there are many different styles of airsoft ranging from hardcore milsim to high intensity speedsoft to fantasy live action role playing to historical re-enactment. With that, I probably gravitate more toward softcore milsim as my primary style of play. All of my recommendations in this series will reflect that. Let’s get into this a bit more.
I have always been interested in the special forces, particularly the Navy SEALs. I had a couple of buddies that became SEALs and learning about their exploits just fascinated me. To this day, I will watch any movie, show, or documentary on the topic. And if there are books or magazines, I will pick those up, too. I just dig their gear, guns, and tactics and, as a total fanboy, I like to emulate that general motif in my loadouts. If that is not your jam, don’t leave just yet. You can still put your own spin on things!
Next, I do not play airsoft to train for the end times, but I do like the idea of using airsoft as a means of training and preparation as it relates to proper gun use and safety, personal and home defense, and urban combat and survival tactics. When I ride my mountain bike, I do it for fun, but I also use it to stay strong and fit. Similarly, I play airsoft for fun, but I also use it to build good habits, awareness, and reflexes.
While I hope to never engage in any kind of real combat or survival situation, I choose guns and gear that would translate well into reality. I choose my airsoft replicas to match real guns that I would actually use. There is strong evidence suggesting that repetitions on airsoft replicas can translate to real firearms. Just watch this video from T Rex Arms: Can Airsoft Translate To Real Firearm Skill? Similarly, I like to choose gear that is up for the task. For example, I want a plate carrier that can handle real class four plates and that has a drag handle that my buddy could use to pull me out of harm’s way. I am not running real plates when I play airsoft, but I want the ability to and that drag handle is nice just in case I do decide to go hardcore milsim. Another great example of this is the gun belt. I will make recommendations that will be suitable for airsoft or a day at the range.
I live in Southern California and this is where I play almost 100% of the time. I might venture to some other states or maybe even different countries someday. But for now, I am playing in generally dry, hot, and often dusty conditions in the OUTDOORS. I play indoors, but very rarely. My recommendations here will reflect my native playing habitat, but I will try to provide considerations for other climates. I have done a lot of world travel and I know the importance of good gear. As they say, “There are no bad conditions, just bad gear.”. Or something like that.
I like really good gear and I won’t recommend junk. I want my whole loadout to look and feel dope. I like turning heads. That’s my personality and it is reflected in my loadout. That said, I am not going to recommend the absolute most expensive stuff. We all have budgets and I will take that into consideration in my recommendations, but it also won’t be the cheapest stuff. I still seem to be learning that fewer and better is the way to go. So, I am going to assume that you are in it to win it, that you want to build a really solid foundation, and are willing to spend a few bucks to do so. With that, I will offer some ways to save on your kit without sacrificing on value or performance.
Finally, I am not too caught up with “made in America” or “made in China”. I do try to avoid complete rip-offs, but there will certainly be some repros that came in on a slow boat from China. For example, I have four EOTech replicas from Holy Warrior that I have put on various guns. I would love to have the real thing, but I cannot justify that expense for my airsoft guns. I should probably be a bit more diligent in this regard, but I am not fighting that battle here.
Okay, that’s it on philosophy for now, but I hope that it helps you to frame your own philosophy so you can make good choices for your loadout. I also hope this whole series helps you, too. Thanks for reading and have a great time playing airsoft. See you on the field!
Cheers!
Colophon
The picture used in the heading of this page is of the first airsoft gun that I purchased. It is a KWA T6 and it proved to be a great gun to start with. It had a great feel, performed very well out of the box, and proved to be very reliable. After a few upgrades it became an absolute beast. More on that in another article perhaps.
