So after a couple of games of hiring stuff from us, we’ve got you hooked into airsoft. So you’ve probably now got about 5 internet tabs running with different retailers trying to decide what rifle to buy.

All of us have been there, but it’s worth pausing for a moment and getting the important, perhaps boring, stuff sorted first:

Eye protection
Boots

If you didn’t already have boots sorted, then get yourself to a shop and try on a few pairs. As tempting as it is to buy them online, shoe makers all use slightly different moulds, some will be wider or narrower than others etc. A pair of boots that rubs or squashes your feet will ruin your day pretty quickly so trying before you buy is strongly advised.

Eye Protection

In general airsoft is a very safe sport, unless you count a few thorns as major trauma! That is of course unless you have crap eye protection.

Which is why rule number 1 of our safety brief is to never remove your eye protection whilst in the game zone under any circumstances. If for some reason you don’t like your eyesight and disobey this rule, expect a swift instruction to leave.

Good eye protection is not expensive, you can get something with the correct rating for £20-£30. You’re looking for eye protection with either ANSI Z87.1+ (the American rating) or EN166F (the British/EU standard). There is also an American military standard that is even higher called MIL-PRF-31013 which is designed to stop shrapnel and other debris that flies around in a war zone. Oakley test out their eye pro in this video to that standard.

The Options

You have four broad options for eye protection:

• Shooting glasses
• Goggles
• Full face masks
• Mesh

Shooting Glasses

Shooting glasses are probably the most common option for most people in airsoft. Aside from mesh, they’re the least likely to fog. The negative is that they aren’t 100% full seal so in theory a BB could get behind them.

Googles

Goggles are often a love hate relationship. They provide full seal so there is no chance a BB will get behind them, but they have worse air flow which can make them more prone to fogging, leaving you unable to see anyone or anywhere. You can get goggles that have fans in them to help, but they are hit or miss on quality.

Full face masks

Full face masks combine goggles with lower face protection. The upside is again full seal eye protection, and in built face protection, but these can be even more prone to fogging (generally speaking) than goggles. The other downside is that depending on how the face protection is shaped, you might struggle to aim down your sights properly.

Mesh

So mesh has the upper hand when it comes to fogging, because it simply can’t fog up. The downside is that any tiny debris can get to your eyes, which might irritate them. Mesh is a great option for glasses wearers as your glasses can be worn under mesh goggles, which if you can’t or don’t want to use contact lenses, will save you many fogging headaches. If you are thinking about mesh, make sure you do your research and get good quality, such as heroshark.

If you have any questions about what is safe, what people find comfortable, or anything else, fire the page a message or head over to our group and ask, where we’ve loads of knowledgeable people.

If you’ve happened to find yourself on our website, then you might be wondering how you get started with airsoft.

Well its in fact quite easy, and for 2020 with our 20th Anniversary new player offer, its even cheaper than normal!

There’s four things you need to get yourself started:

1. Some footwear with ankle protection, walking boots or similar will do.
2. Some clothing you don’t mind getting a bit dirty. Jeans will do.
3. A pair of gloves to protect your hands from the elements.
4. £20 (usually £25).

We’ll provide the rest of it for you, with gun hire, eye and face protection, camo (if you want it) and ammo for the day.

All of our hire guns fire near to our site limits for automatic guns so you won’t be outgunned compared to our regulars at all.

We’ll get you allocated onto a team and give you hints and tips throughout the day to keep you right in the middle of the action.

If you’re interested in getting started, head over to our Facebook page and drop us a message!