Opinions on Long List of Gear

[Wheeler]

Good morning, afternoon, or evening - use the one that works best for your time of day. It's been about five years since my last event and three years since my last participation on a forum - my initial experience with airsoft was not the greatest but thinking it's time to have another go at this; here's the details for the people that are bored enough.

I'd joined a small group out of West Michigan that had a lot of politics but had a consistent number of events and people at the events. I'd dropped around $300 on gear, including an upgraded CA36C from another user on the forums - it was enough for week-to-week events but nothing extreme. However, that thing gnawed itself apart from the inside out in about a year; ended up selling it for not that bad of a loss, just prior to leaving for college.

I'd lost my connection to airsoft during my time at college; partly because of the restricted budget but partly because the student group was less about simulation and more about living out Call Of Duty and Battlefield. Plus, my involvement with student groups, residence life, church, etc. left little time on the weekends for the group's events.

Now, I've transitioned to real life with a real job and I've also relocated from Michigan to Wisconsin. However, this forum was and is my home and a great resource; note the karma on the side - this forum kicked my tail years ago and it's still on my bookmarks. The budget is less restricted than ever and it's been hanging around in the back of my mind to check out airsoft again - that's the details up to here and now.

I've sifted through airsoft retailers and airsoft reviews for the last week; now it's time to use this forum. I've gone through and listed out potential gear with my thoughts - are there any glaring issues with items on this list?

--

Rifle: The idea of realism is key to my experience so I've opted to stick with a blowback system - both gas and electric are still options, though this has narrowed down my options quite a bit, settling on a G&G EBB or a WE GBB. I've also included a simple sight and grip in the list.

• WE G39C GBBR: This gun has received a number of positive reviews, noting that it doesn't experience the lock-up a number of other guns have due to the open-bolt system in the new series of WE GBBR's. The magazines are just 32 rounds and run a bit expensive - other hesitations with this gun include gas in cold temperatures and the width of magazines vis-a-vis common tactical vests.
  
• G&G GR15 EBBR: This gun also has a number of positive reviews, citing the RIS system or the crane stock for large batteries. The magazines are free to be low-cap or mid-cap; the expensive bit is that batteries and charger aren't included. Otherwise, not a lot of hesitations with this gun - it's been quite straightforward.
  

• NC Star Red/Green Dot Sight: This is a reflex sight with both red and green optics, less restrictive on FOV than other - this is the best option without upgrading to a holographic replica, in my opinion.
  
• Guarder Ergonomic Grip: This is a simple grip that is plastic to keep with the plastic on the guns; it's ergonomic and works with both short and long RIS systems.

Pistol: Like the rifle, the idea of realism has blowback as essential to a pistol. Unlike the rifle, this hasn't narrowed things down so it's my personal preference of a non-standard pistol (i.e. .

• KJ Works Full Metal M229: This pistol has decent reviews and the fact that it's full metal is a plus. However, my experience with pistols is limited so this is open to other recommendations.

Tactical Gear

• OE Tech Tactical Vest: It's not in the budget to go customized so my options are limited to tactical vests for M4's; opted for the non-crossdraw vest to increase the number of magazines.
  
• OE Tech Drop Holster: This is a simple holster, not a lot of hesitations with this.
  
• OE Tech Drop Magazine Pouch: This has been included to increase the number of magazines a bit further for the G36C option; it's less about the low-cap magazines and more about the physical size of the magazines.
  
• OE Tech Tactical Belt: Meh.
  
• OE Tech Tactical Sling: This has a nice a quick-release for transitioning to left-handed; however, my hesitation with this is that the sling points are wraparound instead of using the sling points on the gun.
  
• OE Tech Tactical Lanyard: This is a simple pistol lanyard, not a lot of hesitations with this.

Other Gear

• Hatch XTAK Knee Pads, Hatch XTAK Elbow Pads: Opted for this instead of budget gear for the quick-release system and reliable protection.
  
• OE Tech Tactical Pants: Nee.
  
• Revision Exoshield Goggles: This is my best option for a no-fog, low-profile system unless events require full-face instead of just full-seal.

--

FYI, the links are from Airsoft GI but I've also checked out Evike and AirSplat - thus far, ASGI has has the best pricing for items. Outside of this list, I'm expecting to use my own set of boots, gloves, and a basic shirt - not a huge fan of using sets of BDU's, never helped a lot in my games. However, I'm still in need of help with the rest - are there any items missing from this list?

EDIT: Still sifting through the guide here, just thought about having this out there sooner instead of later.

[Ghast]

None of your links work.

[kaponk]

Yea, you need to add the whole link, from what the error says you didn`t put the full link. Also i`m going to start off on guns all ive heard about WE GBBR is that they are not very reliable and are only good for about 2000 rounds or so before you will start having issues. KWA is a well known GBBR maker and have some of the best, in my opinion. A team member of mine has the GR15 and he loves it, he`s had it for about four months and so far no issues and the BB is not bad on it. Another member from a local team in the area has a KWA M4 GBBR and he has only had it for about two moths, but so far no issues, fires nicely and the blow back is also very nice and the gun as a whole is really nice. Defiantly look into KWA, from my knowledge they are more reliable than a WE.

[Wheeler]

Oct 7, 2012 23:08:12 GMT -5 Ghast said:

None of your links work.

Fixed; forgot that PB hates quotes in URL tags.

Also, excellent information on the WE vs. KWA - a lot of the review threads for the G39C have it as great OOTB but on the later pages in the thread various things go wrong (o-rings on magazines, triggers, etc.). The M4 is also helpful as far as a tactical vest or even MOLLE system - the G36 magazines are just so big!

EDIT: By the way, how does King Arms stack up against WE or KWA? Does it settle as a decent compromise or is it just as poor as WE?

[Ghast]

King Arms are actually a really nice company, think VFC minus the shitty internals.

[Wheeler]

Hm, thanks a lot for the information on King Arms - though the reference to VFC had limited weight due to my inexperience.

So the replies have my options expanding to include M4's from KJW, KWA, and King Arms - a number of other forums have referenced the internal 'system' - for example, the WA 'system' is known to break down. Is it possible for people to shed a bit of light on this; that is, which brand(s) are just clones of other systems?

[bobbunny]

I think G&P's are clones of WA, but that's all I know.

KJW M4's are (as far as I hear), pretty damn awesome. If you want realism, a KWA LM4 may or may not suit your tastes as well. They're full of nifty features (Firing sideways )

[Wheeler]

So the interesting thing about the KJW is the use of Canadian magazines. The magazines have weird ridges; this has me thinking two things - thinking people on the forums have an answer.

Is a magazine like this still going to fit side-by-side in a standard dual-magazine pocket? Or do we know of other magazines that work with KJW?

... searches thus far have had no results or results that are too old (i.e. 2010).

[bobbunny]

KJW thermold magazines should (If memory serves) fit in a dual magazine pocket. No other mags work with a KJW as far as I know.

Note, it will be a tight squeeze depending on brand of magazine pouch. Mine fit, but that may be because they are AEG mags.

[Ghast]

Oct 9, 2012 22:34:04 GMT -5 Wheeler said:

So the interesting thing about the KJW is the use of Canadian magazines. The magazines have weird ridges; this has me thinking two things - thinking people on the forums have an answer.

Is a magazine like this still going to fit side-by-side in a standard dual-magazine pocket? Or do we know of other magazines that work with KJW?

... searches thus far have had no results or results that are too old (i.e. 2010).

From experience, it's a really tight fit and without MagPuls, they're a BITCH to take in and out. WITH MagPuls, it's not a big deal.

[Wheeler]

... four hours of searching and still nothing that helps eliminate items from my list. It's time to have a break from this for a bit - thanks to each of you for the help thus far!

Ugh, why isn't there a spreadsheet with a compatibility nexus of parts for this junk?