Opinions on eBay airsoft items??

Lemming wrote: »

Some of the stuff you'll buy from Hong Kong is branded; e.g. Condor, Guarder, Viper, etc. and some of those brands are pretty decent. I still have a guarder MOLLE vest from ... 2008 I think. I wont put it up there with anything you'd find on UK-Tactical, but the vest is still going strong and as tough as old boots despite it falling short on attention to detail. On the other hand, I bought a china-soft knock-off gun bag in 2007 when I first started playing airsoft and it didn't last p1ssing time. Could have saved myself €30.

TBH dazza; it's hard to f*ck up on small items like camo tape & hats, but what you'll find to be the biggest difference between branded airsoft kit, military kit, and china-soft knock-off kit is quality / durability. You'll more than likely find yourself fighting with yuor kit because it's falling apart and/or you're buying replacements every year or two, or you buy once and it lasts for ages. I can recall some posters - long since inactive unless they're still lurking - bemoaning the multicam clothing they bought from one of the china shops - think it was ebaybanned - and that whilst yes it was cheap, it a) lost colour fast with washes and b) fell apart far quicker than the real deal did.

Bottom line: it very much depends on your usage, the demands you place on your kit, and what sort of playstyle you like. You can spend a not-inconsiderable sum and get unlucky or you can buy cheap-as-chips and have to replace with frequency. I know which is the more likely and which is the false economy.

Lemming wrote: »

No, it's called tax. How much did you pay on shipping for those €5 goggles? And if you ordered them with something else you're lucky you weren't slapped for import tax on both the cost of the item AND the cost of postage. Suddenly €21.99 wont seem so far off, if not the better deal.

More to the point ... what's the ballistics rating of said goggles? For €5 I doubt they're particularly good, or even certified either. And not to knock any shop, but I wouldn't hold €21.99 in high regard either when it comes to ensuring that my eyeballs stay in working order.

Warning: rant

This is something that blows my mind. People will drop inordinately insane amounts of money on guns & kit. They'll chase the most rare and expensive bit of absolutely useless military issue kit just to strap onto their webbing, and then they'll spend a pittance on a pair of cheapo glasses & tescos-own-brand boots. You've got one pair of eyeballs, and you'll not know the benefits of good footwear until you've pushed your feet hard in footwear that's not really up to the job. And then you'll spend the next couple of days feeling miserable because it hurts when you stand up, never mind walk anywhere. Assuming of course that you're not now blind too.

Do yourself a favour; Two actually:

1. Get yourself some ballistics-rated glasses or goggles. You can pick up UK MoD surplus ESS or Revision sawfly glasses for a song online - like £10/20. You can get the latest & greatest ESS glasses for around £70 [at retail); they'll stand up to a shotgun blast point-blank even if your face wont. But your eyeballs will be kept safe & sound.
2. Look after your feet and they'll look after you; get yourself some decent footwear. You don't have to spend a silly amount on Meindl boots (although they are comfy ... ), but take your time to find a pair that fit at a budget that you're happy with. If they're not waterproof consider using sealskinz water-proof socks.

Everything else after those two points is optional. If you want to run around an airsoft site b*llock-naked armed with nothing more than a twig for some twig-kills, then knock yourself out once you have those two above points covered. That being said, please don't do the b*llock-naked thing. I've seen it; it's not pretty although it is hillarious when you're drunk as a monkey and watching equally drunken airsofters deciding it'd be a good idea to fight with pistols wearing nothing but boots & eyepro