How much money have you thrown into airsoft?
 

Breaking down total costs by AEGs/GBBs + addons + accessories excluding airsofting gear.

For myself:

AEGs/GBBs + addons & accessories:
$300 - TM M4 AEG + cheapo red dot (pre-college, now gone)
$150 - TM Glock 26 GBB (pre-college, now gone)
$150 - Miscellaneous spring type airsoft (pre-college, now gone)
$400 - M4 CQB AEG
$550 - Addon & Accessories for CQB M4
$250 - M&P Compact GBB
$200 - Batteries, Charger, BBs and GG for GBB

Total ~$2,000

more than $20000 :(

Over $3k from Paypal in 2013 alone.
I wish they never told me that :(

I stopped counting, its best if you do. It'll only hurt more if you remember

Never mind the stupid guns, I've probably spend more than $5000 on gear.

The reason why: most of it was far too niche dependent or terrible (buy nice things, you fools).

way too fucking much

I got that same email lol. Probably $10000 over the past 5 years

Pretty sure I dumped more than that in the first few months after I liked airsoft and got tired of borrowing. Don't ask what it's been since then.

5+ grand easy and I'm still searching or that perfect loadout. I'm close now but will only accept perfection. I'm not limiting myself by doing a true impression so it's a totally personal loadout.

2 1/2 years in, way too frigging much.

Nice little diverse selection of reasonable quality weapons with no duplicates, suitable for pretty much any occasion/scenario/role. In reality, i use 2 on a routine basis. The others are pretty much wall-hangers or Redneck living room decoration. In the neighborhood of $4k right there. Cost inflated by the fact that most were bought just before Canadian prices started coming down, and aggravated further by large aesthetic parts and accessories add-ons and change-outs to make them "mine".

Clothing, webbing and support gear - likely about $2k - enough to do a few weapons specific load-outs and roles. All of it generic, non-specific to nationality/theater/milsim depth of play. Personal preference is to not represent what i am not, and never could be. That cuts costs down significantly, considering what i do have.

"Toys" .. another $2.5k at least. Includes a $1300.00 used beater ATV setup, specific for airsoft use.

I am an older player, with more disposable income than most airsoft players would have, and likely much less fiscal common sense than most, also. I could never go half-arsed into pursuit of hobbies and interests .. I shudder to think what i spent on my currently inactive motorcycle hobby the previous 20 years, before airsoft became an interest for the sake of "redneck physio". No wife/SHMBO, no larvae, and a good steady job helps aggravate the spending, also.

The bulk of the spending is now, thankfully, done. I've pretty much got what i want, or could ever need. No plans to do WW2, or go GBBR, or go hardcore impression milsim. Additional costs should be maintenance, or event specific only.

You can certainly buy into airsoft for much, much less...

You arrive at one point where you stop counting because thats depressing haha

I'd say at least 3grand over 3 years...

A shit load if money INVEST!!!
;)

too much and not enough.

too much... way too much, I don't even want to think about it.

How do you guys spend so much on gear? AEGs I understand because there are infinite internal and external upgrades. Fancy scopes. Maybe even real steel scopes/accessories. Nice gearbox components etc.

But as for gear, you get a helmet, a vest, a change of clothing, goggles, and maybe rinse and repeat for different camo, I am thinking maybe $1G should be more than enough?

Just around $3000, though I only bought my first one two years ago. That's about to go up by about $500, for the new furnature for my new m4

That's just for guns though

So much hookers and blow I could have had...

Real gear...

A few load-outs... and a few purchase mistakes along the way, also.

ATACS FG clothing isn't/wasn't cheap at time of purchase. I use ATACS FG primarily, at my local field - but I've also got a couple other sets of BDU's that were bought new or found at second-hand clothing shops.

Most of my webbing is Condor. Fairly inexpensive given the quality and recreational intention of use. I have an OD setup for spring/fall, and another lighter OD setup for the summer high-heat, along with all of the weapons and accessories specific pouches necessary (Interchangeable between two rigs - not duplicating them for cost reasons!). I also have a black themed setup for possible indoor/OPFOR/PMC styled use, again with pouches specific to several weapons and accessories. Pouch costs can also add up, if you include holsters, back-packs, hydration carriers, etc, etc. Two different helmet replica styles are included - I use only one of them.. One was a mistake purchase, as i ended up not liking it's style and fit all that much for airsoft.. it's been relegated to a mountain-biking brain-bucket, so no cost-wastage there. Good ankle supporting combat boots i already had, from my motorcycling hobby.

Eye-pro, which i count as gear, was cumulatively around $500.00-$600.00 including good quality full-seal goggles, plus a prescription for a set of lenses and insert for shooting-glasses, including the shooting glasses...

If you keep it minimal and basic.. under $1000.00 is certainly a reasonable and attainable goal for gear costs.

My original estimated costs for gear might even be on the conservative side, given further thought into it. I've also bought ancillary items like a sleeping bag, primus stove, flashlight, etc for this hobby.

Clone gear 1K will get you a good setup.

But If I break down my current load out at what these items cost new right now (may cost less or more)(prices maybe wrong, but should give you an easy idea)

Ops Core Base Jump... looking at like 250
Crye BDUs- 400
Boots 150-250
FCPC..I have heard 400 bucks is common.
Nods... low tech gen 1s cost me 450 once you count in the mount\
tactical back pack- 200

And that isnt including pouches, normal hydration, all those little things that complete 'the look' or make the loudout functional..... but Real Gear doesn't fall apart as easily and when you go to sell it you can get allot of your value back.

As of now, over $200 000.00

if you decide to 'save' money by purchasing knock off gear you will spend more in the long run. That knock off gear that looked about the same as the real stuff will wear out a lot faster and require replacement far more frequently. It costs a lot to be cheap.

I personally wonder about the people who have spent thousands on guns and accessories but have to retreat to their cars when it rains because they don't own a decent set of rain gear. Any idiot can choose to be uncomfortable in inclement weather.

Oh. Please tell me about it.

I have been running my chinese vest for over 6 years, rolling in mud and sand, shower rain and such. It's still perfectly good, and does not even smell!

The "idiots" I see retreating to their cars usually are the ones with the high speed-low drag gear that cost so much they don't want to get it dirty.

Better buy 2 complete loadouts ACM loadouts that get used, and if something breaks, so what, than buying 1 B! or 5.11 set and never use it because it's not exactly what you where looking for and "suck it" because it was so expensive.

Over 5,500? Lol. Still need RS optics and some gear. Bleh.

I've seen lots of dissing of Condor gear in the past - It's not the cheapest gear by any means, but it isn't what i wouldn't call professional war-fighting gear either.

Absolutely no QC or wear issues with it at all. Nothing that a needle and thread and a 1/2 hrs worth of time wouldn't fix, in any case.

It's cost-effectively 'good enough', in my opinion.

As far as rain gear goes - layering, and a good quality poncho should be good enough to stay dry for the average non-milsim specific player - if you get to it fast enough.

How much have I thrown into Airsoft you ask?

Enough that if your mom was a stripper I could have been your daddy 10x

No idea total. My current gun alone is worth about $2,500. I've maybe dumped another $1,000 or more into it on old accessories, upgrades, fixes, mods, etc. I've had a few $1,500 - $2,000 plus guns, and a bunch more $300 - $800.

Gear, hell, I don't know. Guns are definitely the largest investments. My current load-out retails for around $1,500 - $2,000. I've had countless other pieces of equipment.

When I finish my new load-out, I'd say at any game I'd be walking around with $4,000 - $5,000 or so, guns and gear. Not including night vision. Maybe add another $1,500 - $2,000 for that.

knockoff gear has it's place, short term and even long term depending on what bit you're talking about, how you're using it and etc.

However, I've noticed some of the lower brand stuff is heavier than the real stuff. Sure sometimes it's not that much of a difference, other times you're talking a few pounds heavier... over the course of a long game, that few extra pounds goes a long way in wearing you out.

Some real gear will save you money in the long run depending on what guns you run. If you have an AK and a m4... well then that's 2 sets of mag pouches you need. You can get hsgi tacos that hold just about any type of mag... but they cost more... but would you rather have 2 rigs or 1 rig that you have to constantly change pouches on... or just 1 rig?

Then there's the quality.. some knockoff gear is better than others... some low end gear is better than others... some of it works, some of it doesn't... what do you want vs what do you need? What do you have to spend? Not everyone needs high end stuff all the time.

There's some tactical gucci/chairsofters out there that buy the most expensive stuff and don't even want to sweat in it. That's ok... there's ferarri owners out there that don't drive their cars... let alone let them sit in the rain... then there's ferarri owners out there that take their cars out to the track and drive them like they're stolen.

Its pretty easy to spend quite a bit on gear, especially if they're going for the quality branded stuff or real steel. Even with replica gear a single set of gear for a basic load out can easily add up to a minimum of $1K.

Branded chest rig/plate carrier: ~$225
Set of pouches (lets say patrol loadout): ~$120
Decent set of BDU's: minimum $100
Decent set of knee pads: ~$25
Good non-fogging goggles: ~$120
Branded gloves (ie. Mechanixs): ~$30
Belt: ~$20
Dump pouch: ~$15
Pistol Holster: ~$40
Boots: ~$130
Hydro carrier: ~$40
Sling: ~$25

Total: $890 (not really taking into account cost of shipping/taxes/exchange rates, etc)

On top of that you can easily add more to that with miscellaneous gear.

Radio: ~$50
PTT: ~$20
Headset: ~$80
Cap: $15
Replica Helmet: ~$90
OPs-Core Fast Base Jump helmet (comparison to the replica above): ~$240
Half mask: ~$20
Nice cobra rigger's belt: ~$70
Patches, socks, magical unicorn armor, etc...

For another set of gear for a different load out you'll be spending around the same as the first set of gear I'd expect. On top of that, things wear out so you'll need to replace things here and there.

Starting to get the idea?

$1K can easily be more than enough for gear depending on what you want/need and you can obviously minimize costs here and there by going with clones and replicas but that's an example of gear cost break down with a mix of real gear and replicas. Your expectations for a basic gear load out might be different than mine so that would affect total costs as well but that's the basic rundown laid out.

Add the cost of guns, mags, upgrades, gun accessories, consumables, and it starts to add up easily.

I can also start to see why some people pick up real steel after awhile. With all that nice gear (if you went for the real stuff) you might as well just get your PAL/RPAL and put your gear to use on the range lol.

At least... $6000-$8000.

Holy, Brian has me beat I'd say. I only started playing in early 2010 really though. Maybe late 2009.

i figure to be in the $25 000 group, plus or minus a little.

it easy to spend lots in this sport, especially once you get into legit gear, RS optics, PTWs, and night vision. And highly customized TM pistols. Worth every penny though.

No less than $50,000. Definately.

No more than $100,000. Probably.

Yeah, after you 90th Systema, the costs start piling up. Mac has the same penchant for high end real-steel gear that I do. Probably more so, to be accurate.

After 16 years of buying airsoft guns and stuff I can't post a number here. I fear my wife would leave me if she ever really knew.

For a few guys like me, Poncho and a few others here that goes back to before 1995, we are on the "HOW MUCH DID YOU SPEND??" list which means that if our wives ever discover the actual amount we are totally FUBAR. Me personally I did a quickie calculation on what I spent on airsoft back in 2001 I was shocked that even at 2001 I could have actually bought a BNIB M3 with all the money I've spent from when I started airsoft here in Canada to 2001 that is excluding the retailling stuff just personal shit.

It's almost reaching the level of either insanity or stupidity back then when you look at it, at one point I actually have 6 PTW sitting around, 2 of each length 1, stock/modified the other as backup.

They're just such a great platform to build upon. They still are, but back when AEGs could only fit airsoft parts, and you wanted a real-steel build. Forget about it. I myself have only had three completely different Systema PTWs, and only two at one time. I suppose a lot of our money gets "reinvested", that's how the wives stay oblivious. My wife on the other hand works at our bank, so she does all the bills, payments, and cash allocation, so hiding spending is difficult. That being said, I wouldn't have been able to afford nearly as much without her.

On a side note, my original mech-box from 8 years ago is in my current Systema, which I'm selling. That mech-box has seen well over 500,000 rounds I'm sure. Only change was on 08' trigger for electronics upgrading.

And of course thanks to MacGuyver, my guns have always been tip-top.

$8,000.00 this year alone according to Paypal... 1 gun (WE HK416), the rest is all tactical nylon, combats and some replica optics/lights... Another $2,000.00 spent in cash/credit cards.

My parents are PISSED

$1735 fully kitted.
and I don't need anything other than bb's

probably 15 000

ive been playing for 3 full years and i dont wanna talk about it lol. i just ordered a pouch from the usa that you cant buy in canada for roughly 80$ with shipping

Doing the math in my head, I just realized my airsoft spending isn't that bad. I played at least 4 years now and I spent overall about $5000 over the years in guns and kit. Most of my big investments are the guns themselves, once you get something high quality, the maitenence cost is not as high. As for gear, I'm a simple man when it comes to gear. Have a camo set or 2 in different colors to differentiate teams, have a good load bearing setup, get some decent eye protection, and I'm good. It's not as bad as you think money wise, although the current record for airsoft spending is Brian, but I'm sure you wrote them off as business expenses.

All told, sub 8k..

For myself, I guess I'm not that hardcore into the airsoft matches nowadays. I don't actually have any gear at all now. My current m4 is merely but a wall hanger/decoration. All my actual airsofting was done a decade ago and I was one of those noobs who just had a mask and a hat, and wore normal albiet baggier clothes. Not exactly milsim. That was it. Since college, I've been doing all my 'milsim' on the computer with PC games like Medal of Honor, etc lol.

I'd love to get back into airsofting someday, and when I do I'll think about proper gear. But I'd prob go for the minimalist SF look, where you basically have a vest on and wear whatever else you want. So it will be cheap too lol.

Way way to much ! Just spent $800 on complete british mtp issue gear and clothing

Then you're in for a surprise. People change gear over time or have a few setups, this isn't counting guys with at least one complete "impression" (WWII, Vietnam and such). As well, when you sell gear, you get next to nothing back for it compared to what you spent, then you go purchase something new if you already haven't

We used to refer to it as the "airsoft thousand", basically gets everything you need to start playing. It's gone down in recent years to around $750 due to AEG's being cheaper.
You can play for less, but this is including gear, boots, good glasses, ammo, mags, gun cases etc.

BACK IN MY DAY shit was goddamn expensive. And I mean shit. A base model classic army M4 with handguards was $600!
A CA 249 was around $1200, and the G&P was a whopping $2000
Buddy of mine bought a TOP M60 from ranger airsoft with the conversion from bellows to piston and it was like $3500! For the world's shittiest M60 lol

Anyway I've spent thousands on guns and gear. And up until I bought my second PTW I spent more on gear than guns.
My UCP loadout alone was around $1500, but it included the sleeping kit, a point blank OTV, the new style goretex top and bottom, and everything else was 100% real steel UCP acquired before the export ban.
Multicam around $900

Changing camo becomes much more difficult as you get more gear. A plate carrier runs $600-$1000 with pouches....

Lol just did some rough math, since I started playing more than $10k ...

well well well ladies, airsoft in Canada will be more affordable than a few years before since there are more retailers in Canada now

however, what we need to deal with now are the Canada custom or local law enforcement since they are the group of people who don't want this sport being expend in Canada, getting the airsoft guns that I want is very hard nowadays except WE.......

Once you've been playing enough you just have one or two guns you hang on to forever, so the cost of guns generally becomes less of an issue as you play since it's just an initial investment.
But I would LOVE if the cost of gear went down. Trying to build a green loadout and I'm staring at $900 of gear lol

Yeah, but gear costs are not intrinsic to Canada. We are usually close or on par with the US. Not to mention you order almost anything online.

Law enforcement is not necessarily who doesn't wish us to play, it's more like an uneducated public. That's why it's so important we continue to promote safe and law-abiding airsoft.

What guns are you having difficulty finding? There's very few that are not available here, and many retailers will either do a custom order, or attach it to their next shipment. Also, many guns have an FRT#, so you can order them online yourself.

Yep that old saw; "if only gunz waz cheep then moar airsofts".

Wrong, wrong wrong.

Availability of guns and gear is better now than ever before. I really can't see how it could get much better.

Practically anything is available with respect to guns. I have a substantial collection and I have never had any issue getting anything I may want. All it takes is money and patience.

The same is true with respect to gear.. anything you may want you can get.

This really is a "golden age" for airsoft

Too true. There are a few brands, or at least models that are still not readily available, or stupidly marked up, but that is slowly going by the wayside. It's better every year as well. New companies making better deals, bringing better product.

Yeah, nowadays, the m4s are made of full metal. My old TM m4 was plastic except the barrel, buffer tube and iron sights. Leaps and bounds ahead.

But its still way too expensive here compared to overseas though. People elsewhere might have twice the AEGs we have here with the same money spent.

psssh... 120-130$ for a TM piston in japan tax in.. you bet your sweet ass it's expensive here.

Some people run 15k on their helmets alone.

Better gear makes for better play. But you have to live within the confines of your budget.

I think I'm at least 700-800 into my new 2nd line lol.

Since the beginning about 10,000-15,000 but that's including the Shoei MG42 so not as bad as I thought. I don't know what's sadder the fact Its not even close to being the most expensive of my hobby's or the fact I haven't been out in over a year. Fucking work.

How much have I... Oh. Oh god. Sweet Jesus jumped up Christ on a pony.

I really love this hobby, okay? I don't have a problem.

I have one rifle, a WE GBBR. It cost $500 when I started. I'm pretty sure it's actual investment is now between $1500 and $2000... then again the only remaining original part is the carry handle and even I'm trying to replace that.

... I'm gonna go cry in the corner.

The latter one I think..

Hmm.. that is pricey. Sounds like the phase I'm going through putting Real Steel stuffs on my current M4A1.

... Down to one gun now, finally. Focusing on RS parts and gear which I can predict to be $_$_$_$_$. Oh and Salient Arms kit for my Glock is tempting too.

If you go for focusing on one really tricked out AEG, it probably won't be crazy expensive. Expenses rack up when you have a big collection I guess.

Unless you go all $5K nighvision scope on your AEG, even most real steel accessories arnt crazy crazy expensive. EOtech + magnifier runs $1.2Kish. Real surefire a couple hundred. Real magpul buttstock, few hundred. Hard to run one single AEG to the $10K category unless you really really try, or you've made many changes in history or mistakes buying stuff you ddint want and changing it out later so it came part of the total accumulated cost.

I just spent just over 1k this past week. I'm back in school this past week. I haven't even bought the books yet. Fml.

Overall its probably about 8k I think. This year it might jump big time.

Allow me to adjust those prices
Looking at $8000

Well, when i first started in 2005, a TM aeg was still pretty fucking expensive.

Around 4000$ on aegs & gas pistols/smgs (i think i'm on aeg #10 or #11 at the moment)

Probably close to 1500$ on surplus gear.

Nice list. Hah. But you went all 'hard core with nightvision' on the options list. But as for the mandatory list, even with Canadian price mark ups, it still can't breach the 10K barrier for 1 AEG!

Might as well go all in with an Armasight Vulcan NV scope. $5K. Or maybe a gen 2 night vision magnifier for you EOtech in place of the day light one. Easily another 5K also.

sure as hell wouldn't pay more for an IR laser than NVD anyway lol

I'm sitting at around 8-$9000 for 2013

lol nice adjustments. Now you got me thinking on getting an Ops-Core helm, and painting my fake-core.

Do it. Upgraded my repro for a real ops-core. So much more comfortable. And that repro was actually comfortable to begin with.

There are just some things that aren't worth buying replica. That being said, what is up with people buying "pretend" items for just the look? Heavier isn't better, this is still a competitive game. Oh yeah, I'm not talking replica items, that do a lesser version of the same job, I'm talking strictly about things like a night vision shaped paper weight, and things like that. Or even a real steel item, like a cooker or something. You don't use it, it just makes you slower. I guess you'll look like a real, albeit out of shape, Ranger or whatever while you carrying it.

Was talking to Droc about this the other day; when we had a look at prices now versus when we got into the sport. Shit if we spent the money we did back then today, you'd think my house was an armory for SGC or something.

I remember when a CA 249 was a STEAL at only $1200. Now I see them at the $300 used in good condition area and I can't help but think "You know, if I wanted to play again I might just that... couple of box mags, a few old AR mags still kicking around here... fuckin' rock the heavy spot all day..."

How much money have you thrown into airsoft?
 

I'm pleased to say I've spent less than $500. With each airsoft I've purcahsed, I've found someone else willing to pay more than I did, or trade something I love for something I adore. My latest is a closed We Scar L with two mags, and I traded an open G39C to get it.
I'm poor, but honest; both traders are very happy!

Yep a ton of people had their investment portfolio wiped out the day the sky didn't fall.

You still see them in the classifieds; 40 bumps later.

You're going to want to flip those prices, a Class 1 IR laser can go for about $700, and a PVS 14 is around 2800-4000 depending on age, quality, model. + mounting solution is around another 1000.

Skimping on the glass and investing on the laser means the other guys will see you before you see them. Better to see everything and not be able to hit it, than to have the means without the way.

Oh shit ... $ 5000 in the year of 2013..
2014 ?????:kill:

Shelledpants is right, decent lasers are nowhere near that depending on what you're after, you can get OTAL and ITAL in Canada for $700-$800 brand new. You can also get D-BAL, but I'm not sure of the price as I'm not considering them.

The NV is a little trickier unless you want that older gen garbage being peddled by Scoutbasecamp but still do-able but prices vary.

More than necessary, not as much as I'd like too! Prob spent a bit over $3000, but sold off stuff over time to get back about $1000. Like any hobby it costs money, doesn't have to be what most of us put into it but I personally like to change things up game to game and like having spares for new guys to try out, (they usually end up buying either one of mine or a brand new gun shortly after trying it out). There are a few guns I'd like but they just wouldn't be effective for our style of game or no better than what i've got, just different.

I'm a gear whore, and in my first year alone (2013) I've spent close to $3000... Don't mention that to my parents & girlfriend.

I am completely with you on this.
My main one being the guys that buy the real Ballistic helmets etc, I just cant fathom the sense.

You guys just forgot something critical: airsoft is a fashion show for men. It's not because it's unnecessary that it's not something we want anyway.

I'll be over 18g in 14 months and not including gas, bbs, or cost of games, the only things I don't have from when I started are an Acog and a black dump pouch. Other wise I have 13 guns 3 full sets of gear, enough Magpul shit to make Travis Haley or Chris Costa jealous if they played airsoft and mags out the ass. To put it in perspective I have a grand in vector mags And bout 600-700 in aeg pmags alone.If it wasn't for Airsoft and the 4 times I got hammered at the strippers my truck would have been paid off 4 months ago. Point of that story... Don't go to the stripper buy Airsoft shit instead!

managed to blow about $1500 just this week...

Yeah haha it's not hard.