Questions about Vancouver's airsoft scene and gear

[beta678]

Hey ASC,

Been a long time lurker here on the forum (lots of great stuff here lol) but never really got into airsoft since legal restrictions and various other things back when I joined the forum didn't really make airsoft here seem that appealing despite my interest in it. But with the recent changes in regulations and what seems to be a growing presence of the sport in the region, it seems like a good time to finally take a step towards actually getting into the sport and local airsoft community.

Now I know about LMAG's site but ASC seemed like a better place to post and ask questions due to the larger community and wealth of knowledge so here goes..

First things first, for those of you in the Metrovancouver region I was wondering how things work around here. I have a feeling LMAG is the main group organizing games but I'm not too sure as I also know of Bellator Ent., UBC's airsoft club and a few local stores like Airsoft Gear Vancouver & Trigger airsoft organizing games according to their FB/store/forum pages. Basically trying to figure out who to approach/get information from regarding games. Quite sure a few of you guys work with the local airsoft groups/industry here so hopefully you guys can help a noob out.

Secondly, what would you guys recommend I acquire as a "first" primary based on factors such as ease of maintenance, parts availability, etc... I'm rather fond of GBBR's such as GHK's AK variants & their G5 somewhat but have also been looking into G&P's WOC-X kits (sr15 w/ KAC URX 3 would be a fun build). I have a feeling some people may suggest an AEG due to ease of maintenance but I'm pretty sure I'm technically proficient enough to keep a GBBR up & running. Open to other suggestions though, not set on any specific weapon platform.

And to round things off, what would you guys recommend kit wise? (ie. chest rigs, PC's, BDU's, boots, etc) I know this depends on play style, personal preference but this seems to be the one area I never really looked into or thought about too much. Quite open to suggestions though I'd lean towards a high speed/mobility, lower profile fighting load-out sorta kit, nothing too bulky. Not looking to spend that much in this area initially though so no uber secret squirrel branded operator gear lol.

Think that's it for now, though pretty sure I'm forgetting a question or two which I'd add later. Anyways, thanks in advance!

Best,
Beta678

[Drake]

For games, go to the Games & Events Schedules -> BC section and see what games are posted.

Info, contacts etc can be found there.


As for gear and what gun is best to start with, there's a dozen threads about those topics and the answer is pretty much always the same.

But in a nutshell, to address your concerns: yes, people will recommend an AEG as your first gun (both for maintenance and reliability); you can get a GBBR but understand while maintenance is simpler its also needed regularly (read "pretty much after every game.") Also understand gas systems don't always work reliably in cool weather and that gas mags can be prohibitively expensive when starting out (keep that in mind if you're on a limited budget). But GBBRs are terribly fun and a lot more realistic.

As for kit, read the threads. Get good eye protection, if there's one place you don't want to cheap out its there. Everything else is up to you and is likely to change with your experience and experiences.

[L473ncy]

I know the guy who runs ASG, his name is Optix (he's also an Age Verifier so stop by and check things out). Good guy. Has more stuff in his store than what he advertises online, has something for almost everyone (unless you're hardcore into playing and want to buy an FCC PTW but he does carry a G&D "DTW" and I believe can get the A&K "PTW"). Pretty much low end starters (not crosman clearsoft, but legit starter guns like JG, KA, etc.) to mid end players is what he caters to.

I'm out in Kits/Dunbar/Kerrisdale area at the moment but I'll be gone out of town this weekend and the week after that I'm moving provinces.

If you're going to get a GBBR I believe WE (Open Bolt) is still king and has the widest support for GBBR's but from what I understand the WA system (G&P WOC, WA, Inokatsu etc.) does give more kick but is a pain to maintain due to parts breaking left and right. The KJW AR's are nice and easy to maintain but there isn't much upgradeability to them other than a few parts here and there but you can just run it out of the box and have at it.

I'd still recommend an AEG though and I know that ASG has a pretty good selection and reasonable prices, and you can drop by when Optix is there to get Age Verified.

As for basic gear; eyepro, high ankle boots (I'd say minimum 6" so you don't roll your ankle), and some basic surplus OD BDU's from a place like Gorillas on Broadway near Commercial. Everything else is just extra and makes things easier for you. For example for a couple games I was running mags in my BDU pockets, it's a legitimate tactic for high speed slim profile but mag changes are a bit hard cause you have to open the pocket switch mags and put your spent mag somewhere. I'd say after you get your basic PSE (Personal Safety Equipment) the next couple things are BDU's, chestrig (or vest or panel), and a couple useful pouches (dump pouch, utility pouch, medic pouch, etc.).

BTW; you seem like a decent guy, PM me if you need any help (but please search first).

[DrunkenTeddy]

I've heard the GHK AK's are great GBBR's, but since maintenance was one of your first concerns you may want to lean towards aeg's, considering we are near the end of summer GBBR's are going to start working worse in a couple months and if you don't have an aeg to fall back to you may end up going to a game and not really being able to play.

I live in Langley and have played with the LMAG guys, they do games once a week on either Saturdays or Sundays and at either Panther Paintball or Maple Ridge Paintball. The ASG guys currently play most Saturday nights and Sundays during the day at ambush paintball in surrey, if you check out both forums you will see game times. There are also a ton of smaller clubs and some fields that host their own airsoft games.

Personally I rely on ASC for knowledge and questions, as well as the classifieds. The local group forums are usually best for organizing games though, not many BC games get posted here.

I'd suggest doing what Latency suggested and seeing the ASG store in Richmond, get age verified and check out the classifieds, there are some pretty good deals to be had.

As for gear, the camo you wear is generally a personal preference but considering the fields here you probably want to go with something green like olive drab, cadpat, woodland, etc.. Military stores are great for this, lots of options and there will be something to suit your taste. Make sure you get a good pair of boots or your ankles will take a beating. For eye protection, don't cheap out and fans are a good thing, the worst is spending an entire game with foggy goggles cause you can't take them off to clean them on the field. And don't forget to buy a red kill rag (red bandana works well and is easy to find). I'd also recommend a radio and headset, ASG sells the puxing 888 UHF radio, this is what I use and the range is fantastic. As for a rig, keep it light but get something you can change down the road, molle is highly recommended, and a hydration pack is a nice to have or you could throw a bottle of water into a bag.

Hope to see you out there sometime. :-)

[beta678]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! Appreciate the time and thought put into them. I hope I'm not coming off as a noob who wants to be spoonfed information, not my aim at all. I've gone through lots of reviews on various products but basically I'm just looking for some general opinions and input from anyone who cares to offer theirs.

Anyways, I'll definitely be heading down to ASG sometime to check it out and maybe get AV'd as well but that probably won't happen until September or so. Would probably help to feel the ergo's of some of the gun's I'm interested in as well.

I know GBBR's are somewhat limited by weather and significantly affected by the cold so I most likely would be grabbing an AEG as well at some point, maybe before a GBBR now that I think about it (though I still think they sound and feel like sewing machines...lol). Mags I understand are pretty pricey compared to AEG's and might require a bit of work to make them run smoothly but I'm not too concerned about that at this point. I don't expect to run that many mags either, I'm thinking 4 mags would probably satisfy me with 1 in the gun and 3 on on a chest rig.

As for other gear, I echo many of your sentiments. I'd invest in boots and goggles and one of those low profile mesh face masks and the rest can come later. I won't bother asking about goggles etc as I know there's tons of reviews out there, though I might need help id'ing a pair of boots (my google-fu has failed me). I'll probably do a bit more research with regards to gear as I haven't spent a lot of time considering the options, though I find I'm rather fond of TMC's Slick plate carrier and the Mittsu chest rig I found on EBairsoft (yes I know EBairsoft is sketchy on shipping), not sure if it'd fit my needs though.

Anyways, thanks again and I'll hopefully see you guys on the field soon!

[L473ncy]

Converse boots are quite nice (and reasonably priced too) and you can't really go wrong with the standards like Original SWAT, Magnum, 5.11, Blackhawk, Adidas and the like.

Merrell and Scarpa make nice civvy boots as well and if you get them in a brown or black they fit nicely in an outfit. Lowa makes really nice ones but you're gonna have to pay.

Also, I've heard panther now allows sealed ballistics for airsoft play. Revision and ESS are 2 brands you should be looking for (Bullet Ant and Locust are the popular ones IIRC). If you need PB goggles, Dye makes a model that's pretty good from what I hear but JT Flex Pro's are what most people use.

[DrunkenTeddy]

I think the ASG guys are closed this weekend for a milsim they are all going to. I think they are back tuesday if my memory serves correctly.

I wear sketchers boots, probably not a common choice but I actually bought them for riding my motorbike and they slowly migrated to being my airsoft boots.

Btw, I recently got my first GBBR and I absolutely love it, but I would recommend it being the second primary you get rather than the first, that way you always have something to fall back on if it's too cold (or even too hot and you end up shooting over the limits, gas is finicky like that).

[beta678]

Will definitely be looking into ESS and Revision, read lots of good stuff about them plus fans are always welcomed (fogged goggles suck. alot.)

Didn't know converse made combat boots L473ncy, peaks my interest as I'm rather fond of my high-tops lol. Boots I'll definitely need to try and see which I like based on comfort and overall profile (don't want clown feet lol) so finding a pair I like might take a while. The pair of boots I'm trying to ID were worn by a CCT in a pic I found on a blog. All I know is its somewhat on the slimmer side and had vibram soles. Don't have the pic with me atm but I'll post it up when I find it again.

Lol DrunkenTeddy, I hope that doesn't happen to my motorcycle boots haha. Mine are sorta sitting in my closet until I get a bike sometime next spring. What do you ride if you don't mind my asking.

ASG and a bunch of ppl are busy w/ Op Iceback I believe (going off on memory), website said something about it but I'm actually out of country atm and won't be back til mid September so no rush there.

Once again, thanks guys.

(oh and thanks for moving the thread to newb tank Drake, honestly wasn't sure if it belonged in general or newb tank but thought the former was safer lol)

[Kasrkin33]

Hey Beta, If you are dead-set on getting a GBBR AK, I would highly recommend getting the GHK 2013 series. A few quirks here and there, magazines to file and loctite to the threads and you're set. I've been running mine with propylene during the ASG night games and she's been working good for me.

Like what L473ncy said, you should definitely get in touch with Julian (Optix) at Airsoftgear richmond. He's a walking airsoft encyclopedia.

[Aj619]

For goggles I'd buy a cheap pair of JT goggles rapters are spectra so you can just rip off the bottoms and run with it

Pro flexs are nice as you can flip up the bottoms and still have some face protection and ear protection soft ears are great for both paintball and airsoft dye I4 's are nice if you have a smaller face and vforce makesma good goggle system to there my go to for paintball when I play. But always make sure you try the system before you buy t make sure they fit propperly.

Also I'd go with a king arms full metal M4 as a first gun there nice and pretty reliable from what I've seen

[DrunkenTeddy]

Originally Posted by beta678

Lol DrunkenTeddy, I hope that doesn't happen to my motorcycle boots haha. Mine are sorta sitting in my closet until I get a bike sometime next spring. What do you ride if you don't mind my asking.

2005 Yamaha R6 in Red/Black. It's for sale actually, you want it? :P

[beta678]

Hey Kasrkin, thanks for the info, good to know they run well. If you don't mind my asking, which GHK model do you own? I read some negative reviews about the AKS-U and a few things quirks with the AK74 but the AKM's seem to operate relatively flawlessly. Oh and I may wait a while before grabbing a GHK if I do. According to the TAF facebook page GHK is reproducing their GBBR AK's due to popular demand and it looks like there's quite a few new variants, tacticool'd versions, and RPK (!!!) that are going to be available, check it out: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...8806520&type=1

*Actually on second thought, those seem to be TAF customized GBBR's... but still, gives a good idea what you can do with them.

Oh and about the mags, I knew about the loctite but magazine filing is something I missed. Is it with the GHK mags or 3rd party like the prowins?


Aj619 I feel like I want to avoid goggles with paintball masks due to the bulk and inability to cheekweld the stock. I thought about grabbing a mask for the goggles but quite a few of the goggles are kinda "raised" to line up with the mask which makes it a little bigger from the examples I've seen (might be completely wrong about this, correct me if I am). But thanks for the heads up about testing the system, actually forgot about that and was thinking about ordering a set of goggles online without trying them on.


Thanks for the offer DrunkenTeddy. Love R6's, sweet bike, but a 600 is probably too much power for me at this point. Still a MC noob; took PRS a little while back and planned on picking up a Ninja 300 as a starter but decided to wait cause I was worried about it having various issues and quirks with it being a new bike and all (Glad I did as it just had a ABS and ECU recall lol). Will most likely end up with a 300 to start with and move up. Oh and paying for insurance won't make me cringe as much for a 300 haha :P

[KiloFive]

I had started a longer post, and f'd it up, so here's the Coles Notes (sorry).

1. ASG / Bellator host games at Ambush Paintball every Sunday. You can drop in, but I recommend signing up via the ASG site and save $5. Ambush is a smaller field and it gets pretty "target rich" - more of a run and gun style of play.

2. Trigger Airsoft / Tacticooles host games at Panther Paintball every second Sunday. This is field is a huge forested area with tall grass (in summer) and allows for a more strategic style of play.

3. There are three shops that I'm familiar with in the area that are airsoft-dedicated (though there may be more that "also-sell" airsoft stuff): Airsoft Gear, Trigger Airsoft, and Milsig. I have my preferences which I'll happily share via PM, though I still recommend checking out all three.

4. As mentioned by others already, I'd recommend an AEG as your first gun. They are better in cooler weather (since we play all year round), are very reliable, and allow you to remain competitive. I only state the last part because most GBBRs are more limited in the amount of rounds you can carry. (eg: 30rnd gas mags, vs 120rnd mid-caps for AEGs).

5. Both Panther and Ambush field require full-seal goggles rated for paintball or ballistic standards. Any of the airsoft shops mentioned above will carry goggles that are field-legal. Try out a bunch and see what works best for you. I use Smith OTW Turbo Fan AND I use anti-fog wipes; this seems to be an acceptable combination.

6. I'd also recommend grabbing a mesh lower-face mask as well to protect your teeth. Yes, it will interfere with good cheek placement on the rifle, however airsoft is a game... and teeth are expensive.

7. Apart from the airsoft and surplus shops, you can probably find good used gear on Craigslist or on this board. Chances are you will change your kit as you play more and decide what works best for you. One person's favourite set-up may be complete sh*t for someone else, so there's a fair amount of trial and error... unless you're going for a sim look which is a whole different ballgame.

Hope this helps. Good luck and happy gaming!

[DrunkenTeddy]

Originally Posted by beta678

I feel like I want to avoid goggles with paintball masks due to the bulk and inability to cheekweld the stock. I thought about grabbing a mask for the goggles but quite a few of the goggles are kinda "raised" to line up with the mask which makes it a little bigger from the examples I've seen.

I've attached a picture of my mask, it is a paintball mask with the lower removed and a mesh lower zap strapped on in its place. I also have 2 small fans mounted on top for air flow, they are connected to a rechargeable battery with a switch. This seems to be a very common setup for guys around here. I definitely wouldn't recommend using the lower portion of a paintball mask, they are generally too bulky and they do get in the way, but I find the combination of a paintball upper half and a mesh airsoft lower seems to work quite well. My cheek is almost pressed against the mesh allowing me to get as close to the sights as possible without leaving the lower half of my face exposed. Some people also modify the mesh lower by cutting the sides of it off so they can get even closer, but I prefer that the bottom half of my face stay protected, nothing like being shot in the mouth...

[phloudernow]

Many people are fond of GBBRs but if you are just starting out airsoft, I'd still recommend an AEG. GBBRs are limited in terms of after market parts within the BC area as stores do not carry that many repair parts for Gas guns. Obviously if you plan to work on your own guns and whatnot then that is another story.

Trigger hosts games every second sunday at Panther Paintball with Sign in and Prep at 9am and games start by 10. 20 Dollars if you sign up on their forum and 25 for drop in. It includes lunch as well (Hotdog and Fries and a can of pop)

ASG is great with Optix but Dave at Trigger is also great guy to talk to if you don't know. Ask for Dave (Schoolboy is his ASC name i think) he's a great guy to chat to and he knows his stuff well. He also the primary gun doc at Trigger as well.

GBBRs are not that popular in BC compared to the east coast. majority of players still run AEGs with hi-caps due to majority of players being quite new and fresh. Milsig might carry a few but they are notorious for their extremely high prices, and Trigger nor ASG carry them from what I know besides GBB pistols and SMGs.

In terms of fields and whatnot as many of the other guys mentioned above, we play at Panther or Ambush usually. There are games in Mission and whatnot but if you want to drive that far by all means anyway Gimmie a PM if you want to chat

Welcome!!