Need some advise on gears..(clothing)

[Slodin]

I recently transitioned myself from paintball to airsoft, and sold all my gear expect my black tactical vest and the pouches on it.

I am not sure how this is gonna turn out because my vest is black, and somehow it seems it doesn't fit any color but dark or black. I'm not really a big fan of camo, so I'm thinking of going with a OD green setup with my black vest. Where I play seems like having a lot of trees, green/brown might be the best choices..

what I have is this vest


What I'm thinking to get as my top wear is the condor outdoor alpha fleece jacket. (all the review says the actual item is OD green, the one in the picture is way too bright) I'm under the impression where I want to wear it on normal days too..not just for airsoft.


as in for pants..I really have no idea...I'm thinking about some marpat camo or something more green/brownish. I don't know

for shoes I'm just gonna use my brown columbia hiking boots..

Also I need some input on this one. I'm cheaping out on getting a pistol holster..I do have a mag pouch that is empty..what do you guys think about having that as a pistol holster? (I run my pouches a little weird, I am right handed, but I put my mags on the left side..most people I see do it on the right hand side because they are right handed) Although I'm not really cheaping out on it, it's because it seems like my tac belt is having trouble supporting a heavy pistol...

thanks for any input.

[Maniac Marshall]

you're not wierd, if you shoot on the right shoulder, you want your mags available on the left side so you don't have to cross over to get them from under the gun. you realease the mag with your right hand, grab it and dump it on your left, grab the full mag and go.

if you thread your tac belt through those loops on the vest it shouldn't fall down no matter how heavy the pistol

and most mag pouches are a little small for a pistol, I had mine in an old radio pouch (the big ones) for a while

[Hectic]

solid colors work okay but camo works beter, depending on the area a mix may work beter, like in old growth pines and cedars a green top and brown or tan bottoms would work better, but no where near as good as some woodland or marpat in the same environment. In dense green bush cadpat is the way to go. Multicam is how its name suggests good in alot of areas, but only great in a few. And your black vest will stick out alot. There is nothing truely black in nature for you to blend in to. If you come from a speedball background and your going to be running and gunning alot camo of any kind isnt going to be much of a help. But if you intend on playing a more stealth game camo is king, perhaps a cpl kinds depending on area, time of year ect. tho most folks just use what they have/can afford.
Welcome and have fun

[Ricochet]

Black works terribly, and goes with nothing. It's easy to spot, and even at night, camo still works better. Solid color like OD will really only hide you in dense forest, or in single color environments. Modern, disruptive camo has more than just a few advantages. At some point you're going to have to move around, at some point your environment will change, etc. Proper camouflage will always give you an advantage. Even the thickest forest will have patches of shadowy areas, and then all of a sudden there will be areas that are mostly brush, then mostly bare, then mostly deadfall, then ferns it grass where the trees are all a little bit further apart. If your on an airsoft field there may also be structures and things. You should get a camo that'll transition from one environment area to another. Multicam, as mentioned above, works well because it can go from forest, to grassland, to mountainous, to desert. It works well to hide movement as well. Avoid vibrant or bright camos like CadPat, as they only work in the vibrant parts of environments. You may be in a forest this week, then in an urban setting the next. Do the trees in your area lose their leaves and have hardcore autumn, or are they mostly evergreens? Our first field would go from green to brown, abd our second could go from grassland to urban in a snap. Marpat works not too bad in a bunch of environments, as with a few other camos, though if you're on a budget if suggest a transitional pattern (multicam), so you have a wider range of use. Go with what works well and then try and make it look cool. Going for personal look first and effectiveness second will place you at a disadvantage. Also go for lightweight, breathable, low-profile, and ergonomic. That fleece layer may be okay for winter, but airsoft is warm, especially with all the gear and running about.

[Danke]

Originally Posted by Slodin

I. I'm cheaping out on getting a pistol holster..I do have a mag pouch that is empty..what do you guys think about having that as a pistol holster?

How many magazines can you afford to loose before a holster doesn't seem expensive?

Soft pouches and universal nylon holsters let the mag release button get bumped in game. You'll go for your pistol, draw, and get a click.

Then it's "Everyone look around for a M9 magazine etc. I had it back at the car this morning but it's gone now".

[Hectic]

to adress the above point. Yes almost all universal holsters with almost any pistol will eject the mag when ya run or lean on it. I modify mine to avoid this. Just put yer pistol in, look for the area that hits the mag relese, trim that section off the holster melt the edges so it doesnt frey. Havent lost a mag in five years.

[lurkingknight]

black is only good for swat and film. lol

If you want to look good in photos, black works nice. It has great contrast with whatever you put it on.

That kinda is the exact opposite of what you want on the field.

I've found camo works better than solid, but isn't absolutely necessary. I've been able to spot just about everyone on the field regardless of what they're wearing. Unless they are hidden in very dense foliage, but even at that point, it doesn't matter what they're wearing because of the foliage is giving them concealment, not their clothing blending them into the surroundings.

Honestly, I'd pick a camo pattern and work your way towards making a better kit upgrade later on, but I don't think it's the end of the world.

Black sucks in the summer though.

[Armyissue]

I'm cheaping out on getting a pistol holster..I do have a mag pouch that is empty..what do you guys think about having that as a pistol holster?

My Old shooting instructor voice in my ears
"Why would you put a ten round pistol, in a pouch that holds 30 rounds for your Primary?!"

get a Condor Ambidextrous Holster

You can put that on your Belt, Vest, Drop Leg panel, any damn place.

[beta678]

Before you splurge on gear, go out to a couple of games, try things out and figure out your play style and what you want/need after. Talk to some of the players and see what sorta gear and camo pattern they're using (I see a lot of Marpat at Panther, you've probably played pb there so you've seen the field, lots of brown with bits of green). A lot of guys are gear whores so they'll probably be more than happy to talk about gear. Generally, you'll want to avoid black like everyone said, unless you're doing a swat impression.

As for pants, just wear an old pair of jeans for now and you can probably pull off a PMC-ish look until you figure out what you want (ie marpat). Also, maybe pick up some knee pads, saves you from a lot of pain and potential knee surgery.

Heck, don't bother w/ a secondary or a holster for the moment, its nice but I've found that you'll rarely need or use it at Panther tbh (exception is pistol game but you won't need a holster in that case). Just get out and play while you still can before it gets really miserable and wet (on that note, might want to get a light waterproof jacket instead of the fleece top).

[Slodin]

now I would regret buying that solid black vest, but that's just because I played paintball, and the fields are not that big. Camo was really not anything needed..I was running a mag fed marker at that time.

I'm actually not trying to be stealthy in games, although I do usually go on flanking routes because it seems like nobody takes notice and I don't want to shout it out and let the other team hear they have a flank open..

I'm planning to play at panther (in BC), and from what I gathered from videos on youtube, it's mostly in the woods, and the trees are TALL..so it's mostly brownish colored. I haven't got a chance to inspect the area they play airsoft at yet, only the few small grounds of paintball fields I have been to.

Maybe I should just go there once with really odd colored gear and find out a good camo for that area...as for the vest..I don't think I can do much cause I don't want to dump more money into it..also those pouches cost so much..

for the pistol..I had a crappy drop leg..I attached it on my tac belt and i noticed the tac belt start to bend a little towards the outside..but again..this drop leg is like it's meant for a bigger guy..the leg loop doesn't even fit me..every 2 seconds it becomes loose..

[lurkingknight]

There are a couple items I don't cheap out on when it comes to gear.

Sling and sling mounts

a sling might seem like just a nylon strap with some hardware on it.. but that hardware is responsible for making sure you don't drop your gun. How would it feel to have a 25 cent clip fail and drop your 500$ rifle and cause damage? I've had it happen... lesson learned.

Pistol holsters and certain pistols.

I used to carry my kwa 226 in a nylon holster. The nylon wouldn't keep it still and as I moved the whole thing would bump into stuff and trigger the mag release. I dropped the same mag 2 times in a day. I was lucky that the first time, someone saw it right away, the second time I was able to retrace my steps and find it laying on the ground.

The mags are worth 45-55$ shipped. A real serpa drop leg was 80$, after that, no more mags were dropped from the holster. So by the math I could've lost 110 bucks that day because I bought a 20$ holster instead of an 80$ one.

Do a bit of reasearch on what guns have what issues with gear. You can get cheap mag pouches and they work to carry and hold mags, but if the gear has a chance of failing and costing you more money than what nicer gear would cost, it might be worth looking into buying nicer stuff to start if you can afford it.

I once tried to carry my 226 in a double m14 mag pouch. I almost lost the whole 300$ pistol when it didn't go back in properly. Took me 20 minutes to find it.

[Ricochet]

Airsoft at Panther is played in all areas. On the airsoft side the brush is a little thicker, but there's forest everywhere. Flanking or going head on is not always really an option. You'll need to be able to adapt to whatever game and situation comes at you. More importantly than all that, you'll need to adapt to whatever offense your facing. This is where personal taste hits a brick wall. You can look as cool and as personalized as you want, but when the while other team is hidden and can see you, it kind of makes a statement. Honestly, there are some seriously bad ass patterns out there, and tons of gear. I'd recommend a tan, coyote, or dark earth rig, or a olive drab, ranger green, or forest green rig. That way you can have one good rig, and switch up your camo patterns if you like. Personally I think the tans beat the greens in versatility.

Awesome camo patterns that work well in a variety of environments:
- Crye Multicam
- AOR-2 (NWU Type III)
- ATacs-FG
- Kryptek Highlander

Awesome camo patterns that work well in forest, jungle, or brush environments:
- Kryptek Mandrake
- Marpat Woodland
- Multicam Tropic
- M-82 Woodland

Multicam will have the largest array of available gear, while M-82 Woodland is getting a little old, abd getting harder and more expensive to find quality gear for. Check out:

www.UR-Tactical.com

They have great BDUs in a large variety of modern patterns. It'll cost $50 - $80 more than a cheap set, but their quality is too notch, and they have many of the great advancements that your top tiered BDUs will have at a fraction the cost. I'd do what Lurking Knight recommended. Start with reliable camo for now, abd run your black vest until you find something you like.

[WPJ]

Your probably going to need a number of combat sets for different teams/fields/environments/seasons knowing this you then need gear on top of that to match so you can go with a neutral colour the USMC have moved to TAN499 from coyote although coyote is not much different so going with tan/coyote gear will blend with most camo and solid colours. Your other choice is to match your gear to your camp or at least your main camp after all you have to look Gucci out there...

[lurkingknight]

combat sets? I have multicam and I have olive green clothes. That will get you into 95% of the games out there that separate by uniform color requirements. You only need 1 set to start. If you play enough that you want to wash your clothes often enough, then get a second set. If you play enough that you want to play on the other team, then by all means get another set.

The camo barely works in airsoft engagement ranges most of the time, there's not a huge need for it.

unless you're wearing marpat...t hen fuck that shit. lol.

[Slodin]

Originally Posted by lurkingknight

combat sets? I have multicam and I have olive green clothes. That will get you into 95% of the games out there that separate by uniform color requirements. You only need 1 set to start. If you play enough that you want to wash your clothes often enough, then get a second set. If you play enough that you want to play on the other team, then by all means get another set.

The camo barely works in airsoft engagement ranges most of the time, there's not a huge need for it.

unless you're wearing marpat...t hen fuck that shit. lol.

yes..you are right..from airsoft engagement distance..it really doesn't matter it seems. (at least when I played paintball, I had people wearing camo but it's really easy to spot UNLESS they are really stationary in the bushes)

the most difference might be the 1-2second when you peak out of cover..then they might have that 1-2 second advantage. I probably won't play on teams until I get a lot of play time into this hobby, and I'm just gonna stick with a OD softshell (not the one I posted in the post) to provide me a bit of water resistance. For pants just gonna use my old trusty tan colored cargo pants..(may look odd..but meh..save money until i figure it out)

/rant
but man, I requested a sizing on the jacket i'm looking at..XS has a 43 chest size holy shit..I'm only a 35..that sounds like I can wear like 5 base layer underneath LOL although the sleeve length is perfect for me..gonna try it in store, this is way too crazy..

176cm tall getting a XS..wow..am that short..