The Warrior Blog: Christmas shopping for your Airsofter?

Looking for Christmas shopping ideas for the Airsofter in the family? Lets look at some of the top airsoft accessory suggestions that have been sent in

Below was hands down my favorite Christmas Shopping List!!!!

"Although I have everything I have needed/wanted Airsoft related I will put together a good medium budget loadout.

Primary weapon: A&K LR300
Secondary weapon: WE glock 17 or WE HiCapa 5.1 both good out of but upgradeable.
Armor: Lancer Tactical assault vest
BDU: Marpat
Boots: Oakley assaulter boots or Rocky S2V
Accessories: 9.6 brick type, 3 m4 mags, 2 pistol mags, mesh eye pro, bravo mesh lower, dead rag, condor tactical ball cap or Boonie, 2 cans green gas 3 bags .25 non bio bbs.
And a partridge in a pear tree!"

While your airsofter may already have that replica that does the job, some accessories can help to improve their skills and heighten their airsofting experience while others just make them look tacticool. This is a list of some airsoft accessories that you might not have thought of for
that shopping list.

Helmets ($19.99 and up)

Helmet have come a long way since airsoft has started! It used to be that all you could get was military surplus or thin plastic M88 “fritz” replicas, now you can get high quality copies of just about any current issued helmet and some that haven't even been thought of yet. Helmets Are a good gift because they are not only a needed item to complete your "kit" if you are planning to participate in MilSim events but can protecting ones head from a variety of dangers on the field and in CQB. Items such as low hanging pipes and small branches are no match for a sturdy helmet.

Eye / Face Protection ($20.00 - $250.00)

Here is an area that can go from the basic to the over the top insane! All fields that I have played at require full sealed eye protection at the minimum and many require full face protection for those who are under the age of 18 because danger to teeth. Even if the field didn't require it, you would have to be insane to not protect your eyes. Some examples of good eye pro include ESS goggles, Oakley m-frames with a helo kit, Boogie regulators, or revision ant goggles. All eyewear should fall under ansi z87.1 standards.

Load bearing gear

This can be as basic as battle belts and go up to plate carriers, chest rigs, and tactical vests. Load bearing gear can significantly increase the amount of ammo that a player can carry on the field as well s provide extra padding from harder hitting guns. I would suggest that you look at gear with MOLLE webbing. MOLLE (pronounced molly) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. This allows the airsofter to set up their vests for their individual tastes. You want to stay away from the basic vests that come from the chain stores like Wal-Mart or Big 5 because the quality is just not there.

Extra Magazines ($8.99 & up)

Most electric airsoft guns come standard with a high capacity magazine. While this is good for starting out, the last thing that you want to do is give away your position with the distinctive rattle of a half full mag. This doesn't mean that they don't serve well on the field but that there are alternatives. Many of the larger game and events that you can participate in severely limit the number of high capacity mags that you can use but don't limit you on the number of midcap mags, so a few midcap magazines and a speedloader is always a welcome gift.

***MAS IMPORTANTE, not all mags fit all replica's, so make sure what you are buying for! Also, this time of year you can find some great deals but remember that saving a few dollars in the end doesn't always make it the best deal.

Optics ($8.99 and up into the thousands)

First of all if Keoni is reading this - http://www.airsplat.com/Items/AC-SCP-FO432G-N.htm would look might nice on my Masada.. Less important in cqb, optics can make a world of difference in mid to long range engagements. If you find yourself a bit hesitant to invest $100+ on a real-steel optic, many Hong Kong producers make quality replicas that won’t break the bank.

Gloves

A good pair of gloves can help protect a players hands from bb strikes as well as environmental hazards such as thorns and sharp rocks. The choices range from affordable Mechanix and surplus nomex flight gloves to the more pricey Oakley and Outdoor research.