Newbie Needing Help Gearing Up

[Handsonic]

Hi, I'm pretty new to airsoft. Only ever played some ~10 games and they were all in 1 day (15 mins each game, indoor CQB). I recently bought a gun, mask, goggles, gloves, smart charger, battery, etc. I was hoping you guys could tell me what I could expect in terms of performance and life expectency of my stuff as well as help me build a chest rig. In that 1 session of airsofting I almost immediately learned that sweat pants pockets do not do a good job of holding magazines, barrel covers, or side arms.

So yeah, my gun is the Ares Amoeba AM 008. I saw a big post talking about how guns other than CA and TM are no good and that made me worry that my purchase was a bad idea. How long will this gun last me?

Also, do mid caps break easily or should I not worry about that (I'm not going to be doing anything extreme to my equipment, just worrying about wear and tear)?

Do full seal goggles break easily? I've already been shot in the goggle once and was immediately scared it would crack, those bb's make a hella loud noise on impact.

Whats the difference between a plate carrier and tactical vest? Which should I go for?

What are the absolute must-haves for a chest rig? I'm assuming mag pouches and a dump pouch are in that list, right?

I currently have gloves with no protective materials on them, theyre just gloves. After being shot in the hand several times I realized that I need to get better ones. What would you guys recommend? I have been shot in the joint on the pinky and middle finger and it hurts like a bitch so simple knuckles guards wouldn't suffice for me, it would have to be full finger protection.

I'm using the reflex sight with the 4 reticles and it changes from red to green dot colour, I'm certain you guys know what I'm talking about. Is that compatible with a flip-up scope? Also, my sight protector was shot twice in the corner and the corner broke off. The sight itself is not exposed at all but there is a crack running from the bottom corner up to the middle of the protector. Should I replace the protector asap or is it still usable?

Please answer whichever questions you can in as much detail as you can, I would really like to buy smart even if it's expensive instead of buying twice and wasting money

[Chillyrabbit]

Originally Posted by Handsonic

Do full seal goggles break easily? I've already been shot in the goggle once and was immediately scared it would crack, those bb's make a hella loud noise on impact.

Whats the difference between a plate carrier and tactical vest? Which should I go for?

What are the absolute must-haves for a chest rig? I'm assuming mag pouches and a dump pouch are in that list, right?

I currently have gloves with no protective materials on them, theyre just gloves. After being shot in the hand several times I realized that I need to get better ones. What would you guys recommend? I have been shot in the joint on the pinky and middle finger and it hurts like a bitch so simple knuckles guards wouldn't suffice for me, it would have to be full finger protection.

Goggling should be able to get most of your answers, especially the simple ones like difference between plate carriers and tactical vests, or glove recommendations.

Practically speaking full seal goggles if they are rated to ANSI Z87.1, they should be able to withstand an impact of about 3 Joules. This is why you buy proven name brands that can back up their safety rating not some nameless chinese knockoff that could just stamp anything with ANSI Z87.1.

This thread talks about eye protection

For comparison sake an airsoft gun shooting a .2 g bb at 420 FPS (which is about the maximum limit for an AEG) is about 1.6 Joules. So almost double the protection, and that is only at the muzzle of the airsoft gun, the bb will lose energy over its flight path.

Plate carriers to me mean a vest with molle straps, that have a provision for an armor plate in the middle, that requires you to buy the pouches and pockets separately. Tactical vests have set pockets and pouches to use, and cannot be customized.

At a minimum you could get by with about 4-6 Magazine pouches somewhere on your body if you use midcaps, or even just 1 if you use a hi cap. Dump pouches aren't necessary since you could easily just reload back into the magazine pouch the magazine came from.

Gloves with some protection backing; only ones I know of off hand are the Mechanix M-Pact series, it has some finger protection with out losing too much dexterity and has reinforced palm protection.

[ThunderCactus]

Originally Posted by Handsonic

So yeah, my gun is the Ares Amoeba AM 008. I saw a big post talking about how guns other than CA and TM are no good and that made me worry that my purchase was a bad idea. How long will this gun last me?

The ares line is traditionally shit, BUT the amoeba line is actually pretty decent. In terms of how long it's going to last before it breaks; How long is your phone going to last before it starts crashing? Nobody can give you a solid answer. Something breaking is inevitable, but what's really important is the fact that you can fix it when it does. Truthfully, as long as you don't break the externals, the gun will last you until you sell it and buy a different gun.

Originally Posted by Handsonic

Also, do mid caps break easily or should I not worry about that (I'm not going to be doing anything extreme to my equipment, just worrying about wear and tear)?

Don't worry about it.

Originally Posted by Handsonic

Do full seal goggles break easily? I've already been shot in the goggle once and was immediately scared it would crack, those bb's make a hella loud noise on impact.

As stated above, just make sure your goggles are a minimum Z87.1+ impact rated by a liable company, and not some mystery Chinese company that just says "they're good for airsoft".

Originally Posted by Handsonic

Whats the difference between a plate carrier and tactical vest? Which should I go for?

Plate carriers are any sort of load bearing equipment that's designed to carry a SAPI plate. They can come with or without MOLLE, cummerbunds, or "soft armor" slots (where kevlar would normally go).
Tactical vests are generally fabric vests with integrated pouches, although some come covered in MOLLE so they can be customized. Typically the cheaper option, they usually really suck as load bearing equipment. Most common is the "crossdraw" vest. Major downside of the vests with pouches is they never have good pouches.
Chest rigs can also come with integrated pouches or MOLLE, but tend to be much more recent in terms of what pouches are on them (kydex shingle, taco, etc). For doing primarily indoor CQB and short outdoor games, the chest rig tends to come out on top.

Originally Posted by Handsonic

What are the absolute must-haves for a chest rig? I'm assuming mag pouches and a dump pouch are in that list, right?

Assuming you'll be buying a pre-built chest rig; 4 mag pouches, radio pouch, and a general purpose pouch.
Later on if you get a pistol you can get a molle belt and mount your pistol and mags on that.
If you start to play outdoors more, you can buy a hydration pack to wear as well.
Lots of people use dump pouches, but it's definitely not a necessity.

Originally Posted by Handsonic

I currently have gloves with no protective materials on them, theyre just gloves. After being shot in the hand several times I realized that I need to get better ones. What would you guys recommend? I have been shot in the joint on the pinky and middle finger and it hurts like a bitch so simple knuckles guards wouldn't suffice for me, it would have to be full finger protection.

I used lightly padded blackhawk gloves for a long time, tried mechanic impact gloves, now I've got outdoor research ironsight gloves. Honestly it becomes more important to have good dexterity than any protection. My experience has been that BB's NEVER hit the armored parts of the glove.

Originally Posted by Handsonic

I'm using the reflex sight with the 4 reticles and it changes from red to green dot colour, I'm certain you guys know what I'm talking about. Is that compatible with a flip-up scope? Also, my sight protector was shot twice in the corner and the corner broke off. The sight itself is not exposed at all but there is a crack running from the bottom corner up to the middle of the protector. Should I replace the protector asap or is it still usable?

They usually are, but it may not line up vertically with a flip-up magnifier. Playing indoors and outdoors within 150ft you shouldn't need zoom optics anyway.
Change the sight protector right away. Even the smallest of cracks completely nullify the ballistic protection of polycarbonate or plexiglass.
Also I know the protectors you're speaking of and they're crap. It will break every time it gets shot.
Find someone who makes them, or just buy a sheet of polycarbonate yourself and custom fit a cover for your optic. If you have a 2mm thick polycarbonate cover sitting right against the front of the optic, it'll be good up to 600fps or so.

[Cliffradical]

Good, real, full-seal goggles like Revisions, ESS, and Bolle (make sure they're tactical goggles from Bolle, not snowboarding goggles etc!!!!!) are awesome, and will survive more direct hits than you can you will probably ever encounter, or longer than the frames/ straps will live. Take care of them, inspect them while you're cleaning them, and discard the lenses immediately if you notice any deep scratches, dents, cracks, chips, or warping.
Eye protection is something you should never cheap out on, and should be considered disposable. With care and base quality they'll last a long time, but be prepared to throw a lens and/ or frame away if it fails and don't feel bad about it.

Tactical vests vs plate carriers vs chest rigs is largely a debate of personal preference, and situational usefulness.

Tactical vests can be pre-built, or fully customizable using Molle pouches (modern), snaps, or velcro (obsolete but 'old school cool'), or somewhere in between.
Tac vests can be considered a light-weight, often very breathable option vs a plate carrier, with as much or more retail space for gear as many plate carriers. They've been used by many military and police units in various forms and configurations for decades, and if properly sized, fit, and configured, can be just as useful as anything else in CQB environments.
Downsides include:
-(Fixed pouches) What you see is that you get. Crossdraw holsters look neat for a sort of 'Classic' LAPD SWAT thing, but are functionally pretty retarded IMHO.
-(Customizable pouches) You can load the vest to the tits, but if your pouches are too heavy or the Molle is off spec, your pouches will sag and flop all over the place. It's annoying and uncomfortable. Don't expect to get more than a double-stack mag pouch on there, or huge utility packs etc. Lightweight and slick is the key.
-Not really viable outdoors for more than scrims for the above reasons.
-Buckles and zippers get shot out all the time. Buy a zipperless system (or get it professionally altered for a good metal YKK zipper), tape up your buckles (hockey tape is ideal), and/ or prepare to replace them once in a while. Tape up your loose straps once you have it fit correctly while you're at it to keep them out of the way.
-Cheap, knockoff tac vests suffer from bad stitching, Molle loops way out of spec, and awful plastic. Not worth the money.

Plate carriers are pretty much what you get when you take an armor system and a tac vest and smash them together. Back in the day, you'd have a soft armor system (kevlar etc), or a plate system, or some mix of the two, and then wear all of your load bearing equipment over top of it. A plate carrier integrates everything into one system, and thereby allows you to carry an immense amount of gear and protection without hindering mobility (if fit and rigged correctly). Plate carriers can be front and back only, or can include a cummerbund (usually optional) which gives you more retail space and side protection, at the cost of mobility and increased profile. Many plate carriers have little or no exposed buckles, and built in places to hide adjustable straps, which is a big win over tac vests in terms of expected wear and tear.
With plates installed, you get a really rigid surface to work with, and so if your Molle loops (on the PC) and straps (on the pouches) are all in spec, you get a really stable platform for carrying much heavier loads. This can make a well rigged plate carrier ideal for just about any situation.
These things are the modern standard for a reason.
Some downsides:
-(No plates installed) Will be floppy, saggy, and won't fit correctly. Hardly an improvement over a tac vest.
-(Plates installed) Heavy.
-Hot. They don't breathe at all.
-Awkward and terrible if sized and fit incorrectly. Armor plates are supposed to sit higher than you probably think in order to protect your vital organs, not your beer gut.
-Expensive. I've seen some pretty decent stuff that wasn't 'Real Steel', but it's better to shop around in person, and get some advice from PC users extensively if you're not going to buy a real one.
Tip: if you can't find fake/ trainer plates, EVA foam (like exercise mats, commonly used for cosplay armor) is better than nothing.

Chest rigs are one or two panels which run across your chest only, supported by straps over the shoulders. These have been around in one form or another almost as long as humans have been using controlled explosions to lob hunks of metal at each other.
They can come pre-built, or customizable (usually Molle). These can be used with or without an armor system, and without an armor system they offer maximum mobility at a minimum weight premium. If rigged correctly, they can provide everything you need for short to medium game lengths, and extending their usefulness beyond that means simply throwing on a backpack.
The dirt:
-Offers near zero protection from anything.
-Again with the buckles and straps.
-Too much weight and/ or bad fitting means back pain.
-Buy quality or buy again, and again...

That's all I've got in me for now. Good luck!

[Handsonic]

Wow thanks so much for the great responses guys! One last question. Where could I get a good helmet that mounts a go pro and has the cog thing in the back that you turn to change the size of the helmet? All the ones I have seen that aren't sold out just have the little pads that you can remove and I fear those wouldn't fit me.

[Cliffradical]

Helmets are a whole other rabbit hole.
Personally, I'd recommend a cheap PASGT for now just to get your head protected, then you can go around looking at whether you'd like a MICH style, something Russian flavoured, or one of these high-speed climbing helmets the kids like these days.

AFAIK you need to start with a good enough helmet to be able to securely mount anything to it, and balance the weight properly, and all kind of other stuff. You can easily spend $300 on a helmet that won't break your toys or your neck alone.
A cheap PASGT might not be trendy, but it will be ~$30, fits a watermelon, and you can throw that gopro on your other shoulder or your gun.
I could learn from someone telling me I'm wrong, though.

[ThunderCactus]

The more expensive emerson FAST base jump helmets have pretty good reviews