Tell me you don't look through After Action reports for photos of you in the game. Tell me you haven't stood in front of the mirror checking yourself out while kitted up. Tell me you don't have one shot of you in your gear.

Do it.

I dare you.

I double dare you,

Gear has always equated to status, the top guys have the slickest gear. Always have always will.

This gets muddled in airsoft as those with means can buy top gear, and "pretend" to the status that entails in the real world.

it's a more difficult equation in airsoft because of the "poser quotient"

I know guys who tote thousands in top quality gear and guns and are middling trigger pullers at best. and I also know guys who often sport hoodies and jeans who can do things with an airsoft gun that should not be able to be done.

Pffff... Everyone knows the first rule of the infantry is "Look Cool"

Hmmm. Action shots in game are not the same thing, though no, I don't really go out of my way to look for myself. I don't stare at myself in the mirror to see how awesome I look. I have used a mirror to help myself adjust gear, especially for areas I can't see or reach easily. I've posed for team pictures, but once again, not even close to the same thing. Even still, the mind set is different.

I will say this; I don't wear anything, other than maybe a patch or two, strictly for looks. Everything serves a function directly related to competitive success. I do however enjoy sharp looking gear, and I will avoid goofy looking crap. That doesn't mean their aren't pictures or video of me out there.

Form follow function.
In airsoft, a lot try to have the form.
The best players have the whole thing.

A guy in jeans and hoody won't make it in a milsim environement. And those with too much shit on their gear won't make it either because they are overburdonned by useless gear that is not needed.

That being said, if you think you look rediculous in gear, then I suspect you won't play long. If you think it look cool, it's normal to seek pictures of yourself.

I actually don't see anything wrong, or impractical with those loadouts.
Looking cool is just a bonus, when you do things right.

Its those army of 2 football equipment loadouts... looking out of toilet paper roll masks... no functional/practicality to their gear. Making dumb loadouts in sacrifice of "looking cool" that is the opposite of cool.

Exactly.

Japanese street fashion is very embedded in their modern culture. Has anyone even seen Aqua's pics? But very literally you find it in all things there. Sports, video games, you name it. Do we have fashion in all things here? Not really, but if we do, it'll be in the fashion or sales world. There, it's the population that involves themselves on a daily basis to stylize whatever they're into. However, once you cross that line, there's no thought included in tactical advantage or play style in of in itself. At least as far as Airsoft is concerned. Do you swoop your hair and put on some makeup for every game? Do you try and dress like your favorite anime character playing airsoft for the pre-game photo-shoot? Do you make yourself look off the wall so you can stare at yourself in the mirror thinking; "this hairdo will really help me hide in the very stylish underbrush."? Tell me you do, I dare you.

Very different, all the way around.

There was just a few load-outs that caught my attention as, "not made to be practical".

Look at the website the other way. When I started attending games one year ago, I didn't even know how to wear half the gear I was recommended. Operator pictures on Google can only go so far.

Now, I have a whole reference of what people use and wear at Airsoft games. I used the gear thread here to check what I could wear. Now I have a website full of model wearing said gear. Take everything with a grain of salt, of course, but it's no different than random Google pics that are often of poor quality.

dude, these people probably change at the field, and they have to take the train and bus to get the the fields, you think they are going to look like schlumpy lazy people when they go out? They're going out, they get ready to go out, whether it be for airsoft or a night out. That's the way they are. There's no dressing down on days off.

That dude with the outrageous hair probably does his hair like that every day, whether it's school or shopping.

Yeah, that could be true. There's nothing wrong with photography, and the Japanese are very "busy" people, especially the students as ive read. The more you look at it, the more it looks like legit load-out pics, and less like "strike a pose, fashion, cos-play".

So word up to all the past, present, and future airsoft saviors on here.

If you plan to "take airsoft as far as activity X", or "Get more Exposure", or "Bring in new blood" these are the people you want to get behind you.

exactly, you need fodder to keep your rent going. some stay, most don't, you may not agree with what some people bring, wear or how they play, but they're playing. As long as more come in than leave, you have growth. Some of those that come in might swing your way with time, in the meantime, you want their rent money.

I think airsoft in general will have to have a serious shift into a more solid and modern tactical sport, before we can really expect to hit the general public, and attract a more competitive player base. So in a way, you need to hit "X" before you get who you want. While airsoft is left so open-ended, you'll continuously attract a wide array of people who want to do their own thing with it. Not that a person or persons shouldn't be able to play their way with like minded individuals, but their will have to be a serious reclassification or differentiating name change, to show that these activities are different. Albeit some airsoft activities are very similar, some can only be compared because they involve airsoft guns.

indeed.. this is really why I object to the term "airsofting" or "playing Airsoft" as these terms are too broad to properly be used as a descriptor.

To me these terms are meaningless, and result in people thinking that all "airsoft games" are the same... which clearly they are not.