Gear, money, Questions, All that nonsense.
 

Mmkay, In a few months I'm going to be starting a part time job and make some money. Now, from each paycheck I'm going to be taking half or perhaps all of my earned money and putting it off to the side so that I may start Airsoft and keep a bit extra in case I break something or another. Hopefully $1250-2000 so that when I turn eighteen I can get AV'd and then get a full set of gear and the likes. Possibly clothes, vests, goggles and such earlier since I don't think they are restricted to AV'd people or those who are eighteen.

Now. to begin I've done a little bit of looking around the Newbie section and FAQ and read some of the topics and got the gist of what they were saying so now I just need to ask a few things.

First of all, Guns. I plan on mainly playing in larger outdoor areas so I'm probably going to need something with a large battery. Also I'm going to get a Gas pistol on sidearm. I don't want to skimp out on weapons so if someone could recommend some manufacturers that would be great, I'd prefer something that was not only durable but also reliable.

Next up. Gear. I don't know where exactly I am supposed to get gear from, if I can just walk into a surplus store and pick something nice out of if I go looking online and simply order stuff in. Same for vests and the like too.

Also. Anybody on here live in or around Kingston?

Check out these places for BDU's and gear.
http://bdu.com/
http://www.cpgear.com/homepage

A lot of people wear paintball goggles for their full face protection. I would recommend the JT spectra flex 8 goggles with a thermal (double) lens. They won't fog up on you and the flexible face mask will allow you an unobstructed cheek weld on your rifle.

Thanks, that is actually exactly what I needed. I just hope customs doesn't find an issue with anything I order.

As for weapons, is there any specific brands one would suggest I take note of in my research?

Kingston Ontario, or Kingston Nova Scotia?

What kinda rifle are you interested in? Model, I mean. Armalite, Kalashnikov?

Ontario, I didn't actually realize there was a Kingston in Nova Scotia.

I'm not a big fan of the Kalashnikov's look. If anything I'd probably be Interested in an AR-15 or perhaps an H&K G3.

The best thing to do before dropping coin on gear is find out what teams are around your area and see what kind of kit they're running. Until then, a good pair of cargo pants can do the job until you figure out what you'll need. If you buy a bunch of gear and then find a team and it turns out all your gear isn't what your team uses, then it's just a pain in the arse trying to sell all that gear (at a loss on top of that).

You can use this as a general rule of thumb

Examples of things you CANNOT import:
AEG magazines with fake cartridges (i.e. P90, G36, SG 552 mags)
Pistol frames, receivers, and metal bodies
Suppressors and silencers
Prohibited-length outer handgun barrels (i.e. USP Compact, Glock 26)
Hand and 40mm grenades that look real

Examples of things you CAN import:
Magazines for AEGs and GBBs without fake cartridges
Outer barrels for most guns
Inner barrels of any type
Handgun slides
Flash suppressors
Scopes, red dot sights, iron sights, lasers
Rail systems and scope mounts
Springs, bushings, gears, pistons, or other gearbox parts
Batteries, BBs, loading tools
Helmets, goggles, body armor, tactical vests, camouflage

This is an old thread http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=40318 you may find it informative to read. There are a lot of threads about importing regarding airsoft on this forum if you search a bit.

Well, I think there are more options for ARs than there are people on the planet, so you're golden there. Notable brands are Tokyo Marui, Classic Army, G&P, King Arms... I'm sure there's plenty of people who will attest to others, but those are some big ones.

G3 on the other hand, I can only recommend. I love mine, and there's a hell of a lot fewer of them floating about when compared to Armalites if you're into being a bit different. Don't quote me on this, but I think Classic Army is your best bet if you want metal. TM makes them too, and I'm sure they're solid performers, but I didn't buy a metre-long rifle to have it made out of plastic. JG and Echo1 also make them I believe.
I have the CA G3 SG/1 and I love it to death.

Dammit...yeah, there's a Kingston here, it's kinda synonymous with Greenwood...I was hoping to find another airsoft player around here, local players are kinda scarce, about a dozen in our group, half of which are extremely unreliable for turnouts.

As far as beginning gear goes, I hear/see people saying that echo1, classic army, and ICS are decent brands, unless you know EXACTLY what you want, and want to dump the cash on a higher-end one. Personally, I started with a Classic Army P90. Don't do that, by the way. Nothing wrong with it, it's actually a beast, it's just limited in it's application, I find. In CQB, it's great, in fields...not so much.

If I could do it over again (ok, actually i am lol) I'd start with an M4 or AK, something with a good rail platform and a wide selection of aftermarket parts (i realize that brands come into play here, as well) to upgrade and mod my gun.

But, hey, that's just me.

Kozzie, Thanks. That's a big help, I don't have to worry about importing issues. Also I'll Look into the G3 and AR-15's they have available. I really like the G3 though, It's sexy in a rugged sort of way. Also Fire, I'll look into teams.

As for pistols is it sort of Negligible or would it also be good to also do extensive research on them as well. I've been thinking of the FN Five-Seven and the HK Mk.23.

You should always do research into whatever gun you buy there are a lot of reviews out there to see. look for the ones done by actual owners of the gun who have had it a while rather than the ones done by a 10yr old or the people trying to sell it to you. Also consider availability of replacement parts, upgrades, accessories and mags. It may not be unique to have the most common gun but it can have it's advantages.

Edit: I use an Ics Sig 551 and a KSC Glock 17 they're both great as far as I'm concerned.

Pistols are used for backups only now and then, however they make CQB games pretty fun. The inconsistency of gas gun FPS can be kind of an annoyance, so if you get a GBB pistol expect not to use it very much once the temperature starts to drop.

All right. Thanks all of you. I think I know everything I need now.