Greetings and salutations again, once again many thanks for your efforts to edumikate the noob dad and point me in the right direction for weaponry. Now thoughts turn to a decent quality face mask. Thoughts? Budget?
Enquiring minds yearn for the knowledge:)
Cheers,
Bruce
Good to see you’re keeping the health of the facial tissue and oculars as a priority, matey. 
Not a full facemask guy myself. When I was skirmishing I used a FAST helmet with ear protector plates, a mesh partial mask for the shnoz and mouth and a decent pair of goggles. I chewed a lot of gels with that mesh mask but it was handy in that it could be bent and shaped to be close to your face… makes it easy to get down on your blaster sights when you shoulder it.
Whatever you decide on, just be aware that the bulky full face helmets, while doing a great job of protecting your face, will be in the way with some blasters. There’s a reason speedball players use drop stocks and angled buffer tubes.
I used a simple lower face guard, simply because I am extremely vision impaired and cannot use the standard full eye/face type Masks that are available on the market.
From my own personal perspective, these face masks are perfect for protecting your face and still allow for whatever type of eye protection you need to run in conjunction with these safety measures.
Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! AU$9.09 | Hunting Protective Headgear Military Tactical Balaclava Cap Combat Half Face Steel Mesh Airsoft Paintball Masks
Once again, you guys come through in style. Thank you very much.
I saw that there is a lot on AliExpress for chump change, and I was wondering if it was like most of the stuff that gets pumped out from China
It’s a pity you guys don’t have some kind of a flea market so you can eBay Your old gear or stuff that you don’t want from China.
That Ali half mask looks good… 
Doesn’t apply to that particular item, but watch sizing with Ali gear… I bought a facemask off Ali once… looked full size and was listed as adult, but when it arrived it was clear you’d be struggling to get it on a 5 year old’s melon.
That one’s gotta be a bit more comfortable than my bent up cheese grater too.
Cheap enough to buy something new and anyway, you wouldn’t want a secondhand face mask after some speedyboi’s been snarling into it during gameplay. 
Yeah I had the same thing with a camo head/half face balaclava that I could get onto my noggin, but was definitely pretty tight and more suited to a much younger person.
I always check out the sizings and reviews on any online products, and this advertisement at least has some good reviews and pictures of fully grown adult men who had purchased them and were happy with the sizing, but meh about the quality……… which should be expected of such a cheap Chinese product.
I speak from painful experience. A balaclava does not save your lip and face from 300fps gels fired from 1/2M away. For CQB a lower mask is mandatory unless you like pain and swollen lips
Link goes to nothing for me, page expired 
I guess it’s got some sort of mouth shield setup.
Link still working here, but all depends on search engine I suppose 
The one I had was not this exact same product but similar, with just the lower piece without the head covering so it was much more suited for our hot climate
Outdoors, I just run quality safety glasses that have a insert to close the gap to my face keeping any gel chunks from getting in my eyes. I tend to not get shot that often in my face from close range, and the trade off for keeping cooler, and for easy access to camel back straw and food is worth it for me.
For anti fog, there is a cream called “cat crap” for your glasses. It is for motorcycle helmets I believe, but works a treat on decent safety glasses. I generally get about 5 game days in summer from a treatment.
Indoors and CQB, just get a decent full face mask with double layer lens for good anti fog mitigation. There is nothing worse than having your fun ruined by not being able to see, and getting shot in the nostrils, ears, lips, look any part of your face getting shot at close range sucks. Just get a dual layer lens full mask.
As for opting for drop stocks, some can do it, I can’t do it. I am too committed to the replica idea. If I am wanting to run an M4 in CQB with a mask, I just use a sight with a riser, sometimes holo style sights sit high enough. The height over bore will occasionally get you shooting the cover rather than over it, but that is the only downside of a sight with a riser to me.
This is the reason I prefer my MP5s in CQB. They have more of a chin weld, vs an M4 having a cheek weld, perfect for when wearing a mask. AK, G36 have a similar chin weld which works well.
Agreed. Outdoors the lighter setup and airflow are worth it, and the anti‑fog tip is spot on. Indoors, full face protection is a must. Also makes sense why MP5‑style platforms work better in CQB with a mask than an M4.
For eye protection it’s Bolle Rush Plus. Cheap, wrap around safety glasses and high quality. Come in a variety of lens tints. You can get a version with pads to seal any gap to your face but I found I don’t need it. They fit me leaving very little in the way of gaps. Haven’t done indoor yet but the mesh face masks seem to make the most sense for keeping fogging under control. Especially in Queensland humidity! Should also be quite a bit cooler than wearing a face sock.
I’ll add that the steel mesh masks are good because they can also be massaged into a shape that gives a better cheek weld for some blasters.
I got mine into a contoured shape that places the mesh about a centimetre from my face and allows a decent cheek weld with buffer tube fitted blasters.
I second that advice!
I found the mesh worked the best for me in the same sense that they can be moulded into shape to suit your particular needs.
For me it was having to wear slightly larger Goggles to allow me to fit my prescription glasses underneath, and the mesh mask could be easily reshaped to allow it, along with allowing for much better airflow than all the others I had tried out.
Another support for mesh mask and safety googles
Some swimming goggles work too as they have anti fog coatings from factory is another option that does work well with full coverage and comfortable.
Sometimes I wear the mesh face guard but mostly with good opposition we do not aim for the head so don’t have to worry about it, keep your mouth shut or you eat gelballs 
