[Hans]

Have any of you Bay Area folks had a chance to play airsoft at OP in Hayward? The idea of walk-on play 30 klicks from my house has its appeal, but I'm curious as to what your experiences may have been.

Peace,
Hans.

 

[Hans]

SO wierd, replying to my own post...

I had a chance to visit Operation Paintball on Saturday. Not a bad place to play at all. There are two paintball fields, and one airsoft field, so the place is crawling with paintball dorks. Once one learns to ignore them, it's a lot easier to enjoy oneself.

The retail area has very little in the way of airsoft gear, short of BB's and gas; don't expect much in the way of a pro shop.

The staff were courteous, though overwhelmed at times given the shear volume of paintball players.

There were about 10 players there that particular afternoon; most of them youngish, but polite and honest players. They still had the lousy muzzle control I complained of in a previous post, but, sadly, I'm growing accustomed to it.

The play area is U - shaped, with staging/break areas at either point of the U. These have trash cans, tables, chairs, and outlets to plug in battery chargers. There are also lockers that one can use to lock up gear that one doesn't want on them for a round of play, but doesn't want anyone walking off with, either.

The play area proper has an interesting array of obstacles, hallways, and bunkers. There is high ground and low ground, which help make strategizing interesting. The vast majority of the obstacles are set up orthoganally, which is a mild disappointment.

Even with 4-on-4, play was fast and furious. The CQB-type environment leads to a disproportionate number of hand, gun and face hits (as those are the presenting parts when cornering).

My only complaint would be the price - US$25 for two hours or $35 for an all-day pass. There is a discount for public safety folks, which I appreciate, but it's still a pretty steep bill for field use only.

Peace,
Hans

 

[ORCA]

hehe well thanks for the review hans!

Yeah ever since I started investing in the expensive gear I avoid playing at any places that let anyone shoot paint. Slippin/sliding/falling on or around paint is no fun.

There's a crapload of airosft only places up in nor cal though. Just looky here:

http://www.airsoftextreme.com/store..._id=12&zenid=3c377a3cdf744936ba27ea48a13bea4e

Although here was an Airsoft Extreme outing to Hollywood Sports Park (one of our local Paintball fields that opens up to airsoft).

http://aex.fullmetalimage.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2479

That about how serious the guys take HSP

 

[brucelee]

I've been to that place... It's pretty small, and like you said, slippery as hell and very limited. I'd be interested in going to some bigger indoor airsoft fields if you;re down. I have 5 close friends that are always down.

 

[Hans]

I'd be interested in going to some bigger indoor airsoft fields if you;re down.

Would you mind clarifying whom you were addressing, and whether that was "down" in the geographical sense or the interest sense.

Peace,
Hans

 

[ORCA]

I think BL was talking about a places like these:

http://aex.fullmetalimage.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2347
BAASH Bay Area Entry Team - Secret location ')

http://aex.fullmetalimage.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=678
Fort Ord - CQB Challenge Goodness

http://aex.fullmetalimage.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=507
1 of the AEX Owners playing the OpFor. Notice the Vltor Stock and Eotechs...

http://aex.fullmetalimage.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=519
AEX Owner Down. Notice how they keep the expensive optics padded from the ground with their body!

 

[Hans]

The Fort Ord games definately look neat- I've been trying to make one since September, but the real world has other things to say about that.

I've seen BAASH's website, and they looked cool as hell, but as dated as their site is, I came to the conclusion that they were no longer active.

Peace,
Hans

 

[ORCA]

Yeah BAASH has been inactive a long time. But indoor airsoft only CQB location in Nor Cal still exist. I think it coincided with one of AEX's owners was one of the principles and the biz just got busier.

 

[Killaboi]

im usually a regular at OP,
ive grown very fond of the airsoft arena and dont really see a problem with it at all. i think its perfect actually. they change the arena around about every month so u constantly get a new area 2 fight in. and everytime i go i just laugh at all the paintballers with their "timmys" and angels. and the floor is a bit slippery, but hey, just adds to the realism
and AEX is a direct supporter to them, so they get all the nice M15A4 tac carbines and body armor to rent. and they hav awesome raffles too, one time i won a free bag of excel .20g and a free day of play anytime in one day

but i do agree the prices are a bit high...

 

[Hans]

Hate to break it to you, chief, but as of last weekend OP had NOTHING in the way of rental AEGs. The owner told me they had too high failure rate to make them reasonable from a business standpoint.