RINSE AND REPEAT!

EVERY YEAR ON AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND AIRSOFT ACTION MAKE THEIR ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE NEW FOREST TO ATTEND THE UK NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL! IT WOULD SEEM THAT THIS FLAGSHIP EVENT IS NEVER WITHOUT A BIT OF CONTROVERSY, AND WITH THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS MEANING PRICE RISES FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, THIS YEAR WAS NO EXCEPTION… BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE EXCEPTIONAL FOR MANY REASONS!

Ialways look forward to the UK NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL (NAF) as it’s an event I’ve attended for many, many years, and indeed AIRSOFT ACTION has supported it from the very beginning! Friends always ask me why I head out to a multi-day event that, by my own admission, is not my “thing” when it comes to the actual gameplay, and I always respond “That’s not why I go”…

I’ve been an outdoorsman as well as an airsofter all my adult life, so I actually relish the thought of getting away for a few days in the tent, it is genuinely something I enjoy and it’s no hardship for me; I have good kit that I’ve built up over many years, and some great performance clothing so the elements don’t bother me overly, although I do keep a keen eye on the weather forecast leading up to any trip… and oh my, am I glad that I did this year!

As well as enjoying a few nights in my SNUPGPAK SCORPION 3 tent, I have to tell you that I usually enjoy the whole “vibe” of NAF as an event and a Festival that brings thousands of airsofters both old and new together in one place at one time. I enjoy the atmosphere generated by airsofters of all types coming together, and whilst I don’t play myself others of the AIRSOFT ACTION Crew do… and enjoy themselves as Ben will tell later.

What I love most is the energy of the event, and whether you play all weekend, for a little while, or not at all still you still get to experience what I’ll simply call “The Joy of Airsoft”. There are players, just shy of 3000 again for 2024, airsoft platforms of all flavours, some brilliant (and some downright crazy!) loadouts, and a LOT of friendly banter (what do you say to DELTA???)… add to this that you have great facilities onsite, portaloos (which this year there were more of, and they were kept scrupulously clean!), shower facilities (again spotless, 2 quid a go…), food vendors, a bar, bands playing in the main marquee, and this year even more kit vendors and representatives showing the best of their new gear than ever before!

I am eternally impressed with the sheer size of the field and the diversity of terrain at Ground Zero, and that is just as you drive in! Ground Zero is situated about a mile from the nearest road on the private grounds of Somerley Estate in Ringwood, Hampshire, and boasts some 175 acres of playable terrain, with a massive 50 acres of Safe/Camping Zone! Now you may find that latter number “overkill”, but I’m going to tell you that with thousands of bodies and all the varied entertainment/logistics/industry staff on site 50 acres soon becomes very, very small and intimate.

So, this is why I go, and that’s before I start talking about meeting up with old mates, meeting new ones, and generally using the Festival and the superb Ground Zero woodland to get some pics in the bag for future reviews and articles… the fact I don’t enjoy the game-style is my choice, many others do, but for UK£65 for “camping only” for the weekend it’s 100% money well spent.

Let me address this, as the price-rise caused a LOT of hate pre-event! I am, again simply, going to point out that if you check out the campsite prices in the New Forest for August Bank Holiday weekend, even for a “bare-bones” field campsite with pretty much zero facilities, the UK£65 camping-only fee is a bargain, especially given what’s on offer at NAF. If you wanted to play then the price goes up to UK£130… an average gameday these days will set you back around UK£30 a day, and NAF offers two full days plus… So, add even two standard days gameplay to the camping fee and I make that UK£125 for the lot… adding a fiver for everything else seems perfectly reasonable to me… especially as the cost for creating the event has gone up as well…

Let me give you an idea, as the organisers at NAF made this all clear before the event. Okay, they probably didn’t communicate this as best they could have, but the information WAS, and IS, there on their website! They told me, and us...

“As you are well aware we had to put our ticket prices up this year, which seems to have caused controversy. With prices increasing exponentially in every aspect of life, we assumed that the reasons behind the rise would be apparent, or at least would become clear after some further thought. However, this appears to remain a concern for some people and so we would like to explain why the rise was necessary.

Unfortunately everything has risen in price in the last couple of years, not only in the UK but worldwide. It’s everywhere and now part of everyday life. Food and drink prices are astronomical, car insurance renewals are hundreds of pounds more even though you haven’t made a claim, and gas/electric costs are huge!

As you can imagine, a festival demands a lot of equipment. Hire fees are also through the roof.

Subcontractor costs have massively increased. To give but one example we used to be able run our power generation on red diesel, costing around 60p/L. Now we have to use white diesel, at forecourt prices! That is around triple the price! Multiply this by the thousands of litres we use to keep the power on, and things soon add up.

Estate fees that we pay for use of the land & camping are substantial, and also rise every year. Our insurance premium (for this event) is in the tens of thousands. And of course let’s not forget increased wages for a team of more than 100 staff that make the event what it is during the weekend. Multiply all these raised costs over so many different elements (and the above is not extensive!) and it’s no surprise prices need(ed) to go up.”

Yup, there it all is a nutshell! If, like me, you’ve noticed that your weekly supermarket shop has almost doubled over the past couple of years you’ll see what the guys at NAF mean. If you’ve filled your car tank, renewed your house insurance, or even paid your water bill then it’s as plain as day… if you haven’t noticed any of this I have to ask exactly which fantasyland or wondrous plane of existence you’re living in!

To me the controversy about the price increase, and other decisions made by the NAF team, has come about due to poor communication with the player community, and I sincerely hope that this will

I LOVE MOST IS THE ENERGY OF THE EVENT, AND WHETHER YOU PLAY ALL WEEKEND, FOR A LITTLE WHILE, OR NOT AT ALL STILL YOU STILL GET TO EXPERIENCE WHAT I’LL SIMPLY CALL “THE JOY OF AIRSOFT”. THERE ARE PLAYERS, JUST SHY OF 3000 AGAIN FOR 2024, AIRSOFT PLATFORMS OF ALL FLAVOURS, SOME BRILLIANT (AND SOME DOWNRIGHT CRAZY!) LOADOUTS, AND A LOT OF FRIENDLY BANTER” be rectified for 2025 as guess what? NAF 2024 as a Festival of Airsoft ROCKED!

Festival Fun

Due to some last-minute logistics “issues” within our own team, this year it was just Ben and I who made the journey down to Ground Zero; even within the AA Crew there are still some “doubters” about the event, and I can understand that a festival with thousands of people on-site isn’t everyone’s cup of Earl Grey!

However, from what we saw from word “go”, the 2024 Festival was different from the last few years, and in a very positive way. Check in for camping was slick, and additional facilities meant that check-in for the game was just as much so. A full-time help point ran throughout the game this year, and site marshals, medics, and staff were generally much more visible, even making turns around the camping fields in buggies to make sure everyone was safe and cool. Lines for chrono, although still long at some points, appeared better managed overall (I think they had to be given the controversy online for this aspect too), and yes, I did say “lines” as this year there was a separate line for HPA-users… of which there were many, MANY more than I’ve ever seen before.

The facilities on-site were also much better managed this year; as I said earlier, portaloos, showers, and other facilities were kept scrupulously clean, and even though some moaned about pricerises for private loos there were more than enough even if you didn’t want to spend the money for your own.

Overall I have to say that the organisation for the camping side this time was slick, slick, slick, and by 1000 on the Friday the camping fields were FULL! This for me is where the fun-factor starts to build, as old friends arrived and made their way over to say hi; I was really pleased to see the return of my old mates from Team HAS/Crusaders that had come all the way from the Netherlands, and they assured me that AA Associate and old mate Stef would be returning with them next year. Camped next to us were some excellent guys from Belgium, and I was told by NAF-Neil (another old friend) that there were players attending from Italy, Germany, from all over Eastern Europe, the USA, and even Australia, so it really was a multi-national gathering again, something we’ve not seen since before Covid!

Friday was a fun time, with players mingling and having fun in the sun, checking out the stalls and the second-hand sales in the camping area! I managed to get around to speak to vendors and those displaying early on Friday, and it was again a pleasure to see a multitude of gear-sellers around the village, with Jo and family from FLECKTARN UK, the Enola Gaye team, Kydex Customs, and AIRTAC among the number. We did however miss Ian and Dave (Ratty and Rocky to their friends!) with the VIPER TACTICAL stand this year who weren’t able to attend due to illness… we hope they’ll return next year as guys, you WERE missed!

It was fabulous to see Heroshark doing his paintingthing live, Scott from LOWA back at the event with all his new shiny things (I’ll be reporting on this in full at a later date!), and meeting Alex from Duffers Design in person. Other returnees were the guys from Optics Warehouse, the BLOC Tactical Eyewear team, and VORTEX; we’ll be working with all these great people in the year to come, and meeting them all in person again was just superb.

And as always you could have your photographic portrait done by Josh from Krios Photography; his awesome team put in 100% effort to ensure that everyone went away happy! It was a pleasure to meet

“THE PRICE-RISE CAUSED A LOT OF HATE PRE-EVENT; I’M, AGAIN SIMPLY, GOING TO POINT OUT THAT IF YOU CHECK OUT THE CAMPSITE PRICES IN THE NEW FOREST FOR AUGUST BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND, EVEN FOR A “BARE-BONES” FIELD CAMPSITE WITH PRETTY MUCH ZERO FACILITIES, THE UK£65 CAMPING-ONLY FEE IS A BARGAIN, ESPECIALLY GIVEN WHAT’S ON OFFER AT NAF” up with James from and his whole crew from AIRTAC, and to get a chance to chat properly with Finchy from Finch Embroidery (and patches!) about the future of some new AIRSOFT ACTION LEGION team patches! Sincere apologies to others exhibiting and selling that we just didn’t get time to speak to… we hope you all had a GREAT time though!

Friday ended up with many sampling all the super food options available, enjoying a beer or two, and listening to the band; you could even hear the band down on the camping fields so Ben and I ended up cranking up the BBQ and chilling, whilst all around us fire-pits were lit, more music played (at a sensible level), and the hum of conversation faded into the dusk of a wonderfully relaxed evening… as the stars came out there were a few bangs and some shouts of what people would “do to DELTA” (a standing joke at NAF!) the next day, but very soon blessed silence reigned.

THE WASH CYCLE!

So, Saturday, GAME DAY! It rained… Oh boy, it rained in biblical proportions ...and it KEPT RAINING! To anyone that was at NAF 2024, especially all the brave souls that picked up their gear n’ guns and headed out into the woods, you have my utmost respect for your tenacity and passion for playing airsoft!

In those immortal words… “If you weren’t there you couldn’t know man!”

After a superbly swift and to the point safety brief (Team Briefs had happened well before this) due to the rain it was time for “Game On” and players headed out to their respective start points. Although the site is HUGE it’s also broken down into smaller “game zones” that are eminently playable in their own right, and that on a regular “skirmish day” would delight anyone. There’s a small village, a “prison”, outposts, guard towers, trench systems and numerous other structures to play through. Of course for the weekend EVERYTHING is in play at the same time, and wherever you went there was the sound of a firefight taking place. All three teams had objectives to achieve and points to be earned from them and from what I saw every objective was hard-earned by the eventual victors.

And it was wet, VERY wet, but you know what? Everyone just dug in and gave their all, and as the game progressed I heard very little other than praise for the game from everyone. Ben was out playing and confirmed that even in-game there was virtually zero cheat-calling, and very little evidence of anyone doing anything other than playing airsoft as it should be played! Oaky, it was a BB-fest as always, and that is most definitely not the side of the game that I personally enjoy, but from everything I head it was a GOOD game with the full site being used to its best advantage.

Thankfully late afternoon finally saw the skies clear, and Saturday night after “H’s Raffle” proved to be just as enjoyable as the one before, with that same chilled vibe, especially with the “Airsoft Priest” wandering about and giving “liquid benedictions” on demand! After the weather we all went through I think some just wanted to get their heads down, especially those who were in “game mode” and wanted to be out bright an early Sunday for full-game-day two!

Sunday dawned bright and clear, and real bonus for all of those that wanted to get their kit packed away dry before heading home. The teams obviously felt there was still more to play for though, and the points tally showed this to be true! So they headed back to the game, and they just kept on playing, gaining objectives and points whilst having a thoroughly good time, although by early afternoon a few players were heading back in; again I believe that this was in the minority though, as most players were still having a great time of it as we headed on out to be back in the office on Monday…

I’ll hand over now to Ben for his thoughts on the game itself as usual…

The Players Take

Ben: NAF 2024...what a wet and wild weekend that was ...and I don’t mean the kinky kind either lol!

So, this year Bill and I decided to get to the Festival a day earlier than previously which turned out to be a good plan as we weren’t rushed to get things organized for the coming days; camp set up, photo shoots and gameplay plan all nailed!

However, something we couldn’t control was the typical good old blighty weather! There were a few hours of sunshine over the four days which we made the most of while it lasted, but nevertheless everyone there kept in good spirits and it seems as if the weather had an effect on people to just smile and wave and not get upset or over react even on the battlefield.

My first initial surprise was this year’s lines for chrono; HPA was in full force on the Friday being about three times the size of AEG/GAS line - and even on the Saturday when the rest of the players had turned up on-site the lines were still in HPA’s favour. Okay, the overall player count wasn’t as big as the last two years but still was full of noobs and hardcore players alike. My hat’s off to you all, especially those that turned up new to this rocking the jogging bottoms hoodies and trainers!

I was also feeling somewhat hyped as I was given so many compliments on my take of “Call of Duty Ghost” loadout with a few people saying best loadout they’d seen this year!

I appreciate the effort that a lot of people make in relation to cosplay or dress up in all sorts or looks not just for their own entertainment but for others to enjoy too.

Now, as for the facilities and staff management; this year the game was upped from security and paramedics on patrols to the waste/rubbish and toilet cleaners. Bang on with keeping the hygiene to a higher level, top marks guys and girls doing that! There also was a few more stalls to visit this year too, which was very welcoming keeping it fresh for everyone.

“CAMPED NEXT TO US WERE SOME EXCELLENT GUYS FROM BELGIUM, AND I WAS TOLD BY NAF-NEIL (ANOTHER OLD FRIEND) THAT THERE WERE PLAYERS ATTENDING FROM THE NETHERLANDS, ITALY, GERMANY, FROM ALL OVER EASTERN EUROPE, THE USA, AND EVEN AUSTRALIA, SO IT REALLY WAS A MULTI-NATIONAL GATHERING AGAIN, SOMETHING WE’VE NOT SEEN SINCE BEFORE COVID!”

As for gameplay on the battlefield, this year felt evenly matched with one faction capturing here but losing there and the third holding grounds well; the final score was close between all three factions with team OTHERS as the victors...very well done!

Some of you were so lucky as I was meters away with the minigun from about fifty players stood in an open camp area just dossing! Unfortunately I was taken out by a sniper tucked up in a bush holding down a pathway.

An unknown hero of the OTHERS team saved so many lives... good play sir!

I look forward to returning to NAF next year with an expanded AA team (including a counter-sniper… Jimmy, looking at you!) and getting stuck in once again with all you like-airsoft-minded nutter’s lol! In the words of Skeletor... “’til we meet again!” Ha ha ha!

Bill: So there we have it, another year, another NAF, and as always I’ll say as I’ve said many times before; the site is superb and the organisation was better than it has ever been, even with numbers of people and players on-site.

The facilities were also better yet again this year and the scheduling spot-on. Once again I’ll echo my thoughts of past years as the play that I saw was hard, fast, and in the main fair, with hits taken and compliments given where they were due (and thanks to the players that shot past us carefully while we were doing pictures), and Ben would appear to agree with that.

The “after game” was just as much fun but far more chilled, and the bottom line is that everyone seemed to have a thoroughly bang-on time whether they played for the duration, for a few hours, or not at all! Well done to the players of THE OTHERS who took the win this year, and I’m certain that DELTA and BRAVO will be back to contest things next year!

Again - and as I now say after every NAF - whatever your style of play may be, the NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL has something to offer you!

The Festival is first and foremost just that, a joyful event that celebrates airsoft in all its diverse and wonderful forms, and a Festival that just happens to be set on an awesome site that has an enormous airsoft game going on at the same time.

For me this year was bitter-sweet as so many of the “Old Guard” are beginning to fall away, and there were genuinely people that I missed seeing and enjoying time in the sun (AND RAIN!) with.

With so much negativity about the event online this year I had wondered if the NATIONAL AIRSOFT FESTIVAL was running down, but as seems to be the case these days there was much needless venting and the loudest of the “chairborne online warriors” are in my opinion, completely wrong about the event!

It genuinely makes me wonder if some of them have ever attended, or just repeat meaningless noise in the echo-chamber that is “(anti-)social” medialand…

My final thought on NAF 2024… BRING ON NAF 2025!

Our thanks as always go to AA LEGION associate Josh and his crew at www.kriosphotography.com for their help with additional photography. For further information for the 2025 National Airsoft Festival please keep an eye on www.airsoftfestival.com, and the AA Crew look forward to seeing you there, as usual, next year! AA

“I LOOK FORWARD TO RETURNING TO NAF NEXT YEAR WITH AN EXPANDED AA TEAM (INCLUDING A COUNTER-SNIPER… JIMMY, LOOKING AT YOU!) AND GETTING STUCK IN ONCE AGAIN WITH ALL YOU LIKE-AIRSOFT-MINDED NUTTER’S LOL! IN THE WORDS OF SKELETOR “’TIL WE MEET AGAIN” HA HA HA!” yOu TO JOsh ANd The TeAm hy, whOse PhOTOs APPeAr iN Our rePOrT ANd ON bOTh Of These PAges. There Are, quiTe liTTerAlly, huNdreds mOre - if yOu wANT TO see Them (ANd mAybe buy A few) heAd Over TO Their websiTe: hTTPs://biT.ly/3myP6uN