By now, we already know that playing airsoft in The Netherlands has been legal for some time now and we have been visiting the awesome organisations in the country of cheese, windmills, and dams ever since we could. In just a blink of an eye, the NABV – the organisation that provides the airsoft-authorisations – had over 4000 registered airsofters kicking it hardcore on the field.

One should think that, with this instant boost of players and people that are now legally allowed to have the best airsoft gear in their mancaves, the retail side of things would explode as well.

It did, but not as fast as I thought it would.

The Netherlands have a proud reputation when it comes down to “tactical shops”. They always had the coolest shops with the newest gear and even back in the days, us Belgians, took trips of several hours to get our hands on the newest Kydex holster or badass tactical chest rig.

Obviously, when the Dutch guys needed airsoft replicas, they came to visit us, the Belgians. Up till today, nothing has changed much unfortunately. They still have the raddest tactical shops, but they still come to Belgium (or order online) when it comes down to the hardware.

For some reason, selling airsoft hardware seems to be less appealing and not a lot of shops bother to regulate their businesses (Yes, in our part of the world, selling airsoft replicas will require some governmental paperwork).

Don’t get me wrong, the Dutch airsofter has a MASSIVE amount of shops where he can go to get his gear and supplies, such as BBs and so. But for the purchase of replicas the choice is far more reduced.

You have a couple of traditional gunshops that offer a limited selection of stuff with the general idea that “them kids need them toys” and they usually all sell the same thing. They don’t have the experience in the airsoft industry but they have the right paperwork. (One of those shop owners told me one day that they had the full metal G36, like the real deal, that could shoot metal BBs for competition skirmishes…. true story).

So up untill the moment that you will have young and dynamic people taking the risk of launching a new shop, the commercial situation will freeze...

And then, Reload happened.

In the small, amish-style town of “Wouw”, there was this dude Maurice.

Maurice had a plan, a awesome plan.

Maurice wanted to start the very first, 100% dedicated airsoftshop in The Netherlands.

No guns, no bullets, no limited selection of products that were available everywhere --- a full-blown, genuine Airsoft shop.

Now, I’ve been following the progress of Reload from the beginning on and the guy had to face the same old nonsense --- paperwork, legal stuff, a community that didn’t really believe that a Dutch guy would be able to pull it off without selling real guns as well.

After some time, Reload Airsoft opened its doors to the public.

(Lucid Mind and Maurice of Reload Airsoft)

The moment you walk throug the front door, you are confronted with a very relaxed vibe. There is no military-wannabe-ultratrooper buzz, but rather a very modern, unique and sporty-like look that is very welcoming for both airsofters and non-airsofters.

That last part is of the utmost importance for the promotion of airsoft as a SPORT to the public.

Again, we do not live in gun-loving countries and over here the idea is still that only terrorists walk around with guns. Airsoft is... well... if it looks like a gun and handles like a gun… you get the idea.

Reload Airsoft can be compared to a trendy boutique for the airsofter, where even the biggest anti-airsoft-douche would be stimulated to have a look at all of the goodies that are on show. The shop isn’t big and doesn’t come even close to superstores such as Evike.com in the U.S.A. but it is a fair comparison since the Netherlands being a small country in terms of land area, the shop is massive.

Maurice (I could keep on calling him “the boss”,  but Maurice seems less boss-like) chose the quality-card over the quantity. The whole place smells like quality, going from high-grade funiture to high-grade parts and high-grade replicas.

Even in those segments the selection isn’t massive when I was there since the guy just opened his doors. He didn’t even had the time to unlock the door . But I believe by now, the range of products  he has to offer has doubled in size. And he has is of the highest quality AND unique.

A selection of odd replicas, a selection of basic outfits and loadouts but especially a NICE range of personal upgrade parts that are being sold as RMA (Reload Modified Arms). Bolts, pistons, triggers, screws and nuts --- all the parts that can break or that need to be upgraded are available in his bricks and mortar shop and webshop.

All of that is obviously very awesome, but what impressed me the most (besides the fact that they have a coffee corner but not enough coffee in stock to satisfy my need of caffeine) is the fact that they have been developping their own line of replicas!

Indeed, full replicas that are not only high-end, full ops and extremely limited in numbers (the first model they released was just 25 pieces) but are 100% made in The Netherlands, in the metropolis of Wouw.

So not only did Maurice take a huge risk of opening the first dedicated airsoftstore in The Netherlands, but he took even a bigger risk by making his own “limited edition” line of replicas. Respect! That is a term that is in place here.

Talking about Maurice and his dedicated crew of people (Jos, I just know you are reading this when you should be doing something useful… GET YOUR ASS BACK TO WORK! ). They all have a past in playing airsoft but on a professional level they (nearly) all come out of the ICT sector.

Why do we care you say? Just take a look at the website they have and you will understand.

2014 is THE year that starting a webshop has become the easiest thing on the planet. There are ample free providers our there that give you the possibility to get your webcommerce up and running in 3-2-1, so that all shops look a like in the end.

With the ICT experience they have, they managed to make a webshop from scratch, looking fresh and VERY inviting. Its' a blast shopping on there and you can see from the first click that these guys know what airsofters are looking for and especially. HOW they are looking for it.

Combine this with the image they have created, the professional and yet “cool” attitude they have and the range of products they carry and you just know that Reload Airsoft is here to stay.

A big thanks and thumbs up to Maurice and his entire crew for being the very first one in The Netherlands to take the leap into the airsoft commercial business.

I can only hope that they will serve as inspiration for soon-to-open shops, they are – from my point of view – the Dutch reference!

Visit their website at www.reloadairsoft.nl and you can give them a like on facebook as well www.facebook.com/reloadairsoft.

Skirmish on!

Christophe “Lucid Mind”
www.lucidmind.be
www.ultraoperator.com