Rich Gordon brought up an interesting item in another thread about the prohibitive cost of some unit requirements. I thought that this would be a good jump off point for us to discuss the various costs of getting into the hobby. The hobby has really progressed since I first got into it back about 7 years ago. Even then converted uniforms were not the norm, but still found on several reenactors. Today, especially among the German reenactors, almost all uniform items are either reproduction or restoration. From the tip of the boots to the brim of the helmet.
I remember when I got into the hobby back in 1997. I accidentally found a site that showed WW2 reenacting and thought to myself, "I didn't know that existed". So, I hunted further, found a group in my area and was off to get my kit together.
I got ahold of CNS (what is today At the Front since CNS was the abbreviation for the politically incorrect name of "Cool Nazi Shyte") and spoke with the owner. I told him what I was wanting to do and he sent me a complete starter kit (including basic field gear and a uniform) via UPS that next day, COD!!! I paid for it with a personal check even. Total cost of the kit: $876. The thing that I remember today is that I got some great original field gear in the kit. That was when the field gear was cheap and it was fairly easy to come by.
Still needed a helmet. Found an original Heer SD M35 on ebay with a great liner and chinstrap. That set me back $150. Rifle, another $150. And, finally East German jackboots (I shudder to think about them today) - $20. I was now ready for my first event having shelled out close to $1200. This was done not even knowing whether I'd like the hobby or not!
I continued refining my impression over the next year and plopped another $1500 into it. That's not including the G43 that I bought and the thousands of miles I traveled to get to events. Hell, I even flew to two events.
But, basically, back in 1997, you could get a good Heer impression together for around $1200. Today, I am not sure of all of the numbers. But, looking over at At the Front's site, it would look like you can still put together the kit that I purchased in 1997 for $876 for $800 now. Not bad, but most of the field gear is now cheap, Chinese reproduction instead of original.
There are still no good boots on the market at a decent price. And, the price of a helmet, even a restored one, is more than double what I paid for my original back in 1997.
It's not a cheap hobby. And, this is the basic German impression. If someone could expound on some of the allied impression costs and also on the cost of doing FJer and WSS (both, I know, are more expensive), it may give some interested in doing it an idea of what to expect.
I remember when I got into the hobby back in 1997. I accidentally found a site that showed WW2 reenacting and thought to myself, "I didn't know that existed". So, I hunted further, found a group in my area and was off to get my kit together.
I got ahold of CNS (what is today At the Front since CNS was the abbreviation for the politically incorrect name of "Cool Nazi Shyte") and spoke with the owner. I told him what I was wanting to do and he sent me a complete starter kit (including basic field gear and a uniform) via UPS that next day, COD!!! I paid for it with a personal check even. Total cost of the kit: $876. The thing that I remember today is that I got some great original field gear in the kit. That was when the field gear was cheap and it was fairly easy to come by.
Still needed a helmet. Found an original Heer SD M35 on ebay with a great liner and chinstrap. That set me back $150. Rifle, another $150. And, finally East German jackboots (I shudder to think about them today) - $20. I was now ready for my first event having shelled out close to $1200. This was done not even knowing whether I'd like the hobby or not!
I continued refining my impression over the next year and plopped another $1500 into it. That's not including the G43 that I bought and the thousands of miles I traveled to get to events. Hell, I even flew to two events.
But, basically, back in 1997, you could get a good Heer impression together for around $1200. Today, I am not sure of all of the numbers. But, looking over at At the Front's site, it would look like you can still put together the kit that I purchased in 1997 for $876 for $800 now. Not bad, but most of the field gear is now cheap, Chinese reproduction instead of original.
There are still no good boots on the market at a decent price. And, the price of a helmet, even a restored one, is more than double what I paid for my original back in 1997.
It's not a cheap hobby. And, this is the basic German impression. If someone could expound on some of the allied impression costs and also on the cost of doing FJer and WSS (both, I know, are more expensive), it may give some interested in doing it an idea of what to expect.
I do agree, the "discount impressions" just don't cut it - the member and unit won't like it either, regardless if it passes the 10 foot test or not 
handles many of these. We were only talking about this on Monday night.
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