Gear: A Practical Perspective

This is a re-post from the Longhair Operator whose work  has also been published in "This Week in Airsoft."

https://www.facebook.com/LonghairOperator. 

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"Gear: A Practical Perspective

January 8, 2014 at 12:20pm

As far as I know, no single topic is more debated in Airsoft than gear. The impressionists, the milsimmers, the milsofters, the speedsofters, and the backyard commandos all have their own opinion. Hopefully, this will be a definitive, practical look at gear, that'll satisfy all denominations of airsofter.

Gear, no matter what kind of player you are, has two simple tenets: first, you get what you pay for. If you buy a HSGI Weesatch instead of a Condor WSH*, while you get next to no additional fit or functionality, you get significantly better build quality, coloring (if you are trying to match gear or are playing games where NODs can be expected, this matters), and, in this particular case, a lifetime warranty. However, its up to you to decide if those advantages are worth just under 200$. There's always middle ground, of course, such as
Flyye Gear, but the underlying principle remains true.

Secondly, and most importantly, the whole idea of gear is that you try to take as much of what you need into a game, and as little of what you don't, as possible. This is where the problems start, since "what you need" changes so drastically from play type to play type.
An impressionist may find fake PVS-18s or a dummy antenna a necessity, for them to adequately complete their impression. A speedsofter might use nothing but a stubby m4 and an electric box mag. Neither is using more gear than they need; their needs are just different.

There are some things that every single airsofter needs, however. Most notably, you absolutely need to carry a gun. To carry your gun, you can use a pouch or holster (for a pistol), or a sling or scabbard (for a rifle or shotgun). Keep it simple, lightweight, and as low-profile as possible. 

Secondly, you absolutely need to carry spare ammo or spare magazines. A speedsofter might carry a second or third hi-cap mag in a pocket, while a milsofter might use mag pouches and a mix of hicaps and lowcaps, while a milsimmer might take 9 midcaps. These methods all work just fine for the player who’s using them.

There are some items that are unnecessary for some styles of play. For instance, someone who only plays CQB at an indoor arena might not find a need for a hydration carrier, while a milsimmer playing at a national OP might find a fully stocked first aid kit a must-have. these are field-specifics, and they should be taken or left behind as necessary.

There are other things that are useful, if not necessary, to have in-game. such items include the likes of basic tools, gas if you run a gas-blowback pistol or rifle, an extra bag of BBs if you plan on being away from the staging area for an extended duration of time. Flashlights come in handy, especially at long national ops and indoor arenas. These items are most useful for the milsimmer and the milsofter- they fall under the category of being prepared, while not being an unnecessary burden on the player for the sake of realism.

Now, we get into the third category: the least useful gear. These include most non-functional replica gear, such as MS2000 strobes, Tourniquets, antennas, and radios; fake NODs (especially during the daytime), real NODs (especially during the daytime)(these come in EXTREMELY HANDY at night events), IR designators and lasers during the day, etc. However, some of these replica items might be necessary for an Impressionist to complete an impression, and in those cases are absolutely necessary. However, do not put unnecessary weight on your rig, since that will slow you down, reduce your reaction rate, increase your rate of fatigue, and in general make you less combat effective.
The bottom line: What you need to play airsoft depends on how you play airsoft."

 Jonathan Karpatkin aka Longhair Operator

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Padre' out...