Airsoft equipment

Airsoft equipment encompasses many types of equipment used in the sport of airsoft, including the gun used to shoot airsoft pellets at opponents, safety goggles, and all sorts of tactical gear including vests, equipment holders, and gun accessories.

Airsoft guns

The guns used in airsoft are typically replicas of real firearms. Airsoft guns can be divided into three groups by what powers them: spring-, electric- or gas-powered.

The choice of airsoft guns is either determined by either the performance (e.g. battery life, range, pellet magazine capacity) or the realism required (players might want to recreate a specific military force with the correct clothing and equipment).

The most popular airsoft guns are replicas of the real firearms; the AR-15 and its variants, guns in the Kalashnikov family, the FAMAS, the Sig Sauer assault rifles, or the MP5.

Airsoft pellets

Airsoft pellets are typically made of plastic and are almost always 6 mm (5.98 mm) diameter spheres. Pellets of a given size come in different weights ranging from 0.12 to 0.43 g. In addition to standard plastic pellets, starch-based biodegradable, metal coated, graphite coated (often used by snipers), and steel pellets are also available. Pellets other than 6 mm, 0.12 g, 0.20 g, or 0.25 g plastic or biodegradable pellets are not commonly used outside of Japan. To use 0.43 g BBs, a player needs a powerful Airsoft gun or an upgrade to their current gun.

The pellet velocity of automatic electric guns is determined in large part by the tension of their main spring and so there tends to be a stratification of values. The most common airsoft velocity limits are between 300 to 400 ft/s for AEGs and 400 to 500 ft/s for single shot guns (sniper rifles).

Airsoft hop-up devices apply a backspin to the pellet so that the pressure force acts on the pellet opposite to the direction that gravity is pulling it. This causes the pellet to fall less over a given distance than it would without the spin applied to it.

Other equipment

Airsoft players usually buy other types of equipment that help them play more effectively, including clothing, tactical gear, gun accessories, and even items like night-vision goggles.

Safety equipment

Airsoft players should always wear glasses with a safety rating of ANSI Z87.1 or paintball goggles to prevent serious eye injury. Goggles or glasses should fully seal the eyes, so that a pellet has no chance of getting through to the eye, directly or indirectly. Most airsoft players also wear a hat that covers their ears to prevent harm there as well.

Clothing

Most players typically wear BDUs consisting of separate pants and shirts or jackets when playing, because it not only provides protection against the impact of the plastic pellets, but just as with real soldiers it helps conceal yourself from opponents. Some participants also aim to faithfully replicate one or other military force by their choice in clothes, equipment and weapons.

The choice of camouflage pattern of the BDUs are normally determined by which pattern suites an area best or simply by what is locally available. Typically military surplus stores are a good source for such items and in the U.S. this is normally in the "American Woodland" camouflage pattern, but recently MARPAT (as used by the United States Marine Corps) and the ACUPAT (as used by the United States Army) have also become popular choices in North America.

Similarly in Europe their local military uniforms are more readily available and probably more suitable to local conditions. Popular patterns include the German Flecktarn, British DPM, or Swiss alpenflage would be more popular.

Tactical gear

It's fairly common for players to wear tactical items such as vests and holsters using the MOLLE or ALICE systems. Drop-leg holsters are quite common, though belt holsters are sometimes used also. Some gear that airsofters use can be replicas. These replicas would offer a lower price, along with lower quality materials and durability. However, there are a couple of exceptions, one of Guarder's FSBE, a replica of the Full Spectrum Battle Equipment, have been said to have durability and quality that is significantly higher than most other replicas.

Along with vests, holsters, and magazine holders, other gear utilized by real soldiers in the field are often employed by airsofters. One such example can be the Camelbak system, best described as a canteen worn on one's back with a "bite" that leads to the users mouth that allows drinking on the move. Other pieces of equipment used by airsofters are handles or vertical grips, and stock accessories like a telescoping stock.

External links

Camelbak hydration systems

Man to Man wargames

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