FEATURE
REALLY USEFUL
WHAT’S THE THE MOST
USEFUL BIT OF AIRSOFT
GEAR YOU’VE OWNED?
HAVING RETURNED FROM A TIRING TRIP “DOWN SOUTH”, FRENCHIE GOT TO PONDERING
THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION WE MAY ALL HAVE ASKED OURSELVES AT SOME POINT.
A
s I write this, I am just back from
a flying weekend visit to London,
where I was attending the
wedding celebration of friends. It all went
smoothly, and the event itself, held in the
Hogwartian (is that a word?) splendour of
Middle Temple Hall, was fabulous. What
was lacking, for one reason or another,
was sufficient sleep so, as I finally drifted
off last night in the comfort of my own
bed, the thought “what’s the most useful
bit of airsoft gear you’ve owned” crossed
my mind. I have absolutely no idea why
but it seemed as good a subject as any to
consider.
I’m going to exclude airsoft guns from
consideration. Obviously, they’re “useful”,
one might convincingly argue that they are
actually essential – to airsoft. In my sleep-
deprived langour, that wasn’t what I was
thinking about, it was the items that make
airsofting better or easier. So, things like
load-bearing gear, or boots, or multi-tools;
a personal favourite. As ever your answer
will probably be radically different to mine
and the problem with mine is that, frankly,
I’m not sure what it is!
elsewhere…
Boots occurred next. Like most of you
(I suspect), I have been through many
different pairs of boots over the years on
site. Bad boots are a nightmare! No grip,
no water resistance, no support, whereas
good boots are the exact opposite. Cold
wet feet will get you down regardless
of how well everything else is going,
so boots could be high on the list. That
said, the best boots I ever owned weren’t
waterproof or particularly warm, they were
a pair of OTBs I got a long time ago. I used
them, and both of my sons used them
when they played and it was many years
before they (the boots, not the kids) finally
died. Although not waterproof, they dried
very fast and they were as comfortable as
slippers. Absolutely top kit!
Radios. As someone who spent most
of his airsofting life running games rather
than playing them, radios are a godsend,
especially if they are decent radios. Like
most of us, I ran a variety of PMR sets and
POTENTIAL ANSWERS
My instant answer to my own question
was a multi-tool; I have lost track of how
often I have used mine on site to fix,
cut, tighten, loosen and otherwise fettle
something, but then that is also true of
daily life – if I don’t have a tool on me,
I feel naked, so maybe I should look
“...I THINK NOT. A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHY THIS IS USEFUL IS HOLSTERS FOR
SIDE ARMS. LOTS OF PLAYERS START WITH A GENERIC, NYLON LEG HOLSTER WHICH
ARE BASICALLY GOOD FOR ENSURING THAT YOU LOSE MAGAZINES AND PISTOLS - OR
BOTH!”
78
APRIL 2020