Jump to content

Need help buying camo outfits and equiptment


JediArron

Recommended Posts

So as an update to those who were on my previous thread/s about buying a new gun, I'm going to my first airsoft game this Saturday (it's £40 and split into two halves day/night with food).  This is what the president of my society poste about the event: 'Secondly, Airsoft skirmishes! Unfortunately there are no games running this weekend due to an anomaly, but there is a game running at Cool Under Fire next weekend (Saturday the 25th) and it's a big one. It's a two part event, taking place both at day and a night. Each part is £25 seperately, or £40 to play in both + rental and transport. It looks set to be a great event involving Barbeques, Flood lights, lots of screaming and a drunk Jesus (or so we have been promised).'

 

 I'm not certain but I'm thinking of investing in an M4/M16, full metal and of good quality.  This cannot be said for certain as I still need to research and (hopefully) hold or even use these models in my games. I'd rather invest in the high quality full metal, good internal stuff than the average/below average brands.  Even if it costs £50-100 extra for the same gun, same material externally but moderately better internals in the better one I'll pay the price.

 

Please ignore above if you haven't read my previous posts *IT'S JUST AN UPDATE*

 

I've been researching camo outfits.  I definately want to buy these two camos, Urban and DPM:

 

I'm probably going to buy a patrol cap too in both camos or boonies (that sounds so cute)

 

http://www.military1st.co.uk/clothing-combat-uniforms-dpm-mil-com-cs95/

http://www.military1st.co.uk/clothing-combat-uniforms-urban-mil-tec-bdu/

 

However, someone mentioned that people mostly wear 'smocks' in airsoft which are more expensive but I'm quite confused.  Why would this site label these as airsoft outfits if they weren't typically used in that fashion?  However, it does seem quite odd and out of place wearing one of these shirts.  Then again I've never seen them in real life.  What types of outfits/upper/lower peices would look awesome and be appropriate? Basically, what do I do? Yes I know it's my preference, but I think both look cool.  So if anyone has a good argument to why one's better, I'll get that type! I'm pretty sure the trousers in the set are fine.  However, it's pretty hard to find urban camo smocks, and by hard I mean impossible.  Perhaps I could do a combo of a combat shirt and combat trousers and a smock and combat trousers? Also, what looks cool with a smock in terms of headgear? (boonies, patrol caps, baseball caps, nothing)

 

Thanks PureSilver (cute kitty guy) for suggesting the goggles, I'll be ordering them later tonight 

 

In addition to the camo outfit, I know there's other things you guys have recommended: gloves, face protection, knee pads, vests (which if I do buy, then I wanna buy a good one, not a temporary one) and other stuff.  I don't quite know what to look for when it comes to this stuff, for example, which gloves are thick, comfortable and don't hinder performance (i.e. by being too bulky and not being able to move your finger how you want to), for knee pads which ones actually don't break, for face protection which ones will look cool and protect the whole of my face, for vests which ones will last me for the long term.  So I'm here to ask you guys.  

 

Pls halp am new wut do aye do.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wear what you want! No doubt it will vary site to site, but I play all over, and I can't recall ever seeing a majority of smocks anywhere. I tend to find they get very warm, unless you are standing round doing nothing for ages. I see more people with shirt/trouser combos like above, or ubacs style tops for under plate carriers.

 

For the woodland DPM, I'd suggest looking at surplus because it will be much cheaper either from the-outdoor.co.uk, or ebay.

 

Gloves, I wear mountain biking gloves for the most part. Protection where you need it, but dexterous enough to do whatever you need to do.

 

Vest, I'd suggest Warrior Assault Systems if you want something decent but cheap. Avoid webtex and viper like the plague.

Link to post
Share on other sites

For the woodland DPM, I'd suggest looking at surplus because it will be much cheaper either from the-outdoor.co.uk, or ebay.

 

This.

 

You have to be on crack to buy woodland DPM off a web store considering how cheap it is from a surplus store.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Smocks was a purely military perspective - you wear them because they're loaded with pockets and are useful for all the admin-y things you carry. They're less formal than the CS95 pattern shirts (the 'formal' one with the buttons onna front you asked about before)

Modern armour leads to UBAC shirts, which are base layer material with shirt sleeves on. They provide the cooling of a baselayer and initial contact protection on your arms of a shirt.

You'll have to play a few games to see what works, but ideally you need something that is comfortable, you can move in it and an option to protect from weather (hot, cold or wet). If it's camoflaged that's a bonus but 90% of airsoft engagements are close enough that camo doesn't even factor.

 

 

 

Pls halp am new wut do aye do.

 

Please make this your signature forever. ;) 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Generally, smocks are awesome if you're out and about for extended periods of time and need to carry a lot of stuff around. They work best in cold or chilly weather because they are easily used as an outer layer in conjunction with isolation layers. 

 

For the average high intensity day skirms I would not recommend one, unless it's very cold or slightly wet. For the longer events, especially when carrying a large backpack and a chest rig, go for it. Underneath plate carriers they're not very comfy because of all the pockets and such. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...

Yeah, at night a smock'll be worth its weight in gold, but for any all-day events, weight-saving is a major factor. Dont know if you have a theme for your loadout, but if youre on a tight budget chinese PLA and East German surplus is crazy cheap; for 40 quid i got a west german webbing with two 2-cell ak pouches, officers belt with makarov holster, czchech camo shirt and fatigues, a pla pistol lanyard, plus a sweet leather AK sling...imo surplus is far superior to the airsoft branded stuff ive been seeing.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Oh man thats nice. Whats the name of that camo? Ive just brought an AK sling in that grey,and Ive got my eye on some 2-cell mag pouches as well.

 

It was an officers pistol belt I brought with a makarov holster, and its made from good grade but hevy leather - complete with the old Gott mitt uns belt-So that would explain the different materiels used i guess.

Link to post
Share on other sites

That is Strichtarn. It's the camo used by the East German military forces from about the mid-60s. The webbing there isn't the full set, but those AK mag pouches hold 4 mags.

 

There is also the (never really issued to anyone much before the collapse of the Berlin Wall) UTV webbing that looks more comfy to use, plus, its camoflagued in places too.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

I've personally always found the U.S. style BDUs are a good general use system, which makes sense since that's what they're for. As others have said, just go with whatever you're comfortable in. Your clothes need to allow free movement, not absorb water, be reasonably hard wearing and probably of dark colour. Things definitely not to wear are tracksuits, bright colours and solid black. Jeans aren't great though I've seen people skirmish fine in them, probably not for an over night game mind, you will just get wet and cold. One thing I probably would take is a packable poncho in case it buckets it down, especially for the night portion. With load bearing equipment, just try stuff on, typically real stuff is much better than repro. It's something of a cliche but you could so far worse than a ChiCom chest rig, tough, light, stable, secure and extremely quiet to use. Also very, very cheap, you can pick them up for a tenner.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Battle dress uniform; is that everything- boots, webbing, helmet or just the trousers shirt, boots?

 

You cant beat US clothing, im just really not into digicam or acu or whatever (i quite like airforce though).

Im aiming to go for a full flecktarn loadout-the original digicam, also one of the first examples of camo as a millitarytechnology. Whats cool is that its pretty much identical to what waffen ss combat units used-proving its a good camo even after decades of use.

 

I was reading about camo a while back and one thing i found interesting was the police use of black. Ive always wondered why the hell a swat team wd use this...and its actually a form of psychological warfare; the sight of a trooper in solid black is sposed to have a shock effect delaying their reflexes slightly, and they do look sinister (and tres cool imo).

 

Does anybody use a swat style loadout?

Link to post
Share on other sites

By that I just meant the trousers and shirt. A smock or jacket would probably be handy for night or cold weather stuff, too hot for most aursoft use though. I like the cut and fabric of US kit, far more comfortable than UK kit which seems to be designed on the basis of what's cheap. Flectarn is a good camo pattern though to be honest camo pattern is far less important in airsoft than many think, it's mostly too close range to count much and skillful players can conceal themselves fairly effectively without it. Things that draw attention to you are bright colours, shiny objects, solid black and colours that are just very out of place, ACU doesn't work in UK woodland, very few things in nature are grey, even if the background colour is sage it still gives the effect of being grey. In terms of patterns that work best, MARPAT, flectarn and in my experience, lizard pattern. Patterns that work well enough, US woodland, British DPM, Central European Woodland, they're all long range patterns, newer patterns like MARPAT do a better job of concealment at close range, flectarn seems to work similarly even though it's old. Even plain old OD works very nicely if you stay still. That isn't intended as an exhaustive list, it's just my experience and reasonably common patterns.

 

Edit: SWAT and police style gear is fine for urban but terrible for woodland. Solid black just looks very obvious, it silhouettes you very easily (as perhaps you'd expect). Even a solid black assault vest or plate carrier is fairly easy to spot, you don't really get true black in nature. Camoflages work by either being disruptive (break up recognisable shapes and objects) or mimetic (make things look like other things) and black does neither. So most camouflage patterns are disruptive (the D in DPM) and things like guillie suits are both disruptive and mimetic in that they make you look a lot like woodland floor.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah, im sure cost plays into it; if modern armies had the cash i reckon they'd be buyingtop o the line hunting camo- you know, realtree stuff like that. Camofluaging is an artform so yeah, these one pattern for every situation cuts no ice at all; different enviroments really need a specific pattern, and if you found the perfect one- i guarantee even a change in light wd make it ineffective. Take desert pattterns- effective at daylight to a degree, useless at twilight and evening as the sand is reflective. Funnily ejough the sas used bright pink jeeps in dssert storm. They got laughed at im sure....until everybody saw the jeep completely dissapear. I cant see a modern army adopting pink uniforms somehow.

 

Wonder what the future holds? Obviously octi camo is pretty sci fi, but i could see some kind of softwear based system - maybe a scanner could record the enviroment anx create a camo for that place using some kind of dying or transfer system to paint the bdu.

Link to post
Share on other sites

One thing to note about hunting camo is its typically designed to hide a still form. Military camo is typically designed to do that as well as someone moving so slightly different roles. That's not to say they can't both do either but they are better for intended roles.

 

Luke

Link to post
Share on other sites

Your not wrong there hunting camo would apply to snipers i think as these guys are true hunters; i mean they will lay in the spot for days sometimes and walk crazy distances. Infantry though- i think the expensive patterns would be wasted on them as their role isnt about stalking and concealment but assaulting and going loud-if you can simplybreak up theirprofile so they dont stand out, obviously sucsesfully maneuvering is easier. I play on a woodland sight myself-and no kidding I havnt seen a single person achieve "invisibility" at the breaktimes, but in a game even a pattern that slightly breaks their profile is very effective. Unless their wearing ACU that is....jusf quickly scan the horizon and youll see the US loadouts lit up like xmas trees.

 

Id say the best ive seen ina forest is one guy wearing 2 types ofww2 olive drab,one british and 1 us; one was more a brown and he blended very well.or at least he would have without using a bright chrome m29 pistol almost constantly, constantly asking everyone why its him who gets shot the most.in fact idsay he drew so much fire his team won the day. Not just him though; ive lost count of how many people spend a wad on camo but use a gun that completely lights them up. You know, like a SCAR; the bright sand colour is an excellent target.

Link to post
Share on other sites

A lot of desert camos are just too light for woodland, at least in the UK where the dominant colours are various greens and darker browns. It's not that they don't work at all it's just that it's easier to spot than green. As DrAlexanderTobaco says, jeans are fine so long as it's not too wet out and they actually are pretty fine for concealment, the human eye doesn't percieve blue very well and on a background of green the brain often just interprets it as more green. With the hunting camo, that is an example of mimetic camo, obviously it breaks up your outline too but it's designed to actually make you look like leaves and bark, works great if you're staying still, not so hot when you're moving since trees don't walk about. Concealment isn't all even primarily about camo pattern though, it's about movement and using cover, there are some good instructional videos online though as with most things practice is the best way to improve. One thing I have always noticed is a lot of airsofters won't go prone (after all, you might get muddy) but honestly, it's a great way of hiding, it sounds dumb and obvious but lowering your silouette and using undergrowth to obscure and break up your outline works wonders. I've had people five meters from me not having a clue where I was while I was shooting at them, they all seemed to be scanning for people at head and chest height, that someone might just be lying down didn't occur to them (odd since they were getting shot in the legs).

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've seen the prone problem as well. I see it as two issues not wanting to get wet or muddy as well depending on vegetation it's sometimes hard to shoot through. With real bullets not an issue but where I play airsoft bbs won't cut through the ferns well. So while I use prone often I've got to get higher up to get a clear shot.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and the use of session cookies.