The rig you wear to play Airsoft is the a vital part of your overall kit preparation, and is every bit as important as selecting the right Airsoft gun to use.
Getting it right can make or break your gameplay: if you don't bring enough space to carry magazines or backup BBs and a speedloader, you'll find yourself out of ammunition mid-game; if you don't get the sizing right you'll find yourself constricted, or worse, with your gear flapping about everywhere and sliding off your shoulders or down your waist.
As such, consider these important elements when putting together your gear loadout for the field!
CAPACITY
First and most important is the capacity of your rig: you need to carry enough equipment to see you through the game, and you need a rig that will let you do that. Done properly, this does mean that no one rig will cover every game every time: a Sunday Skirmish game where you're only out for an hour before game over is called and you get to drop by the safe zone before the next game puts far less demands on your carrying capacity than an all-day Milsim-style game where you have to carry everything you need for the next 6 hours (or even longer!) on your back.
So first look at what games you plan to play and ask yourself: what do I need on that game? Do I need pyro? Do I need spare BBs? Spare batteries? How many? Do I need food or water? If we're going into Milsim territory do I need changes of clothes, waterproof stuff, a sleeping system even?
Remember that capacity is weight, and weight is exertion. There's no point carrying more than you need, and you're only hampering yourself if you're not carrying enough. Get this important process right and size your rig to fit your requirements!
COMFORT & FIT
Ok, so you've decided what you need for the day, and you've picked out your rig to fit everything you want to carry onto your body.
Is it comfy to wear? Can you sit down in it? Lie down in it? Does it cause chafing anywhere?
If you're planning to wear it all day, or for multiple days for the bigger Milsim events, it must be comfortable. Test it: throw it all on and sit around in the house for a day, do your normal chores, maybe don't go a walk down the high street geared up for war though. If you can go several hours without it causing aches, pains, or annoyances, you're set! If it is causing any of those, work out why and tinker about with it! Keep making adjustments until you feel you can wear it for a long time without it causing issues.
Make sure it fits you well, also! Too tight or too loose won't do, as it'll hamper you ingame, making it difficult to breath or move if overly tight and making it tiring, unbalanced, and at risk of simply falling off if too loose. Be sure everything fits snugly, but not to the point of constriction!
USABILITY
Next up, and something you should work on alongside comfort, is usability. There's no point putting a grenade somewhere on your rig that you can't actually reach, no point putting your spare mags in a pouch that takes forever to get open and closed again, no point slotting your radio into a belt pouch where the channel dial is going to keep getting nudged as you crawl about the woods.
Everything on your rig has to be somewhere you can reach in the time you need to reach it.
Magazines? Somewhere they're available fast, because you're almost certainly going to need to change them in a hurry during a firefight.
Grenades? Again, easy access is key, you won't win any firefights if you're fumbling around for several minutes trying to pry a grenade out of a very secure, but very hard to open, pouch somewhere.
Spare BBs and Speedloader? You're not (or, you shouldn't!) using this when you're in a firefight, so these can safely sit in a backpack or rear pouch where you can take your time reaching them, freeing up the prime real estate for things like magazines and pyro.
Food and Water? Similar: no rush here! Consider getting a hydration bladder with a hose, as this is both hugely convenient and easy to access!
Going to a Milsim with spare boots, clothes, a sleeping bag etc? Into the rucksack and absolutely no taking them into battle, that's extra weight for something that won't win a firefight. Leave those at your base. More advanced players in more serious Milsims might want to look into building an Assault Pack, though.
Spend some time in your rig, fully tooled up, taking things in and out of your pouches and holsters. Try doing it quickly, try doing it crouching, lying down, and with your off hand (as your main hand should be on your weapon!), how does it feel? Are you struggling to get into anything you'd rather be able to access easily? Adjust! Are some things getting in the way? Adjust!
NOISE
Last but certainly not least! You've decided what you need for your game, you've made sure what you're wearing is comfy and that you can reach everything you need when you need it.
Jump up and down a few times. No, seriously, do some star jumps!
How loud was it? Were things hitting off each other all over the place? Were pouches slapping against your side with a thud on every jump? Were things inside your pouches banging off each other audibly? This is a sign of poorly secured kit!
Being noisy simply by moving is a disadvantage on the Airsoft field. If everywhere you go causes a shuffling noise and you're trying to sneak along a wall, anyone near it is going to know you're behind it. If bursting into a sprint sounds like a very poorly-tuned band has started playing, anyone who didn't spot your movement is going to hear your movement.
Get your kit secured. Make sure things are strapped down, even inside pouches, to minimise the amount of noise you make while on the move. Don't obsess over silence, though: you will always make some noise, the goal is to eliminate noise made by things audibly shifting or banging around on your rig.
COMMON MISTAKES
"More is Better"
A lot of Airsofters think "more is better", and look with envy on the guys who show up to the field decked head to toe in cool-looking gear, not an inch of skin visible anywhere, with a rig so stacked full of every piece of gear imaginable that they could probably arm and supply your entire team on their own.
More is not better. Carrying more than you need is a waste of your energy, as you're moving that weight all day long, it's a waste of your time, as the kit you don't need is getting in the way of the kit you do need.
"Looking cool" and "being prepared" are two different things, but not everyone realises that. Be sure that you do!
Gear Too High
Another very common mistake, particularly with users of chest rigs, is shortening the straps too much and having their rig sitting way too high on their body. Generally, the closer things are to your waist height, the easier it'll be to access them in any stance, particularly if you're lying down (something many Airsofters don't like to do, admittedly!), and on a chest rig the lower down the better as a result.
Straps Everywhere!
Once you've sized your rig and have set all the straps to the right length, roll up the excess strap length and tape it up. It not only looks much neater and more professional, it also stops them tangling up your kit, getting caught on tree branches or roots, or suddenly causing your kit to tighten considerably when they get wrapped around something you're running past and then pull tight!
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