Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the blog! I hope you are all safe and well under the current circumstances, the UK is on lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 so there's no airsoft for us for a few weeks! I thought I'd take this time to give you the deets on some of my favourite airsoft loadouts, starting with my MultiCam Tropic X MultiCam loadout that I wore for Paintfest 2019!
For the BDU's I'm wearing the TMC Gen 3 Combat Shirt and a pair of the TMC Gen 3 Combat Trousers with Knee Pads both in MultiCam Tropic and in a small from Weapon762. TMC Sports Gear is a brand by a Hong Kong gear manufacturer so this means that the sizes can be a little on the small side (so always check the sizing chart before ordering your size). The small sizes are great for Airsofters with a small stature such as myself.
The combat shirt has ripstop sleeves and quick witting, lightweight torso fabric which helps keep you cool and dry on hot game days. It also has a high zipped collar to keep slings and straps off your neck and a comfort panel on the inside so the zip doesn't irritate, it has a pocket with velcro on each side and a pen/eye pro holder. The shirt is comfortable to wear and has plenty of patch space.
With the trousers, you receive tan knee pads but I swapped mine out with a set of black knee pads that I had from a previous pair of trousers. One aspect I really like about these trousers in particular compared to other trousers with knee pads I've used is that the slightly stretchy material around the knees helps the knee pads sit in place a lot better. I also think it helps break up the camo a little. They have a multitude of cargo pockets on the front, sides and back to store essentials and feature an easy to use knee pad adjustment system in the thigh pockets. I really like how the trousers look and fit.
As the Fireball Squadron site is dense woodland I decided to use one of my chest rigs for this loadout and decided on the Haley Strategic D3CR-X for review from Land Warrior Airsoft in Dalkeith, Scotland.
The Haley Strategic Disruptive Environments Chest Rig X has been designed to improve comfort and storage capabilities for the operator whilst still working perfectly with the existing range of comprehensive D3CR accessories. The D3CR-X design means the Chest Rig has 4 rifle magazine pouches that accept both AR type magazines as well as AK 7.62 x39mm and 5.45 x 39 magazines! The 2 Multi-Mission pouches are also very much welcome - they are super useful, for tactical snacks, radios, small medkits etc. The 4 pistol mag pouches are versatile pouches that accept 1911, Glock, Sig, M&P, XD and other standard double or single stack pistol mags, as well as many other useful bits and bobs including handheld torches, multi-tools, and (the most useful for my own gameplay) 40mm grenades, and for me, that means my trusty TRMR impact grenade and a few Enola Gaye smoke grenades/flashbangs! The rig features an X harness for ultimate adjustability and a full Velcro front panel that allows the rig to be outfitted with accessories, as well as assist in the full contact connection with plate carriers. One of my favourite aspects about the chest rig is the full panel of Velcro because it allows me to easily swap the front panel from my Warrior Assault Systems Recon Plate Carrier out, for the D3CR-X panel really easily - just unclip the straps, rip off the panel, attach the panel and do up the clips and the jobs a good ‘un! This is particularly useful when I am switching between playing Skirmish and MilSim Ops as the gameplay is so different a different loadout is needed.
For my battle belt, I'm using the MultiCam FRV Tailoring Cobra Shooters Belt. It is a low profile, lightweight and affordable alternative to some of the pricier shooters belts on the market. It has an inner belt made of one layer of webbing with Velcro hook on the outside which you feed through your trouser belt loops as you would any normal belt, then you place your outer belt with all your pouches, holsters etc attached over the inner belt and fasten it with the cobra buckle. The belt is 50mm/2" wide and has 18 columns of molle. The molle loops run along the top and bottom of the outer belt and they're compatible with any molle pouches and holsters. The outer belt has a double layer of webbing to give it that rigidity and a cobra buckle that is rated up to 4000 lbs. What I love about this belt is it sits quite high up on my hips so it doesn’t bruise me or get uncomfortable even when there’s a fair bit of weight being carried, and I can have all my pouches/holsters etc set up on the belt without needing to take them off when the belt is removed.
I like my belt kit to be lightweight and functional so it’s all about the essentials, as I don’t want to be swapping holsters constantly I opted for a Warrior Assault Systems Universal Holster in MultiCam, which is one of the best holsters that I’ve used to date. What I really like about this holster and the reason why I always come back to it, Is because it fits every pistol I currently own, securely! The adjustment system is easy to use, and the pistol is held in place by a trigger locking system. To release the pistol you simply push in the release and pull the pistol, and to lock the pistol into the holster you just push it back in. To carry pyro and empty magazines I have a Warrior Assault Systems Gen 1 Dump Pouch, just something simple to keep anything that doesn’t have a dedicated pouch.
To keep my pistols mags safe during a game, I opted for 2 of the Nuprol Open Mag Pistol pouches in their own variant of MC. They are elasticated pouches which can be tightened/loosened to fit various mags and also 40mm flashbangs/smoke grenades etc if you don’t have any pistol mags to keep a hold of. I’ve had these for around 4 years and have used them for various uses and they just keep on giving.
Last up in my MultiCam belt set-up we have 2 of the Grey Ghost Gear 40mm pouches in MultiCam. Now, these are exactly what they say on the tin – they are 40mm pouches that are suitable for flashbangs and smoke grenades of that diameter, they have a malice clip attachment which means they are fastened securely (although they do have a slight wiggle in them) and they have a clip to secure the pouch flap. They keep my grenades secure and the clip is easy to undo quickly even with gloves on.
For my helmet, I'm wearing the FMA Dark Earth Airframe with a MultiCam Airframe helmet cover. This Crye style replica is made of a lightweight high-density polymer - perfect for protecting your noggin during BB wars. It has foam pads on the inside, is ventilated, has a headlock chain strap, side rail mounts and bungees for NVG stability. It doesn't come with an NVG shroud but has pre-drilled holes to add one.
On the back, I am running an FMA Mantra Strobe RED Type 1 which has both red light and a none visible IR emitter which comes in super handy for night ops with blue force and a generic counterweight pouch which I can fill to counteract the weight on the front of the helmet.
Last but not least - what every airsofter loves to adorn their kit with, patches! As the velcro on my airframe cover is pretty small, I decided to put my ranger eye patches to some good use! The patches I'm running here are to represent my USA boys - the Enola Gaye Ranger Eye by Who Shot First, the No. 39 Sqn Reaper ranger eye patch from @that_brit_pierce and the 'H8' ranger eye from @pnw_punk.
Photos thanks to Airsoft Project
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