Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the blog! Today I have another loadout post for you and in this post we'll be looking at my Greenzone loadout that I wore for Warzone 6 in 2018 on the Greek island of Crete.
As I was playing the on the UN Team, I wore a UN Blue beret for the weekend so I was easily recognisable to the other teams.
The glasses I'm wearing for this loadout (and the ones I wear for most of my loadouts) are the
Wiley X Saber Advanced. They're made from Shatterproof Selenite Polycarbonate lenses that meet the MIL-PRF-32432(GL) ballistic standards: ANSI Z87.1-2010 high velocity and high mass impact standards. I opted for the set with amber, vermillion and tinted lenses but I usually wear the vermillion lenses. They feature a T-Shell Lens coating that prevents scratches. They also offer 100% UVA/UVB protection with distortion-free clarity. I've been using these for around 3 years and they've never let me down. On the Wiley X EMEA website, you can get money off by using the code 'AFAIRSOFT' (affiliate code).
First, let’s look at the CPU shirt! The Helikon CPU shirt is a heavy-duty combat shirt made from NyCo (Nylon and Cotton blend) Ripstop that has a two-way front zipper, a pleated back with a slit to enhance the range of movements, 6 pockets for optimum storage, elbow patch reinforcements on each arm for durability and Velcro plates for attachment of patches.
It is a piece of utilitarian clothing that combines functionality with comfort, as it features a mandarin collar with Velcro closure - there is a soft fleece on the inside of the collar which makes it super comfortable to wear, it has a zipped front with Velcro flap closure that makes it easy to put on/take off. As for pockets it has two on the chest with Velcro top closure and zipped side entry, an upper arm pocket on each sleeve with Velcro flap and zipped side entry, it also has two forearm pockets of various sizes on each sleeve with Velcro closures. And my favourite aspect of the shirt? The underarm zippers for ventilation., although these had to go in the alteration.
Next up we have the Helikon CPU Trousers in Pencott Greenzone:
These are a pair of heavy wearing and comfortable Combat Patrol Uniform (CPU) cargo trousers that are also made from NyCo Ripstop that feature 10 pockets and a double layer on the knees and on the backside (yay for butt protection!)
They have a button fastening and fly - for quick and easy fixes on the field should the button fail, durable belt loops to hold those weighty shooters belts, side waist adjusters to personalise the fit and drawstring bottoms on the legs too. As for pockets, the CPU trousers are laden with them including two large front pockets, two small open pockets at the front, two cargo pockets with a Velcro closure, two rear pockets with button flaps and one lower side pocket with Velcro flap on each leg.
What’s the quality like? The fabric is thick, has a nice weight to it and feels sturdy and durable. The features such as the fleece-lined collar and double-layered knees and backside reinforce this!
So how do they both fit? Well, here’s the thing – they didn’t. Even though I was sent the smallest size that was in stock in both products (small in the shirt and 32L in the trousers), it’s clear from the before photos that the uniform drowned my tiny frame – now these would more than likely fit a dude but I’d say for women and younger players they’d probably be a bit of a miss. My wonderful friend Jo at
www.purplepongo.com helped me tailor mine just before I flew out, and you can read all about the process and see the finished images
here! Once these items were tailored, they were perfect.
How much do they retail for? Both the shirt and trousers are available from Military 1st for £62.40 each. Overall, I love the features and quality. The only thing I was disappointed with is the fit.
It is a low profile, adjustable rig made from laser-cut laminated, 500D Cordura so you know it’s built to endure tough environments! The softshell interior construction also makes it a comfortable rig to wear for extended periods. The harness is well constructed and feels sturdy even when the rig is loaded up. It has a reinforced drag handle which is more applicable to real-world scenarios rather than airsoft but it’s a handy feature.
Not only is it comfortable and well-constructed in general but it is also full to brim with essential pouches including integrated, adjustable mag pouches with paracord retention that adjust to fit: eight (!) AR mags, four AK mags or even four SR magazines. It also includes several fixed external pouches for other mission essentials: two adjustable pouches, a sealed zipper pouch and a Velcro flap pouch for when you need to access items quickly.
What I like about the Hurricane is that you aren’t just limited to the pouches on the chest rig! As it not only features the integrated and fixed pouches but 9 PALS slots on the sides of the rig which are perfect for radio, medical, utility pockets and horizontal PALS slots under the ammo pouches for items such as tourniquets, pistol mag pouches and 40mm pouches etc. If you choose to run comms, the fixed pouches are a great size for a Baofeng radio and the rig has comms/antenna routing to keep everything tidy and prevent wires getting caught.
Is it easy to adjust to fit? The harness is completely adjustable via the buckles and to keep the excess material tidy it has Velcro wraparound straps – bonus! It has a split front, zipper design as well so you don’t need to adjust it every time you remove it which is handy. After adjusting, I found it fit well and was comfortable to wear even when loaded up with mags and radios. My only gripe was that the laser cut material was quite rough and did rub my inner arms when I was only wearing a t-shirt because of the hot weather. I didn’t have this issue wearing my combat shirt and I suspect it was because it was brand new, out of the packet. I would expect the material to soften over time and this to subside.
The Hurricane comes in a fair few different camouflage options including Adaptive Green, Black, Coyote Brown, Crye MultiCam, Pencott Badlands, Pencott Greenzone and Urban Grey so there is a camo option for. How much does it retail for? €239 which is around £210 at the current exchange rate so it is pretty pricey but the quality warrants the price in my opinion.
My airsoft rifle of choice for Warzone 6 – the AKS-74UN Tactical Mod A from E&L kindly supplied to me by Nuprol! For our loadouts, myself and Bill (my fellow Airsoft Action writer) chose to run tactical AK’s and I needed something compact and had plenty of rail space, and this is where the E&L AKS-74UN Tac Mod came in!
First, let’s talk about the aesthetics, it is a classic AK style that has the tactical goodness of a rail system for accessories. The construction is mostly steel with some reinforced polymer components. I like the aesthetics of the AKS74UN Tac Mod as it combines the classic look of the AK and the utilitarian rail systems of the M4 platform there’s only one thing I would change – it comes with a collapsible skeleton stock which I found to be a little uncomfortable when shouldering the weapon, I think it would look even better with a carbine stock!
Other useful info? As it’s constructed of mostly steel it weighs in at just over 3kg, which is pretty heavy compared to the polymer AEGs I would usually use. The weight is comfortable to carry, but during extended games, I would recommend a sling to prevent your arms from becoming too tired. It has semi and full auto firing modes with the Russian markings (pretty cool). The battery is easy to install – just pop the button near the stock, flip up the compartment and install – stick lipo batteries fit well in this compartment.
FPS and performance? When we got to Warzone 6 I excitedly grabbed my new AK out of the box and headed to the Chrono line – looking at the documents inside the case, it should have been shooting around 330FPS with a +/- 5% (which is around 346 FPS) but when it came time to Chrono, mine was sitting at a steady 353 FPS - 3 FPS over the site limit (and a big difference in what the documents said). As it was a brand new gun I figured the spring just needed to be worn in a little, so I decided to put a couple of mags through and sure enough, the FPS dropped down to around 348 FPS. I expect with time that the FPS will continue to fall as the spring gets worn in.
How does it shoot? I was impressed with its performance! It had pinpoint accuracy once the hop-up was adjusted (which was easy to adjust by the way), groupings were good and overall it was very pleasant to use. I did bring a Vortex SPARC AR to accessorise my AKS-74UN with but didn’t have the right mount for the job but this wasn’t an issue as it was easy to use just by sight.
Let’s talk about internals! It has a CNC’d steel outer barrel, 6 x 9mm steel gear bush bearing, a CNC’s steel gear set, silver wiring, Air Seal nozzle, a one-piece CNC’d steel cylinder, the spring guide is a silver latch with a Rotary Washer, and It has a high torque motor. The internals are of high quality and I feel this is reflected in the performance of the AEG.
Overall, I enjoyed using the AKS-74UN Tac Mod A at Warzone. I’m looking forward to customising it with some badass attachments and a new stock when it finally arrives back in the UK. I think it makes a great tactical AK addition to the armoury.
The E&L AKS74UN is available from a few UK retailers and is on average between £400-£420.
