Welcome back
Welcome to the second volume of the rundown of my current DA kit! This part will cover my choice of footwear, PPE, and comms.
Footwear
My boots of choice are the Lowa Renegade GTX Mid boots. Although they are a mid-cut boot, they sit on the higher side (certainly compared to something like the Salomon Forces XA mids) and offer a decent amount of ankle support and protection which is important to me. Being Gore-Tex lined, they are reasonably waterproof, but the nubuck upper can also be treated with a variety of aftermarket waterproofing products for when the lining eventually gives way. I’ve also swapped out the standard insoles for something with more padding and arch support. Boots are a highly personal choice, but as a baseline I tend to look for good ankle support, an upper which can be waterproofed, and (above all!) comfort. I’d always recommend going in-store to buy boots as I have rarely had great success buying online. Socks-wise, I wear merino wool with boots and wouldn’t really recommend anything else. I’ll discuss buying boots in more detail in a future article!
PPE
PPE in the real world would obviously include things like an body armour, which isn’t really necessary in airsoft unless you’re really going the whole hog on the realism front. When we’re talking about PPE in the context of an airsoft loadout, that is primarily going to be protection of the eyes, ears, face, and certain joints.
Starting with joint protection, I always use kneepads – both for comfort and to prevent the aggravation of some old rugby injuries. I generally prefer built-in kneepads, so I typically reach for my gen 4 Crye Precision Combat Pants. When I’m wearing trousers that don’t have that luxury, the only external kneepads I will use are Arc’Teryx’s Kneecaps. I’ve had a significant amount of time on these in the past and, in my opinion, they are the best external kneepad option on the market. Being Arc’Teryx, they are very well-constructed; they stay perfectly in place and are not excessively bulky, meaning comfort even during prolonged wear.
Face protection was next on the cards, and I wanted a couple of different options that I could switch out depending on what I am doing. I do keep a mesh lower face mask in my kit bag if I really need it, but it’s not something I often reach for. Typically, I’m just wearing a mouth guard and throwing a balaclava on to slightly lessen the chances of hits leaving any bit welts on my face when I go into work the next day! This provides a good amount of protection to my upper teeth without the discomfort and awkwardness that typically accompanies a mesh lower mask. I’ve had success with the Sisu 1.6 Aero, which is a thin (1.6mm) thermoplastic mouthguard that minimises impact on speech, breathing or drinking while offering an acceptable amount of protection. While not strictly PPE, I’ll mention here that my gloves of choice are the Outdoor Research ‘Ironsight’ gloves. These are a highly dextrous shooting glove which are also touchscreen compatible, which is a bonus as I intend to run some sort of end user device equipped with ATAK-style software for events with my team in the future.
Finally, and arguably most importantly, is eye protection. I’m currently using the MIL-PRF-31013 rated ESS ICE 3.0 glasses. I don’t want to get into the debate around full seal vs. glasses vs. mesh here, but I’ve always found that good wrap-around impact rated glasses get the best balance of protection and comfort for me.
Hearing protection and Comms
Hearing protection is important for me as I play a lot of indoor and CQB venues where things like loud grenades can quickly cause hearing damage. I wanted hearing protection I could trust, so I knew that the only way to go was a real steel headset with active hearing protection.
With my DA kit, I use the 3M Peltor Comtac XPI headset. They’re reasonably comfortable with gel earcups added, quick and easy to take on and off, and the hearing protection provided is second to none even at private events like Final Encore where we are running some seriously hefty charges in distraction devices. The XPI is a proven headset which has seen a huge amount of use in the real world – more than enough for BBWarz, then. The disadvantage to a full-blown headset – aside from the bulk – is that it tends to get quite hot and sweaty when worn for longer periods but being able to take it on and off quickly and easily does mitigate that to a degree – when I get around to writing about my recce kit, you’ll see that I approach comms differently there. I will also be doing a helmet build at some point in the reasonably near future, and the advantage of Comtacs over, for example, MSA Sordins like I’ve used in the past, is that there are way more helmet mounting options available for Comtacs.
In terms of PTT, I do want the option to run dual comms in the future without having to overhaul my setup with loads of extra cabling, so the Invisio X50 is my PTT of choice. Being powered by an internal battery, it doesn’t need amplified (meaning I could plug a less powerful second radio into this setup with no difficulties), and it would allow me to run dual comms to the single comm headset as required. In terms of actually connecting the headset to the PTT, I had a bespoke adapter cable made up by the awesome team at FiveFour Communications because the particular combination of plugs in this setup is fairly unusual. My radio of choice is the TCA PRC-152 – not a lightweight option, but it is feature-rich and, all things considered, there were no better options that fulfilled my particular requirements. The TCA also comes in a handy hard case, which is a nice touch.
Thanks to FiveFour Communications for the slaps!
I’ll do a full standalone article on this comms setup in the future, though, rather than getting nerdy on it at the moment. This wasn’t a cheap setup by any means (between the headset, radio, PTT and bespoke adapter cable, it totalled out to over £1k), but it ticks every single box I need it to, and is a highly personalised setup all things considered.
That’s all, folks
You made it! I hope you enjoyed reading a little about the what and the why of my DA kit as it is currently configured. In time, I’ll post updates on this loadout (next up: helmet build) and a full feature of the recce kit I’m currently building – watch this space! I’ll always share on Instagram when I launch new posts, but you can also sign up to the blog’s mailing list if you want to be notified when there are new articles live.
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