Airsoft is a fun and challenging combat sport that requires the proper gear for play. Players need good weapons, magazines, body armor, headgear and gloves. The most common weapons are pistols, sniper rifles and grenade launchers. Players also need a tactical vest or bag for carrying their weapons and other gear. Unlike paintball, most airsoft fields don’t allow you to walk onto the field with a weapon in hand so a gun bag is a must.
The most important piece of equipment is the gun. Most airsoft guns are called automatic electric guns or AEGs. They operate on a similar mechanism as BB guns used in paintball but they are more accurate. The motor drives a series of gears within the gun’s housing and when turned on, the piston plunger moves forward and pushes a small pellet resting inside a chamber and into the barrel. The pellet is then propelled out the barrel at high speeds and hits its target with great accuracy.
Most guns are modeled after real military firearms and many have upgrade parts available for them. One of the most popular upgrades is a modification of the gun’s barrel that allows the player to adjust its height. This system, called a hop-up, is found in most mid to high-end AEGs and some gas guns and spring sniper rifles. The hop-up system adds backspin to the pellet as it leaves the barrel, causing it to maintain its trajectory longer and more accurately than a standard gun. airsoft gear