Source: UbisoftThe very first loadout I planned when I started airsoft was a generic SWAT type CQB kit impression. The loadout was centered around my first AEG, the Classic Army replica of the DSA SA58 tactical carbine. But no sooner had I started to play airsoft than my friends and I decided to adopt a Russian military theme for our games, so my SWAT loadout idea was put on the back-burner.

Well, after three years I have decided that it's time that I dust off the idea and have a go at some of the new CQB sites that have sprung up in the region.

Luckily for me the items required for this impression are widely available, SWAT based impressions are hugely popular, but I decided not to go with the usual black BDU look and instead wanted an olive drab scheme so that if I had to use the kit in a woodland area I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb!

Kit collection so far...
Aside from the center-piece - the DSA SA58 - I have already gathered together some of the uniform kit required, a big part of which is the distinctive load carrying rig. I went for a pretty standard looking tactical vest for that classic SWAT look, but while there are plenty of cheap tac-vests out there I found a pretty cool one in the J-Tech M7.

The M7 is a Taiwanese product and while it is similar to budget vests made by the likes of Viper it does have one very unique property, the front MOLLE panels are removable and so you can quickly change over your pouch layout without the usual unthreading of MOLLE straps. This makes the vest very flexible, enabling you to easily outfit yourself with different ammo and equipment stowage for different missions - between games!

One downside of this type of vest is that if you are tall - I am 6' 4" - the shoulder straps tend not to extend enough so the overall length of the vest is a bit on the short side. I got around this by having it customized by a UK based tactical tailor, lengthening the shoulder straps to accommodate my height.

Additionally, despite the excellent flexibility afforded by the removable MOLLE panels the rest of the pouches on the vest are fixed, which is a pity. You have a shotgun shell pouch and a rifle but pad on the right and a set of pistol mag pouches and small compass pouch on the right. I wish these had been made removable too so you could further customize your loadout.

I have bought several alternative pouch panels to go with the rig, plus different types of MOLLE pouches for the various mags and equipment I will be using. Aside from all this I have collected together some smaller items like gloves, protective knee and elbow pads and duty belt and holster.

Face protection
An important part of any CQB loadout is the face protection. Up close engagements means choosing your headgear carefully, a full face mask of some sort should be mandatory. I had already bought a Rainbow 6 style helmet made by Alpine which I sprayed with Krylon olive drab paint (it was black). This helmet provides full coverage for the side of the face and ears, but is open faced.

To protect my eyes I wanted to use standard goggles - not mesh because of the growing use of bio-degradable BBs - and the set I found most successful in combating fogging was my Bolle X800s, but this still left my mouth and chin venerable. I have tried several types of neoprene mouth guards and balaclava combinations, but found them restrictive and actually aggravated fogging because of the condensation which built up due to having to breath heavily.

Quite by chance I discovered that a full face mask which I bought for another loadout actually fitted quite snuggly beneath the Alpine helmet! And with the Bolle goggles placed on top of the mask I had the perfect (perhaps!) face protection that was also least likely to fog. I will probably spray the face mask with the same OD Krylon paint - it should look quite intimidating!

Right: The face mask is a Chinese copy of the Matrix Soldier mask available from Ebaybanned.com for $36. It is made of very solid glass-fibre.

I am toying with the idea of adding a pair of ESS Turbofan goggle to help fight the fogging problem and I also want to add a fake night vision mount to the helmet to finish off that SWAT look.

Next...
in the next part of this mini-series I will look at the choice of uniform and boots and trying on the kit I have so far...