When playing airsoft, nothing cuts your day short like a close shot from a hot gun to the lip. It stings! And some people are concerned about getting a chipped tooth or shot up the nose, so they wear a full face mask (covered in the earlier goggles and face-masks section). But what if you don't want a full face mask, but do want something to slow down that bb zinging toward your earlobe or throat?
Well, you can wrap a camouflage veil, scarf, shemagh (scarf) or something like that wrapped around your neck and over the bottom part of your face. It won't stop a bb, but it will slow it down some, and it also won't make it hard to talk to your team mates or hear. Another option if you are playing the OpFor (opposition force, the bad guys) is to wrap a long length of material around your head as a turban and put the end under your chin to protect your neck and ears. Just be aware that the wrapped part around your brow may cause your goggle vents to not work as well, and your goggles may fog more. Also, a thick turban may not let you feel a hit on the wrapped part, so be careful about that. If you think the bb hit you, take it! Better to take a walk back to the res point than be though a jerk.
Another option, and one snipers particularly seem to like, is a loose drape of camo netting that covers your entire head, with a hole cut for your goggles (some guys even wear this over the goggles, so it mutes the glint of sun on your lenses). Others wear a balaclava; a type of ski mask that has one large hole for both eyes instead of single eye holes on each side. This is nice because you can make it fit tightly to the outside edge of your goggles, but again watch for vent coverage to prevent fogging.
Any of these solutions should cover the sides and back of your neck as well, if at all possible, just so you don't take a shot there. If you aren't worried about an occasional stray bb though, partial coverage is a lot cooler, as your body sheds a lot of heat through your neck and head.
Update: One thing that was missed was a type of half face mask offered from several different manufacturers. These are usually molded out of a flexable rubber like material or made of metal wire mesh. The molded masks can be smooth or shaped into images like skulls or smiling faces. These work great for stopping a bb, but may limit how easily you can communicate. The wire mesh half face masks allow easy breathing, and are a bit easier to talk through, though they don't look as cool. Your call here.
A couple of the guys we play with have half masks of neoprene printed with skull faces or joker faces, and those certainly also add a cool factor. Just be aware that masks with white on them can reveal your position if you are hiding in foliage. If you like to run and gun and don't mind being seen, have at it!
Update: One thing that was missed was a type of half face mask offered from several different manufacturers. These are usually molded out of a flexable rubber like material or made of metal wire mesh. The molded masks can be smooth or shaped into images like skulls or smiling faces. These work great for stopping a bb, but may limit how easily you can communicate. The wire mesh half face masks allow easy breathing, and are a bit easier to talk through, though they don't look as cool. Your call here.
A couple of the guys we play with have half masks of neoprene printed with skull faces or joker faces, and those certainly also add a cool factor. Just be aware that masks with white on them can reveal your position if you are hiding in foliage. If you like to run and gun and don't mind being seen, have at it!
That about covers neck coverage for now, if we find some kind of cool new item you need to know about, we will update this section, so check back once in a while.
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