End of Season Equipment Review - 2021

Yesterday at Splatoon was probably the last high FPS (and possibly even any game) of 2021. With winter approaching and the winter pressures building in the day job, it was time for a chill event to finish off the year. My usual After Action Report is over on BritNerf itself but here contains a full equipment review for my high FPS load out and all the things that I need to fix over winter. I mentioned in my previous post that this rig was sort of patched onto another rig that was designed for a LARP character and as such it wasn't entirely fit for purpose. With games starting up again and the high FPS scene here in the UK really starting to get it's own momentum, it's probably time for some upgrades to get this thing to work.

Gryphon:

We'll start with blasters because folks seem to think these are the centre piece of any load out. I'd disagree: they're maybe 20% of a load out once you factor soft kit and magazines but that's a discussion for another time. The Gryphon continues to serve. It just does. It needs some lubing on the gear mechanism because in the cold yesterday, it was being a little sticky but frankly this thing just fires. No muss, no fuss. The only thing I'd like to do is some sort of lock out cap on the red dot sight so I can get some actual use from it. Right now, I'll change the CR2032 button battery on the back and then it'll switch on in my back and the red dot will go flat in my bag. I need to find some sort of way of having a lock out block that slides over the top to protect the slide switch. Other than that, it's just trucking along fine. On 2S, it fires sub 130FPS which means I can now full convert to half lengths.

Tempus:

The Tempus is still the new comer to my rig and it's a new design of blaster in field so it has it's own bugs and quirks. My favourite at the moment is that the rev trigger has a tendency to work itself loose. All day yesterday, I would remove the trigger at the end of each game and stick it in my pocket to keep it safe. The problem there is obviously if I needed my hands for something other than supporting the blaster grip, I'd lose the trigger into the underbrush and the blaster would be useless. 

It turns out that wasn't what took it out of action yesterday. I forgot my LiPo alarm for the pack which meant that the cold (5C, 41F) did a number on the capacity of my packs. The pack ran dry after only a couple of rounds. It dropped to 3.5V per cell but was rescued once I'd warmed the packs back up to a more normal 22C in the flat when I got home. I'd left the spare at home so I was back down to using the Gryphon after that point. The front end of the Tempus itself needs rebuilding with new motors and wheels that are properly installed with tolerances and shims used. Two in three of the darts fired would either whirlybird or decap. The former I would attritbute to the lack of wheel balance and the latter to the fact that Gen 2 Worker darts are slightly questionable in their quality. I should also seriously look at reprinting the flywheel cage to clean up the various soldering iron marks and what not that have appeared over time.

Knee pads, shemagh, boonie hat

These three pieces are of soft kit are just fine. My Alta Contour knee pads keep on doing their thing. I had to readjust them for the first time in years yesterday but that was only because I'd played with the straps between events. Once I'd worked them back into the sweet spot, it was like kneeling on clouds again. Sometimes I think I should put them in the wash to see if I can make them look like the nice tidy clean versions that I sometimes see on other players. Then I remember there's like 5 years of Nerfing history baked into that mud and I'm not going to compromise that.

The new scrim net shemagh works pretty well as neck protection. I think I might swap it for a more green version than the current olive/tan but it keeps my neck covered while breaking up my outline.

The boonie hat is a great way to keep the elements out when I'm not wearing my main helmet. I could look into maybe adding a camera mount to it for recording reasons but it is fast and light so I'm not sure if I should worry about that.

MICH2000 Helmet:

A new addition now I'm back to playing is a MICH2000 plastic clone with my camera mounted to it with custom power bank at the back. Dipped by the wonderful folks over at Monkeytron Collective and finished with a matte lacquer, this is mostly a fashion piece to top off the rest of my equipment. There's a custom power bank mount at the back supported with Velcro and zip ties while the cable runs to the front to expand the power of the Firefly 6S up front. Over winter, I want to put some DPM cable sheath over the top of the leads and then probably add a torch mount to the helmet itself to let me film both visible light and hopefully IR light, too. I also need to add something to whatever succeeds the 18 pattern webbing to let me carry my SD card holder close to hand to let me swap it over on the regular. Perhaps I could build an SD card holder into the torch mount itself?

Inside, you have this lovely padded system which was nice and warming in the cold whether. It beats the old hard polystyrene that you get in FAST helmets but I'd be wary of it in the summer, getting soaked with sweat and the like. I might also see about swapping the straps out for something greener to complete the look.

Reserve Magazine Friction Fit Pouch:

I've complained about these before with the press snaps being sub-standard. I need to fully refit these pouches which will mean stripping the fabric back and resetting the studs. I'm mostly complaining here again so I remember to actually do it this time.

Gecko & Gecko Holster:

I got a Gecko printed and it's wonderful in hand. It took some fettling to get it to prime smoothly (had to sand some bits) but it works otherwise fine. I've got two spare magazines, one of which is held in a dedicated friction fit magazine holder there I can top it off and swap it with the other one. I actually got tags with this yesterday in close confined areas. It was nice to have a closed loop there - I first realised the merits of spring primed pistols back in Splatoon's Kill House maze years ago and now I have a dedicated closed in side-arm for doing just that.

I still need to do some work on the prime retaining mechanism to get it to settle in place when firing. Currently, I have to support the back of the slide when firing to keep everything in place. There's just a little bit of filing that needs to be done on the green part of the front slide to apparently help that hold in place.

The Gecko holster itself isn't as good as I'd like. On paper, it should be dead easy to build a Gecko holster but I'm really finding it tricky to get a design I actually like. In the terrible photo above you can see the current design. It's a magnet release top flap with a box holding the shape of it in a half-drop configuration. The half drop itself is perfect but the return is slow and cumbersome because of the shape of the holster. I'm honestly tempted just to stump for a fully tooled leather holster for it because I think that might work out better. I'll have a think over winter and see what pops out. You can see the magazine pouch behind it. Obviously, lying flat the two items occlude one another but if you wrap the skirmish belt around then in 3D space things actually work.

Skirmish Belt:

Skirmish belt remains solid as a concept, it can stay. Once you set it for the day, you've got a load out ready to go for light skirmish work. I think the contents of the belt will change but the general concept itself is here to stay.

The water bottle carrier pictured above is an old Maxpedition version and I think it might be time to replace the bottle itself and maybe find a green or DPM version to go on the belt so it doesn't stand out as much. The dump pouch is working fine. It can carry something like 400 half darts and not be over full which makes topping off during the day very, very easy. I experimented with putting grenade holders on the front of it and that didn't work out terribly well.

AirTac Grenades:

We need to talk about the AirTac grenades. The principle is sound but the product itself isn't worth the £20 asking price. I've already lost one to damage from posting them over filing cabinets at Superstore and the design of the head means that don't always land cap down to strike and set off the charge. Without an open source file system, we're stuck with them so any alternative that can be developed I would happily support. The printed MOLLE holder clips not only require tools to install but also will break after light use, even if they are placed up high on a rig to protect them from the worst of rough and tumble.

Going forward, my plan is to create a MOLLE mounting panel that will emulate the effect of the plastic holders including the safety feature. I will also put a slot panel in behind to carry loose charges because one of my biggest problems with these grenades is finding an effective way to carry the charges. I spent a good deal of yesterday not using them because I couldn't readily locate my charge bag on my vest.

To be clear, when they work, they work great but there's a lot of improvement to be made and for a closed source product, this isn't a sustainable ecosystem I want to buy into as a consumer.

Communications:

Reposting the note that my broadcast radio requires a new pouch to secure it in on the haversack so it can be protected from the elements. I also need to buy a new headset and then test it with my two push to talk modules. I don't like the push button PTT that I have on the rig currently so I want to verify that my round membrane PTT is actually faulty or if it's just the microphone on the headset that needs work.

Otherwise, I need to print a nubbin that will let me reach the volume knob on the 888 itself a little more readily because currently it's an arse ache to reach around and turn it on and off. I don't know where the nubbin ended up but it needs replacing. Using two radios is also working fine. I can use the 888 to receive and with the long aerial, it gets a good signal over a wider area. The UV5R can then be pulled off my belt and it's advanced features with screen used in hand to good effect.

18 Pattern Webbing & Haversack:

Way back in the depths of 2019, I realised I would be playing a LARP character that wouldn't have ready access to safe areas or resupplies during weekend long events so I developed a haversack based on the British 37 pattern webbing haversacks for just that purpose. It's MOLLE mounted and can be fudged onto one of my 18 Pattern Webbing Harnesses to allow me to carry everything I need for an event. It might slow me a little and make me a slightly bulkier target but I can survive a whole event with this thing on my back because it carries ammo, smokes, water and food. With the rise of proper Long Games on the UK's High FPS scene, this sort of carriage is becoming more necessary. The Tempus is a hungry blaster and needs a lot of ammo to function. The issue is that this was always a fudge, grafting it onto a webbing harness to try and make it light without really considering the down stream issues.

First, there's the need for repair. The PALS leg holding the sack to the webbing snapped yesterday because I used B-grade thread to put this together. I'll often use B-grade stuff on my own gear to save it going to waste and the compensation tactics I use don't always pan out. Either, this is a quick repair but there is the possibility I can take the bag apart and add some new features that might be quite handy.

The main straps vertical straps are host to the water and radio lines with the single point sling mount over on the left hand side there.  If I'm to replace this, I'll probably create dedicated lines that let me seperate them out and hold them more steadily than the current configuration. Then a big old MOLLE panel at the back will hold the haversack in place. Currently, this jacket with all the various straps can be a little trickier to get in and out of than a traditional vest. I'm just chucking photos up here for future notes and comments. The actual spec of whatever combat jacket or vest I come up with in future is the subject of a later post.

I think that covers most of the equipment worth talking about. My new gloves arrived the other day and served well, they're a direct replacement for the old Blackhawk knock offs that I got from ebay. They served me well for 4 years or so. Going up to the Mechanix gloves would have been a Nice Thing (tm) but for now, I think the cost wouldn't be worth it. Boots worked fine, DPM work shirt and Goretex jacket all kept me warm and dry over thermals. In all, it was a chilly but fun day and I've got lots to be getting on with over the winter time.

Winter Clash of BritNerf - Brief Thoughts on Equipment

Winter Clash of BritNerf was over the weekend of 12th November and consisted of a variety of events at three different venues. I attended two of them: Superstore and Invicta Battlefields. My After Action Reports for Superstore and Invicta can be found over on BritNerf that detail the game play and my general thoughts on the event. This post briefly makes some notes about my equipment for each event and how it panned out.

Superstore - 12th November

Superstore is an old department store that's been converted to an airsoft arena. Close sight lines, 130FPS cap and quite a bit of CQB action. I found the Gryphon on a 2S snuck in under the cap so I was on short lengths for the full event.

Tactical Boff is watching you...

Major equipment changes from my last post include the addition of a full linen shemagh. It's great to be back in the soft coolness of proper linen on my next. With the FAST helmet and camera combination (as long as the SD card remained empty), it sat under my chin nicely and kept my neck protected from incoming darts nicely.

 I also swapped up my eye protection to the lighter BOLLE Viper glasses rather than my older Tracker goggles. The result was a much better experience with less fogging and general problems. Sure, the event was REALLY yellow for all of it but I took two direct hits to the lenses and they didn't struggle. I think I'll be keeping them for future events.

The old 2018 pattern vest is actually still working really well. I think over the winter I'll need to make myself some Talon pouches now that I'm pretty much operating solely on short darts because the old magazine pouch dividers can only take me so far. The proper tactical shirt I have for under it is working nicely and has plenty of pockets and space for patches.

"STAY STILL THEIR VISION IS BASED ON MOVEMENT" - SpectreN7 on this photo

 The AirTac grenades pictured with the orange caps on my vest continue to be a pain in the balls. They're fragile but when they work, they work really well. I feel there are a lot of improvements that could be made with them but they did work to clear rooms nicely. I need to make a proper holder for them, though because the 3D printed one they come with is terrible. I've only used it for two events and there have already been breakages on the clips. I need to find a way of carrying the 'nades and the charge bag on a single panel that I can move around as I need it.

I might also want to invest in some black knee pads if indoor games are starting up again on the regular. I'm currently relying on not having to kneel much but venues are getting more and more varied so I want to be able to protect my knees as I get older.

Finally, the Demolisher rocket and MEGA dart holder is showing it's age and needs replacing. I need a way of carrying spare darts for my shield busting side arm that doesn't see them get squished. It's something to put on the design list.

And yes, there are jokes to be made about playing amongst the corpse of late stage capitalism with this arena...

Invicta Battlegrounds - 13th November

Going back to London between two events might not have been the best idea but I wasn't lugging two sets of gear around. Invicta is a completely different dart game to Superstore. 300FPS cap, outdoors and in the woods. It's a unique venue that lends itself to a different game type than other high energy fields but I still rocked my standard green kit.

"What this situation needs is more smoke..."

This is one of my favourite event photos for a while. We're assaulting a fort that's behind that cloud of smoke. You can see the arc of live pyro mid air from other players and we wanted a dense screen to advance under. We'd cleared the woods to my left of skirmishers and were due to make an advance on a heavily defended position.

This shows off my current gear quite nicely and the theme and look is consistent. New additions are the Gecko holster for my shiny new side arm. It wasn't in service for this event but I took it along in the holster with it's magazine pouch so I could get a feel for where it needs to go. Honestly, it might have to go onto a drop-leg. The draw was a bit meh with it on the battle belt as high as it is and it got caught on the mag pouches. You can also see the dual stage Tempus in this photo which is a massive upgrade to the Gryphon. It still needs some work to get it dialled in but it did a great job on the day. The photo does show some problems with gear remaining in position, however. The current core of the system is webbing straps and those will bend and deform which can mean things get in the way.

This shot shows some of my difficulties with the current set up. This rig was developed in 2018 originally and then patched onto for an event in 2020 where I needed to be in the field for up to 72 hours at a stretch for a LARP. While it's light over the work shirt, there are tubes, pipes and straps everywhere. I've tightened it up as best I can but it's still a little all over the shop. A radio pouch for the transmission radio and probably a new headset are in order since my Bowman appears to have stopped broadcasting. The haversack is a bit loose on the webbing and moves when I run. Carrying an entire event's worth of fighting equipment on me served me well, rarely did I have to return to the safe zone for anything. Food, water, pyro and ammo all in one place works great but I think the concept needs to be refined. I can dump the top rig still to give me the skirmish belt for shorter games but at the same time, the Tempus is a hungry beast and probably demands more than just the two basic magazines I have on the lighter version of this order.

I've been considering the design of a completely bespoke tactical vest for myself to include all the wiring and tube pipes that I think I need. I can then put the haversack on the back and maybe look at making cloak/bedroll carriage a little more intuitive. A pocket for stowing my head set when it's not in use so the wires don't get destroyed in transit would also be handy. I will thrash out a full design brief over the winter and hopefully go in 2022 with gear that has learned the lessons post-pandemic now events are starting up again.

Oh and the boonie hat was necessary because I'm still working on my power supply situation for the new helmet and camera system.