Dirty Boots and Kit?

[CaptainSwoop]

Is it just me?

I find it strange that people turn up for a session and their boots and kit are still dirty from the previous outing.

Is it supposed to make someone look like a 'veteran'? because to my mind it just makes them look scruffy and dirty.

I know that brand new off the shelf kit can make someone look like a new recruit but htere is a difference between wear and dirt folks.

For a start dirt will damage your boots and webbing etc if it is left to work its way into the seams and fabric. It will abrade stitching and threads leading to failure. Boots will start to let in the wet if they lose their top finish and dirt can retain moisture and lead to rot and mildew.

Stop being lazy and do some housekeeping before your next session.

 

[M_P]

Is it supposed to make someone look like a 'veteran'? because to my mind it just makes them look scruffy and dirty.

You're looking into it too far. Most people simply can't be bothered. The majority of airsofters buy an AEG use it for the day, chuck it in a bag, and repeat every time they play. Most people simply don't care about the maintenance.

 

[Lozart]

Is it just me?

I find it strange that people turn up for a session and their boots and kit are still dirty from the previous outing.

Is it supposed to make someone look like a 'veteran'? because to my mind it just makes them look scruffy and dirty.

I know that brand new off the shelf kit can make someone look like a new recruit but htere is a difference between wear and dirt folks.

For a start dirt will damage your boots and webbing etc if it is left to work its way into the seams and fabric. It will abrade stitching and threads leading to failure. Boots will start to let in the wet if they lose their top finish and dirt can retain moisture and lead to rot and mildew.

Stop being lazy and do some housekeeping before your next session.

I feel obliged to trot out the expected response of "If I wanted to be nagged about cleaning my boots I'd have joined the army".

 

[remus]

im not a fan of stuff being too clean. i llike the worn and dirty look a bit. but i have my point where i dont like to too dirty and clean my stuff everyso often. in comparison my guns are cleaned every week or so dependant on use. yup i may be partially lazy but thats how i like it. i also dont like being told how to make my kit look, im not in the army for a reason lol. we will all have different views on this small stuff though.( and at the same time by dirt i just mean mud/earth not covered in sweat and stinking etc.... which reminds me i need to wash my balaclava....)

 

[CaptainSwoop]

I appreciate some people turn up, shoot and go home with no further thought about it but then they can't complain when

their rifle stops or they get wet feet and boots that smell rank and need to be replaced.

 

[Lozart]

I appreciate some people turn up, shoot and go home with no further thought about it but then they can't complain when

their rifle stops or they get wet feet and boots that smell rank and need to be replaced.

Each to their own and all that and if you like to keep everything clean and lovely that's fine (I do too to be honest but that's cos the wife complains if I don't put my sweaty gear in the wash) but let's try and remember that for most people this is just a fun excuse to run around the woods/derelict warehouse/shopping centre dressed like toy soldiers with pretend guns. I'm not saying you are one of "those" people but I do think there's a little bit too much eliteism in airsoft that can very easily put off newcomers.

You are absolutely right that yes your kit will last longer if you look after it but we're not talking about a 6 month tour of Afghanistan here are we?

 

[AirsoftTed]

Is it just me?

I find it strange that people turn up for a session and their boots and kit are still dirty from the previous outing.

Is it supposed to make someone look like a 'veteran'? because to my mind it just makes them look scruffy and dirty.

I know that brand new off the shelf kit can make someone look like a new recruit but htere is a difference between wear and dirt folks.

For a start dirt will damage your boots and webbing etc if it is left to work its way into the seams and fabric. It will abrade stitching and threads leading to failure. Boots will start to let in the wet if they lose their top finish and dirt can retain moisture and lead to rot and mildew.

Stop being lazy and do some housekeeping before your next session.

I must say I agree.

I might be odd, but after every game I wash all the mud off of my boots, polish them and then handwash all clothing items so that they don't fade.

 

[CaptainSwoop]

I don't mind a bit of fade on trousers, shirt etc but not too much. it defeats the point of the cam pattern.

 

[M_P]

Most people play airsoft for fun. Most people don't enjoy scraping shit off their boots.

/thread.

 

[Tariq]

Plus who needs shiny boots? Mud already on them = concealment.

Just washed my camo. Wish i didn't now. Had mud worn into the trousers so it was a mix between Vegetato and the mud created the ATACS look.

Now the camo is slightly faded and the camo slightly reduced in effectiveness thanks to no mud.

Clean =/= usefull

 

[Lozart]

Plus who needs shiny boots? Mud already on them = concealment.

Just washed my camo. Wish i didn't now. Had mud worn into the trousers so it was a mix between Vegetato and the mud created the ATACS look.

Now the camo is slightly faded and the camo slightly reduced in effectiveness thanks to no mud.

Clean =/= usefull

Exactly.

In fact here's my mate Dave and his buddies demonstrating exactly that:

Clean kit:

Not so clean kit:

Nice bit of dirt helps blend into the background...

 

[Spawnah]

Can't say I've ever paid the slightest bit of attention to the condition of someone's kit.

 

[NickM]

My camo gets a wash every weekend that I use it, I use a fraction of the powder recommended ( the manufacturers always seem to double what is actually required for a load anyway, so I use about a 1/4 or less of one of their "scoops". No fabric softener, I don't want funky smells giving me away but I also don't want overly nice ones either.

Boots, get a good shake and bang outside before I bring them in to dry them, they are 8 or 9 year old hiking boots, there is a bit of a smell but its nothing too bad. Sometimes I will give them a quick rinse in fresh water and a brush. Polish is only necessary if you are trying to keep a set of black assault boots bulled, it isn't the best leather protection in my eyes anyway. Nikwax waterproofing wax was the best when I was in cadets and my para boots never let in water.

A little mud on the boots is fine especially if they are black it breaks them up.

As for the condition of others kit, its never really bothered me, its their kit, they paid for it, its up to them how they want to treat it. The only exception is if it really stinks!

 

[TacMaster]

I keep 2 sets of boots for cadets- my shiny, 2 month old parade pair and my much older, beaten up pair. Guess which ones I don't polish after a skirmish? My older ones have dust and dirt on them from excersizes during the summer, and I spent a week in August tramping through the Dartmoor moorland in them.

They've been absolutely fine.

Because there aren't many (if any) geardos at the U18 skirmishes I go to, no one cares- in fact I'm the only one with a fancy MOLLE chest rig, everyone else has either sewn-pouch vests or plate carriers.

Of course you do get the usual multicam bunch, but the difference between them and a proper geardo is that their combats came at £15 from a surplus shop- not £250, flame proof and kevlar woven.

 

[AK47frizzle]

i like to clean my boots after every outing with them. I hate to see dirt on them. I scrub every single part on the outside and then I spray a little bit of lynx on the inside to take away the horrible foot smell but then you get a lovely cloud of lynx coming out the boot

 

[CaptainSwoop]

This is what we want.

 

[AK47frizzle]

This is what we want.

hell yeah with clean shiny boots!

 

[Rock-climby-Dave]

I notice that those with overly shiny gear don't get stuck in when playing.

My gear gets thrown in the wash, but only so I can wear trousers the rest of the week, yeah it fades over time, but I'm so sneaky I ain't needing no camo, yo.

as for boots..... people DON'T wade in streams when airsofting? what is this?? THIS IS A FORUM WHERE WE NOW HAVE A MANLY THREAD AND YOU PEOPLE DON'T GO WADING UP TO YOUR KNEES TO GET A BETTER SPOT FOR SHOOTING!?

or maybe it's just me.

 

[CaptainSwoop]

Who is saying don't get stuck in?

All I am saying is look after your gear, it cost money and you don't want it to let you down.

Wade all you want.

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

I wash my UBACS and combats, but how are you even supposed to wash boots that aren't leather, or a plate carrier?