Indoor CQB Gun's N' Gear

[Cr0-Magnon]

As someone who has only ever played woodland sites, my airsoft kit is mostly greens and tans/FDE. I also prefer the look of RIF's in these colours. However I'm quite keen to get more involved in indoor CQB from time to time (yes, obvs when they re-open).

So my question is, does everyone wear black and use black RIF's etc? I guess if it's dark inside, black is the best "camo".

I've just ordered a GHK G5 in tan and wondering if as a CQB gun it'd be better in black for the above reason.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

the few times i've run indoors i've just ran my normal outdoor kit and it's been fine.

it's no different to cqb player turning up outdoors in full black kit.

 

[alxndrhll]

Truthfully I've never found the colour of anything I'm wearing/using to make much of a difference. The only time it might have any degree of impact is in notably dark areas, but not enough to feel forking out for an entirely separate kit would have made much of a difference.

Torches/tracers are useful to have, I think the biggest change I have between CQB/woodland kit wise is my face pro. I run herosharks and a delta mike lower face pro thing for woodland (sometimes Peltors if I can be arsed, getting shot in the ear isn't my favourite). I've recently picked up a Dye mask to use for CQB, more so because I'm less confident running mesh eye pro in CQB and everything else fogs up on me.

Edit: Not intended in any way as a recommendation/advice to go pick up a Dye mask, given lockdown I haven't had a chance to play games with it yet. Post more served as a nod to the fact your eye/face pro in CQB may need some consideration versus woodland depending on what you usually use.

 

[Lozart]

If it's proper indoor CQB a la The Mall then it really doesn't matter what you wear. The straight lines don't lend themselves to camo and unless it's pitch black then black still just sticks out (plus if it's pitch black then you won't see the colour anyway). A tan gun certainly won't put you at a disadvantage!

If it's CQB more akin to F&O The Base with buildings and outdoors then your camo gear can help but again, once you're inside the buildings it's a moot point.

 

[Cr0-Magnon]

@alxndrhll - Yeah I guess once we're running around it's all much the same. Totally get what you mean about eyepro, I briefly owned a dye i4 and it seemed a great bit of kit but I prefer wearing my prescription glasses under my eyepro and with the dye it was them that fogged up. Also the price of them has shot up since the one I bought for £70....regardless may have to look into getting another if I get into it as they obviously offer far superior protection.

 

[Albiscuit]

Agreed with all points, as someone who mainly played cqb and moved to woodland due to lack of dedicated cqb sites near me I can vouch for camo not being super effective in most sites, both cqb and woodland.

However it does help somewhat outdoors if your trying to blend in not to be in all black.

I play in a mixture of black and grey generally (cqb and woodland) and have seen plenty of camo options at the mall from squads of multiglams to snow camo. 
 

And defo agree protection is the main change I would make to a loadout, I cover up more at cqb and ensure I have more of a mask than what I wear outdoors

 

[alxndrhll]

@alxndrhll - Yeah I guess once we're running around it's all much the same. Totally get what you mean about eyepro, I briefly owned a dye i4 and it seemed a great bit of kit but I prefer wearing my prescription glasses under my eyepro and with the dye it was them that fogged up. Also the price of them has shot up since the one I bought for £70....regardless may have to look into getting another if I get into it as they obviously offer far superior protection.

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Aye, I feel like I'm in a constant battle with eye/face pro... though I imagine that's not something unique to me. Despite the large scope of things we tend to grumble about within airsoft the one thing I imagine that would land toward to top of everyone's list that struggles with it would be fogging.

Given the general increase in pace of games and lack of (site depending) ventilation I just couldn't land on something that ticked all the boxes. Aesthetics aside (some think they look great, I'm not 'into them') the paintball masks seem to be a great solution, ultimately I'm wearing it for protection and will happily throw some 'cool points' down the drain for the peace of mind that comes with them. Simply a case of finding what works for you while providing a level of protection you're comfortable with.

 

[Skara]

I guess if it's dark inside, black is the best "camo"

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Until someone fires up a bright ass torch in your room

 

[EDcase]

According to the SAS dark blue is the best for low light situations.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

According to the SAS dark blue is the best for low light situations.

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yeah but what do they know about cqb?

the other argument is nature-how many animals, predatory or otherwise are truly black (as opposed to variations of dark browns, greys or blues)?

 

[GAMBLE]

Hi @Cr0-Magnon! ?

It’s preference at the end of the day.

I’ve  played a small amount of CQB! ?

If you have a woodland loadout and don’t want to buy a CQB BDU, fair enough? ??

You could turn up in a tracksuit, which works easily in a CQB site. (Go in under the radar!) ?

I plan to when I get the chance wear my BDU collection, particularly:

Urban camo!

Sasha BDU! 
?

?GAMBLE?

 

[Nodnol]

Won’t make a blind bit of difference what you turn up in IMO. My local is a kill-house style clusterfuck and you have everything from milsim load outs, trackies and hoodies, everything in between and even the odd stormtrooper (not the SS kind).

Knowledge of the sight lines and choke points are more important, because you’re engaging at such close distances that unless you’re dressed as a sheet of MDF, concealment isn’t really on the agenda. 
 

As others have said, face-pro is the important one. 

 

[Impulse]

When I played at a mixed CQB "site" in Spain, it was a mix of buildings and outdoor; an abandoned urbanisation so it was a collection of townhouses which led to a lot of building to building firefights. Camo doesn't really matter nearly as much, so wear whatever you want. I went PMC, coyote trousers and a black t-shirt, because I like the look, but I never felt like I was at any disadvantage against the guys in camo. Also, short sleeves were nice in the Spanish summer!

Reason I say "site" is because when I did airsoft in Spain there were no official sites. It was the time before any sites had been set up and it was still basically an unknown there; I think I went to one of the first proper weekend events in the south of Spain, up in the mountains near Ojen back in 2009 or something.

I still never wore lower face protection, but I feel it's the responsible thing to recommend, especially since airsoft guns have come on a lot since then. Back when I last did CQB I was a big dog for using incredibly heavy .25s in my gun! And nobody had ludicrious rate of fire, either.

 

[Albiscuit]

Until someone fires up a bright ass torch in your room

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It’s usually some muppet on your team behind you lighting you up making you obvious   

agree with a statement above, knowledge of the site far outweighs any camo in a cqb site.

The best players at the mall were the ones who knew the site well.

 

[Shamal]

Yeah agree with @Albiscuithalf the battle is knowing the layout.

I play in the underground bunker on portsdown hill. It's very dark in places and dark in others. It is laid out on a grid system. I have played there for bout three years but guaranteed I can get lost every game! 

Regards 

 

[leadly]

Knowledge of the sight lines and choke points are more important, because you’re engaging at such close distances that unless you’re dressed as a sheet of MDF, concealment isn’t really on the agenda. 

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Now I would absolutely love to see someone rock up in an MDF / Tiger Stripe mash up!!!

I get where the OP's question is coming from. I frequent outdoor sites dressed head to toe in leaves, bush and hours of crafting so having perhaps a dedicated CQB "outfit" might be of some use.

I've settled with some black boots, Polish woodland trousers as I already owned them and a black hoody. My chest rig is heavily crafted but I can remove all that as it's done in sections with Velcro attached.

I do like buying new things though and there is a new CQB site opening up near me soon. A 20 minute drive in my classic mini is a lot nicer than the usual 45min to an hour + for my usual sites.

 

[BigStew]

I generally just play CQB in street clothes and a high ankle boots. Though I have played in s black suit. Never gone in for painting guns so just use my standard but tend to favour GBB pistols and SMGs.

 

[L3wisD]

The best thing about Indoor CQB is just how... Liberating it is in terms of what you wear.

Woodland, there's much more of an emphasis on getting the colours right, and matching gear etc.

Indoor CQB? Fuck it, Jeans and a Hawaiian shirt.. coyote belt rig with olive and black pouches.

I played the mall in Shorts & T-shirt in the middle of summer and has just as much fun (and tactical advantage) as the next guy (albeit slightly cooler).

The downside is feeling the hits a bit more... Yeeeowch!

In fact, just to expand on that a bit more - indoor CQB should be held in higher regard for just how it offers a much more level playing field than a woodland site.

Cheap rental gun vs a Marui NGRS - both will hit the man sized target 12 metres away in approximately the same time, so upgrades, barrel length, only offer a marginal difference down the corridor.

Accuracy at that range doesn't matter as much, you just need to hit something, so it doesn't really matter if you use .20g bulldog BBs or .32 Longbows Tracers.

Superfit runner, or overweight tubster.. there isn't much running about to be had in CQB, so no matter your fitness level you can get stuck in and enjoy, unlike woodland hikes.

So in short... Indoor CQB = ?

 

[Albiscuit]

Totally agree, proper CQB done right is more of a challenge compared to outdoors as it doesn't matter what your wearing, what your carrying its generally all down to how aggressive you play and how quick you are on the trigger. You wont get anywhere sat staring at a door, you need to get through it quickly with lots of well placed BBs unlike the hosefest at some outdoor sites where its all about ROF.

 

[Lozart]

The downside is feeling the hits a bit more... Yeeeowch!

Click to shrink...

A bit more? I will NEVER forget the experience of being outside one of the stores on the main concourse of The Mall and getting shot in the knuckles from 2 feet away. Fuck my old boots that hurt!