Ear pro for CQB

[Floperator]

1 hour ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

If there's any sort of ambient noise I have to ask people to stand on my right if they don't want to repeat everything twice.  
It does suck

Still, my self-inflicted damage from a number of years of accidental abuse I can sort-of live with. 

Poor old Andy Partridge of XTC got all his shit in one go:
"What is your greatest regret?

Being in the studio on the afternoon I got tinnitus. This complete fucking dolt of an engineer pressed the wrong button while I was checking a supposedly silent loop with the desk at full volume, and generated a click track that went off like gunshots in my head. It left me with extreme tinnitus that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I contemplated suicide, just to stop it. This was ten years ago now."

 

What sucks the most is that its one of the few disabilities that people will actually get angry at you for.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Floperator

[Lozart]

2 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

If I enjoy CQB then I'll definitely look at the good headsets.   
Actually the idea of a headset that ups the volume on all the stuff I want to hear, while suppressing the loud / bad stuff, sounds like a good thing for a partially deaf bloke!

Taking my own thread rather off-topic, what else do I need to consider when going from woodland to indoor CQB?
Obviously I could ditch all my camo gear, but should I do things like swap my para boots for trainers?  Do I choose the shortest gun in my collection? Do I go for a lightweight loadout, or am I actually likely to run less and it doesn't matter?  Do I need as many mags?
Honestly it's appears to be so different in game style I'm not sure where to begin!

(I know some of this will be dependent on just how big the play area is, how long sight-lines are in my site, and whether its full auto or not... etc etc etc, but some general hints would be welcome) 

 

 

Consider a helmet (head shots at close range SUCK), maybe a plate carrier instead of a chest rig and definitely a decent facemask. Footwear wise I'd say swap out para boots for a decent set of SWAT/Police type boots (Magnums, Merrell Tactical, that sort of thing); you still want grip so a softer sole makes sense but you don't want to be sliding about on BBs so a decent tread pattern helps, plus ankle support.

 

The walk to respawn will be shorter so you won't need to take the kitchen sink everywhere with you but you may find you end up spamming through WAY more ammo so if anything you might need more mags not less (depending on your gun and how good a shot you are). 

 

The length of gun thing is a constant source of argument. I fall in the camp that you just need to learn to maneuvre your weapon, others are all for tiny little barrels (but they often wear lycra and carry big bottles of air about). It kind of depends on the site and how tight it is to move about - I saw an M14 SOCOM used at The Mall way back when (I used an M249 there myself) but it was open enough to not be an issue. I was using MP5s at the weekend and while my MP5K is super easy to move around barriers with, it's not exactly the most accurate thing in the world if the site has anything over a few metres away to shoot at (having a 110mm inner barrel). That said, the lighter the gun, the less quickly you'll tire out because you'll probably be running about more.

 

The main thing is that play should be more dynamic and will certainly require move positive action on the part of the players. One of my pet hates at The Mall was people stacking up on doorways with nobody wanting to be the first man in. Many was the time one or two of us would follow a bang into a room only to find ourselves totally outnumbered because all the rentals were still stood outside.

 

You WILL experience worse hit taking, shorter tempers and overkilling. But you might also have the best day of airsoft ever. CQB has always been very hit or miss for me, the good days are epic, the bad ones are horrible.

Oh, and make sure you take PLENTY of water and a towel. You WILL sweat more.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Thanks Lozart. 

The idea of bb's rolling around on a concrete floor gives me the absolute fear, I've got chocolate ankles as it is, so retaining some support is a must.  However, I've been thinking I'd like some lighter weight boots for summer, as the para boots must weigh a kilo or so each... this is a good excuse!

 

"You WILL experience worse hit taking, shorter tempers and overkilling. But you might also have the best day of airsoft ever. CQB has always been very hit or miss for me, the good days are epic, the bad ones are horrible."
Yeah, all those bad points are why I'm not going to over-invest early... I might hate it.    We'll see.   
A couple more mags for the AUG carbine and a pair of lighter boots are definitely on the cards though  

 

[Speedbird_666]

4 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

The idea of bb's rolling around on a concrete floor

 

In all honesty, I have never experienced this playing CQB - ever.

 

Most sites (at least the ones I've played at) sweep on a semi-regular basis, and there's just not enough rounds fired to create 'pools' of BBs to slip on during a game day.

[Rogerborg]

Nicely covered above.  It's much more intense, hurts more, and you will be shot up a treat from all sorts of unexpected angles until you learn the site.  In indoors semi-auto very-CQB, I get through less ammo, but then I play at sites that frown on "pre-firing", and crack down on trigger-spam (well, in the airsoft sense of shouting about it).

 

Because of the extra stimulus, folk can get more worked up, and you'll be in close contact with plenty of Major Move-Ups!, always yelling in your earballs, always from behind you - so maybe you don't want to amplify voices.

 

On the other hand, it's a right laugh with the right people, as long as folk are willing to take trade-offs cheerfully.  I've tried to inculcate myself to turn the reflexive "Ouch you foppish cad!" into "Oh, jolly good shot, my fine fellow!" (or similar words).  Project positivity. 

 

Being able to hug cover and corners does give you more options, so I go short barrelled.  Pistols, SMGs and short barrelled carbines all work fine. You can work with longer though, it's not critical.

[RostokMcSpoons]

Asomodai's old AUG HC definitely has me covered for shortness.   And hawtness

It will be interesting to see how things develop in a brand new site where the internal layout will probably start off being "just plain wrong", a preponderance of cqb-inexperienced players and marshals... should make for some fun'n'games in the early days.

(You know I've always liked that word... 'preponderance', so rarely have an opportunity to use it in a sentence)

I get the need for a helmet and full face mask.  But in my bid to be cheap-skate early doors, I'll stick to my lower face / ears mask and a stout baseball cap.

[Lozart]

17 hours ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

In all honesty, I have never experienced this playing CQB - ever.

 

Most sites (at least the ones I've played at) sweep on a semi-regular basis, and there's just not enough rounds fired to create 'pools' of BBs to slip on during a game day.

 

100 players in a shopping mall generates a lot of BBs. You don't need a "pool" of them to slip on.

[Speedbird_666]

20 minutes ago, Lozart said:

 

100 players in a shopping mall generates a lot of BBs. You don't need a "pool" of them to slip on.

 

Again, I've never experienced or seen this playing CQB - perhaps i was just lucky?

[Tackle]

25 minutes ago, Speedbird_666 said:

 

Again, I've never experienced or seen this playing CQB - perhaps i was just lucky?

Its not helped by the fact that, the Mall for example, had marble type polished floors in the main concourse, bit slippy at the best of times, especially in the couple of spots at one end where the roof leaked & there were a couple of puddles sometimes. 

Stick hard wee balls on that marble, a recipe for slips & slides. 

Thankfully most off the off concourse areas were rough concrete & carpet, as I've found to be the case at most cqb sites I've attended, much more forgiving when bb's are added. 

Footwear will make a big difference too, old school stiff soled boots such as dms etc will skim across bb's like ice, the more modern kit that has a bit more give & feedback copes much better in cqb. 

[RostokMcSpoons]

Arise, thread, you must ARISE

 

Always fun returning to hugely old threads... The cqb site that was supposed to have opened shortly after I started this thread is finally getting close to actually opening.

 

As I've won a multi-shot grenade in a raffle, there'll definitely be some loud bangs happening, so I'll be buying some ear protection.  The ear plugs I bought haven't really impressed me, they seem to block approximately bugger-all noise!

 

I think a pair of Howard Leight Impact Sports are in order.

I checked on eBay, there are ones that are definitely kosher for £65 and up, but also a bunch that look the same, but are only £25-35.  I take it these are Chinese knock-offs that should be avoided?

 

Example cheap listing...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186018585928

 

[Emergencychimps]

Personally, I'd say go for something better than Howard leights. 

 

They are great for the range, bit of clay pigeon shooting etc but the ambient noise (the ability to hear people near by) isn't good enough. 

 

Surefire do a range of ear plugs that are meant to be very good, so you can hear, chat etc but they protect against loud noises. 

 

Or look for some sordins or contacs. Yes they're more expensive but 1) any hearing damage is permanent 2) they will retain their value, if you decide to stop wearing them, you'll probably get your money back. 3) you'll hear more "tactically" and have a better experience. 

 

I tried Howard leights (had some already) and they just didn't cut it for me. I struggle with the sordins I have and they have some super powerful ambient noise amplification so you can hear more than without them. 

[RostokMcSpoons]

I've always had an eye for a bargain (read that as "tight-fisted" or "scrimping to the point of stupidity"), and that was when I was earning well.  I'm on a relatively low paid job now for the foreseeable future, so shopping at the cheap or bargain bin end of the spectrum is going to be a necessity now, sadly.

 

I'll look at those more expensive options, given your recommendation that they will retain value, but that might be a bit illusory if I'm buying them on a credit card and paying a lot of interest on 'em!

[Wavey_Gravey]

Surefire earplugs are actually really good:

 

https://www.edgarbrothers.com/shop-online/brands/surefire/surefire-ep7-sonic-defenders-ultra/

[Emergencychimps]

Nothing wrong with being financially frugal, all the people "flexing on the Poors" can do one, having good financial sense and not getting into debt is a much bigger flex. 

 

Of the options referenced, the surefire ear plugs would be my go to, this is both on a budget and considering more expensive options. 

 

I won't do catterick again without ear pro (tag 67 frags are loud!) But the idea of even running sordins puts me off. I'll try my surefire ear plugs. 

[RostokMcSpoons]

I have a bit of an aversion to ear plugs unfortunately.  Not the idea of them, just the actual use. 

As I mentioned, the army-approved ones I bought didn't seem to do much.  And anyone who saw me on my morning stand-up video call, desperately fiddling around with my Bluetooth ear buds, would arrest that they don't seem to fit well in my ears.   

 

Still, £26 is a good price for something that would actually allow me to run with my current mesh lower face (and ears) mask...

[RostokMcSpoons]

Right, I've dug my ear plugs out of my toolbox and tried them in again.

 

They're Surefire Sonic Defenders Plus EP4-MPR in medium size.  A few steps down from the Ultras linked above, I suspect, though they superficially look the same.

 

 Maybe I didn't squish them into my ears properly before, but they definitely block an appreciable amount of sound.  They also block a lot of ambient sound (even with the little vent plugs opened), and so get that closed-in feel.  They'll certainly do enough to keep my hearing safe though.

[concretesnail]

Earing damage is no joke, when it comes to fitting thw squish-ums plugs I find squishing them and giving them a lick or lick your finger to moisten them slightly gets them in easier. It works with all sorts of plugs too. As I wear a range of plugs for different activities,from foams to comtacs.

Edited January 2 by concretesnail

[MrTea]

If you want in-ear protection; i've used the Earmor M20. They work, don't cause your ears/side of the head to get hot but at the same time, you can still got shot in the ear which sucks. Can pick these ones up on ebay for about £40 new.

If you want over-ear, i've used the Earmor M31. Again, they work. They protect your ears but your head/ears tends to get hot.

As a note for both Earmor offerings; they don't go completely silent when they detect loud noises. The best way I can describe is that they cut out all of the top end so you can hear the 'loud' noise but at a safe volume level. In comparison, I have an unbranded headset (comtac knock offs) that cut all sound completely (depending on how loud it is) and fades sound back in afterwards.

[Sewdhull]

I've always used the foam buds for hearing protection, I don't think I've ever played anywhere noisy enough to require them tho.

[Madhouse]

Not been on the receiving end of a grenade yet but it’s only a matter of time.

Saw there’s an M20T version of the Earmor’s and am wondering if there’s such a thing as a Bluetooth ptt module to use them with my Boafeng UV-5R?

[GiantKiwi]

10 minutes ago, Madhouse said:

am wondering if there’s such a thing as a Bluetooth ptt module to use them with my Boafeng UV-5R?

 

Yes, but they are really, really expensive.

[Warky]

Got the Howard Leights, they are decent enough but get your head hot and are annoying with a cap.

 

Got the surefire, decent enough but found a bit of a fiddle and ache after half a day.

 

Got the Howard Leight Laser Lite squishys (they fit nice).

 

I've played CQB for years and never had anything loud enough to really need them. Before splashing loads of cash I'd check what sites you plan to play at allow, most ban the TAG stuff which can get crazy.

 

BFGs (quake8, oshi, etc)  I've never worried about (most places ban the 12 gauge blanks, which are loud).

 

Strikeforce in Gloucester use some really loud disposable pyro, had one go off between my feet and it was an 'interesting' experience but even then didn't cause any issues without earpro. 

 

If you're going somewhere new i'd suggest stick a couple packs of squishys in your bag just in case.

[RostokMcSpoons]

2 hours ago, Warky said:

BFGs (quake8, oshi, etc)  I've never worried about (most places ban the 12 gauge blanks, which are loud).

 

Awww shizzle, does that mean I probably I won't be able to use my new Oshi grenade in CQB?  It takes the .209 primers.

[Krisz]

7 minutes ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

Awww shizzle, does that mean I probably I won't be able to use my new Oshi grenade in CQB?  It takes the .209 primers.

You can defo use it unless pyros are prohibited altogether. Sites are against usually 9mm and 12 gauge primers because they're way too loud.

[Dan Robinson]

1 hour ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

Awww shizzle, does that mean I probably I won't be able to use my new Oshi grenade in CQB?  It takes the .209 primers.

 

If you're thinking about using it at the new place - talk to Carlos first as I think bang bangs will be limited - at least at first.