Airsoft – Safety Tips

Eye and face protection

The minimum safe level of gear required to participate in most games includes a pair of impact-rated goggles or shooting glasses to protect participants’ eyes. Traditional prescription glasses and sunglasses, or goggles not designed specifically for use with airsoft or paintball guns may break or shatter upon being struck, causing damage to the eye.

The eye protection must fully seals the area around the eyes, and also meets or exceeds ANSI’s Z87.1-2003 goggle standard for eye protection, namely, the ability to absorb 3 joules of impact energy without damage.

The best overall protection is offered by paintball masks. These masks protect the face, teeth, and ears.

Unprotected players or bystanders

• At the Airsoft Site, any player or observer is required to keep their face mask, goggles, or shooting glasses on at all times.

• All players must immediately stop shooting when a person without eye protection is encountered in the playing area. One common practice is for players to shout words such as “Cease-fire, Blind Man!” Any player hearing the words must stop and repeat the alarm, alerting the whole game.

• If a player is hit and is wearing their death rag so that they can go to the respawn point and spawn, he will often say “Dead man walking!”. This indicates to the opposing team that the person is not a threat.

• Even removing a mask or goggles for a brief time to clean off fog or for any other reason is not advised. If you must do this, either go to a no-fire zone or call yourself out and clean them off after leaving the combat area.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airsoft

Please note that this post has been published for information and discussion purposes only and that the views expressed within it may not be those held by Bristol Airsoft.