It is important to provide maintenance for your tactical gear and clothing in Airsoft to ensure you get the most out of them.
With Airsoft being an outdoor activity, your gear and clothing may be exposed to all kind of elements, from rain, snow and mud, to dry dust and sand. Failing to clean your equipment can damage and ruin the material, shortening the lifespan of your gear by leading to rips and tears that could have been prevented.
This kind of damage is also caused by salt which might not be apparent as part of the terrain, but comes out in sweat. If this is untreated, not only will it damage the material but quickly begin to smell.
There are steps you can take to make your equipment last, fending off the effects of wear-and-tear for as long as possible.
Maintaining equipment
Cleaning
Airsoft Guns
For Airsoft guns, you should simply use a damp cloth to clean the exterior. For the barrel of the gun, use a cleaning rod with a tiny piece of tissue paper hooked through the end to remove any detritus. For best results, we recommend cleaning your barrel after 1-2 game days, as it only takes a small amount of dirt to begin affecting your guns accuracy.
Note: do not use lubricants such as gun oils on the inside of airsoft gun barrels - this too can negatively impact accuracy.
Boots
Keeping your boots intact is important for your comfort and safety of movement, as well as preventing a smell.
If your boots are wet or muddy, the soles should be taken out and left to dry. Muddy boots should be cleaned with water after the physical chunks of dirt are brushed off. A soft brush should be used to clean dirt off of any piece of clothing or tactical gear you have.
Failure to maintain boots will wear them out quickly, causing holes to appear. If you realise this too late, you may go through an Airsoft session where water and mud are seeping through your boots into your socks. Quite often, combat boots feature metal loops for laces to be tied through - these will rust if left coated in mud, deteriorating quickly and causing chemical damage that will ruin laces.
Eye protection
It might be common sense to clean dirt off your protective goggles in order for you to see but if these aren’t cleaned in the right way, scratches may be left on them and the material creating the added protection may be damaged.
Loose dirt on goggles can be blown off rather than wiped or scrubbed off as this can ingrain the dirt and cause scratches to the goggles. This leaves the rest of the dirt to be cleaned simply by using water and your fingers to scrub off the remaining dirt.
Any use of cleaning liquids poses a risk of damaging the special protective material that makes up the goggles. Frames should be cleaned with a small brush (avoiding the lenses) and lenses should be dried with a microfiber cloth to prevent any scratches appearing on the goggles.
Velcro
You should clean Velcro pads to ensure it maintains its strong sticking ability whether it is keeping things concealed in a bag or keeping accessories attached to you.
To deal with loose threads, you should burn them rather than pull at them or try to cut them off as burning it will help to prevent the thread loosening further.
A soft brush should be used to clean dirt off of any piece of clothing or tactical gear you have.
Washing
Airsoft clothing, like all clothing, goes in the washing machine to get the full cleaning effect. Pay attention to the washing instructions on the label, as colours in camouflage patterns can run. Do not wash different camouflage patterns together to preserve the colouration of each pattern.
Tactical gear such as slings, backpacks and belts can’t be washed in a washing machine, this will have to be done the old fashioned way with a pool of soapy water in a bath or bucket, washing off the soap with clean water and leaving it to dry in the sun.
Storage
You should ensure all your items are cleaned, washed and dried before you store them away. They should be hung up or stored upright in a way that it won’t fall over.
Following these steps can ensure your gear and clothing maintains its structure and its functionality for a long time providing you with long-lasting fresh and clean gear and clothing that won’t need constant replacing.
