How to Airsoft
Winter Equipment
Who hasn’t felt cold during a milsim or even a regular game? Or on the contrary, who hasn’t suffered terrible heat wearing a vest, helmet, and all the rest of the gear? Even if it seems trivial, clothing layers—their order, function, and use—are a very useful and valuable tool to avoid making basic mistakes such as overheating and ending up soaking all your clothes in sweat, or having a bad time due to the cold, or with wet feet.
THE THEORY OF THE 3 LAYERS
Nowadays, the theory of the 3 layers is widely known: a base layer, a mid layer, and an outer layer, which when combined allow us to achieve a comfortable feeling in any climate. It is true that their use depends on several factors. First, thermal sensation changes greatly depending on whether we are stationary or performing activity. Also, the climate, temperature, and humidity. And finally, each person has a different “thermostat.”
Within each layer, there are different types. There are light, medium, and heavy weights. And although each layer has its specific function, depending on the situation it may be worth considering these options, as they greatly expand the range of possibilities to be properly dressed anywhere in the world under any climatic condition. From this range of possibilities come the famous “Levels” of clothing. Seven are the most well-known and used (although there are already up to 9): Light Layer 1, Heavy Layer 1, Light Layer 2, Heavy Layer 2, Light Layer 3, Medium Layer 3, Heavy Layer 3.
1. Base Layer
This is the layer that is in direct contact with the skin. It manages moisture by moving sweat away from the skin and keeping you dry. Without it, sweat could cool down, potentially leading in extreme cases to hypothermia. Or in hot conditions, you may feel overheated because you cannot release all that body heat. The most commonly used materials are synthetics (polyester or nylon) or natural fibers (merino wool or silk). Any regular T-shirt can fulfill this function.
In cold conditions, we should avoid cotton, as it absorbs water and can increase the sensation of cold, although in hot conditions it is a perfectly usable layer. Even so, there are much more technical garments for each situation. Garments that distribute moisture through the fabric to improve evaporation or use materials with ceramic particles that literally cool the skin.
Example:
Light base layer: sports T-shirt, fully breathable and offering no thermal properties.
Heavy base layer: thin long-sleeve thermal shirt. Breathable and warm at the same time, also called: second skin.
2. Mid Layer
This is the insulation layer, responsible for retaining the heat radiated by your body. Fleece garments and wool sweaters are used for this function. There is a wide range of materials, both synthetic and natural (polyester fleece or merino wool). They usually remain warm even when damp and are breathable, preventing overheating.
Example:
Light mid layer: technical trekking or mountaineering fleeces.
Heavy mid layer: the classic grandma-style wool sweaters, which literally weigh a ton but make it almost impossible to freeze to death.
3. Outer Layer
These are the “shell layers,” which protect us from wind, rain, and snow. They are usually membranes and plastic materials, water-resistant and breathable. They prevent adverse conditions from penetrating the other layers.
Waterproof and breathable outer layers
The best and most expensive option. These are materials immune to rain and snow, even during storms, and that do not allow wind to pass through, while at the same time being breathable and allowing excess heat to escape.
Water-resistant and breathable outer layers
Slightly cheaper, they are also breathable, but only resist rain and snow to a certain extent; under “non-light” conditions they eventually allow water and air to pass through.
Soft outer layers
They focus on breathability but do not resist light rain and offer little protection against wind.
Waterproof but non-breathable outer layers
Good options against water and wind, but they are garments for low-activity use, because without breathability your lower layers become saturated and you end up soaked in sweat.
IN PRACTICE
It is simply a matter of combining layers according to the situation we find ourselves in. For example, if we are at a milsim and the climate is cold and humid, we will wear:
· Layer 1: a technical or basic T-shirt
· Layer 2: a fleece, combat jacket, etc.
· Layer 3: a PCU, softshell, or Gore-Tex jacket
And depending on the activity, if we get warm, we can remove layer 2 and go only with layers 1 and 3.
If, on the other hand, we are in a cold but dry climate:
· Layer 1: a technical or basic T-shirt
· Layer 2: a fleece, combat jacket, etc.
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And we will carry in the backpack some membrane or softshell in case cold wind rises or it starts to rain.
If the climate when heading out on a mission looks humid but warm:
· Layer 1: a technical or basic T-shirt
· Layer 3: a PCU, softshell, or Gore-Tex jacket
Carrying in the backpack some warm garment (Layer 2) in case night falls or temperatures drop.
And as you can imagine, if the climate is dry with high temperatures:
· Layer 1: a technical or basic T-shirt
We will only wear layer one to allow body sweat to evaporate.
And since every person is different, it may be that under these conditions we are sometimes performing physical activity and other times stationary. We will evaluate the use of light, medium, and/or heavy layers 1, 2, and 3 to always adapt to the climate and avoid being over-layered and sweating as soon as we start moving, or ending up cold due to having chosen layers that are too light.
Equipping yourself, until now, was just a matter of combining garments to create a very tacticool kit, but if there is something good about airsoft, it is that every day you play you learn something new, more and more, which makes you modify your way of playing and your equipment to be more efficient and play more intelligently. How much did you know about insulation layers when gearing up? And what do you plan to do now?