Operation Black Shield 2014 [Airsoft Video]

From Operation Black Shield at SC Village on Saturday July 19th, 2014. My gun is on 3 round burst, not full auto. For most of the first game (in the video), the weather was overcast and cool, which was great, especially since I was expecting it to be at least in the high 90s. Unfortunately, it was fairly humid making the weather ideal for goggle fogging. Until the sun came out or unless I was facing a breeze, I couldn’t really see a whole lot. I guess it’s time to buy some anti-fog wipes.

The game itself was a blast. We had originally signed up on the US side (tan), but were moved over to the other team as equalizers. Despite being grossly outnumbered we effectively, shut them out (for the first 3 games iirc).

Smith Optics Boogie Regulator Goggles

I picked up a new pair of goggles last week: Smith Optics Boogie Regulators with the bungee kit. In terms of low profile eye pro, I don’t think goggles get more low profile than these goggles. They are lightweight, excellent clarity (I recommend the ignitor lens), comfortable, and one of the few goggles on my consideration list that attaches gracefully to my helmet. Also, being low profile they have a great field of view.

On the downside: They did end up fogging on Sunday, which wasn’t too surprising I guess given that the ever so slight rainfall ensured that it would be somewhat humid (80 to 90% humidity, mid 70s). The fogging did stop if I was facing a breeze or if I was moving around, which wasn’t always an acceptable solution depending on the situation that I was currently in (versus just turning the turbofans on high). There was however, little to no fogging during the afternoon game when the sun had been out for a while. So in reality, the Boogie Regulators are going to be my “hot season” goggles. In Southern California that translates to every game except for maybe two months out of the year?

Update 7/28/2014: I have had the chance to run with these for several months and they do fog quite a bit when it is humid, particularly if it is humid with no sun or breeze. Despite the humidity, there was minimal fogging when we were playing in Hawaii and this weekend, but they were pretty terrible when we were up in LA for OP: Black Shield, at least until the same came out during the later half of the first game. I still plan on playing with my Boogie Regulators (being able to velcro them on to the back of my helmet makes them significantly more comfortable and easier to deal with then virtually any other google), but I will probably have to order anti-fog spray before my next game.

Airsoft: 2/23/2014 “Lady of the Lake”

Once again, finally getting around to picking through, editing, and uploading the GoPro videos; This one is from our host day last month. We just happened to have Medieval Times crowns and a large plastic sword and therefor felt compelled to use them as game props.

Airsoft Helmet Version 2

A new ops-core replica helmet was purchased on Black Friday. I feel that several key points were achieved:

  1. The new helmet is a better fit to my head.
  2. The new helmet is in my preferred color, flat earth. So no more janky spraypaint jobs. Yay.

I removed the lower face pro straps from the swivel clips and sewed them onto the corner buckles, which are better positioned, look a bit cleaner, and are easier to take on and off. I am also possibly interested in purchasing lower profile eye protection (currently running with ESS Turbofans). So far, Smith Optics Boogie Regulators with the Ignitor Lens are at the top of my consideration list. I am however, concerned about fogging and face coverage so more research is required. The turbofans are huge, but fit flush with the top of my mesh lower mask, offering full face coverage.

Also, the GoPro NVG mount actually fits (with some minor filing) as in, I can actually snap it in and out of the mount with ease. I now have the camera mounted upsidedown, sitting just above my goggles instead of sticking up out over the top of my helmet. This makes it easier to maneuver through low branches and what not without having to worry about crap catching on the camera or it becoming a shiny shoot-me-beacon since it used to kind of stick up over whatever I was ducking behind for cover. It’s also closer to my actual point of view. My gun is now visible in the videos which is what I really wanted to achieve.

I just recently got around to migrating the bungee cording and accessories over from the old helmet and ran with it this past Sunday. The new GoPro mounting method resulted in better video IMO (ignoring the fact that I hadn’t cleaned the camera lense/housing in about a month…): Footage from the game.

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Hangar Gamplay From ITS (6/29/13)

The video project file for the June ITS game literally sat on my desktop, finished but unencoded for over two months. Whoops. Anyway, this is footage from the new area that was opened up during the June ITS event. Unfortunately, my GoPro was pointed towards the floor for most of the day.

Airsoft Helmet Project: Part 2

image_54Follow up to the helmet post. I like almost everything about my GoPro except for the fact that the clear plastic housing reflects in the direct sunlight when we are running field games. I finally got tired of it giving away my position and having people pretty much aim at it all day, so I ended up spray painting the housing. It’s not the cleanest spray job to say the least; I didn’t tape up the LCD viewport very well, allowed some paint to leak through, and attempted to clean it up with acetone which made it way worse. So consequently, it’s hard to see the battery meter and camera mode unless in direct light, but no big deal. I still don’t like the color all that much but no one has any ultra-flat spray paint in stock with coyote brown. Also added some bungee cording and what not.

Another issue: The ESS turbofans are kind of large and bump up against the front of the helmet. I am looking into buying lower profile full-seal eyepro that will mount on the arc-rails. So far, the Smith Optics Boogie Regulators seem like the best option but I’ve heard they fog pretty badly unless you are constantly moving around.

11/10/12: Integrity Tactical Solutions Airsoft Event

Integrity Tactical Solutions hosted another awesome airsoft event at Strategic Operations on the 10th of this last month, in which Dave and I yet again had the pleasure of attending. A total of 6 games (4 scenarios) were played out during the duration of the event: Capture and place the flag to establish a base, breaching (green attack & tan defend), breaching game 2 (tan attack & green defend), find the light box game 1, find the light box game 2 and attack/defend (didn’t attend the last game).

 

My obvious favorite being the breaching scenario; The goal of which was the breach into a specific location by chainsawing down a plywood door to rescue a 200lb dummy. By the way: The chainsawing was well supervised and operating by the STOPS staff for both breaching games (as in, safely). The teams overall, felt like they were more evenly balanced this time around. Big props to game control for keeping everything fair and fun.

 

We were better prepared for the evening games this time around, not wearing shaded goggles and having flashlights and all (not included on the video because the GoPro ran out of juice before the action began in the shoot house). Oh also, Airsoft GI recently posted their footage recently. There’s a pretty good shot of me fucking with my magazines about half way in.

ITS Airsoft Event at Strategic Operations

Dave and I had the pleasure of attending Integrity Tactical Solutions‘ inaugural game at Strategic Operations a few weeks ago on the 22nd of September. It was $65 for an all day event + lunch (1pm to 9pm) at the STOPS training facility in San Diego. The price point seems a little steep but really, it’s not bad for all day play on such an excellent field (with pyrotechnics!) I am used to casual pick-up games at Mr. Paintball so being a apart of an event where just about everyone is geared out and uniformed appropriately (alpha = green, bravo = tan) was pretty sweet.

This event was so much fun. The music, the pyrotechnics and the detailed field really added to the experience. There were a few communication issues regarding game rules and the respawn locations probably should have been better clarified. But overall, good times; We are definitely planning on attending their next event in November. Videos below:

Kind of got lazy with the second video and just stitched a couple of clips together from the rest of my footage.

Video: Airsoft 7/28/3012

So airsoft is my new favorite outdoor hobby. Dave, who has been doing this for a few years introduced me to it about 5 or 6 months ago. We go to Mr. Paintball once or twice a month, schedule pending; It’s not super close to us, but it’s a great field to play on. This video is a compilation of about 3 or 4 matches in the CQB area:

The footage from the field matches we played earlier in the day didn’t turn out so well. Apparently I wander around and stare at the ground a lot. I shot this video before I mounted the GoPro on the helmet mentioned in the previous post (headband would slip occasionally). Too lazy to edit it more or clip out the not so interesting bits in which all I do is repeatedly hide behind a box (i.e. most of the footage).

Unfortunately, since this was shot towards the end of the day the GoPro ran out of juice. Blurry parts on the top-left of the screen were from me touching the lense while dicking around with the camera. The random strands flying across the screen would be hair.

Airsoft GoPro Helmet Project

I had a big helmet cam itch since Dave got his Contour Roam a while back, so after some deliberation I ended up purchasing a GoPro HD Hero 2 a month or so ago for the sake of filming airsoft games and what not. I almost bought another Contour Roam, but I really wanted a camera that had a removable battery, an external mic jack, as well as the ability to use standard sized SD cards (I have a lot of those laying around). Contour has a more expensive model with a removable battery and the external mic jack (proprietary…) but it is about $500 whereas the GoPro 2 is about $300. Overall, I felt that the GoPro was a better deal, particularly since it comes with quite a few mounting options. I also liked the GoPro’s video quality more, but to be honest there doesn’t seem to be that much of a difference.

The big problem that I have with the GoPro and really, the only reason why I almost bought another contour was the size. There are few things less tactical looking than having a camera brick sitting on top of your head while you are running around on the field. It’s not really feasible to mount it on the side of your head and it looks kind of dumb as a gun mount (gun cams don’t work out too well anyways IMO unless you enjoy hours of footage pointed at the ground). The head strap that came with the GoPro is reasonable secure, but nearly as convenient as the Contour, which is roughly the size and shape as a scope or flashlight attachment.

Which of leads me into my newest airsoft project: The only way to ensure that the camera strap doesn’t slip or fall off of my head was to of course, purchase a replica Ops-Core helmet and the GoPro NVG mount. Unfortunately, the NVG mount on the knockoff helmet is a little off; Consequently, the GoPro mount falls off without modification. This is what I ended up doing. Black was the only color that was available in the helmet style that I wanted, which is fine color wise but gets uncomfortably hot in the sun. The only suitable can of paint that they had was in a satin finish, which has a bit of a sheen. I would have preferred a flat or ultra-flat finish but /shrug. I considered lightly dusting it with a darker color an then scuffing the paint up for aesthetics, but I figure that will happen on its own over time.

The foam inserts located at the front of the helmet are a bit too low and block the ESS turbofan outtake. I new to either cut a slot into it or move the foam block up a half inch (had fogging problems last game). I tried finding a way of strapping my existing face mask onto the Ops-Core helmet clips, but the ear protection got in the way of the chin strap. Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult to strap the mask around the back of the helmet but it’s a mess solution to say the least. One of the reasons why I wanted a helmet in the first place was to cleanup all of the straps. I ended up buying a mesh face mask without ear protection. Clipping the elastic straps and adding a few pieces of adhesive Velcro works quite nicely. Also FYI: As with the NGV mount, the knockoff arc rails are slightly off. I had to fix the secure the goggle clips on with electrical tape, otherwise they come off with a firm tug.

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