Airsoft is a recreational activity in which participants eliminate opponents by hitting each other with spherical non-metallic pellets launched via replica firearms.
Game play varies in style and composition but often range from short-term skirmishes, organized scenarios, C.Q.B., field, military simulations, or historical re enactments. Combat situations on the battlefield often involve the use of common military tactics to achieve objectives set in each game. Participants typically emulate the tactical equipment and accessories used by modern military and police organizations.
History
Airsoft originated in Japan, then spread to Hong Kong and China in the late 1970s. Airsoft guns spread to the UK in the 1980s with a company called LS. They were in kit form and had to be built before you were able to fire pellets. Airsoft equipment was designed to closely emulate real guns. Since the mid-1980s, airsoft guns have been adapted with a purely recreational application in mind, and the hobby is enjoyed by all ages. One of the UK's first Airsoft Games sites was Firefight Airsoft Games which was set up in 1996 atMapledurham Estate Reading. Some Airsoft guns are produced in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, while some are also produced in Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Canada.
Eye and face protection
The minimum safe level of gear required to participate in most games includes a pair of ANSI Z87.1 (impact-rated) goggles to protect participants' eyes. If shot from at least ten feet away by a gun with typical muzzle velocity, there will be minimal damage to other body parts. 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 largest review of airsoft eye injuries found no case of loss of vision from an airsoft eye injury. The same review found that only one of the 59 cases was wearing anything over their eye, in which that one patient was just wearing sunglasses as eye protection.
.Full-face masks (similar to, and often including paintball masks) cover the rest of the face, protecting vulnerable parts such as teeth. Some airsoft masks are made with mesh screens, though theoretically, a pellet could shatter on impact, and its fragments could pass through the mesh and into the eye. Masks with mesh screens are often preferred by players who wear prescription eyeglasses as they increase ventilation and reduce the amount of condensation on the lenses, while the lenses provide additional protection against possible fragments that might penetrate the mesh.
While masks offer superior protection, they can interfere with the use of scopes, and in cheaper masks, condensation inside the goggles can reduce visibility. During very hot days the masks can also cause the player to overheat more quickly due to the lack of air circulation. Some players have mounted small battery-powered fans (designed for computer circuit boards) on the masks to improve ventilation and reduce or avoid condensations as eye protection.
