Quality Advice for Those Attending All-Day Events!

Hello everyone. I thought it'd be a good idea to share with you all some things I've picked up from my few years in airsoft that I wish I would have known before taking part in my first few all-day events. These are little pieces of advice that should be carefully examined whether you're going to your first event or have already been to several and are still looking for ways to make your time there a little more enjoyable. If you have some advice that you've picked up along the way and would like to share it, feel free to add a reply to this thread. Thanks!

1. Pack light - take only what you need! You will regret carrying anything that you don’t need. Remember, most events will last 6+ hours of non-stop action! You can obviously take as many items to the actual event; I’m mainly talking what you carry on to the field.
2. Prepare for the weather. Look at weather reports a day or two before the event. Is it supposed to rain? If it’s an overnight event will the weather drop drastically during the night? Pack clothes accordingly to what you find. Remember, it’d be much better for you to pack more clothes than you need than not enough.
3. Make sure everything’s secure and won’t fall off during long sprints. You don’t want to lose a sidearm, BBs or Mags during the event. Keep everything secured to your body and do several sprints before the event to make sure there’s nothing you need to tighten down or find a new place to store it.
4. Bring water (preferably canteen or camelback). Many fields either have questionable water or no water at all. Pack enough to last you the whole event – as dehydration is good for no one!
5. Bring food (beef jerky, energy bars, etc.) to keep yourself nourished during events. These foods will keep you from suffering from hunger, help you remain focused, and even steady your nerves to make sure your shots and decisions remain sharp.
6. Bring a poncho in case of rain. This isn’t so much to keep you dry, but to keep your guns from getting wet and potentially frying the internals. Many players have been taken out of events due to their guns crapping out on them after rain got inside them. Don’t take this lightly - The rain can ruin your guns!. These can be picked up for $1 at any Wal-Mart – a well made investment.
7. Bring plenty of ammo. Remember events are typically non-stop action. It’s a nuisance to have to ask other players who paid good money for their BBs to loan you several hundred to thousands of rounds because you didn’t think ahead and bring enough.
8. Wear Boots. Not only are they better than wearing shoes comfort-wise for long outdoor events, but they also offer you tread, concealment, and safety. Also, most events require you to wear actual boots.
9. Extra batteries. A standard 1100-1400 MAH battery will not last you an entire event. Bring spare batteries.
10. Charge everything prior to leaving for the event. Many fields don’t have electricity on the field and it’s a pain to ask around for people using chargers that connect to their vehicle.
11. Bring an extra undershirt, maybe even socks, for any break you might take. Sometimes teams are allowed taking a short break to head back to their campsite in order to refill on food/water. I recommend you take some extra clothes (undershirt/socks) to replace your current ones because they’ll most likely be soaked and muddy. If they’re not, then you haven’t been playing hard enough
12. If you have a radio, bring it! Radio comms is vital during events. Don’t count on simply going by everyone else having to tell you what’s being said the whole game. Also, buy a simple headset for your radio prior to the event. You may not even be allowed using a radio if it doesn’t have a headset. They can be picked up for around $15 at any Wal-Mart. (make sure the adapter on your headset matches your specific radio)
13. Bring a sweat rag (or small hand towel) with you that you can wipe your face, optics, and goggles with. You’ll most likely regret not bringing one of these if you don’t. You may read about needing a “dead rag” as well. This is a red rag that you place on your head when you are KIA.
14. Wear appropriate eye protection. Not only will this be required by the field (for insurance/safety reasons), but it will be in your best interest not to try and skimp on protecting your eyes. No normal shooting glasses will be allowed. 9 times out of 10 you'll have to wear sealed goggles with impact resistant lenses. This also means that normal ski goggles with flimsy lenses will not work. Most fields do check for this so be careful and be safe!

nice... nice

i would underline a bunch of those but the one that i found that is very rare in topics such as this one is #3. My ADMIN pouch fell off during OP: Shadow Sword. not only did it fall off but try getting it back on with those little crappy 99c 'winter' gloves that you find at dollar stores. now i put some electrical/duct/100MPH tape on all my MOLLE straps.

great article ADMIN

sticks

Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback I thought it'd be good to give people some ideas on how to prepare for events. I still use this checklist before every event I go to just to make sure I'm not forgetting anything. Let me know if you think of anything else that could be of use

actually I like to put on ALL of my gear before the event sometime. This sounds stupid, but a couple of days ago it gave me the opportunity to feel all of my gear before I actually played with it. Let me tell you it made a big difference for me b/c I had a lot of new gear. Just as long as you are not wearing gear for the first time at the event you should be good though.

honestly i thank you for this post. Im looking into all day events and longer. I want to get into these becuase i see them as being more realistic combat scenario wise.

THANK YOU!!!! I swear #6 helped me soooo much

One thing that i think would be good. Several days before you even start to pack, write down EVERYTHING that you are planning on bringing. Then as the days go on you might remember something. Write that down on the same piece of paper. Then when you pack up you know you have everything. And Admin great advice.

Here´s a little tip,

If you know that you will be going to a big event on the weekend, start early with hydration, drink plenty of water the whole week long, and listen to your Wife, Mom or Dad, and eat your frreaking Fruits and Veggies , and I mean load up on them, get as much Minerals and Vitimens into your system as possible, don´t go taking suppliments, natural are better for you.

Will help you against getting cramps during and after the game,

take zip ties, electrical tape, multi tool, small snack that will fit in a junk pouch on your vest, WATER WATER

Thanks ADMIN I'll have to remember to read this before OP:Sudden Strike in August
Oh and Roamer don't feel stupid about putting all your gear on I do this all the time because I'm getting a feel for what is good and what isn't I ask myself "do I really need that or this?" and I do this for ever thing not just events and games I did this the other day for a back yard game I'm going to be playing in a week or two.