You’ve probably seen images or youtube videos where airsoft players are clothed in camo. It’s even difficult to distinguish them from real soldiers. While this is not absolutely necessary, wearing camo enhances the experience and increases your chances of winning. That’s why in this article we answer the question of what is the best camouflage for airsoft.
Let’s dive in.
Why Is Airsoft Camo Useful?
Before learning how to best camouflage yourself, it’s important to know why that would even be useful. The main reason to use camouflage is that it makes it harder for people to notice you, and therefore decreases your likelihood to be shot. After all, the opposing players can’t shoot you if they don’t see you’re there.
That’s why camo can give you an advantage on the field over people that aren’t wearing it. But, in order to get the most out of the camo, you need to consider factors such as the environment. Further down we’ll discuss the types of camo and when are they useful.
Is Camouflage Necessary?
So, what if you’re a beginner or someone that just wants to play airsoft occasionally to have some fun? Does that mean that you have to spend money on camo too, aside from other expenses? The answer is a definite no.
Camouflage is useful for the reasons stated above, but it’s not absolutely necessary. You can go to an airsoft game wearing jeans and a hoodie and that’s completely fine.
The only thing that’s definitely necessary when you go to an airsoft game is wearing goggles, or even better a full-face mask. You should also take care that your clothing leaves no skin exposed and that you’re wearing shoes with ankle support. You can read more about what to wear for your first airsoft game in our definitive guide.
Camouflage Patterns
Countless camouflage patterns have been designed, all with the same goal in mind – to make you less visible out there. Different patterns are designed for different environments. Since discussing all camo patterns is impossible, here are just some of the most popular ones.
Woodland Camo
Woodland camo is one of the most common patterns you’ll see. As the name suggests, it’s most useful in wooded areas, since its color scheme (green, brown, tan, black) is similar to the colors you see in the woods. Woodland camo has been there for a very long time, is very popular, and you can get yourself some for a very affordable price. Some woodland camo variants are the BDU and M81 woodland camos.
MultiCam
The MultiCam is another pattern that’s useful in wooded areas. It’s newer compared to the woodland camo type discussed above, but is increasingly gaining popularity. Today it’s the choice of many militaries all around the world, including the US military. It’s also one of the most popular choices in airsoft. MultiCam uses similar colors as other woodland patterns, such as brown, tan, and green.
A huge advantage of MultiCam is that it’s appropriate in many different environments and conditions. You can wear it in wooded areas, but in other environments too. Most airsofters these days will opt for the MultiCam pattern.
Desert Camo
Another popular camo is desert camo, which like the name suggests is useful in desert-like environments. It uses lighter colors compared to the woodland camo, such as light brown or light tan. One variant of desert camo is the 3-color desert camo.
MARPAT
MARPAT is a pattern used by the US Marine Corps. It’s a pixelated digital camo pattern using similar color schemes as the already discussed patterns. You can find a MARPAT camo in both woodland and desert variants.
Tigerstripe
Tigerstripe is one of the older camo patterns, but it can still be useful for wooded, forested, or jungle areas. You can find tigerstripe clothing for rather cheap prices.
Flecktarn
Flecktarn is another pattern comprising of green, brown, tan, and black. It comes from Germany and is very appropriate for European woodlands since that’s what it was designed for.
So, What Is the Best Camouflage for Airsoft?
You may be dissapointed now since this is the question that led you to open this article, but unfortunately, there’s no single best camouflage for airsoft. There are a lot of options and the choice between those will depend on circumstances and on your personal preferences.
One of the main and most obvious factors affecting your choice should be the area and environment where you’ll be playing. You need to wear colors that match the colors in the environment you’re at. If you’re playing in wooded areas, woodland and MultiCam are likely your best choice. Opting for colors such as green and brown seems like a good choice there. Black on the other hand is a bad choice, since it makes you a more visible target in such situations.
Similarly, if you’re in desert or snowy environments, you should wear camo that will make you less visible there.
Depending on where you live, there will be different environments. So, your place of living will also affect your choice of camo. Here’s a map showing the most appropriate camo patterns for different areas in the US:
Apart from the environment you’re playing in, other factors to consider are the time of year (some patterns may be useful for summer, but essentially useless in winter) and the conditions.
As you see, it’s difficult to choose one single best camo. However, if I had to recommend just one camo pattern for you to get yourself, MultiCam is probably your best choice. It’s the pattern that will be useful in most environments and conditions. It’s also one of the most popular these days, which is a good hint about its usefulness. One great product is this one, or if you don’t mind paying more you can go with these combat pants.
Conclusion
Camouflage can be incredibly useful in airsoft since it makes it difficult for opponents to notice you in the field. While not absolutely necessary, it greatly increases your chances of winning. In this article we went through why camo is useful, what are some of the more popular patterns, and how to choose what is the best camouflage for airsoft in your particular case.
The founder of Airsoft Freaks and a passionate airsofter for more than 15 years. Get to know me better on my about page