We all want to be a little different, to have that one little thing that people covet.

For some of us it’s about meticulous research to build a true 1/1 scale replica of a firearm or loadout, for others it’s about having that unique look that marks you out as a man (Or Woman) of culture…

Flannel, Hawaiian shirts, Night Camo Parkas… all done to death.

Kryptek, Tigerstripe, Leopard Print Combats… Less so, but now often associated with certain teams and people.

Ladies, Gentlemen and Speedsofters… I present you you a loadout only Sean Connery could get away with, The Webley/Mankini/Thigh high leather boot combo!

The guys running one of the teams I was involved in a number of years ago wanted to have that individual look, a marketable image that would enable us to gain recognition and up those likes/follows, We looked at the mundane black and tan contractor loadout to the disgusting digital DPM. I soon parted ways with that particular group and they ended up settling on the not so unique cheap shit multisham pattern favoured by those who know no better…

Its alright though, I’ve got good memories and powerful lessons learned from that time of my life, Plus unlike one member of the team I don’t have to lie to anyone who asks about why I’ve got “Barbarian” tattooed across my shoulder blades to avoid the obvious embarrassment that should follow.

A laughable concept… One I try and steer away from now. Likes and follows just push me to better my content, not the other way around. All I’m doing here is spreading a little knowledge… “little” being the operative word.

Whilst I do like having my own personalised image, In a sea of individual looks and styles nothing really stands out to the untrained eye. Sometimes you see a look that really looks the dogs bollocks, Like the guys from UCAP who at Stirling Airsoft’s Op: Cold Stone rocked a Kryptek/Multicam/AOR1 loadout, which along with their ATVs and meticulously put together replicas looked shit hot.

or the Tiger stripe BDUs that Team Diablo favour…

The other side of that same coin is that your always a target… On a normal days playing, against a sea of unknowns and generally with and against people you don’t know, it can make you the focus of someone’s wrath. If they feel that their shots are landing (Rightly or wrongly) and your hand doesn’t go up, it’s a massive trigger for someone to single you out… or worse, blame you for the actions of someone standing near you. If your the one guy wearing Auscam surrounded by Multicam, people will remember every little thing you do that annoys them. Wearing a Leopard print UBACs requires a special kind of person only a few are blessed to know, I have the dubious honour of calling one such person a good friend. It certainly marks him out to others, but as a dyed in the wool extrovert it’s probably one of the reasons he chose to wear it to a milsim.

Needless to say though in an endless ocean of knock off Multicam and Issue MTP there are those amongst us who will always strive to be a special snowflake, for me its not about nailing an impression or having the most expensive loadout. I endeavour to have a look that fits with the game, whether its a Taskforce’esque loadout to stay within the realms of the games imaginary scenario in a make believe shit hole.

Or a post shit hit the fan game such as Infiltration Airsoft‘s series, of which I’ve been a loyal member of the rain faction for a number of years. The guy on the right (Below Pic) by the way swears by this unique hat he wears…. Not purely because he likes to be a little different but because the uniqueness of the hat within game is an instant IFF indicator and thus cuts down on friendly fire.

I’d say that chasing a unique loadout in a world of airsofters trying to do the same is a fools errand, but I’m not expecting it to change anyone’s mind on the matter… certainly it wont stop me. All I’d say is that you should be happy with what your choosing and choose it for the right reasons… Function over form, trim the fat (as you can see i need to do a little more of, lol) and for gods sake… Don’t tell your partner how much it cost!