Dr. Airsoft - Airsoft Safety Questions

Dear Mike,

Thanks for writing. Questions like your make for good material for the monthly Airsoft Medicine podcast. Be sure to subscribe if you haven't already. It can be found at http://feeds.feedburner.com/airsoftmedicine.

Your assumptions are mostly correct. Overall a full facemask will be simpler and provide better coverage. My testing has found that there is a small risk of bb penetration under extreme conditions with many of the JT paintball masks in the mouth region compared to some of the wire mesh lower face masks. I personally prefer the combination of ESS profile goggles with a strong lower face wire mesh mask that fits perfectly with the goggles. I am blessed to have such an expensive combination because Heroshark in the UK custom made such a wire mask to fit my goggles and my face. This is a very expensive option as the goggles cost $80 and the mask would be about $50-$60 with shipping. I recommend it if you can afford it.

A more reasonable (economically) combination would be a goggle like the Arena FlakJak and one of the Chinese knock-offs of the lower face mesh masks. I have tested a couple types in my YouTube video series. Check http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5roHaJ7lA, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u9eEG7Pg98, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7GfBxS9Sww. Each combination of goggle and mask is unique both my itself and on any individual player's facial structure. I recommend going to a walk-in airsoft store where you can try combinations before making a purchase. Look especially at the junction of the goggles and mask around the nose as eye injuries are the most serious. The ESS profile with the Cortex Clip protects against this vulnerability, but it costs more.

Given the above information, you may wonder why I would use a combination instead of a full-face mask. I do not like wearing a full-face mask because of the increased fogging, decreased cheek weld, and the changes in hearing with full-face masks.

Please reply with follow-up questions and let me know what you decide.

Sincerely,

Mark Vaughan, M.D.

www.airsoftmedicine.com

After reading your reply and viewing many of your cool and helpful videos I have come to a few conclusions.

1- It seems like our JT Flex 8 masks are really safe except that a lucky shot might get into the mouth area. I am most concerned with protecting my son’s eyes. I realize that a broken tooth or bad face hit is painful and bad, but this scenario does not keep me awake at night as I know he will recover and life will go on as normal. However, his eye getting hit by a bb is my worst fear because I know his eye will most likely not recover and the injury will be life changing. It sounds like a JT paintball type mask is almost 100% guaranteed to protect the eyes if properly used and maintained?

2- It seems like the mesh mask system are pretty safe too as long as you find the right combination and mask to fit your face and wear it properly. However, if a bb does get through this system it sounds like it is going closer to the eye region. It also seems like it would be very difficult to determine if it fits correct and will keep bb’s out of the eye area. There is no way to test fire on an individual’s face.

After your advice, I would never order a mesh mask online. I need to take my son to the store to try on the different products and see for myself how they fit. However, I cannot imagine finding a mesh mask that would make me feel comfortable with my son’s eyes. It just seems like the paintball mask is somewhat more failsafe if your primary objective is eye protection.

Dear Mike,

I agree with your reply. If you ever consider buying a new full-face mask, please check out the Save Phace. They come with vent plugs and can be purchased with thermal lenses to make fogging less likely. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H9k6tMjNdU.

Sincerely,

Mark Vaughan, M.D.