Ok first I play paintball and also ref it, the group I ref with was asked to ref an airsoft event in PA over the weekend. It was done at an old prison that is shut down and has no power. There are tunnels and basements in buildings, some absolute darkness with no light, some places with light coming in. I would not be surprised if there was not a few arfcommers there.

There where quite a few players with nods, some very high end stuff and lower end stuff. I am talking guys running stuff from pvs14's to full on newest specs rnvg. Lasers of all sorts, lights of all sorts. Talked to one guy using a real peq on his airsoft gun, lots and lots of somogear stuff there as well. The reports on the somogear on airsoft was fine, but a few guys said they did not hold up on their real guns.

Being the only ref that had night vision, I spend most of the two days in the basements and tunnels. Wearing nvd duals for 2 days on an amazon bump helmet ( with a counter weight ) was fine once I got the straps adjusted right, and I spent 12 hours on saturday, and 6 on sunday with them on. Watching all the ir lasers for those that had them was fun, the night game was really wild. Once it truely got dark the guys with NV where able to be sneaky, but the guys running white light where able to hold their own. Where the NV made the difference was in the tunnels, they where able to move up the halls with out light. While the white light guys would flash their lights to be able to move, and while shooting they would use em. I would say over all the nods users where slightly more effective, but the handicap was not so much that it made all the difference.  

The amount of cheap amazon ir and white lights mounted on helmets was funny as not a single person used em.

There where a few times where a guy with nods and laser would post on an opening, and as a player would stick their head out to look down a hall they would get blasted. I of course could see the ir light and laser, but the player could not. Where is really did pay off was doing security, and area denial. With everything from total darkness to total darkness with light spilling down thru the stairs there was a fair amount of light barriers to try to blast ir light thru. I never had a problem seeing thru them, but I also was also able to pick where I was standing.

I have two videos I am uploading to youtube right now to show the darkness, one does have a few seconds of my nods infront of a cell phone taking video. The other does not have any night vision but I was standing next to the guy filming, the amount of ir lasers going down the hall was wild. I am posting them with permission of the guy who shot the videos, and am doing it just to show what fighting in the dark can be like and what can be seem on NV at least for second. Both are short videos, no monitized or any money for me.

https://youtu.be/NP2o8EFaIJY?si=0uW2BoklUdLoV75S
https://youtu.be/56mCcTdSysg?si=wNMpDU3eSCDGbgLg

It's starting to get a lot more popular now. Airsoft (specifically "milsim" type events) are great training as long as you keep the right mind about it.

I don't get to use NVGs too much professionally, much less actually fighting so it's really cool to get to run around under NVGs and get it shootouts with folks with BB's. It's definitely an eye opener when you're under night vision and you aren't "hidden" anymore because the bad guys have the same tech. One thing I noticed inside structures is that fighting generally devolves into using white light once the shooting starts.

That was my thoughts as well until I got to watch it. Two groups shooting at each other both running bright white lights hit a lot less than the guys run NV against white light. Basically the white blinded both sides, while the guys with   white against nv where trying to blind them, but did not keep it on 100% of the time because it was a bunch of here I am lights. The white light guys did not keep them on none stop due to the blindness. I also think the white light killed the adapted vision of the user, while the NV users did not have adapted eyes and as soon as the white light turns off then can see again.

Cool AAR OP.
I would imagine the strobe effect going on in the video could be quite disorientating when in the middle of a higher stress situation.
Did you get any hot spots on your head from wear the NV for so long?

So many players would try the strobe, it did mess with the eyes, but on both sides of the light. I dont think its beneficial in any way, but then again not having control of what your using rarely works in your benefit.  Turn the light on when you want it, turn it off when you dont, just works. But I am also not a tactical trainer, or even low speed high drag, I am just a drag so I could and probably are wrong.

And not hot spots at all, just one spot that was sore like I bumped it. And guess what I did bump it getting out of the camper that morning.

Good stuff man.
I've never tried or owned any strobing type lights.

Great post.

Great post!

Using FP to point towards other people you don't want to kill seems a little irresponsible, those lasers can mess you up