If you’ve gone to play airsoft, you’ll know that your rifle starts to feel pretty heavy after a while. A good airsoft sling is the best solution to make your airsoft rifle easier to carry. We’ll look at a few types, and I’ll also give my recommendations for which sling you need to buy.
Generally, there are three types of slings:
- Single Point Slings
- Two Point Slings
- Three Point Slings
We will discuss the differences of each type below:
Single-point slings
First off, let’s look at single-point slings. Single point means that the sling is attached to the rifle by one connection. Usually, they will be clipped onto a sling plate on the back of the receiver. They provide a lot of freedom of movement, which is nice when you need to transition between shoulders. Single-point slings are the least noticeable and the simplest to work with.
However, there are a couple of downsides to the single-point option. They do not hold the gun to your body, meaning that if you drop the rifle, it is free to swing around quite a bit. If you switch to your pistol in a hurry, the gun drops straight down in a very uncomfortable fashion. You must stow the rifle on your back with a single point. Carrying options are minimal.
Two-point slings
Next, let’s go over two-point slings. Two-point is currently the most popular option. One of the two-point sling's best advantages is that you can carry the rifle hands-free. When you drop the rifle to transition to a sidearm, the gun will fall to the side (no more hits to the crotch area). You can also stow the gun on your back. This is great for long treks or climbing.
The only catch with the two-point option is that switching shoulders is more complicated. If you need to switch to your non-dominant shoulder, you must: 1. Leave extra slack in the sling. 2. Take an arm out of the loop. Or 3. Take the sling off entirely. These are not the most efficient options, but I just leave some slack in the loop, so I’ve got room to work. This can be partially solved with a quick-adjust sling, which we’ll look at shortly.
Three-point slings
Lastly, we come to three-point slings. I won’t spend much time on them, because they are not used often. They tend to hinder you more than help you and are just too complex to be practical for a game of airsoft. Shoulder transitions are near impossible with most three-point slings.
Which airsoft sling should you buy? Here are Fox's Top Picks
If you want a simple single-point sling, I’d suggest this defcon sling. You may also need to install a sling plate. This one will get the job done. If you want to go with a two-point, there are a couple of options. If you’re looking for a solid, budget-friendly option, check out this condor quick adjust two point.
I highly recommend the Blue Force Gear Vickers sling if you want something nicer. There is a padded and non-padded version available. These have a lifetime warranty and hold up well in the long term.
When buying a sling, make sure you get something good quality. You don’t want a broken rifle because of a cheap sling breaking and your rifle hitting a rock too hard. The single-point is a great budget option if you’re playing short games and just need something simple. If you’re going to be out longer and want to be able to switch to a sidearm more quickly, the two-point is the way to go. You can find many more slings options on our website, so be sure to go check those out.
I’ll see you on the field!
