If you’ve gone to play airsoft, you’ll know that after a
while your rifle starts to feel pretty heavy. The best solution to make your airsoft rifle a bit easier to carry is a good sling. There are a few types we’ll look
at, and I’ll also give my recommendations for which sling you need to buy.
Generally, there are two 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 located 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 definitely the simplest to work with.
However, there are a couple 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 rifle drops straight down in a very uncomfortable fashion. With only a single point, you are unable to stow the rifle on your back. Carrying options are very limited.
Two-point slings
Next, let’s go over two-point slings. Two point is currently the most popular option. Some of the best advantages of the two-point sling are that you can carry the rifle hands free. When you drop the rifle to transition to a sidearm, the rifle will fall to the side (no more hits to the crotch area). You can also stow the rifle on your back. This is great for long treks, or climbing.
The only catch with the two-point option is that switching shoulders is a bit more difficult. If you need to switch to your non dominant shoulder, you either have to 1. Leave extra slack in the sling. 2. Take an arm out of the loop. Or 3. Take the sling off entirely. Not the most efficient options, but personally I just try and 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 really are not used much these days. 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.
So, which 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’s a couple options. If you’re looking for a solid budget friendly option, check out this condor quick adjust two point.
If you’d like something a little bit nicer, I highly recommend the Blue force gear Vickers sling. There is a padded and non-padded version available. These have a lifetime warranty, and hold up well long term.
When buying a sling, make sure you get something good quality. You don’t want to have a broken rifle because of a cheap sling breaking and your rifle hitting a rock too hard. If you’re playing short games and just need something simple, the single-point is a great budget option. If you’re going to be out longer and want to be able to switch to a sidearm more easily, the two-point is the way to go. You can find lots more options for slings on our website, so be sure to go check those out.
I’ll see you on the field!