Do I need a light or laser?
Lights and lasers are popular airsoft accessories that are very practical. Having the ability to aim and see in low light conditions can be a decisive advantage on the airsoft field. We'll go over lights and lasers below.
Flashlights:
One spec you can look for to determine if a certain light is right for you is the lumen rating. Lumens are a measure of brightness, so the higher the number the brighter the light. You may also want to consider the type of technology used for the light bulb/emitter. Lights will either have an incandescent bulb or an LED. Incandescent bulbs are still around though falling out of favor, however they are sufficiently bright in most cases. LED is probably the more prevalent technology right now. LEDs are brighter, run cooler, run longer, and are immune to shock.
If you play in a place that requires or allows you to run lights, or you simply want to add another cool accessory to your airsoft gun, here are some things to consider when adding a light. First, can your gun mount the light you are looking at? This will usually require a rail system. If you are mounting a light to a pistol, keep in mind there are lights specifically meant to go on airsoft pistols. These will have the same universal picatinny rail mounts but a shorter footprint to fit on the muzzle end of a handgun. You just need to make sure your pistol has a milspec rail. Keep in mind when we are talking rails and rail attachments, there is sometimes a conflict in mounting an accessory because of the varying specs and tolerances found between the different manufacturers. Running a light or laser on pistol also changes what you have to use to holster your pistol so keep that in mind. You might have to use a universal holster or a specific setup to make it all work, so often times that is a headache in it of itself.
If we are talking about mounting a light to a rifle, most lights are going to be mounted wherever you have a rail section is available. You will want to mount it where you can easily reach the controls. Rifle mounted lights will have switches or buttons and sometimes remote switches too. The remote switches are nice because you can mount the light far and out of your hands way and activate it from wherever you place the switch.
Just like any other accessory mounted to the end of your rifle, this adds weight and changes the balance of your gun. Another consideration is to protect the lens with some sort of lens protector, as these can easily get shot out in CQB.
Some lights have additional features too. Some are combination units which also have a laser. Some lights have different settings and modes such as different brightness modes and strobe capabilities. Use these lights wisely and do not shine it directly into your eyes at point blank.
Lasers:
Lasers are great for fast target acquisition. Different from a red dot sight, your opponent can see where you are aiming. An often overlooked advantage of lasers is the ability to mark targets. Since airsoft guns have limited range, you can use the laser to mark targets for your teammates even when out of range.
Q & A:
Q: Are lasers allowed in airsoft?
A: Rules will vary from field to field. Check with your local field admins for clarification.
Q: What are lasers used for?
A: Lasers are used to assist in aiming by shining a dot on the target instead of you having to line up your iron sights. The beams can go pretty far and are easily seen in low/no light situations but in broad daylight they are not so effective.
Q: Is it useful in airsoft?
A: Yes and no. Its benefits for faster aiming are there and one could argue it does help, however lasers must be used responsibly if they are allowed to be used at all.
Q: What do you mean responsibly?
A: Lasers should not be shined directly in the eyes of another living being (people/animals) and should not be shined into the sky for safety sake (for air traffic). Misusing lasers can easily lead to harm and can easily be punished by the full extent of the law.
Q: Can you adjust these lasers? How do you do that?
A: Airsoft grade lasers may or may not come with the ability to adjust. For airsoft lasers that are just for show, your laser will not be able to be adjusted to match your aim. But it looks cool! Now for lasers with some adjustment built in, you'll usually have to turn a screw to adjust windage and one for elevation. Most of the time we have found these adjustments to be lacking though so we'd rather break it down and be honest with you and say the airsoft laser is more or less just for show.
Q: What color is better? Red or green?
A: If you are using this in a bright area or in daylight, neither will be easy to see to be honest. In dark places or in CQB both colors are very easy to see.
Q: What's with the lights and laser combo?
A: Some units have multiple functions built in like a light AND laser built in. This is just a cool extra feature you have all in one package.
Q: How do I use this on my pistol or rifle?
A: Your typical laser will mount using a picatinny style rail attachment. So for you to use it on a pistol or rifle, your gun should be equipped similarly with a rail. Just remember that for the pistol, mounting an attachment to it will affect your holster options so it's best to go with a soft universal holster or a custom one that matches your gun and attachments.
Q: How long do lasers last?
A: Every maker is different and uses different size batteries compared to one another. Unfortunately there isn't a solid answer based on the information given to us from the manufacturers at this point.
Q: What is the range of these lasers
A: Generally speaking, these lasers shine out pretty far. Though the further out you shine the laser, the more "bloom" you will get, which is the dot getting larger at further distances and more distorted.
