A milsim one, not a night away in a hotel. You’re going to need some basic camp kit if you’re away for a weekend, but some of these skirmish campers are starting to bring a hell of a lot of kit for just one night.

If you’re living out of a caravan in the safe zone, this blog isn’t for you. If you’re looking at milsim events, or are new to big weekend events and are wondering what kit to buy, this’ll be a good read. It’s partly aimed at my Mogadishu-loving brethren for the upcoming Operation Irene, but it’s a good excuse to revisit my own setup.

I do enjoy camping. With the family for a week or two, or wild camping up mountains with a friend, or at airsoft. As a result, I’ve got more tents than most houses have dinner plates, loads of cooking options, and a shed full of the rest. I’ve got a lot to choose from here, so it’s not a case of recommending stuff purely because it’s all I own so I have to.

For milsim, light is right. We have enough kit to carry once we’re geared up with guns, rigs, vests, boots, helmets etc. What you don’t want on top of that are two 120l backpacks front and back because you brought too much. I recently acquired a 30-40l (can’t find much information but I’d say it’s probably nearer 40) Belgian Army Backpack. Partly because it fits that ALICE kit vibe, but also forces me to carry less. Even on a normal skirmish, I’ve got at least one gun bag which is filled with lots of extra crap (my VSR bag has a tin of spam and some tarp poles in among other things) and a huge 120l holdall which is badly packed and ends up with multiple loadouts shoved in as well as parts to test, tools and everything else I might possibly need. It’s a mess, and I’ll hold my hand up for that. I carry a lot of stuff to experiment with, or show people, but in a proper event there shouldn’t be any experimentation – kit should be set and ready to go.

For milsim, ignoring the combat gear, I’m going to break it all down into what I actually need. Strip it right down to basics. Which will include :

• A sleeping bag, to sleep in

• A mat, to stop the sleeping bag, and me, getting cold

• Some water, so I don’t die

• Some basic rations, and a means to cook them because in colder climates, hot food is a huge boost.

• Dry baselayers

• A small wash kit. There are no showers.

That’s it. That’s all I can think I’d need beyond the airsoft kit. I’ll do a separate article for my rig because there will be things like spare batteries and a headtorch contained in there. When you think about a two day game, it’s

Eat, Sleep, Airsoft, Repeat

No need to add to much in there, because it just becomes dead weight that needs hauled around.

I know most people will jump up and shout “first aid kit”. Marshals will carry them in an emergency anyway, and I’m still yet to suffer any airsoft injuries. Of the two I have seen at a game, both times the marshals were in hand to help. There might be room for a minor kit on my rig, which I’ll cover in a separate article.

Tools for repairs? Well, breakdowns are common so yes, but it’ll be in the gun bag back in the safe zone rather than in my overnight bag.

So, keeping it as simple as that, I’ll go through what I’m actually packing into what is essentially a daysack. To note on this particular op, we are sleeping in buildings so there’s no basha or bivvy. If there was, it’d strap to the top of the bag. The sleeping bag I’ll select nearer the time depending on weather conditions, but I have a Snugpak 1 and 3 season as well as their excellent Jungle Blanket. The sleeping bag straps to the underside of the bag.

Inside the bag, first and foremost is a blue drybag – it doesn’t have to be blue, this is just what I had. Although the Belgian Army pack is rubberised on the inside, I like to be safe so everything will be drybagged. I like to have gear together in utility pouches, as “kits” so that I know where stuff is. I know that this isn’t always the best way to use space, because the pouches are quite rigid shapes but then I can just grab what I need, when I need it. Starting on the left, in the black pouch, is my Crusader Cook Kit. Because of the way it neatly stacks together, and the fact it can run on multiple solid fuel types, it’s by far and away my favourite stive setup for all camping trips.

The included Osprey-style water bottle will be sitting in my rig, so inside that space in the pouch will be some gel fuel tablets and a lighter, and some packet soups or similar foods. I have the Mk1 and Mk2 stoves, the black Mk2 pictured is a bit taller but you can run a Trangia burner underneath, for even more versatility if you want to switch to liquid fuels. I know a lot of guys prefer Jetboils and similar gas burners because they’re quicker and cleaner, but the gas canister takes up more space than fuel tablets.

Next is a small inflatable pillow, which is often overlooked. I find the foam type pillows are just too bulky, but it’s an awful nights sleep without something to rest your head on and there’s a chance your clothes could be wet and you don’t want moisture reaching your sleeping bag. This one was from Decathlon but you can get them cheaper elsewhere.

Next, in the Multicam pouch, is my inflatable sleeping mat. It’s a Trekology UL80 from Amazon, a nice deep airbed with a slight curve to stop you rolling off. Now, I need an inflatable mat because I have occasional back issues, but this isn’t at all insulated. A tip I got from the Ultralight camping community was to wrap it in an orange survival bag, and carry some lightweight radiator insulating foil to go underneath. I’ve camped in a UK November with this setup so far and it’s been fine. Also in the pouch is a pump sack, which is basically like a drybag with a nozzle and you squeeze the air into a bag. It’s small, and lightweight. Don’t ever breathe into your mat to inflate it – the moisture will cause mould to grow inside and you’ll have to bin it and replace it.

I’ve covered this in more detail in The Camping Guide at the top. But that’s my mat setup inside a pouch.

The last pouch is for my Sawyer Mini water filtration kit, as per Stop Carrying Water article. Basically, if you have a choice between this lightweight thing and carrying the requisite 8 litres of water in bottles, take the water filter. I’ve used it in a few places and it turns any dirty water from your environment into clean, fresh water, meaning you get away with carrying much less, and water is a massive weight to bear in any event. It’s a little first aid pouch in Pencott I got from Point6 once, think it’s 8fields, and it isn’t necessary because the Sawyer kit takes up only half the room in the pouch, but again it’s all about organisation. If there’s a water supply, I just need to grab that pouch and refill my kit.

Thats taken up around half the internal space of the backpack so far. In the side pouches, I’ll add dry baselayers in one, and dry socks/gloves/beanie hat in the other. There’s still space to fit a basha in the main compartment if we have to sleep outside at any events, and I’d get my Jungle Blanket in there too for extra warmth and comfort. Wash kit wise, it’ll just be toothpaste and brush. I know baby wipes are a common addition but on a cold morning, nothing feels worse so I’d rather rough it and go without. You can get little mini deodorants if things get a bit unbearable.

And that’s it. As simple a kit as I can put together. No tables or chairs, decks of cards, Bluetooth speakers, pets, paddling pools or anything unnecessary. You’ll never have downtime, and if you do, there are people to talk to and kit admin to sort – it’s never boring.