Paintball masks and mouth protection
 

I want to purchase a paintball mask such as the Empire E-Flex or JT Flex-8.

While I was checking them out at a retailer, I was told by the person working the counter that they might not be safe for airsoft when it comes to mouth protection. He suggested that bbs could squeeze through the openings in the mouth area or that bbs could break through them.

What has the experience of fellow airsofters that have used or are using paintball masks been like. Do you trust your mask to protect your teeth?

i do believe that some paintball masks in cqb, bbs can get through. Saw i on some yt vid. Mesh bottoms might be safer

I use a Dye i4 mask. I have no experience with the others you have mentioned.

It has a slim profile, it has never fogged on me and has taken alot of direct fire without any issues.

Only issue is that it makes difficult aiming down sights of a shouldered rifle. You need to lift the gun a bit higher

Some Airsofters seem to frown on it cause it's a Paintball mask.

I use the sly profit it's a solid mask and has a great field of vision.

Buy a pair of J-T proflexs the bottoms can be turned up to allow you to rest you cheek against the stock of you gun but still offer plenty of mouth protection.

Do the mesh bottoms not get in the way of aiming down sights?

For the most part the mesh doesn't get in the way. It does make it a little harder to get a good cheek weld, but when aiming with EOTechs, T-1's, SRS and other similar red dots you are still able to snap on very quickly. My advice would be to use a stock that has a slim/low profile to hive you more space (MOE/CTR, LE, CAR-15 stocks come to mind). Nice thing with the mesh is you can reshape it to the form of your face to make it more comfortable as well as making it tight to your cheeks. Full seal goggles with lower face mesh is the best way to protect yourself without losing any CE.

IMO, all the masks get in the way to some extent. Bound to happen but it's up to you to decide what you need.

Take a look at the vents/etc...if the spacing is narrow and not too flexible they'll be fine. It doesn't take a lot to deflect and kill the speed off a BB...especially if the distance is more than a couple of feet. A lot of those tests show someone blasting a 400+fps gun at near contact distance...which can happen but isn't common.

Lots of guys use the JT Flex 7/8...they work well. Some guys will cut out the cheek side of the mask to get it out of the way. Most times your face is on the stock when the firing starts up so it's protected anyways by the rifle stock.

ANY protection is better than none though, especially with teeth shots. Bleeders aside it really doesn't take much to bust a tooth. Mine broke from a fluke 25+ft weak pistol shot. No drama, no fuss...bummer though. I barely felt the hit but it caught my tooth and snapped it right off. A folded up shemagh would have worked just fine, but I was just running goggles that night.

I really love my Dye i4 and everytime I say to myself I'm gonna get goggles I take a burst to the face and am thankful for the extra protection.

So many pros and cons for either choice.

this setup is what I think most airsofter use
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/d...666/mesh01.jpg

Ive used it many times, with many different goggles. You can cut the strap of the lower and attach it to your goggle strap so its one piece. Myself, I put velcro on the ends of the lower and had it attach to my hat. It allows me to take off and put on easily.

I have no issue with people wearing paintball masks. I do however think its retarded seeing people not shoulder their rifles and have it floating over their shoulder like a paintball gun just to line up their sights...

If you're really set on the JT style Paintball mask, what I did was cut out part of the mask around my cheek, so my teeth were still covered, but I could get a proper site with my gun. It ends up looking like a skull-mask.

However, now I do what Crom posted, with a good pair of ESS goggles, and some Mesh for my teeth. And that has been the best option for me, as it gives you flexibility on the style and quality of the goggles.

JT does have a airsoft specific mask that allows cheeking on your stock.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/jt...l#.UoPZ-X9huSo