Ever since military organisations have been looking into full facial protection, apart from head protection for their soldiers, mandible systems have been developed by tactical gear manufacturers (and that also includes airsoft makers). Whilst they provide protection, one concern for many users is weapons sighting and ability to move with these without impeding full range of motion for the head. Especially with scope systems and buttstocks that either are not designed for big jaws or masks, or require the eye closer to the eye relief to look into the sight, we wonder if we can be comfortable with these systems.

The Revision Military, the company behind the Batlskin Head System, produced two videos that cover these concerns and also state that their compromises with our traditional way of handling our weapons in order to effectively use both their Batlksin and our weapons.

In the Range of Motion, the Batlksin does not imped full range of motion. It allows the operator to do movement that he/she usually does without the Batlskin and even in different firing positions. Whilst what is not discussed is the distance placed by the mandible guard along the wall especially when peering around corners though for shooters this should be a non-issue.

The weapons sighting is where the compromises are made as the head and the weapon need to be titled at 45 degrees for the shooter to properly aim, so it'll take some time to orientate one's self with this when wearing the mandible guard. Though some shooters wearing mandible guards (not the Batlksin one) having very high scope mounts and their sights in an angle in order to aim even better. In CQB situations, what they recommend is using the "index technique" where you run your index finger parallel to your barrel and pointed in the direction where you desire to aim without looking down the sights. This is recommend in distances 10 metres or less, especially when you need to make a quick snap shot.

There are other mandible systems that take into considerations the concerns for aiming with the weapon without changing the shooter's way which become a habit through constant practice. But the Batlksin's mandible system provides protection by taking the impact further away from the face, and thus the absorbing the shock better. Other mandible systems are closer to the face or contoured to follow the cheeks.

These are lessons that can be learned when wearing similar systems, such as the usual paintball masks that we use during airsoft games, or the new mesh masks that are coming out in the airsoft market. Especially in countries where higher FPS limits for airsoft guns provide some risks to the face, wearing masks is more mandatory. Though nothing beats just using ballistic glasses in comfort, we always recommend that you have several types of face, head, and eye protection to use to fit the airsoft scenarios. Always have something where the risk of injuries to the head, eyes, ears, mouth, teeth and nose are higher or when you think a trip to dentist or doctor is more an expensive thing than to buy a protective mask