General Considerations
The equipment that a player carries is at their discretion, however a certain amount of equipment will be required for playing at Spartan. There is normally no returning to the safe zone during the game to replenish stocks of non-essential items (e.g. ammunition). So you should plan to carry everything that you need throughout the day.
Whilst it is tempting to model your kit on real world units, such as the SAS or Delta force, it is much more practical to think about what your needs are rather than theirs. However, a good rule of thumb for buying kit is that equipment designed for, and used by, the military is going to do the job. Buying cheap kit is probably a false economy as it is inevitably poorer quality and will fail or wear out sooner than the real thing. The last thing you want is for your kit to fail when you need it. Similarly, manufacturers can make all sorts of claims but that doesn’t make them true. Your best source of information about how good a product really is are the views of people using it (i.e. other players or serving/ex-members of the military). Below is a list of equipment we recommend you carry, we have also linked some information to these to view this please click on the subject you wish to read about.
Weapons
Webbing
Tools
Clothing
Food and Water
Torch
First aid kit
Compass/Global Positioning System (GPS)
Paper and pen
Plastic bags for storing rubbish
Toilet paper
Camouflage cream
Binoculars
Map of the site
Survival blanket
Eye protection
Whistle
Overnight Gear
On overnight games you will be exposed to the elements and you can get into serious trouble if you don’t have the proper equipment. Below we have given you a brief summary of the things to think about but it would be a good idea for you to consult as many sources as you can to work out the best kit for your needs.
Useful sources of information for what to use in these circumstances are:
“Essential bushcraft” by Ray Mears (ISBN 0-340-82971-0; 2003) and/or
“SAS survival handbook” by John Wiseman (ISBN 0-00-715899-8; 2003).
Sleeping bag
Sleeping mat
Waterproof ‘basha’ and/or ‘bivi’ bag
Personal hygiene kit
Spare dry clothes