There are plenty of lists of important equipment out there that claim to be encyclopedic and authoritative on airsoft and MilSim. Take, for example, this recent blog from MiR Tactical that lays out some of the most airsoft critical equipment and supplies that you might find yourself needing in the course of a MilSim match. It’s far from the largest list out there, but some of the most important essentials are listed within its contents.

You will notice, however, that the title of this article has to do with smoke grenades, and they are nowhere listed within that bog. Therefore the question stands; when you have to make room in your vest and pack; where space matters and weight matters even more, do you really need them?

The answer is neither yes nor no. The answer is really that it depends. It depends on a lot of things. It depends on how much space you have to spare, it depends on how your team intends to communicate, it depends on your team’s tactics for CQB, and more importantly, it depends on your team’s overall strategy to win the match.

Depending on all of these factors, you might very well find a lot of utility wrapped up in a smoke grenade, or you may not. In the event that you do, however, here are some of the ways you can put them to use and to the advantage of your team.

Firstly, you can put one of these grenades to your advantage in CQB situations, as long as your team’s approach is very well defined and organized and that everyone is on the same page. Smoke grenades can foster confusion and cause disarray among the ranks of the other team, giving your team an advantage. Just keep in mind that confusion goes two ways, and in the real world, there is friendly fire.

There are other ways that your team can use smoke signals to your advantage and they have nothing to do with an offensive, at least not in the same scope as described above. For example, your team can use a smoke signal to communicate over long distances, such as to signal a movement or that a movement should not be attempted. You can also use a smoke signal as a decoy to attract the attention of the other team to set up an ambush.

These are only a few of the great tactical uses for a smoke grenade, but there are others. Therefore, you can also see that these tools can be very useful in airsoft matches. That makes it hard to answer a question about whether or not you need one in any concrete terms. You might need them; consult your team to deliberate on the matter collectively.

If at the end of the day you determine that you will carry and use them, that’s the easy part of the deal. Take a trip to MiRTactical.com and stock up. There they have not only a number of smoke grenades in multiple colors, but all of the other airsoft guns and accessories you could possibly use.