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-   -   Alternatives to vests? (https://airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=166221)

MattG666 July 19th, 2014 16:16

Alternatives to vests?
 
Are there any more lightweight and inexpensive alternatives to getting a vest?

I dont like the extra added weight and movement restriction of a vest, is there an alternative that still allows me to carry 2 or 3 mags but doesn't cost 80$ and make it harder to move around?

beta678 July 19th, 2014 16:23

Chest rig.

brock0 July 19th, 2014 16:49

No. A vest is absolutely the only thing that will work for airsoft.

Half the fun of the hobby is checking out gear and deciding what you want, just google it man. That said I've got a Pantac M4 chest rig that works great.

ViR July 19th, 2014 17:00

The best thing I've ever bought:
http://www.highspeedgear.com/hsgi/su...belt-31PB.html

Real belt and taco pouches will run you more than 80$ but they are awesome!

pugs144 July 19th, 2014 17:03

82 Pattern webbing or ALICE gear. Both are cheap, plentiful, and robust.

Drakker July 19th, 2014 18:59

A good chest rig, as has already been mentionned. A good molle belt, with suspenders if you like them, will allow you to survive those super hot days without floating in your own sweat all day.

ThunderCactus July 19th, 2014 19:01

Chest rigs, molle belts, for winter I just have one mag in the gun and two on a dropleg platform.

Zack The Ripper July 19th, 2014 19:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by brock0 (Post 1901957)
No. A vest is absolutely the only thing that will work for airsoft.

Half the fun of the hobby is checking out gear and deciding what you want, just google it man. That said I've got a Pantac M4 chest rig that works great.

Huh.

pugs144 July 19th, 2014 19:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by brock0 (Post 1901957)
No. A vest is absolutely the only thing that will work for airsoft.

No.

zombiesniper July 19th, 2014 19:40

Zack, Pugs. I think you missed the [sarcasm] No. A vest is absolutely the only thing that will work for airsoft. [/sarcasm]

nardac July 19th, 2014 20:05

I've been playing about 4 years, have tried a couple different rigs, always go back to my hsgi battle belt. You can also add a H-harness/suspenders if you want to carry a little more weight. Wasn't fussy on plate carrier, also have used a molle mesh vest which I also liked.

redzaku July 19th, 2014 21:02

I'd recommend a 5.11 tactec plate carrier, I have one and it does not restrict my movement at all and it is a load bearing vest, that's my 2 cents
Or fighting load carrier

lurkingknight July 19th, 2014 21:05

battle belt is probably as minimal as you could go.

Juic3 July 20th, 2014 08:37

Minimal Lurking ? Minimal would be bare naked with the mag in the gun and one in the off-hand. But damn those bb hurts ;)

Danke July 20th, 2014 13:09

Lots of great lightweight stuff.

Stuff that will hang onto your mags isn't cheap.

You better pick one light/cheap and go from there.

Exception is the Chi-Com rig; it's both.

FOX_111 July 20th, 2014 13:25

A chest rig, like the RRV is versatile and can be scaled to your needs.

A good quality copy will cost less than 100$. You'll need pouches though. But it will be something you will keep for years and still be able to resell for a good price.

I got 2 myself and I love them a lot.

GR July 20th, 2014 14:17

A belt or a drop leg rig...

i.e.

http://home.comcast.net/~hoplophile/Belt.jpg

CR0M July 20th, 2014 16:50

My vest have gotten smaller ever year, to the point where even a RRV felt cumbersome. I roll with a belt rig now...

get yourself some good tactical pants with lots of good pockets for all those small things...

Spadona July 20th, 2014 16:58

Have one mag in the gun and one in your pant pocket.
Or tape the two mags together. You don't even need pants!

hollywood... July 20th, 2014 17:02

LBT 1961 Chest Rig w/ 82 Pattern Webbing

- you can hump a ton of gear and supplies and lose the webbing if need be on the fly

MaybeStopCalling July 20th, 2014 18:09

Duty Belt should suffice for most games.

FOX_111 July 20th, 2014 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR0M (Post 1902122)
My vest have gotten smaller ever year, to the point where even a RRV felt cumbersome. I roll with a belt rig now...

get yourself some good tactical pants with lots of good pockets for all those small things...

What? You got fat to this point? (o:

Juke16 July 20th, 2014 19:54

There's all sorts of webbing you can use, honestly, the best thing to do is to just look through pictures of soldiers from any time period. Find something you like the look of and buy it.

Kungpow July 20th, 2014 21:46

I heard the USGI molle vests are pretty good.

kullwarrior July 21st, 2014 01:01

Plate Carrier
Vest
Chest Rig
Bandoleer
Belt


Quote:

Originally Posted by Kungpow (Post 1902162)
I heard the USGI molle vests are pretty good.

There's two kinds now
FLC aka Fight Load Carrier is the more common one (Desert Tan, Woodland, ACU/UCP)

TAP aka Tactical Assault Panel is the newer one (Multicam and ACU/UCP)

FLC is cheap and really one size fits all...if you don't fit, you gotta be like Class II or III obese

TAP is great in that it holds 6 M4 + 2 M14/Radio already. It has mounting for vest without adding straps to shoulder.

Ricochet July 21st, 2014 14:17

Get a modern style light-weight plate carrier. Most of them are about 3 pounds or less now. A PC will have better weight distribution and gear securement over a chest rig or vest. They're only big enough to cover your vital organs instead of a huge body oven style like the CAGE or Intercepter. High Ground, Cyclone, JPC, First Spear, etc, are all good types. Replica PCs come in two varieties; over expensive and cheaply made. If you're on a budget pick up a Cyclone or a 5.11, even a Tactical Tailor can be pretty inexpensive. Most will have open or mesh and flexible sides for breathability and lighter weight. You can carry a 3 liter water bladder and a bunch of mags well distributed, and if it's adjusted right it'll sit on you securely and comfortably, and it won't drag down like a vest or webbing.

dougi3000 July 21st, 2014 15:01

tactical fanny pack

Covax July 21st, 2014 15:13

Seem like I'm the only guy who loves his 'tactical man purse' aka Evolution Gear's 'Street Fighter' bag. I use it for a quick missions when I can't be bothered with a vest; exterior pouches hold mags, the interior can be used as a dump pouch.

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/media/cat...1-GY_MARK1.jpg

http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/evolution...hter-grey.html
http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/evolution...ter-black.html

5.11 have put out some similar Rush Delivery bags recently.

pugs144 July 21st, 2014 15:47

For new players I would advise against getting plate carriers until they are absolutely sure they want be schlepping heavyass heat-trapping plates to their torso.

_Whiskey_ July 21st, 2014 16:33

A battle or Molle Belt would be a good option. light won't break the bank. And still allows you to move freely and carrying all of your gear you could need.

lurkingknight July 21st, 2014 19:12

my belt rig is a minimal rig I run with my vest. If it gets too hot or I need to go super light weight, I can dump my chestrig and just run the belt... it has my pistol, 3 pistol mags and 2 rifle mags on it. For a lot of milsims that can hold out a reasonable amount of time, though nightfall was cool enough this year I didn't have to resort to it.

I ended up doing that for a skirmish this past weekend, running a drum and 2 mids.

MattG666 July 21st, 2014 21:22

Thank you for all the info so far! I will definitely check out the chest rigs and the belts.

I played for my second time yesterday and I can say for sure that I dont want to be lugging around all kinds of gear; I much prefer to be as mobile as possible and not drown in my own sweat (very humid yesterday)

Sherbert85 July 21st, 2014 21:25

Hate the cumbersome vests and plate carriers, too restrictive in movement. I use a Condor battle belt with the matching suspenders and carry everything I need. Cost me less than $200 to set up.

Ricochet July 21st, 2014 22:54

I had a Condor Battle-belt, and although it was comfy it would twist and bunch. I bought a HSGI Sure-Grip, same style of product but much better. I don't need suspenders for it or worry about it bunching up. It's a few more dollars but I'm very happy I traded up.

I will say this though; I wear a battle belt and plate carrier, both are light-weight, slim, and fast. I can carry everything I need for 24 hours plus of endurance games, or easily cut down to skirmish. Anything hefty like water, Stanag mags, etc I prefer up on my shoulders, back, chest. I only like the lighter stuff on my hips for weight distribution. I assume at some point you'll want to carry additional ammo or hydration, etc, so you may think of some rudimentary webbing something as well if you're going to go bare-bones.

lurkingknight July 21st, 2014 23:35

whatever you choose though, make sure you can carry water, one way or another. Do not take the field without having at least a bottle with you. My belt rig doesn't have it, but the field I was at is set up such that it's not a huge distance away from the safezone so I could get access to water. On top of that, I did lug my upper rig onto the field and left it in a safe spot so I could at least take a drink while respawning.

never leave water behind.

The Mutt July 25th, 2014 06:47

For warmer game days and those lightweight low drag I tend to go minimal belt kit with dropleg, and if you have a decent hydrapack then you can throw extra mags in there as well as any other kit you may wish to carry.

Bigload July 28th, 2014 01:24

As a new player, you can listen to advise others give, but please do yourself a favor and go to the store, and try things on. What works for others, does not mean it is 'the thing' for you.

Nateman332 July 30th, 2014 04:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by pugs144 (Post 1901961)
82 Pattern webbing or ALICE gear. Both are cheap, plentiful, and robust.

+1 on that. my 82 Pattern webbing cost me under $50 and it's much nicer than a vest IMHO.

brock0 July 30th, 2014 09:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by lurkingknight (Post 1902382)
whatever you choose though, make sure you can carry water, one way or another. Do not take the field without having at least a bottle with you. My belt rig doesn't have it, but the field I was at is set up such that it's not a huge distance away from the safezone so I could get access to water. On top of that, I did lug my upper rig onto the field and left it in a safe spot so I could at least take a drink while respawning.

never leave water behind.

Just wanted to emphasize this. The safezone at my regular field is also very far from the action. I've seen other players run into this problem - either not bringing water at all or leaving it where they can't get at it.

Bring 3x more water than you think you'll need and have some with you at all times. My chest rig doesn't have any room for water, and I don't have a hydration carrier (yet) so I carry around a water bottle in my dump pouch.

targetGspot July 30th, 2014 13:58

I run a molle drop leg. Doesn't get in the way, configure any way I want. Room for 2 m14 mag pouches, 2 pouches for my kc02 mags,(also fit small m16 mags) and a folding dump pouch all at once. Together with a decent belt and you're good to go. Sometimes i run with a drop leg pistol holster on the other side too.


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