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?

Chest rig.

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.

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!

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

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.

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

Huh.

No.

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

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.

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

battle belt is probably as minimal as you could go.

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

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.

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.

A belt or a drop leg rig...

i.e.

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

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...

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

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

Duty Belt should suffice for most games.

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

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.

I heard the USGI molle vests are pretty good.

Plate Carrier
Vest
Chest Rig
Bandoleer
Belt


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.

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.

tactical fanny pack

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.