Tactical gear/bags

[fieldmixer]

Has anyone gone fishing around and explored purchasing tactical / army type gear bags/pouches and such for use with our kind of kit?

I'm looking at this and thinking wow. good 302/sr/411/np1 set up? At 1/10th the cost...

http://www.flecktarn.co.uk/sdtmb6nx.html

Pics of your setups and opinions welcome!

[Jack Norflus]

IIRC - Tom uses something like this.

[Sndspd]

I just started using a 5.11 tactical vest along with some pouches from the same company.  Its way overkill but my utility belt I was using was cutting into my waist so I opted to lug everything on my shoulders.  I've pretty much downside how much ancillary stuff I carry during the transition.

 

A company called Maxpedition (http://www.maxpedition.com) makes a rolled up pouch called a rollypolly in 3 varying sizes which can hold a lot including a Denecke compact slate (Its there medium pouch) during those times you gotta carry one.

 

Keep in mind that this stuff ain't cheap.

[afewmoreyears]

OGIO Flight vest.....   It's awesome.. I've had one for YEARS...

http://ogio.com/power/flight-vest

[fieldmixer]

Tom i would love to see what you are using and how you are using it.

I like those maxpedition pouches. Handy. i plan on getting one. i own the travel tray.

http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/Tactical-Travel-Tray-14p587.htm

Great for prepping tx's and bits.

The flight vest looks interesting. Can a small mixer and rx's all be placed within its pockets?

[atheisticmystic]

I've been slowly piecing together a tactical system each for when I boom, and for when I'm Han (solo):

 

When I boom, I use:

- (2) drop pouches from Blackhawk:

- and I'm waiting for my 5.11 vest on order:

 

 

When I'm Han, I want to switch the 5.11 Tac vest, to the:

 

My plan is to:

-hang a 664 from the front of the LBE vest which is load reinforced

-pouch the NP-1 battery at side-rear

-ride (2) 411a in each of the drop pouches, and use the Lectro 48" coaxial antennae to get up the vest for better signal path

-make power cable and XLR from the drop pouches connect at the sides of the vest, and use the MOLLE webbing to weave cables to BDS and 664.

-use remaining MOLLE webbing for bits and bobs pouches.

 

It's going to be incredibly expensive and incredibly sweat inducing, but after my last Han gig in December, not even yoga in between set-ups can keep me in the game for long. I came very late to a young-person's trade, and I have absolutely got to Cyborg the load across my body.

I'll be posting more as it comes together.

Best,

 

[atheisticmystic]

Maxpedition makes great gear.

That OGIO flight vest looks very very interesting....nice find.

[fieldmixer]

Looking forward to seeing pics. Where do you buy the LBE vest from?

I also am motivated to spread the load.

Was also looking at this but can't quite tell how it all clicks together and fits.

http://andysmilitarysurplus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=1315

[atheisticmystic]

Was also looking at this but can't quite tell how it all clicks together and fits.

 

That harness looks interesting, and I'm not sure either how it exactly rides.

When it comes to tactical gear, I stick to a couple of vendors that are well respected within the LEO/MIL community, and whose gear I've used for several years.

I'm not familiar with Viper, are you?

[fieldmixer]

I'm not familiar with any of these products yet except for that maxpedition tray. Tricky to decide when unable to try on first. I might go for the LBE vest you posted. Does your vendor have an online store?

[atheisticmystic]

5.11 has their own site:

http://www.511tactical.com/All-Products/Outerwear/Vests/VTAC-LBE-Tactical-Vest.html

 

Ive tried to support local tac shops, but I've been waiting on my 5.11 Tac-Vest for two months now.

When I buy the VTAC LBE vest IM going back to the 5.11 site.

[Sndspd]

I've been slowly piecing together a tactical system each for when I boom, and for when I'm Han (solo):

 

When I boom, I use:

- (2) drop pouches from Blackhawk:

drop.jpg

- and I'm waiting for my 5.11 vest on order:

 5.11.jpg

 

When I'm Han, I want to switch the 5.11 Tac vest, to the:

LBE.jpg

 

My plan is to:

-hang a 664 from the front of the LBE vest which is load reinforced

-pouch the NP-1 battery at side-rear

-ride (2) 411a in each of the drop pouches, and use the Lectro 48" coaxial antennae to get up the vest for better signal path

ant.jpg

-make power cable and XLR from the drop pouches connect at the sides of the vest, and use the MOLLE webbing to weave cables to BDS and 664.

-use remaining MOLLE webbing for bits and bobs pouches.

 

It's going to be incredibly expensive and incredibly sweat inducing, but after my last Han gig in December, not even yoga in between set-ups can keep me in the game for long. I came very late to a young-person's trade, and I have absolutely got to Cyborg the load across my body.

I'll be posting more as it comes together.

Best,

 

On the LBE vest go to 511tactical.com, under store locator to find where they distribute their stuff.  I got my vest and pouches from Quartermaster in Santa Ana, CA.  Quartermaster also has a website and a few stores locally in the LA area.  Probably any store that caters to law enforcement which Quartermaster does will have stock otherwise you can find this stuff online.

 

The Maxpedition items I bought straight from their online store.  There distribution warehouse is in LA which makes for a quick delivery but you are hit with the sales tax.

[atheisticmystic]

Quartermaster also has a website and a few stores locally in the LA area.  

They're a good outfit, and I've been to their L.A. store.

 

I've purchased from GALLS more times than I can count, and they're super-quick, and super-stocked.

http://www.galls.com/cgi/CGBCHOME

[Tom Visser]

When I came out of the Marines, I had a bit of a collection of nylon harnesses / pouchery and it seemed to make logical sense to use some of it for sound use. There are a couple of differences that are important to recognize between the sound and military applications.

Military loads tend to be in the 40 to 100+ pound range, where sound is 10 to 30 pound or so...

Military munitions and communications, the primary application for pouchery, do not require a lot of wiring interconnect with the main bag - in fact military loads are mostly ruck sack centric, which are for the most part dropped when one encounters a situation that requires immediate action. What is left is chest, belt, and drop leg mounts, mostly munitions... rifle mags, pistol/sub-m mags, ball grenades, smoke canisters, pop flares, etc... Because sound bags are primarily mixer based with almost everything wired back to it, the modular pouch based approach that makes strapping on mags and other munitions so well served by A.L.I.C.E. or M.O.L.L.E. pouches is not so much true for the typical sound bag. For the most part, I have abandoned using military gear for sound use, as sound industry specific vendors have dialed in a better solution for our specific industry. You can do it, but the gear is going to be more bulky than a sound-specific solution because the gear is either designed to be load bearing for a significantly heavier gear or it will be difficult to deal with the inter-wiring between pouches.

I do in fact own two chest rigs as pictured that were designed to hold 5.56 NATO mags, one with M.O.L.L.E. attachments on the front and another with sewn on pouches for radios and other military gack... haven't brought them out since I moved over to PortaBrace bags. Perhaps, since I try not to look like a military geek these days, maybe I'm less inclined to want to brandish this type of gear, where maybe it is more attractive for others for whom the military look is not so undesired.

I do in fact have some bags left over from military service that perform admirably in the sound field. I use a military bag for holding my sharkfins. There is a map pouch with a clear cover that is perfect for holding and displaying in clear view all of my RF cables and adapters. I use a military CQB belt with D-ring, so convenient for strapping onto aircraft rigging, or providing a hard-point for a team member to drag you out of a bad situation if you become incapacitated, but other than that, most of my nylon accessories go unused in a forgotten bin these days.

[audio911]

I own a lot of 5.11 gear. Best place to get it is at LApolicegear.com

[atheisticmystic]

Excellent points Tom.

Wiring between LBE elements has been the hardest to figure out, and bulky is right.

[fieldmixer]

I have the inter wiring between pouches coverd. Years ago I had a back up power supply made. It consists of an idx power cup witch directly breaks our to four foot lengths of power cables. I'm not afraid to snip a hole here and there.

[Tom Visser]

You also have to be a bit sensitive to how you look to the civilian public and security persons.  Are you going to look like "threat" with chatchtkas and wires running around?  With timecode running on an iPhone or slate, been there done that... could look a little interesting at first glance.

 

I don't mean to shoot the idea down entirely, like I said, I own quite a few military or contractor items myself.  I especially like my Blackhawk submachine gun  case, which fits my MacbookPro.  It looks just like any other laptop case going through the airport, has great solid D-ring attachment points on the back panel, and rifle mag pockets inside are great for holding spare NP-1 or other battery packs.

 

Because we typically wear black or charcoal gray, my first choice would be black instead of Coyote Tan.

 

The final problem, well with me anyways, is that I sweat like a pig when circulation is blocked to my skin.  This may be all fine and good when running up and down mountains, where dripping with sweat and leaving giant white salt marks is perfectly fine on BDUs, but in civilized settings, I prefer to keep a more well kept appearance when at all possible.  Even the most premium military or contractor gear pales in comparison to the finer breathable mesh materials used by companies like Versaflex and you can see that the width of the pads are big - like for bearing weight about 10 times what sound packages will weigh.

[fieldmixer]

Good insights Tom thank you. I ended up ordering one last night. No black unfortunately. I'll keep your points in mind thought if/when I'm running around with it on. Especially at airports...

[hemmerlinj]

I met a guy here in NYC that used a Blackhawk flak vest with the MOLLE system.  His theory was that it had a quick release, and he had been working on some shoots on a boat or dock a bunch.  If he went into the water he could drop the rig quick rather than get dragged under.  He got the idea from the steadicam guy.

[atheisticmystic]

The final problem, well with me anyways, is that I sweat like a pig when circulation is blocked to my skin. 

I completely hear this, and may even try to finance an A/B rig to get through longer gigs without having to completely de-cable and wash.

The physical limitations of my body, and the desire I have to be in this career for the "long game" make me trade this issue off as acceptable (at least to try it).

Did I already thank you for your service Tom?

[johnpaul215]

I have a leg drop MOLLE rig that I sometimes use. I would attach it to a belt that had my walkie holster. It gave me a few pockets so I didn't NEED to wear cargo pants and stuff the pockets. I could wear jeans and still carry a lot of stuff that wasn't in my audio bag. The pouches on the leg drop are a lot easier if you are doing some running. 

[Sndspd]

As mentioned by others, thank you for the insight, comments, and service Tom.

[Tom Visser]

Thank you Steve and Sndspd.  Yes Steve, you had previously thanked me.  I think we all owe it to each other to serve in some capacity, whether that is via uniform, civil sector service jobs, community activism, or even just responsible voting and voicing of one's opinion in the "town square".  I initially joined the Marines for purely selfish reasons, but for the first time in my life found an organization that was much tougher than me and quickly put me in my place.  I developed a respect for the Corps that was more profound than what I could have imagined when I first entertained the idea of enlisting.  I feel my contribution to our (US) country's defense was minor and am honored to have been able to take my small place in its ranks for that period of time in my life, so my thanks really goes to my brothers, past, and those who I have never met who have taken my place.

[atheisticmystic]

Rachel had asked me to send some pics of my tac vest set-up, so I decided to just post it here in the original thread. My rig is a 5.11 tac vest (not a plate carrier) attached to a heavily reinforced speed belt, with 2 "drop pouches". My bag (currently a 664 in a Ktek stingray with (4) 411a, (2) SMQV, and an R1a.

It keeps my back alive through 14 hours, but the trade-off is limited breathability and bulkiness (also some suspicious stares and half-joking comments about looking like a terrorist). I tried 2 separate harnesses, but the weight distribution didnt cut it for me. My rig, when fastened down tight, keeps everything tight, close, and distributed.

The rig:

With a M.O.L.L.E system, there's endless options to hang and place bags and pouches.

Two carabiners for the bag:

Back view shows how robust the speed belt is; it reslly anchors the weight:

Drop pouches on both sides; tons of space for batteries, lav accesories, water, etc.

With my bag:

Side view:

Sweat city, and navigating through crowded restaurants is a chore, but my back feels better at the end of the day.

Best,

Steven