KIT REVIEW:

South African M-83 Assault Vest in British DPM

"Sometimes, you get more than you expect for your money!"
By Roger Stenning

Assault vests are becoming all the rage in Airsoft (and the military). There are loads to choose from, but not many (comparatively speaking) are available in British DPM camouflage patterns, or are of reliably good quality for Airsoft gaming or military service. Those that do meet these requirements are normally priced to severely dent your wallet, from £100 to £250, depending on where you shop, and if you get a 'Brand Name' item or not.

…Until now, that is…

I first heard about South African Army Assault Vests when I was a serving T.A. soldier; however, as it could only be obtained in a sand brown colour, it wasn't an option for me as webbing. It either had to be coloured olive drab (military green!), or DPM, both of which were unavailable at the time, but that's life.

Recently, at the SWAT Big Game 2002, I noticed a lad wearing one of these vests - in British DPM! To say that I was curious was an understatement!

So, I asked the usual questions - where'd you get it, is it any good, how much was it, and so on. He handed me a business card from New Cross Army Surplus, telling me that he'd got it from them, and that it was the best webbing that he'd ever invested in.

I decided that a closer examination might be in order, so when I got back from the event, contacted Lee, at New Cross Army Surplus, who kindly sent me one for review (Thanks, mate!).

Here's what you get - for a touch under £40 (incredible - yes, it costs a ridiculously low £39.95!)

• 1 inside map pocket at waist level (small)
• 8 attachment accessory straps (2 below back pouches, 3 each side of back pouches)
• 2 back pouches (mounted one above the other)
• 2 kidney water bottle pouches with side mounted ammo/utility pouches
• 2 waist ammo pouches
• 1 waist-mounted cargo/utility pouch
• 2 chest ammo pouches
• 2 FFD pouches
• Fully padded adjustable shoulder straps for comfort under load
• Double waist closure straps with 25mm Koch fastners

All of this weighs in at a third less than my normal PLCE webbing set would weigh. Already, not having loaded my normal gaming loadout, I was beginning to be impressed.

Construction-wise, the vest is made from tough nylon, with the base level of the construction being a cross-hatch mesh of rubber-coated nylon; this provides you with excellent ventilation, and prevents the build-up of sweat (and hence helps prevent sweat rash) on the areas of skin and/or clothing under the worn vest. The pouches are sewn directly onto this mesh, providing a substantial reduction in weight over more conventional webbing, and a secure fitting as well. None of the pouches are weakly attached, and all seem tough enough for the purpose of heavy assault load carriage.

Closing the waist straps is easy - there are two 25mm Koch fastners, which lock securely in place around your waist; in front of the left hand fastners, there's also a small map pocket, that extends to just beyond the edge of the cargo pouch.

With the exception of the back pouches and two utility 'kidney' pouches, all pouches close securely by means of Velcro patches; the kidney pouches are strapped down by retained cargo straps. The two back pouches use more normal zips, and aren't designed for speedy access, as you need to take the vest off to access them (unless you've got a mate behind you!), but this isn't a problem, really, as you'd not normally expect to access these unless you were camped in place. There are also two pen pockets (one each on the ammo pouches on the shoulder riser straps)

A nice feature of both kidney pouches and the top-most back pouch is a Velcro-covered speedy-access 'window flap'; this allows you to get at things at the top of the pouches that you'd normally have to fiddle to open - I quite liked this feature, as it allowed me to stow my 10x25 monocular for rapid access, and stow it out of the way again, when not needed.

Size-wise, the ammunition pouches (right waist, on the side of each kidney pouch, and on the risers of the shoulder straps), will take M16, ß-Spetsnaz (the small AK high-caps, not he full-size AK ones), or even (at a squeeze) AUG magazines; since the fit of AUG mags in these pouches (especially the shoulder riser-mounted ones) was a tad tight, I opted to use the left waist cargo pouch, and three AUG mags fitted in there just right, with my fourth and fifth mags going neatly into the side pouches of the kidney pouches.

The PMR radio I use (a Telcom TW 1000) fits nicely into one of the First Field Dressing Pouches, with a Military Smoke grenade fitting into the right shoulder riser ammo pouch, with a spare AUG rifle battery fitting neatly in the other section of the pouch (the shoulder riser ammo pouches are internally divided), and two PDI airsoft grenades fitting (a little snugly) into the left shoulder riser ammo pouch. The kidney pouches take an MOD issue water bottle and mug easily, with room to spare, or a large mess tin and full day's rations (and hexamine burner) as well - now that IS impressive! In the back pouches, I stuffed a water-proof nylon jacket and trousers, gloves, and my first-aid pack with ease.

All in all, this vest took the majority of my normal gaming gear with ease, and, as my load-out is similar to what I had to carry while a serving T.A. soldier, will cope with the load-out a serving soldier has to carry as well (although the back pouches will need to be empty, if a bergan is to be carried as well).

Another useful feature of this vest involves the rubber-like coating of the mesh backing; this also appears around the shoulder straps, as they pass over and in front of the shoulders; it provides a very nice friction padding for a rifle in the aim, preventing it from slipping (as happens on a couple of other vests that I've seen). Nice feature, and very handy!

Since I wanted to get this review in quickly (since the deadline for articles in Gun Mart cannot be missed! - As you may know, I also write in Gun Mart magazine - if not, where the heck have you been this last year?!), I couldn't get to a game in time to field-test it, so am relying on the lad I met at the SWAT Big Game for his opinions; he told me that the South African Assault Vest was secure (it didn't bounce about like PLCE or other similar webbing systems), easy and fast to use for magazine changes, and resilient; he fitted a platypus pack to his, in place of a water bottle (to help with this, there are loops to retain the drinking tube on the front of the vest - it is also, apparently, compatible with camelback systems as well!). When I've had a chance to actually play a game or two with the vest, I'll update the article!

Thus far, though, I can only find one gripe, and for £39.95, it isn't much of a gripe, really; the pouches do not have drain holes at the bottom, so if it's really bucketing down with rain, you may find water collecting at the bottom of the pouches; aside from that, I'm very impressed with the quality of this comparatively cheap piece of kit, and will no doubt be using it as my primary load carrying kit henceforth. 10/10 for quality, colour, utility, and efficiency of carriage - I couldn't rate it higher than that if I wanted to!

So, in summary:

Pros…

Well made, innovative features, easily accessible, well designed, one size fits all.

Cons:

The pouches do not have drain holes at the bottom, so if it's really bucketing down with rain, you may find water collecting at the bottom of the pouches - and for £39.95, that ain't much of a problem!

Post Script to the above niggle...

Anyhow, having spoken to Lee at New Cross Army Surplus, and mentioned this, he tells me that it's something that they will raise with their supplier, so maybe future versions of this vest will have drain holes as standard - in the mean time, you can always do them yourself, if you're VERY careful, using those pop-rivet-like things from all really good home-sewing hobby shops! (note that this WILL invalidate any warranty there is on the vest, so I'd wait until it's out of warranty before doing this!)

Final Post Script...

I'm actually so impressed with this vest, that I've made it my main load carrying kit, in place of my old PLCE webbing - I've found it to be easy to use, less aggro that PLCE, and dead easy to wear all day - the load is spread fairly evenly over my upper body, and, even when crawling along in the weeds, of little encumberance at all - I highly recommend this vest to both newbie and experienced player alike - play on!

It just goes to show - sometimes, you get more than you expect for your money!

You can obtain these vests in the UK, from:

New Cross Army Surplus,
31a Tib Street,
Manchester, M4 1LX
Telephone/Facsimile: 0161-832-9683,
Web: http://www.militarykit.com/
E-mail: sales@militarykit.com
 
My sincere thanks to all the folks at New Cross Army Surplus, and in particular Lee, for providing the review sample!

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