by
Comega and Lee
Pictures of MOD courtesy of Ramraid. |
Those of you that watched Blackhawk Down, an interesting fact that you might or might not be aware of is that Blackhawk Industries supplied all the tactical gear for that, from harnesses to the vests and virtually everything in between. Unlike the Taiwanese / Chinese tactical clothing, Blackhawk usually stands miles apart in quality and feel and the general look, enter stage right - Guarder (intrudershop) we shall get into this a bit later on. People don't often like to spend much on their tactical equipment but rather concentrate on the weapons, sure that's fine - but if you are anything like me then you want to have the right look for the right guns, and there is nothing more fun then setting your loadout to match a certain era or perhaps a look, be it fictional or real life a good example is all those Stargate fans out there. So why the R.A.C.K ? Also known as the Ranger Assault Carrying Kit ? Well the reasons behind this are primarily the current operation going on in Afghanistan paired with the movie Blackhawk Down meeting somewhere in the middle. Now one thing I must point out at a early stage is that the "issue" R.A.C.K is not made by Blackhawk but by a company known as Speciality Defense (specialitydefense.com). I decided to go for the Ranger loadout after doing some research and loosely basing it on the movie as well (in terms of the body armour, BDU's and boots). |
"It is the current LCE for all riflemen at the 75th Ranger Regiment and many other U.S. Special Operations Forces. It can be configured for Grenadiers and SAW Gunners. All new modular pockets on the SPEAR System, AIRSAVE aviators survival vest, Marine MOLLE, and Army Modular System (MLS) are compatible with the BLACKHAWK R.A.C.K and Modular system. The R.A.C.K frees up the hip and abdomen. Because it.s worn on the chest, it does not conflict with a waist belt. The BLACKHAWK R.A.C.K also helps protect the upper body from frag, bullets and trama because it gets your gear up on the chest area for extra protection. The R.A.C.K can be worn H harness style or with shoulder straps crossed in the back. It works with or without packs/body armor. Each pocket contains drainage grommets; pull tabs, and drawstring cords with barrel locks. Ladder locks, D-rings, snaps and hook-and pile closures encompass the RACK. The RACK can be configured in any way suitable for your mission." Indeed it is, the great thing about this vest like any MOLLE system is that it can be configured how YOU like it, people with the generic Blackhawk vests often find that they usually dont have enough pockets or have too many, and usually end up adding on pouches on their belts which are often the wrong shade and so forth, however that can work just as good - as I have some on mine :) |
With the R.A.C.K you can configure it as YOU wish. The Complete Blackhawk system ships with the following components :
4 x Mag Pouches each holds 2 M-16/M-4 magazine and two 12-gauge shot gun rounds.
3 x Grenade Pouches: each holds a fragmentation grenade.
1 x Radio Pouch (saber or similar).
1 x Utility Pouch accommodates AN/PRC-126 radio or general purpose items.
1 x Canteen Pouch, one quart with stash-away flap holds more frag, 40mm grenades, or NVG.s.
1 x Leg Pouch snaps on/off via 2 side-release fasten adapters provides storage for protective mask or general purpose, can also be worn on a sling.
The pouches are extremely easy to attach, and once fitted they sit extremely snugly and can easily stand up to the fast mag pulls or used mag dumping that you usually encounter in airsoft or for that matter real combat. My current configuration is as follows :
1 x
Chest harness with the bib folded out.
3 x Grenade
pouches.
3 x M16
Mag pouches.
1 x Utility
pouch.
1 x Radio
pouch.
1 x Leg
pouch.
Velcro or fast release buckle ? Well you decide, the mag pouches are held close by the velcro while the leg pouch and the saber pouch has both, however you can choose which one to use as they come with a male cover for the velcro should you not choose to use it and only use the fast release clip. I personally use both for the extra added security and comfort knowing what I put into the pouches stays in there. The grenade pouches closed with press studs.
What does it come with ? You can get all the accessories for this vest which will make it exactly like the Blackhawk vest, however they are not included, for the $135 you get : 1
x Chest harness with foldout bib. |
The general build of this vest isint as good as the Blackhawk's, some place do feel like they would rip after pro-longed rough use and could have done with double stiching. The fit isint as comfy as the Blackhawk's, the bib feels a bit loose and a bit flimsy on the chest once attached to the D-rings and just isint snug enough for my liking. The pouches lock in a similiar fashion as the R.A.C.K - velcro and quick release tabs.
You can swap the pouches between the R.A.C.K and as a matter of fact the MOD is fully MOLLE Compatible, which is not bad considering the prices of MOLLE kit.
One of the quite obvious difference is the presence of Shotgun shell loops in the Blackhawk Ammo pouches and not there in Guarders. The Above is me generally just looking for the smallest faults I could find because this is that good a replica ! In reality in my opinion this would last just as long as the Blackhawk if treated well.
Some of you might feel that I have not mentioned much about the M.O.D and concentrated more on the R.A.C.K, the only reason for this is because there is not much difference between the two, and could easily be mistaken for one another if, you did not see the other one or if the everpresent and now infamous badge of Blackhawk wasnt present on the inside of one of them.
Another thing you might want to keep in mind before doing any future purchases, which I certainly will is that Guarder are set to release a whole bunch of products which are identifical to Blackhawk and other major products on the market at the moment, one thing which certainly takes my intreset is the M.O.D body Armour, which is a replica of the current issue Interceptor vest.
PRICE COMPARISON
| Complete Blackhawk R.a.c.k $399.95* (£254.85) | Guarder
M.O.D $135.00* Complete M.O.D with all the same pouches as the R.A.C.K = $252.00* (£160.66)
|
Conclusion : So which one to choose ? If you are on a budget and want to get basically a similiar-ish (not quite the same) quality kit, which most people wont be able to tell the difference between then go for the Guarder.
I am of the opinion that Blackhawk can be imitated, however it cannot be replaced.
