2012 - The year your kit went on a diet

[TheFull9]

The pictures are out from SHOT show, the products form various manufacturers are flooding in to retailers, it's been pretty clear for some months now that this has been coming, and the new wave is now here.

 

1000D cordura has really been the staple of MOLLE carriers and pouches since the inception of the system. For some years product descriptions have all been about maximum durability with no real care in the design with regards to the weight of the item, and that made sense, because the last thing a fighting man on the front line wants to happen is to go for a reload at a critical moment and find himself grabbing at the air where his mag pouch used to be.

 

Technology it seems however, has moved on. Companies like Tactical Tailor and First Spear (amongst many, many others) now seem to reckon they can produce gear that's tough enough for real world situations while weighing down the war fighter to a substantially lessened extent.

 

For me, one of the most exciting innovations is something my brother highlighted to me a couple of weeks ago, something that I've been referring to as inverse-MOLLE. It's being introduced by quite a few different companies and it's all based around laser cut rigs where your pouches are threaded through slots in the materiel itself, totally eliminating PALS webbing and all that stitching. First Spear is one of the big proponents of this new system (which they refer to as "6/12") and they've even come up with a whole new modular pouch attachment method in an attempt to replace MOLLE completely.

 

This video will explain things a bit more easily that I'll ever be able to:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAAV-g07pwI&feature=player_embedded

 

You can also check out First Spear's 2012 catalogue of products here for more examples and information: http://soldiersystems.net/2012/01/17/firstspear-2012-catalog/

 

Here's another example of pretty much the same system by a company called ArmorWorks:

 

http://soldiersystems.net/2012/01/18/armorworks-modular-plate-carrier/

 

 

Crye will be offering their 'Airlite' plate carrier too:

 

 

Obviously this isn't an exhaustive list, just some obvious examples to convey the information.

 

On the pouches front, we've firstly got Blue Force Gear with their Helium Whisper line now easily attainable from places like Op Tactical:

 

http://www.optactical.com/blfogetetrm4.html

 

 

 

They reckon it's actually tougher than their old kit while apparently giving a 26% weight saving on some already very lightweight pouches (certainly as far as the TenSpeeds go). Pretty impressive to my mind.

 

Tactical Tailor have their new Fight Light line out there now, again easily available.

 

http://www.optactical.com/tatafili5trm.html

 

 

They've trimmed the fat on various pouch and carrier/belt designs, replaced the 1000D with 500D and as you can see from this pouch the new webbing straps are thinner than before. I've seen this same webbing matierial first hand on my Grey Ghost Litelock assault pack and it still accepts pouches absolutely fine just as before and it's tough too, but as you can see, yet again they're shaving off those ounces. Most kit is supposedly in the region of 30% lighter than equivalent items produced to the previous specs.

 

So what do we think folks? First Spear reckon their new materials make the carriers themselves just as strong as before, and some of the guys writing up articles from SHOT seem to agree after trying the stuff out for themselves. But how much durability might we potentially be losing in certain areas? How much comfort might we be sacrificing without all that 'heavy' air-tex mesh and padding we've become accustomed to? Is this the future or just a big craze that'll blow over? I reckon it's the way forward for quality, comfortable airsoft gear myself, but I thought I'd throw this up and get some ideas of what others might be thinking.

[Leon Kennedy]

I'm glad because I ran light anyway. I'm 5'11", 150lbs so my frame doesn't carry a lot. This is basically all an excuse for me to get a new chest rig.

[Jim01]

I have got to say I much prefer the 6/12 idea over cryes airlight design as they both stand as of now, it looks a hell of a lot more stable but I'm yet to see a video so can't really compare fairly.

 

The tubes idea is brilliant, quite disappointed that the airlight has no cummerbund to speak of.

[kojak]

Don't forget the S&S Plate Frame.

[TheFull9]

See, I kind of deliberately avoided that thing. The way the hooks that hold the plates in position are shaped makes it look like it's going to be terribly uncomfortable, certainly over a UBACS or a smart shirt (for PSD types).

 

Also you'll only be able to attach proprietary S&S accessories in terms of load carriage capability. Those will presumably be extortionately expensive knowing S&S, and you're then hugely restricted in terms of your pouch options. The other laser cut modular systems will allow you to attach any currently available MOLLE pouch, which makes them an infinitely superior option at this stage, to my mind anyway.

[master_titled]

I need me some tubessssssssssss

[slu]

I think the 500D and lower density trend has been around for a couple of years, but the attachment methods you've posted here is news to me.

[Interficium]

Great post Kinnerley, the whole "MOLLE lite" stuff certainly is all the rage this year with the web gear companies.

 

IMHO I do wonder if this all a bit "putting the cart before the horse." I have yet to see any hard numbers (other than things like "this m4 pouch is 34% lighter then our standard m4 pouch") of how many pounds a first spear/armorworks/etc inverse molle loadout with all the pouches and such weighs compares to an equivalent 500D/1000D cordura loadout.

 

I suspect it would not amount to a ton of weight savings, I guess every little bit helps though.

 

The real weight the warfighter carries is what's in his ruck, his pouches, and his armor, so it would seem to me research should be directed to make THOSE things lighter.

[Wingmann]

I'm not sure I like the 6/12. The demo looks fine until you think about doing the same thing on a patch that is tense over whatever is below it. You don't normally see the black side of the patch to put the velcros that tidy.

Other concern is how are those cuts terminated. If they have no stitches at the ends they might end up ripping.

 

Interesting stuff though.

[Interficium]

I'm not sure I like the 6/12. The demo looks fine until you think about doing the same thing on a patch that is tense over whatever is below it. You don't normally see the black side of the patch to put the velcros that tidy.

 

I believe a stated drawback of the system is that you have to shuck the plate before attaching any pouches, so you can get "underneath" the laser-cut system and make sure everything is tidy.

[Gigueand]

The "tubes" concept is pretty interesting and would certainly go a long way in terms of donning and doffing any PC.

 

It's also interesting to see companies moving to 500 denier kit. It wasn't so long ago that 500 denier was derided as "good enough for Condor" but not good enough for anything else.

 

Not having been at Shot, but having read up on some of the latest kit on Soldier Systems, Kit Up and Gear Scout, I think the S&S Plate Frame is going to be of interest into the future. The prototype (or whatever) that they have been showing does look uncomfortable with how the frame wraps around the plate, but I'm sure that there is some solution already being explored as that seems to be a pretty common complaint.

 

I'd love to see more videos and coverage of Shot 2012, seems like coverage this year has been a bit lacking.

 

Thanks for the post CKinnerley.

[TheFull9]

I think the 500D and lower density trend has been around for a couple of years, but the attachment methods you've posted here is news to me.

 

Quite true, LBT's been doing it for some time I believe, the idea just hasn't been pushed and promoted on anything like this scale before now though. That was my main point.

 

I suspect it would not amount to a ton of weight savings, I guess every little bit helps though.

 

The real weight the warfighter carries is what's in his ruck, his pouches, and his armor, so it would seem to me research should be directed to make THOSE things lighter.

 

I completely see what you're saying, but I do think it's all worth doing. Plus, tactical gear companies can only really work on the products within their abilities to manufacture, ceramic armour is gradually improving over the years but I'm not sure whether small arms rounds, grenades, radios or medical kit will ever really change all that much in terms of weight. 3 litres of water is always going to weigh 3kg, there's just no way around that unfortunately, though at least we have plastic magazines these days.

 

I have to say, one of my motivations for taking an interest in the whole phenomenon and bringing it up for discussion is centered around my personal experience with LBE. Going back in time a bit, PLCE webbing for example is absolutely bomb proof. The set I had for my stint in recruit training had probably been thrashed around by hundreds of other guys before me, and apart from a bit of fading and the occasional loose thread it still kept on going strong now matter how much I dragged it along underneath me crawling on sun baked earth and gravel. Similar experience with the issue bergen, you could swear the stitching had steel reinforcements running through it, the entire thing was absolutely water proof (thoroughly tested this) and even after years of constant heavy abuse and being crammed to bursting it never gave a sign failing in any way. All that said of course, that 90s era gear had a lot of metal content and thick materials, even an empty pack/webbing set had a fair bit of weight to it.

 

I've been fairly surprised when I've put together airsoft rigs using MOLLE as well. I'm not one to load on a *suitcase* ton of pouches, I always set myself up with 4 rifle mags, a GP, hydro carrier and a radio pouch, that's basically it it. Yet still, a lot of my armour carrying rigs end up weighing a noticeable amount even when fully unloaded. A good few times in the past I've had a new rig turn up with an accompanying pouch set (pretty much always all made of 1kD), I sit there for a while threading all those chunky attachment straps and by the time I come to check over the completed system it's suddenly got really rather heavy; certainly for an item that's entirely useless on it's own that is.

 

Other concern is how are those cuts terminated. If they have no stitches at the ends they might end up ripping.

 

Have a read of the Soldier Systems article I linked about the ArmorWorks PC. They seem to have got that problem covered already it would appear.

[Interficium]

3 litres of water is always going to weigh 3kg, there's just no way around that unfortunately

 

Magpul lightweight tactical water @ shot show 2013, calling it right now.

[Mr. Jon]

does it keep compressed hydrogen and oxygen and mix them in the drinking tube?

 

I also feel the Mayflower Litelok line was somewhat slipped in under the news radar, they have the confidence in the material to make chest rigs and plate carriers out of it. If it can be laser cut well (I don't know about that sort of thing) I imagine it might get even more prevalent with these new systems.

[talon_0315]

I think gear manufacturers are heading in the right direction to do their part to lighten a soldier's combat load. Even something as "light" as 500D Cordura used by Condor pretty damned strong. Where stuff begins to fail is in the stitching; all the fancy materials and weight cutting won't do jack if the stitching and stress points aren't strenghtened as much as possible.

[hwagan]

That 6/12 Chest-rig; Will own. Soon. Don't care how.

 

 

Frankly I'm not too concerned with long-term durability; My life doesn't depend on my kit, and the attachment system for the 6/12 pouches really does look clever. As long as it lasts a decent year or two it's something I'd happily pay for. Still, going on the fact it's designed and made for the real world I'm quite confident it'll stand up to airsofting. As for the weight saving, I think it'll be reasonably significant - Sort of like the Mazda Mx5, they shaved a few grammes off the wingmirrors and everything else and ended up with a car that was significantly lighter as a result. Those attachment straps look like about 25% less material than a standard Molle strap, which is all going to add up.

 

 

I'm all for lightweight gear, because I'm unfit and lazy, and I get upset when I become stuck on trees. This 6/12 system at least looks a lot less cluttered and at least a noticeable amount lighter, so I'm quite excited about it.

[Banshee_Will]

I love shot show and have been following all the new developments.......

 

I have been running a 500D PC for almost a year now.

 

I have some new BFG and it is very clever. First Spear are very promising with the stuff they come up with! I have some FS stuff to.

 

(I really need to stop buying kit but all these new shinies from shot show don't help!)

[demoncase]

Looks like a very interesting concept... I suspect that long term durability or rather repairability once something is damaged might present a challenge....I can see abrasion and wear damage rendering those laser cut vests unserviceable much more rapidly than the current MOLLE system (where you can re-stich the loops back on to the solid vest base)

 

I recall the first 'wave' of MOLLE gear suffered in service with complaints about durability during the early 2000s, resulting in seeing pictures of US troops wearing TLBVs over their IBA.... Not saying the same thing will happen again, but it's food for thought.

 

Then again, I rode the wave of MOLLE once and have reverted firmly back to M56 webgear, which from a toughness perspective makes MOLLE seem pretty weak

[Grindstone]

In terms of the big picture, I don't see the material of pouches and whatnot making a real noticable difference in terms of weight. Maybe for something such as a plate carrier, but not a couple M4 mag pouches or compass pouche or whatever. The actual gear you put in the pouches is what's going to weight you down. When I carried plates in my BW IO PC, the biggest thing I noticed (aside from the weight and rigidity) was the restriction on air flow. My chest/stomach and back would be completely covered in sweat from lack of air flow, while my exposed sides were fine.

I think with gear makers leaning towards materials with less density and new attachment designs, we might see better ventilation in addition to marginal weight savings.

I would actually like to see gear made from canvas. Even though it's "old-school" it breathes better than nylon, doesn't melt in flame/heat, is very durable and cheap to make. Call me a hipster, but I think alternative materials could offer some definate benefits.

 

ETA: It was pointed out to me by a friend that canvas gets fairly weighty when soaked. I suppose that could be a big detriment to using it in areas outside of dry desert :/

[frogfish]

two things to note,

 

The S&S carrier accepts MOLLE pouches

 

Long term durability is no longer a consideration. While previously gear was manufactured ro last as long as the war fighter, it is now made to last a deployment, that is why lighter fabrics are now something used more often.

 

 

As for lighter materials making a difference in pouches.... I can weigh my EMDOM 1000D SR25 pouch and my EAGLE AOR1 SR25 and show the difference. It will only be a few ounces but onces eventually add up to pounds.

[shmook]

Anything from 215gear?

 

I hear they are so in right now...

[validtumoralarm]

I have mixed feelings about this. Everything going lighter is certainly a plus. Especially for airsoft, where people should realize that they don't need to be carrying half of the stuff they throw on their rigs. However, I don't think that the declining importance of durability, as Frogfish described, is a good thing in any way. Sure, the kit is only designed to last a deployment, but why is that necessary? Why can't we spend a few more bucks and figure out a way to make it last. Now, I'm sure that those of us who want this kind of thing can just stick to HSGI and Eagle and whatnot, folks that will still be using 500D and 1000D Cordura. However, I'd like to be able to purchase something like my Crye JPC (which now I've started to treat more cautiously than I normally would, because of that shoulder strap issue) and have the price include a little peace of mind. All of this Helium Whisper, 6 and 1/2, and whatever else looks really cool and it's hard to argue with the weight savings, it's hard for me to trust something that feels like it's made of paper. Sure, I'll probably wax hypocritical and buy some of this stuff anyway, but if and when something fails I won't really be surprised. Now, I am by no means a soldier and I don't use this stuff on deployments, but I am a paying customer of these companies and I think I'm free to make my comments on the quality of the stuff I've been paying for. This really is the era of the disposable.

 

But I like less weight!

From this (far left):

 

To this (right side)

[sunburnthammer]

I think running lighter and certainly more ergonomic rigs and set ups has been around from the time of the magpul tutorial dvds.

 

Its only natural for manufacturers to carry on the trend.

 

If you can make things smaller (ammo etc) you have to focus on the manner to which it is to be carried.

 

How long before the first ACM version

[TheFull9]

ETA: It was pointed out to me by a friend that canvas gets fairly weighty when soaked. I suppose that could be a big detriment to using it in areas outside of dry desert :/

 

There's a fair bit of water in afghan, certain parts at least. We started issuing new waterproof socks to out guys out in theatre over the last year because they were getting all sorts of problems wading through the many irrigation ditches while wearing arid climate boots.

 

two things to note,

 

The S&S carrier accepts MOLLE pouches

 

My misreading of the literature perhaps, the mention of the proprietary accessory pouches gave me that impression.

 

Either way, if I'm being honest then of all the new releases/announcements, the S&S is one of the few items I'm not particularly enamored with right now. The Crye design is looking better from initial information, though I'm not pretending that I've actually used either to give any definitive reviews.

 

I have mixed feelings about this. Everything going lighter is certainly a plus. Especially for airsoft, where people should realize that they don't need to be carrying half of the stuff they throw on their rigs. However, I don't think that the declining importance of durability, as Frogfish described, is a good thing in any way. Sure, the kit is only designed to last a deployment, but why is that necessary?

 

I believe I'm right in saying that 'a deployment' for most US military personnel is 12 months long. An entire year of real world use in combat in afghan should, I'd imagine, make for quite a number of years use airsoft skirmishing 2-3 times a month.

[Grindstone]

There's a fair bit of water in afghan, certain parts at least. We started issuing new waterproof socks to out guys out in theatre over the last year because they were getting all sorts of problems wading through the many irrigation ditches while wearing arid climate boots.

I know, A-stan is quite green. But it isn't the only place in the world where *suitcase* happens. Yes, the US military is a huge cash cow for gear makers, but not the only one.

 

Anyway, I like the trend to "lightweight" gear, as long as it's not expensive. I think a lot of the gear on the market is way over priced for a bit of nylon. Yes, people will shell out for it, but still it seems like price gouging.