Home Reviews Guarder Mod2 Untitled Document

Untitled Document

by Arnie


Guarder MOD II Vest – RRP $135

 


Whether you are completely happy with your current static vest or not is beside
the point. Modular vests are the way forward .. or are they ?

With the ever growing range of guarder kit I feel it might be
wise to clarify some of the names designated to the different Guarder Vests.
There seems to be a bit of confusion on the different Airsoft forums I have
been reading as to which is what when referred to by the guarder names.

The Gurader MOD II Vest is a replica of the Us Army MOLLE II
Issue FLC (fighting load carrier) and is one of guarders latest little gems.
The MOD I Vest is a copy of the Ranger RACK and the MOD Armour is a replica
of the INTERCEPTOR OTV. The Guarder MODULAR vest is something totally different
and is similiar to the Omega range of the Blackhawk Vests. Hope that clears
things up a bit.

What is
MOLLE ?

The Modular Lightweight
Load-Carrying Equipment known as MOLLE is a modular load bearing system designed
to enhance the survivability and lethality of the modern Soldier and Marine.
The MOLLE is a completely modular system that is worn, rather than carried,
and which allows for tailorability for improved mission efficiency without compromising
mobility or readiness.


Molle I v/s Molle II ?

The bits that effect
are us the FLC changes.

Fighting Load Carrier
(FLC): The FLC replaces the Load Bearing Vest of the original MOLLE system.
The FLC rides higher on the user abdomen and allows for a better tailor-ability
of pockets to the users specific needs.

 

The
waist belt is adjusted by removing the vertical stiffened webbing located on
the back of the vest and adjusting as needed.
The FLC also features two very conveniant map pouches on the inside of the vest.

When
the load-bearing vest was part of the initial MOLLE issue in 1999, it featured
a complex socket system that connected the vest to the pack and was designed
to help distribute weight to a Soldier’s hips. That vest was quickly scrapped,
as was the socket system, and a new load–bearing vest was issued with Molle
2. The redesigned vest no longer attaches to the pack, but is still generally
disliked by the Marines in the field as they tend to attach their pouches directly
onto the body armour.

This
new vest sits higher on the user abdomen allowing room for the fixed waistbelt
of the Pack Frame. Webbing Channels located on the vest allow for positioning
of all MOLLE Compatible pockets, to the wearer’s specific needs. The incorporated
waistbelt also allow for the positioning of all MOLLE pockets. Adjustments are
made by using the 2 vertical 1-½ inch webbing’s on the back of
the vest and the 1-inch webbing’s in the chest area of the vest.

More
information about the changes can be found here : http://www.specialtydefense.com/molle_2/MOLLE%20II%20Description%20of%20Changes.htm

Guarder
MOD II ?

The Guarder MOD
II Vest is made of 100% DuPont Cordura(R) 1000 Denier and features very highy
quality side release buckles and snap fasteners. The general build of this vest
feels much better then their original MOD I (The Rack replica..) vest, this
is rather odd as they are both made of the same material though this one does
feel a bit more stiffer and heavier when comparing the vests.



New
Guarder kit all nicely packaged with the cordura and Intrudershop tags on the
left.
On the right is the Guarder MOD II in one of the many different set-up’s.

When comparing
the quality of the pouches side by side with Speciality Defense (the company
which makes the Issue MOLLE kit) Guarder’s version does visually look and feel
of a higher quality.

The great thing
about this vest like any MOLLE system is that it can be configured how YOU like
it, people with the generic vests often find that they usually dont have enough
pockets or have too many. If you feel that you will only be using a pistol on
the day you can simply rip off all other pouches leaving only a couple of pistol
pouches. This can also work for dedicated grenadiers, you can customise this
vest with only grenade pouches and hence creating your very own grenadier vest. Once you have the pouches, “your imagination is the only limit”.

 


Incase
you were wondering, the woodland patern on guarder vests is very accurate.
You can also get this and almost all other Guarder vests in Olive Drab or black, incase you feel that the us woodland is not to your taste.

The Pouches


When you purchase this vest of the shelf or via the website of your favourite
retailer you will get with it the following pouches :

4 x M16 Magazines – $30
1 x M249 200 round pouch – Not for sale as an optional pouch at time of writing
1 x butt pack – Not for sale as an optional pouch at time of writing

You also can purchase
additional pouches to add and play around with your set-up.

100 Round M249
Pouch – $24 / £14
Medic/Utility Pouch – $24 / £14
40mm Double Grenade Pouch – $24 / £14
9mm Pistol Magazine Pouch/Knife Pouch – $ 15 / £9
Grenade Pouch – $24 / £14
Saber Radio Pouch – $30 / £18
Leg Bag – $45 / £27
Canteen Pouch – $30 / £18


One thing to remember is that all new modular pockets on the SPEAR System, AIRSAVE
aviators survival vest, Marine MOLLE, and Army Modular System (MLS) are compatible
with this vest. Which means that you can often buy spare pouches from your surplus
stores / ebay / online retailers which might work out cheaper then buying the
offical guarder accessory pouches. It can even take the old ALICE webbing with
the alice clips though it will not feel as secure. You can also attach the pouches
you get with vest directly onto your MOD Body Armor and not use the FLC at all
!

Guarder has also
released a few new pouches with the launch of this vest so those of you who
invested in the Guarder MOD I and felt that the optional accessories were a
bit less you now can also have the option of buying all the existing MOLLE Issue
pouches made by guarder.

M16 Magazine Pouch
– Takes 2 m16 hicaps, has a dual closing function. Velcrow and a snap fastener.
Usually you will end up using just the velcrow to keep your mag pouches closed
but its good to know there is another option. Also worth pointing out is the
little piece of cordura that has been put on the top of the magazine pouch lid,
to make it a bit harder wearing.

Medic / Utility
pouch – Usefull for storing bb’s, batteries, small sized tools that you dont
want flying around as it closed via a zipper.

40mm Double Grenade
pouches – Fits the Moscrat BB shower / 24 round or the CAW grenades – do note
that they are open (although tapaered) at the bottom dont put in anything that
might slip thru. This also features the velcrow and snap fastener dual closing
system.


9mm Pistol magazine pouch / knife pouch – Takes pretty much any standard GBB
pistol mag, not sure about the some more exotic ones such as the infinity ones.
These feature only the snap fastener closing system.

Grenade pouch –
Fits the Enola Gaye / PDL BB Grenades without the problem. Not quite sure which
closing system these pouches have as I dont have one handy at the moment.

Canteen Pouch –
takes the standard US issue canteen without any problems. This features a fastex
buckle release system.


Butt pack – The Guarder Butt pack is actually the MOLLE II Waist pack and
has a strip of velcrow on the outside of the cover for some reason. I havent
been able to figure out as of yet what exactly that is for.. suggestions on
a postcard ? This features a dual fastex buckle release system along with a
draw string cover – good for keeping things dry.

 

Saber Radio Pouch
– Can either be used as a pistol holster for the medium sized pistols (Beretta
92f, CZ 75 etc) or for a .. full size radio – you could use it for a smaller
radio but it wont hold it very well for obvious reasons. Features a snap and
a fastex buckle release system.


Leg Bag – Even though this was designed for the original MOD I Vest I feel it
has a very important role to play. It is the perfect magazine dump bag – after
a few customisations. You can use it how it is for various items like a gas
mask or large smokes but what I have done with mine is put a slight slit on
the top of it and use it to dump used magazine’s into. Its deep enough to not
throw them back out while running and is a worth while investment. Features
a velcrow and fastex buckle release system.



100 / 200 round M249 Magazine pouches – The 100 round mag pouch takes 5 M16
hicaps all stacked up without any movement and holds them well. The large can
be either used for a M249 box mag if you have one or for just general storage
of slightly larger items. These feature a velcrow and a fastex buckly release
system.

Conclusion

While the quality
of MOLLE kit might have a bad repuation / disliked in the real steel environment
due to its failings in one thing or another you must remember that these are
real steel operators, their mags are a lot heavier and so is the kit they carry,
no matter how dedicated a airsofter you are, your needs (in terms of durability
and quality) will not likely match those of a real steel operator. Airsofters
have not been using the MOLLE kit for very long those who I have spoken too
at various game sites across the UK seem to have nothing but praise for the
kit. I have performed most of the general weight / rain / heat tests I could
think off to my Guarder kit and it has come out on top of the Speciality Defense
kit every time – I am more then happy to welcome suggestions of tests to perform
to test the true capability of the guarder kit.

I have always
liked the ability to customise the placement of my pouches because what might
work well with you might not work with me at all. With the recent popularity
of modular vests which can be literally tailored and laid out as to how the
wearer prefers, guarder have stepped up once again and have presented us airsofters
with another brilliant and cost effective option – The MOD II.


No
review is complete without the customary posed pictures of the kit

Cookies are used improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More