Post by Stan on Jan 12, 2014 14:45:45 GMT -8
Load Bearing Equipment: Your Tool Belt for SHTF
When it comes to being a prepared citizen for a CONUS, civilian-centric SHTF situation you may very well need an ensemble to carry your essential equipment, I use the military term of load bearing equipment (LBE) which is generic for any number of styles that have come and gone over the years to include belt/harness combinations, load bearing vests, mesh gear vests, and finally all the rage thanks to all the pictures of cool dudes in the GWOT- the plate carrier.
The proclivity for a lot of us prepared folks is to mimic the latest and greatest tactical thing on the market and I certainly wished I opened up a plate carrier manufacturer a few years ago as I would a rich man now. I am no stranger to military style tactical equipment having served in the Marine Corps for most of my adult life and deployed overseas. However, you can have too much a good thing and you need to know WHY we may use something before swiping your credit card.
When it comes to LBE I have owned and tried almost all of the ones mentioned in the first paragraph and returned and sold most of them. They each have their pros/cons but I'll tell you what I went with and why.
I currently use the MFR-10 split front chest rig from CPgear.com from Canada. No need to look it up now as they are discontinued and I bought all the remaining stock for resale!
I bought them on closeout and they were less expensive than the next closest thing, the Tactical Tailor 2-Piece MAV.Here are my reasons:
*Belts alone are compact and easy to hide but without any suspenders they will eventually fall with gravity after a day of running around especially with any weight over a pistol and a few magazines.
*Load bearing vests and mesh vests have a large load capacity but are harder to hide thus making them less desirable in the probable SHTF environment where discretion will be necessary. A moderately loaded chest rig can be at least partially hidden with a large shirt or jacket. That area in the center of your chest is the big giveaway.
*I considered going with pouches directly on my plate carrier like I and everyone else wore in Afghanistan but there are times when you need one and not the other, also it makes it a challenge to shoot from the prone as your magazine pouches are in the worst place when you are down on the ground. When conducting a reconnaissance you need just the rig and you can ditch your armor to be lighter and quieter.
*One piece chest rigs are harder to don/doff; for the prone position you are stuck with the same problem as the plate carrier unless you take it completely off which is tactically a no-no and takes precious time before and after.
Your equipment or gun belt is sometimes called your Line 1 gear. We never used this "Line" term in the Corps but..it is the bare essentials to survive and defend yourself.
The chest rig is your Second Line Gear, your combat load!
On my right (strong) side I have only one rifle magazine pouch but is the location of the bulk of my tools. I wasn't kidding about the tool belt part. I have shears, seat belt cutters, flashlight and a Leatherman Wave which I have had since 2000. If you scroll down you can see where I keep a USGI weapons cleaning brush and zip ties to detain people.
Once I throw on my chest rig I move my pistol mags to the chest rig for better and faster fit. Same goes for my Surefire 6Z.
This is everything secure. Ready for patrol.
Like I mentioned in the text, if I need to get in the prone I can disconnect the buckles and open up the rig in seconds.
The max capacity on my Camelbak is 100oz but I have reduced this if carrying a pack or if I need to hide the rig under a jacket or shirt.
For civilian CONUS-centric SHTF, the wearing of armor is more variable versus my time in the military. There may be times when you need it or not. If you are solely on foot and you need speed, armor can be a dead weight and best be ditched. With a two piece ensemble you have that option, with a one piece plate carrier with all 100 pouches mounted to it you are stuck.
It's all the little details. My CAT tourniquet is at the bottom of my first aid kit because here in CONUS I am not afraid of IEDs or mines where the use of tourniquets would be optimum. I have used the dressing and band aids for students who got slide bit however. USGI pressure bandage on top for the most common gunshot wounds.
My training website is at www.stcrispian.com and you can email, befriend and follow on me on Facebook under stcrispian2008@yahoo.com
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