I've been impressed with the quality of gear and the resourcefulness of the setups veteran players have posted on this thread. It's given us (at least me) a nice template to work from and build towards. That said, I hope this is ok to post because I'm sure there are a lot of people on here who are starting from the ground-up on putting together a rig, and might want to see something that is not yet finished. It can be a daunting and expensive task, but as Bob said... baby steps! I thought I would post my work in progress based on some of the rigs I've seen on here (thanks Raith & Ares) . If I'm crossing lines, let me know.
As of right now, I've got a TacForce Plate carrier in coyote brown, 3 dual M4 mag pouches, a black roll-up dump pouch (from my previous, black I.T. chest rig), molle attached Camelback with 2L bladder, grey shemagh.
I took the ammunition/water approach, in that order.
Mags:I set all my mags to bullets-forward, like Raith. I like having the ability to pull it out of the pouch with my thumb and flip it right side up quickly to insert. Since I haven't invested in Ranger plates, I've constructed my own magpul assists out of paracord and electrical tape. There is not very much grip on the mag when it's in the pouch, so yanking it out hasn't caused the tape to lose the cord. I go prone often (I'm sneaky like that), so one mag in each pouch slot work best for me... helps me keep a lower profile when in the dirt. I'm not a big fan of the velcro enclosures because of the sound it gives off when reloading, so I tuck the flaps behind the mag/elastic strap to help the mag fit tighter in the slot. I'm considering changing to the Kydex pouches. My mag pouches are at 12 o'clock and 3 o'clock. The mag pouch at 5 o'clock is currently used for pistol loaders, a leatherman and a camera. When I get a chuckwalla, the mag pouch will probably to go the 9 o'clock position for reloading assistance (dump pouch to mag pouch during downtime), and the chuckwalla will take its place at 4-5 o'clock.
Dump:I keep my dump pouch at the 7 o'clock position so it doesn't bounce off the back of my legs when running. The smaller dump pouch works for me because I rarely clear more than 3 mags at a time (considering I currently have 4... it's a good way to learn how to conserve shots
). I've never lost a mag out of the dump pouch, but I'll go with a deeper one when I acquire more mags. I plan on carrying about 8 total.
I've also got a pen-screwdriver on the front in case it's needed for a quick hopup adjustment.
Soon to be added in order of importance:
* Chuckwalla by Ganef - I've learned that several pistol loaders are fantastic for reloading as opposed to the XL loader, at least for me. It's much quieter and a lot easier to keep count so I don't overload the mag. I've got 8 pistol loaders on order to allow ~800 rounds ready for reload. This would give me about ~1600 rounds total without going back to cars where right now I'm carrying ~500.
* Radio - I have a pouch ready for an Icom, but need to pick one up. I dislike shouting as it gives my position away :-#
*
Hand-made paracord, single-point sling (working on it now)
* 3L bladder for Camelback. 2L is decent and gets me by during short games, but I often run out toward the end. More water would be ideal now that it is heating up.
* Neoprene Camelback tube cover, to hide the blue color.
* Simple First Aid kit - luckily haven't needed one yet... but the Boy Scout in me says to be prepared...
* Admin Pouch - good for those acquired patches and maps for ops.
All this is possible thanks to those who have posted their setups before, and I've only been playing airsoft for a little less than a year. I've learned to take my time putting things together and do lots of research, otherwise I end up spending more $$$ than I need to.
