My "old" gear -
Chuckwalla utility pouch, 4x Dual M4 mag pouches, radio pouch, & dump pouch.
I've actually had most of my "new" stuff for almost a year now, but its been quite a while since I took any photos of it.
The biggest changes I've made is to use open top kydex magazine pouches and two radios.
Although its difficult to see at all, there is a modular chest rig underneath all the pouches. It is very straightforward. The body of the rig is mesh for breathability and has no map pockets or anything, because I didn't want any of that. I like the 2" unpadded seatbelt straps because they are simple and cooperate well with my camelbak sitting over them.
A photo of my old rig that was underneath the pouches in the first picture. I don't have a photo of the new one, but this is similar in its simplicity. -
Back to the new stuff -
Detail here of how the dump pouch is secured to the waist strap so that it doesn't shift on the around. I run my dump pouch on my left side, because I'm right handed, shoot right handed, and drop my mags with my left hand. Also, because of this, I have the buckle positioned on the right side so that the dump pouch can be as far "forward" as possible.
I have, upon occasion, considered moving my dump pouch to the center of the waist strap to position it so that I could drop magazines into it with my right hand if I was shooting left handed, but as with a lot of things, its kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul - My regular usage of the pouch would suffer just to allow a slight advantage to a situation I'm rarely in. (Reloading with my right hand) Not to say it doesn't happen, but I can always ditch the mags on the ground. Not to mention the fact that my Camelbak might stick into it a bit, reducing the size of the mouth of the pouch.
Lately I find myself dropping magazines onto the ground much more often than putting them into my dump pouch, (At least, in the immediate moment) but I still want to have one on me, as I use it for other general utility options.
Radio pouch. I use two ICOM F4S radios. They are positioned on either end of the chest rig. I don't use the other radio all the time, typically only at large events with multiple radio nets where I need two radios. (depending on my position) I have some tape around the shock cord to hold the cord over the plug on top of the radio to keep it secure.
As a point of interest, the radio pictured is sitting backwards in the pouch, with the face pointed towards me when I wear it. This is so that the antenna is inboard and doesn't poke me in the arm pit. My other radio sits "correctly" in its pouch because the antenna is already inboard.
The radio on my left side is my primary radio and is connected to my LITE II Headset, which is shown here on the right. This headset is similar to the Bowman PRR headsets and the basis of the Cavalvy Elite I/II headsets.
The item on the left is a H250 handset. More on that below.
Here you can see my PTT assembly. There is a disconnect between the PTT and the headset. I got this setup, because I wanted to be able to change out headsets if I wanted, or attach two radios to one headset. (Something I've since decided against)
The PTT bites pretty hard into whatever you put it onto, so I've had a strip of 1" webbing added to the shoulder strap so that it doesn't tear up the strap underneath. I'm considering rearranging how I have this setup, as I'm worried that it will interfere with my open top magazine pouches below. So far, no difficulties, but it seems to me like it might be asking for trouble.
Another shot of the H250 handset. You can follow the cord to my 2nd radio on the end of my rig.
At first, I thought the H250 handset was kinda gimmicky, but after using it, a really cool thing happened. Having an aural and physical separation between the speakers for my radios improves my ability to use them tremendously. With one radio and speaker being on the left and one being on the right, it is much easier to discern between them and seperate whats going on mentally, even if they're both receiving chatter at the same time.
I wanted to hook two radios to my headset, but now having seen other people with this setup, I don't think I'd like it. Both radios talking into one ear at the same time seems like a mess to me.
Open top kydex lined single M4 magazine pouches. I carry 8 total mags on my rig and 2 reside in these pouches.
Drawing magazines from these pouches, for me, is much faster than drawing a mag from my other pouches. Ideally, when I reload my weapon, I grab a magazine from one of these pouches and slap it into the gun. If I've got time, a magazine from one of the other pouches is placed into the open top mag pouch to make it ready again.
These pouches have a kydex liner to make them stiff enough to hold their shape without a magazine in them, as well as provide enough retention to hold the magazine in place under activity. Some loop velcro inside lets the magazines slide in and out. The velcro is merely the correct texture to provide friction and a stand off against the kydex - There is not matching velcro on the magazines. I really like these pouches. The retention strength is enough to hold the mag in upside down, while running, etc without being so much that it is difficult or slow to extract a mag when you need it.
Here you can see down into one of the pouches with no magazine in it. You can see the kydex and velcro liner as well.
Chuckwalla utility pouch. On the front wall of it, you can see the six pistol mag loaders. Each one has an individual slot to go into. On the back wall, you can see the XL BB loader, multitool, and whistle. The back wall also has a zippered pouch for stuff I don't want to lose and some grommets for tie downs.
What you can't see (I didn't think to take a photo of the bottom) is the spare radio batteries, GPS batteries, goggle fan batteries, compass, and whatever other stuff I have during a game - like a bag of BBs, granola bars, etc.
Death rag. Typically I have a square of loop velcro on my headgear and so my death rag stays where I put it. I also put a lanyard on it so I definately won't lose it. The death rag is lightweight and folds up nicely so it fits inside the chuckwalla.
Here you can see my hydration carrier. It is a Camelbak Thermobak 3 liter. I run my hydration carrier separate from the rest of my gear. One of the things I like the best about the Thermobak is that it has a zipper running along the right side. This zipper allows me to have the drink tube exit the carrier on the bottom, so I can run the drink tube up under my right arm, which is how I prefer it.
The Thermobak is pretty simple and carries only water. I've contemplated switching to a Camelbak Ambush (or similar) to gain a pouch on the back for additional storage, but typically I don't find myself missing any said storage.
I run my hydration on the right and my commo on the left. Initially, my rationale was that I didn't want to get my commo items wet, but using nice stuff, it can take it. So realistically, the reason is more along the lines of the fact that my PTT is more in the way of shouldering my weapon than the drink tube is, so I run the drink tube on the right.
Hope this was informative.
