Recon

Friday, February 24, 2012

MOLLE & Crystal Meth

So I got my Beez Combat Systems AK chest rig in the mail not too long ago.

Besides strutting around my living room posturing like a jackass, I haven't done much with it yet. It is the first piece of MOLLE enabled kit that I have ever owned and really the only modular item as I never tried ALICE. It is replacing my Russian milsurp M-21 LBV, which is, charitably, hot, cumbersome, hard to store and too damn floppy. I didn't realize what a pain in the ass it was until I started wearing the BCS rig.

Anyway, this has me researching MOLLE attachments so I can set up a sort of minimalist ZOMG rig. The main reason I got the M-21 was because I was so sure I was going to get a good plate carrier vest set up later so the cheap rig was OK. Actually wearing it around with a pack, having it get folded up, struggling with the zipper, trying to fiddlefuck a storage method I can use in the field during our mock bugouts...it became a hassle. I had a fucking wooden hanger in my BOB just so I could take the damn vest off once in awhile and hang it off a tree. So I decided it was time for an upgrade.

This time I wanted something that was modular but that I could wear over an armor vest if needed as well as without one, so I'll have a good piece of kit even if the shit goes down before I can afford some body armor. It is very comfortable, rides right around stomach level, and holds 5 AK mags securely with elastic retention doohickeys. There is a hook-and-loop closure to a full sized admin pocket that I plan on using for maps and survival gear. The rig is low profile overall; I can cover it under a hoodie if I don't mind looking like a fat bastard. It is, quite simply, the nicest piece of kit I own.

Anyway, the problem here is that as I research MOLLE attachments to it, I'm getting that feeling like the first time a meth head sucks down on a chicken bone and lifts his head and screams WHOOOOOOOOOOOO-YEAH!!!!! I feel like I'm stepping off the deep end somehow.

I've got a bunch of rows of MOLLE stitching on the front. I want a mini Blow Out Kit, preferably in a tear away format, I want a radio pocket that will hold my FRS type blister pack radio, and I'd like a way to set up my fixed blade knife for horizontal weak side draw. Beyond that, I've got all this extra space and a deep compulsion to fill it despite the fact that it will make the rig heavier and more cumbersome.

But all that stitching! All that lovely stitching! Virgin space yearning for the touch of my gear! What am I gonna do with all this space? Christ knows I don't need much else on my ZOMG rig. Yet here I am, browsing cross draw pistol holsters and IPOD pouches and dump pouches and tactical Fastex Buckled Double Dildo sheaths with triple retention and Christ almighty knows what else and I get the feeling that addiction is a real possibility here.

Is there a support group for this?

1 comment:

  1. The only MOLLE stuff I'm using right now are the Leatherman MUT and cell phone pouches on my tacticool purse... :o

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