Got some great news for us 308 fans....

The mag pouches fit Lancer and Pmag 20's, and Pmag 25's

Yes, full tab closure and securing for both capacities. Even some room to spare with the 20's. You can turn them "sideways" as compared to the 5.56 mags using rounds pointing away from the body.

If anyone had pic hosting capability, I can text pics for posting.

I don't have any AK 30rd mags to test, but if the 25rd/308 chonky boys fit, the 30rd AK mags just might. At least the less curved 5.45/5.56 mags. Stored "sideways" that is.

Yeah it's funny what mags will fit in what pouches.  I bought a bunch the other day, since this seems to be a hot topic.  So the std 5.56 3-mag pouch will fit 2 x 20-rd 7.62 NATO (even better with filed dressings on the bottom).  2 x  25-rd 7.62 NATO fit perfectly, go figure.  7.62 AK 30-rd does not fit, at least with tuck tab.  5.56 NATO 40-rd does not fit.  

So I am working on a 7.62 AK 30-rd pouch.  

I thought about doing "universal" mag pouches but didn't think there would be that much demand for so many assorted calibers/sizes.

Yes, there is a fair amount of cross-purposing between some pouches and various mags for which they were not originally intended.  In my experience, the thinner the material of the pouch, the more likely is the pouch to be "compliant" with "unintended" mags, allowing somewhat better fit.  

OTOH, the thinner the pouch's material, the less durable it is likely to be, but it is also likely to be lighter than same pouch made with heavier material.  Specific reinforcements in wear areas may be useful, but likely add to construction complexity/cost.

I believe that the lightest possible mag pouch will likely be a mag pouch specifically made for its intended mags.  

Mag pouches tend to get a lot of wear, due to their "forward" mounted position on user's body, the square/sharp edges of many magazines, and frequent repetitions of mag insertion and removal.

Back in the day, there were some BAE/SDS R.A.C.K pouches intended for M-16 mags, but entirely capable of carrying M-14/FAL 20-rd mags.  Kinda hard to find nowadays, but I have a few.  See pic: HERE    NOT suggesting this as ideal, but perhaps as a point of departure.  Note shock cord as an integral component.

IMHO, shock cord, if used, must be easily user replaceable, and if not replaced, must not be a "failure point" if shock cord fails.  IOW, no sewn-in elastic or shock cord.

MARINE grade shock cord is demonstrably far longer-lasting than low-cost shock cord, but more expensive.  Harbor Freight shock cord failed within 6 months outdoors, while same diameter Marine Grade shock cord going on well after 3 years.

I’ve worn out radio pouches, bang pouches, GP pouches etc too. The only pouch I can think of that I have not worn out is various IFAK’s, thankfully.

If the gear is used, and used frequently, it will wear with time regardless.

Anyway, the 308 mags fit. And fit nicely.

I understand and appreciate your comments.  I think what I'm trying to say that some careful design of gear can make it far more durable for folks who buy their own gear, as opposed to folks who have Uncle Sugar available to replace their worn gear.

Hell, anyone used to seeing worn-out GI gear can see how it could be improved, often at scant cost.  Failure points, and possible preventative measures are obvious to the careful observer.

I'm currently working on re-vamping my 1958 Brother sewing machine in order to remediate GI equipment (ALICE/MOLLE) shortcomings.  Call me crazy, by all means, but I'm learning how to walk before I run-- and repairing existing stuff in the meantime.

That properly done, such "remediated" gear will likely last a lot longer than non-remediated gear.

I leave it to others to make more "advanced" gear.  

I've bought some of such gear as well.

Does anyone know the who theTQ pouches he uses?

The guy in the video stated he didn't remember who made them.

@Maddy21 here you go.  Took forever to find this fucker.  Was at the bottom of an old footlocker. Now to get it attached to the DZ Rig...

He linked them in the comments.  They are T3.

I watched on the TV and don't get comments although it would be nice if they did.

Thanks for listing the TQ info though.

You wouldn't happen to have any first hand info on the pouch would you?

Those older sewing machines can do some surprising work with this stuff.  They have some limitations (the presser feet usually don't lift very high for instance) but for basic work on this stuff, they can do alot of what needs to be done.  

The newer domestic machines mostly suck though.

Got a picture of it on your gear?  I've got the same sheath and have been playing around with ideas on how to mount mine on my belt kit.

Nice! Thanks for the video showing the ruck with the belt kit too.

Looks like I need to source one of those sheaths again.

I tried mounting it on the back molle of the rear, right hand mag pouch that I'm using as as IFAK pouch, but I didn't like it being turned 90 degrees from the belt. I have since moved it so that one leg of the mounting straps is on the nearest sustainment/canteen pouch and the other on that same IFAK pouch. I like how it's sitting now, but only wearing a while will tell if that's a comfortable position or if it messes w/ the ride somehow.

How it is sitting right now:


ETA: For comparison, here's an Ontario bayonet mounted on my Jay Jay's Gen 4 commander's webbing.  the single mounting strip limits your options but it is thinner profile, over all. It is mounted on the right hand sustainment pouch behind the commander's pouch:

I've been reading through the thread and I'm almost halfway through it. I'm really liking this type of kit as part of a go bag/EOTW kind of kit (even if that is a fantasy). I think for carrying everything you need with you if you hand to leave your house, car, or wherever, having this type of belt kit and a smaller pack/ruck is better than trying to cram everything in one giant ruck. Should play nicer with a PC or chest rig too.

The new DZ rig looks hot and I'd really like to just pull the trigger on one, but I'm trying to work out if I can piece something together a little less expensive. I'd think I would also like a little bit larger pouch on the back. Right now I'm thinking about one of the surplus belts from Kitmonster, along with some kind of buttpack and two smaller pouches to hold nalgenes. I'm interested in the Fire force buttpack thats been referenced earlier  but it looks like their online store is FUBAR right now. If anyone can suggest something similar It would be appreciated. Also if anyone has a suggestion for two cheap pouches roughly nalgene sized.

Diz thanks for what you do and all your input in this thread. You design some bad ass kit. I need a ruck too and I'm leaning towards the DG slick.

Thanks mate, I appreciate it.  You can't go wrong with kit monster; that would be my first stop for surplus.  Until Marnsdorf gets on-line.  

On knives and sheaths, the Brits would either attach to a sustainment, put it on top of sustainments, or occasionally on top/behind strong side ammos; sort of like a quick cross-draw for "fix bayonets".   And yeah, a sheath with two molle straps would seem to be perfect.  

Since it's packed in there pretty tight, I'd like to try a similar sheath, with only paracord above the hilt, which could be woven into the molle between the ammos.  If the "thumb strap" was incorporated on the sheath itself, such as some late Eagle models, you could get away with that.  You could also incorporate some bungee to catch pommel at top, but I liked it at hilt so sheath could pivot a bit.  

Something like an ESEE knife sheath, might be ideal in this app.  A shorter mk 4 might be able to lash directly to pouch side, with minimal pommel sticking past pouch.  A longer 5 or 6 with some paracord lash to the base.    

Speaking of bungee, this is exactly why I put tunnels and cord locks on there, so you could adjust and replace as necessary.  Anything with stretch elastic will erode with time and UV exposure.  

And the tuck tab is damn-near indestructible; nothing to break or clog with mud/snow, like SR buckles and velcro.

Add in a "jump lock" which acts just like a toggle under bungee, and you have a complete, simple system for retention.  

On the latest vid, that's a former SF dude, who just recently traded in his TA-50 for a Diz rig.  I liked it because it show-cases the belt kit with the rucksack, via the tranny straps.

I will get a pic up later, but an ESEE 4 in stock sheath with Blade-Tec Molle Lok is working rather fine on side of the canteen pouch, very minimally exceeding the height of the pouch.
Attached File


Paracord lashing could bring it down even just an inch more to be more flush with the top of the pouch, in a quick check with a MR 3DAP it seemed to not interfere with the pack being more to the side and not directly under the pack.

Hey right on I was just looking at mine and wondering how it would fit.

Thanks for the advice.  I'll trying moving these around, trying different mounting styles to see what I like best. Ihave an ESEE 4 some place too. I think it's in a custom leather sheath in my hiking kit. I just don't know if I have the factory sheath anymore. Have to scrounge around for it.

I thought it was a great video showing how the system works in tandem. Definitely made me start looking at the CF packs to see which should be in my rotation.

Hey man.  So if you wait just a bit, I'll have a budget option for you.  I'm getting ready to put up for sale a bunch of surplus PLCE sets of pouches that are sewn to a modern padded belt, similar to Diz's belt.  

I'm also working on a few more of them that will have USGI style buttpacks instead of the rear utility pouches.  I just revamped my pattern for a buttpack last night and will be working on a new prototype probably tomorrow night.  I've got 3 belts done for the buttpacks to go on, just waiting now on the buttpacks.

If anyone wants MOLLE buttpacks that are the right height to run on these belt kits to create that 'shelf' with British style utility or water bottle pouches, I'll also be able to do MOLLE buttpacks once these belts are done.

I'm working on it.  I've already contacted surplus wholesalers, just needing to raise some money.  Trying as fast as I can to get these belts I'm working on finished so I can sell them and make some $$$ to put towards the various projects I'm expanding into.

Ok, so I have a couple questions for the hive.

1.  AK / 40 Round Magpul pouches.  I'm working on patterns for these right now, got the basic pattern done, revamping it before actually running one on fabric.  Right now I have it set up to hold 3 x AK magazines.  It's a bit chonky.  What do yall think - 3 x AK mags?  You can also squeeze 4 x magpul magazines in there, including the 40 rounders.  Or should I cut it down to 2 x AK / 3 x Magpul magazines?

2.  I've got a full set of ALICE gear, all new condition except for the harness.  But the pouches are triple AK-47 magazine pouches, ALICE style.  Like, the same thing as the regular M-16 pouches, but sized for 3 x AK magazines.  I'm going to be putting it up for sale.  The question is, should I sell it as ALICE gear, or should I sew the pouches and buttpack to a modern british style padded belt and sell it that way, with a PLCE harness?

That sounds awesome. I'd definitely take one, I would especially like one with the buttpack and two canteen/nalgene pockets.

I've come to the conclusion that I can't really piece one together for much less than the Diz rig, so I had already kind of abandoned that idea and decided I would just pony up for one.

What are peoples thoughts on a camo pattern vs ranger green for use out in public, like hiking/camping? Do people even really notice, or is a solid green or tan better for not sticking out? I think I would like a rig with the buttpack and two bottle pockets in a solid color for general hiking use, and then a Diz rig in camo for hunting and SHTF use. My thought is I can carry my jet boil in one of the bottle pockets for hiking, and I can 86 the mag pouches.



Since this has kind of turned into an everything thread, I'm going to throw this in here. I watched this video the other day, which is what got me thinking about this kind of LBE kit. If you go to 13:30 he talks about his Spiritus split rig. It looks like a great setup, but I priced everything he has here and it came out to over $500. But I think the video had a lot of great information, and I'm working on modeling my bug out/go bag/emergency bag more along this model. A large duffel containing my different pieces of equipment, not one giant ruck holding everything thats intended to be carried for miles.

Do you intend to run actual nalgene bottles?  The belts I was going to do, I was going to use surplus British Osprey Utility pouches that I have a bunch of here, as that would save a bunch of money and cut my costs down.  But those Osprey pouches, the lids don't completely close over the top of the nalgene bottles (as they are too tall).  However, I have a solid dedicated Nalgene bottle pouch I'm making for people.  It's basically a british Utility Pouch style pouch, but slightly taller and slightly narrower, designed specifically for Nalgene bottles.  I can do those if you want to run Nalgene bottles  (which are what I think are the best bottles for this kind of kit)

Don't take me wrong, the Osprey pouches work perfectly fine with Nalgene bottles - that's what I've been using on my personal kit for Nalgene bottles (along with a buttpack).  But they expose about 1/2" of the nalgene bottles under the lid.  They work REALLY well for canteens though.  

Either pouch works with cups and stoves, either nalgene or canteen, Osprey or my Nalgene bottle pouches.  





You CAN if you are patient and really look hard.  But ya, alot of the surplus British stuff here in the USA is drying up.  I'm trying to fix that, but I need to free up money first.





Ok.  So if you are going to run a full British belt kit for just hiking purposes, ammo pouches and all, I don't think there will be that much of a difference in the looks people give you whether you wear camo or solid colors.  You will probably get some 2nd looks.  But I don't think it would be much of a problem.

However, if you just wear the buttpack and the water bottle pouches, leaving the ammo pouches off, it will look like a lumbar pack.  I don't think people will give you a 2nd look at all, even if it's camo.

So basically either way?  But for general purpose hiking, having the buttpack and water bottle pouches permanently sewn on, and having MOLLE ammo pouches, you can take them off if you don't have a big load - most day hikes for instance.  Or put them back on if you want to carry more stuff (snacks for the kids!).  And you would have another full set of belt kit on hand.

Figure out what you want and send me a message.  There's a ton of options you can do.  I would suggest one way or the other, keep it relatively simple.  Don't overthink things.  





Spiritus makes some good stuff.  Not specifically my cup of tea, but it's a solid option if that fits your needs.  They also put out some good informative videos, like the one you posted.  

It makes sense to have an emergency bag set up, even if it's not all 'tactical'.  If you think I'm wrong, tell that to the people in that city that had the big train spill and fire.  Or the people in Lahaina.  

Personally, I prefer a backpack as an emergency bag, as I've been able to live out of a small to medium sized backpack for months at a time.  However, your 'loadout' emergency bag should have all the rest of your stuff - like the Spiritus setup.  Basically I consider a backpack loaded with backpacking gear to be an accompanying piece to the emergency bag.

But yea.  There's lot of way to approach thing.

That’s exactly how I plan on mounting my ESEE when my DZ gets here.

I was originally going to mount my Ka-Bar in my SpecOps Brand sheath, but that’d be way too big I think.

Go big with the first run. If it will hold a lot, it will hold a little!

How much does 640 rds of 5.56  or 360 7.62 in mags weigh lol.

That's what I was thinking, it's going to have bungies running around it, so you can cinch it down.  And bigger makes it easier to re-insert magazines.  But I didn't know if there was such a thing as TOO THICCC.  

And yea, lol.  It weighs alot.  But I was also thinking about it - guys running 40 round pmags will also have a good chance of running some kind of 'AR-RPK' style support weapon.  At least that's been a trend recently.  And it wouldn't be so bad if they had extra ammo for it - especially once you think about the idea that one of the pouches might be used for an IFAK, and possibly another for a radio.  Which will cut that ammo count down pretty significantly.  

But.  Again.  THICCC.

Good point on making 30rd 7.62 AK / 40rd PMAG ammo pouches. Could allow a user to carry 6x40rd mags and have the others used for admin, pistol, IFAK, etc while allowing for more rounds on hand compared to 3x30rd PMAG/STANAG pouches.

Actually with my current pattern, you could carry 8 x 40 round magazines while still reserving the other pouches for IFAK and such.  They currently hold 4 x Pmags each, including the 40 rounders.

I'm not married to Nalgenes or canteens one way or the other. I have both, but I'd like the option to run nalgenes.








I like the concept of buttpack and bottle pockets on each side, with the rest MOLLE to remove/change ammo pouches. I'll send you an IM.




The Spiritus is cool but too expensive, and the price just keeps climbing as you add options.




Yeah, I've actually been meaning to put together another "emergency" bag thats not really tactical. Stuff like extra clothes, extra charging cables, battery packs, toiletries etc. Like a evacuate in a hurry, but not EOTW/never coming home situation.

This is probably the most important thing people can have.  Add in a backpack loaded as if you were going backpacking, and you are set to handle any major emergency, minus tactical gear.

TBH, the 'never coming home BOB' scenario is EXTREMELY unrealistic.  You simply cannot carry enough in a backpack to do that.  I mean, if you had a truck, and maybe a trailer, sure.  Otherwise, a backpacking bag and a small duffel loaded with extra clothing and such is going to be about the limit of what one person can carry, even if they had access to a vehicle ride.  If you want to add another small duffel with tactical gear and ammo to support your long gun of choice, sure.  Probably a good idea too.  

Yeah, if we ever really had some kind of crazy collapse, the first plan is to stay put. The only way I would leave is if it was a last resort. The odds of surviving for very long out wandering around are low.

Well on mags n ammo load out.  I'm not trying to tell ya what to do, merely suggesting things according to my experience.  

You guys are talking about a metric fuck-ton of ammo and weight.  Now I don't know, maybe you bench 500 and can pull it off; however, for most normal folks, toting that kind of load, any distance, is insane.  But if you did, you would have damn-near zero weight left for any sustainment/snivel gear.  And sometimes that might be required; SOG teams did this kind of thing on a regular basis; the early SEALs, samey, samey.  But those were highly specialized missions.  

Imma justa gonna say, for a general planning purposes, figure about 200 rds of 5.56, 100 rds of 7.62 NATO, 120 7.62 AK, and 200 rds of 5.45 AK.  This is gonna give you roughly 8-10 lbs of ammo, along with 3 lbs of water, 3-4 lb of food and stove, trauma kit, and radio, for a belt kit of about 18-20 lbs.  A little more with smoke and distraction devices (airsoft bangers n such).  And a knife, if you're carrying a fixed blade of some sort.  You may be up in the 25 lbs range or higher.  

Keeping in mind that 99% of the time, nothing happens on patrols; all that weight gets damn heavy.  And lots of you have gone to 2-day classes with a big load out right?  By day-two you shit-can a lot of that stuff you thought you were gonna need, and streamlined down to what you actually needed.  Just sayin'.  

Now if you did need that heavy load-out, you would need to strip down to bare essentials to get in and out.  Like a little water and some power bars or whatever.  That's it.  If you got caught out and had to Remain Over Nite, it would suck.  But that's just part of the game.  

But you generally can't do both, at the same time.

But Diz, 25 lbs ain't shit, I can carry that all day.  Uh, ok, but when is the last time you did that?  How about a few days in a row?   When you are tired/sick/injured/ or just generally pissed off.  And we haven't even factored in rucksacks yet.  You gotta at least get them to the patrol base, or whatever.  

Gents, ounces do become pounds out there.  That's a fact.  That 25 lbs, rubbing your hips raw, when you're soaking wet, is literally a pain in the ass.  After 4 weeks in the bush (or 2 in Subic Bay) you are gonna be smoked.

So I aint't gonna say don't do it, but think hard about it.

On this "RPK/Light Machinegun" concept.  That might make a lot of sense, especially if you have enough guys to specialize like this.  But loading his ass down with all that ammo is probably just gonna wear the guy out.  When you use this kind of concept, you might need to research into how it's actually done.  If someone is going to provide some kind of base of fire like this, he can't carry all the ammo he's gonna need.  He will at least have an A-gunner with the grunts, or if in a small team, everybody gets the pleasure of carrying some of his ammo.  So all those 40-rd mags or whatever get spread-loaded throughout the entire patrol.  That way we still have the firepower, but not weighing one guy down with all of it.  

To carry this out, each man might have a 40-rdr, or two for the gunner (or belt if you guys go full-retard), an extra batt, or two for the radioman, and so on and so forth.  

So where I'm going with all this.  You want to try and keep the weight down to about 50-60 ls, all up, per man, and that might include spread-loading team gear.  Even though you might have only 200 rds on your belt kit, you might also have another 100 or so in your ruck.  Using the same caliber, which is smart, it could be for the gunner, or for yourself.  But you usually ain't gonna carry all that shit on yer belt kit.  Note I used enough weasel words in there to allow for special circumstances.

On different LBE.  What's available.  What works.  What you have on hand.  

There are many good shops making excellent gear.  If it's what I needed and I could afford it, I would not hesitate to buy any of it.  

If that is too expensive, then surplus is a good alternative.  

Crossfire has tried to strike a good in-between here.  On just belt kits, you have VelSys, SOTech, Dixieworks, and us domestically, of which we are the least expensive.  So that's kind of our goal here; to give you something between "gucci" and surplus.

To me your rig is an improved version of the surplus stuff available. It is a generalized piece of gear that would be useful for a wide variety of situations but maybe niche stuff, like D60 drums or RPK mags, won't work and that's fine. I would hazard a guess that for every single 40 round+ mag on someone's equipment there's a pickup load full of 30 round mags being carried and tailoring this rig to niche uses would require sacrifices elsewhere.

The sticker price seems expensive until you stop and think about what all you're getting in one purchase. When you're looking at a new inner/outer belt costing $100 to $200 naked then $350 for the entire rig seems really good. FWIW I priced out a roughly equivalent complete rig using surplus gear and it's not too far off when you're one person buying what's available.

As far as loadouts go, for me and what I'd want this for I'd be OK with one triple pouch on the belt, two triples for 7 mags total is plenty. I really like that I can keep my 3 non-negotiable pouches the same and customize the rest as needed for a particular use case.

This concept, the belt rig, actually was historically how this belt kit originated. The British belt kit started to be instituted in WW2 and at the time the British squad’s main purpose was to support the Bren LMG which was in doctrine the main weapon of the squad. Everyone carried mags to feed the Bren. And the Bren stayed in service even after the adoption of the L7 in the 60’s. So guys were still carrying Bren support mags even up in to the 80’s so the concept is not foreign to this kit set up. Now doctrine has morphed where the lmg is no longer fed by the whole squad but it isn’t unknown and for most of our purposes most of us don’t have a lmg to support. Unless someone has one that wants to be my best friend!

I've never been paid to tote ammo, but I have learned a lot about load management from 1-2 night backpacking trips.  You
can easily get over 40# and that doesn't include a rifle and ammo.  I have taken a couple of 10 day trips that covered over
100 miles and left a lot of the stuff I take on short trips at home, but still have a pack weight over 50# with 2-3 days of
food and some crew gear.

You replace some of the comfort gear with 20+# of rifle, ammo, NODS, etc. and the suck is going to be creeping in as you're now
toting an 8# rifle in your arms all day and sleeping on the ground because you left out that heavy air mattress.

Forever ago I was a SAW gunner.  I carried 200 rounds on the gun, plus two 200 round boxes on my hips.  Another two boxes on my ALICE pack.  Never mind the extra weight in my ruck, but I was already carry three times the amount of ammo as the lucky guys with just M16s.  As I LARP around now, I am plenty content with 7 mags on me plus a Bandolier in my pack.  

As to pouch types, the majority of folks in the US are rocking 30 round mags, seconded by folks with 30 round AK mags. Pouches for these two platforms are where the bulk of purchases are gonna be.  40 round Pmags, D60s, other cool rifle mags are, as someone else said, niche. Folks with those requirements will find custom made pouches, or find something that works.  I would imagine from a business standpoint, you’re best sticking with what is going to sell the most.

That being said, I am waiting with bated breath on a DZ commanders pouch. Let’s say completely lined with loop so you can mix and match different inserts and dividers.

That's sorta funny becasue that's exactly what I'm working on today.  Trying out a new 2" tuck tab as well.  

So far I have a 2 x 30-rd 7.62 AK pouch, a 2 x 20-rd 7.62 NATO pouch, and a single 3 x 30 rd 5.56 NATO pouch.  The AK, is well the AK.  But the others all have more uses.  2 x 20 rd NATO also makes a dandy smoke pouch, and IFAK.  The 3 x 30 rd NATO also fits 2 x 25 rd 7.62 NATO, and is also a nice IFAK pouch.  Either one could also take a radio, and maybe some spare batts n such.  So I'm trying to get the most bang for the buck with additional pouches.  Also have low pro harness done.  All these will be sent to factory within a month.

Likely a type of AK mag pouch will be required.  30-rd (or longer) AK mags may "work against" the forward belt-mounted pouch position due to interference between legs and torso.  Will take some finesse to make it work, I think.

I reckon 20-rd M-14/FAL/H+K mag pouches should not pose insurmountable problems, but be aware that there are some external differences between these three common mags; the H+K mag being a bit "bigger" externally than the other mags.  Likely a pouch designed to accommodate the "bulkier" H+K 20-rd mag is optimal, with shock cord taking up the difference with less bulky M-14/FAL 20-rd mags.

20-rd AR mags are common, and pouches for such ought to be easily done.

Mini-14 and Mini-30 users ought not be forgotten; there are many of them who might be customers.  Mini-14 20-round and 30-rd mags not significantly different from comparable capacity AR mags, BUT 20-rd Mini-30 (7.62x39) mags are different from similar AK mags, and almost all knowledgeable Mini-30 users stick with Ruger-made 20-rd 7.62x39 mags.  Strongly suggest considering factory Ruger mags when using mags as templates for designing pouches.

Regret to say that it may be necessary to purchase some Mags for different platforms; there is no substitute for having the specific mag "in-hand" when designing a pouch for it.

I understand there are many aftermarket mfrs/vendors of magazines for various platforms.  Some such aftermarket mags are of better quality than others.  Suggest you consider the most reliable and most common of such mags when constructing mag pouches.

I reckon the "Trick" will be winnowing-down the physical dimensions/requirements for various mag pouches, and perhaps settling on one or two types of mag pouches which will accommodate most mags.  It's impossible to accommodate everyone who has an uncommon mag.

Diz, you have probably forgotten more than I know about mag pouches.  Just adding some thoughts for consideration.

No it's all good Raf; I just ordered a bunch to remind me what's up.  

Amazing how much overlap there was, even for tailored pouches.  

Decided to go with traditional Cmdr's pouch as well.  Might re-visit a dedicated bush holster later.

And just to re-visit the OP, it would be interesting to see if VelSys, Crye, Ferrro, etc. are paying attention to the interest in this LBE concept and working on anything similar.  Or just more of the same CQB stuff as seen at SHOT.  The key, again, is whether laminates, laser cutting, etc, will hold up in the bush.  I'd like to experiment with this stuff, since it's so hydro-phobic, but want to know it works first.

What do you think of the Platatac Billy “pocket”, but adding loops laced with 550 cord to tighten it down?

I think the Billy is pretty innovative, and probably a decent solution for those wanting to carry a gat.  I'm just going in another direction with a dedicated jungle holster.  

Yeah with some 550 or even bungee, you could tighten things up a bit.

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating anyone carry all those extra magazines.  Especially the bigger 40 round magazines.  I am figuring at least one of the magazine pouches will be used for an IFAK, and another for a commanders / random stuff pouch.  Which leaves 2 x magazine pouches.  Stuffing 4 Pmags in there is tight, so I figure that it will only be 3.  That's my thought.  But it DOES give options.

Also, I'm not specifically designing a dedicated 40 round Pmag pouch - I'm designing an AK mag pouch, that will also fit 40 round Pmags.  They are pretty close, but as said above, most AK pouched won't close right with the 40 round Pmags in them, but only by a hair.  And since there are very few - and no belt mounted - 40 round pmag pouches out there, I figure this is a nice niche item.  And, thanks to a very kind donor who sent me 3 x 40 round pmags to borrow to design the pouches, I think I have a nice option coming.  It should hold 3 x AK mags or 4 x pmags with a TIGHT TIGHT fit (but they will fit and the lid closes) but with bungies, you can cinch it down nicely to hold 2 x AK or 3 x pmags.  I finished a prototype last night, I need to adjust the lid a bit, give it just a touch more room to put it where I like it.

As for load weight and such - oh yea, I don't ever intend to lug around more than 6 x magazines myself.  I've been there, done that with heavy backpacking loads, and while I can do it, I greatly prefer not lugging a ton of weight.  You are right on on that.

Very cool. I'd like a couple 3x30rd AKM / 3X40RD PMAG MOLLE mag pouches in order to have options. One suggestion, use the polymer AK103 mags if you have them. I'm 99% sure they are a touch larger than the steel or bakelite x39 mags.

I am using my Circle 10 Bulgarian waffle magazines.  They are the chonky boy of AK magazines.  But also the best.

Awesome, those 3-mag pouches will be very popular. Can you share anything about the under-armor yoke?

Attaboy

Marnsdorf: I think making some "universal" mags is a very good idea, in retrospect.  I would make 2-mag pouches vs 3-mag for the AK's though.  That is a shit-load of weight.  If you look at the Russian SMERSH rigs n all, they usually go with a double mag pouch, spaced around the rig.  They used a bandoleer at one time with 3-4 mags but that was on a shoulder strap and I don't think it was very popular with the troops.  When they captured Chinese chest rigs and belt kits off the Mujahideen, they came out with their own versions of them.  I would definitely buy a SMERSH rig and check it out for layout n such.  

If you think about it from a weight perspective, 3 x 5.56 NATO is about 3 lbs.  2 x 7.62 NATO is almost double that.  So 3 AK mags is gonna weigh in at about the same as a commander's pouch with 6 x 5.56 NATO.  I have carried a double load out of 5.56, i.e. 12 x 5.56 NATO, and it's a load.  I wouldn't do that unless it was a dedicated mission or raid that you were gonna burn through all that.  I damn sure wouldn't want to carry all that shit on exfil.  

CAP6888: if you're "upper management" had you carrying all that ammo by yourself, they should have been shot, IMHO.  At least an A-gunner to help out, and preferably the whole squad.  The loads we asked our troops to carry in the past was criminal.  It still is, but oh hell, never mind.

When I was developing this rig, I did a few humps with rucksack and belt kit.  Usually kept it under 50 lbs.  I think you need to think in terms of staying under 1/3 of your body weight.  Any more than that in the long run, and you're gonna  wear your ass out, if not get injured.  Not that anyone cared about that back in the day, but you sure as hell should.