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Posted: 3/6/2010 2:17:02 AM EDT
First let me thank you for a great forum
I used to work as a contractor about 3 years ago, and I'm planning to get back in the game. I am planning to set up my equipment, since I gave away everything to a guy on my team when I left the buisness. I was hoping that some of you guys could help me out with some inputs.... This is what i was planning to set up: 1 eagle Ciras land or maritime 1 Hydration pouch or a eagle modular assault pack on my back 1 radio pouch on back/left 3 Eagle FB pouch for my M4 on front/left 2 double m4 mag pouches on front/right 1 medical pouch on thigh or vest 2 smoke grenade pouches on back/right 3 pistol mag pouches on belt 1 dump pouch on belt 1 handcuff pouch on belt 1 admin pouch on front Here is my questions: Did I forget anything on my vest setup? Why doesnt more people run medical pouches on there thigh if they have to release or is not wearing there M4/vest? which color is the best for PMC setup? Ranger green, OD, Black, Tan or multicam? I live in a cold climate, not desert. Which is better of running a pistol belt or a padded molle belt? Hydration pouch or the eagle modular assault pack? getting in/out of vehicles, carrying a backpack? Does enyone run with a rapell harness as standard? I use helicopters to get in/out on a regular basis? I have spent hundreds of hours looking thru every setup i could find, and I'm not getting any vicer... Sorry for my crappy english by the way 
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i think you can ditch the handcuff case and just use flexcuffs woven through the molle webbing
id go withthe hydration carrier and not the pack if i could avoid it, you might bail and forget/not be able to grab the pack id suggest the med pouch on your belt or your armor, not your leg. i hate running with shit on my leg i would go with mulicam right now, it seems to be the best option as far as a rappelling harness, that would get old quick, maybe just a rigger belt for emergencies? idk not my are of experties. where are you going/what kind of contracting? maybe some of the guys here could help more with a little more info. just my thoughts |
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You need to supply some more information.
What is your likely area of operation? What is are the primary colors that you will want to blend into? will these colors change with movement into nother area, or change of seasons? Are you on foot, or mounted in a vehicle, or a combination of both? What is your job, and what equipment must you carry in additional to personal items? What level of support/re-supply are you likely to get, as opposed to what is promised? You need to answer these questions as best you can before we can provide quality advice. Please be as expansive as possible in your answers; the more info you supply, without breaking security, the better. |
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The modular assault pack is a large molle pouch by the way;)
my primary area of operation is scandinavian forrest, but Africa, middle east and Asia from time to time. Was thinking than black is easy to get, great for psd, but is hot as .... And offer minimal camo. Tan is very light color for forrests here in scandinavia multicam, love it, but some of the companys that i train/work with does not allow camo od or ranger green, cant decide which is better but might be the best allround choice? Thank you for all your help;) |
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Quoted:
First let me thank you for a great forum I used to work as a contractor about 3 years ago, and I'm planning to get back in the game. I am planning to set up my equipment, since I gave away everything to a guy on my team when I left the buisness. I was hoping that some of you guys could help me out with some inputs.... Ok, I have my gear set up for a PMC style (direct action, not personal/VIP protection) kit and I believe I may be able to help you. Before anyone goes and stands on their soap box about how I've already said I'm a civilian blah blah blah, I multiple friends in the PMC business and have been offered a job many times, so I train with them a lot, but I don't work for a company since I'm going through college for mechanical engineering and would rather finish first! credentials out of the way, lets continue. I love my Land CIRAS, you live in colder climate, so the warmth of the vest will not be a problem for you. Unless you plan on working from the water, or needing a big QD pull for the vest, I'd go with the Land version, its got more MOLLE space, and I personally think it fits better, but I've also got my Swedish body frame from my mother, I don't know if you have a very large body frame, but th CIRAS is definitely a big guy vest once you go past Medium, I wear a Large. If you're smaller, I'd suggest a Rhodesian Recon Vest with a PACA Low-Vis BALCS carrier beneath it. I use that set up right now since I'm in arguably the hottest state in the US, and I love its flexibility. You may want to add a cummerbund though, since you'll have a better chance of seeing more action than I have mine set up for. I love my Eagle M.A.P., its a great back pack and it holds all my stuff, but if cost is an issue, nothing wrong with a regular MOLLE fronted Hydration carrier with a large general purpose pouch on it. I keep my radio pouch on the back and left of my RRV as well, but I do have issues of my hydration tube and comms wires getting mixed up when I take a drink  But I don't need my PTT to move, so its not a big problem.
I have an Eagle admin with a flash light pouch on the side in case my weapon light takes a dump, it holds enough, I wish there was a little more space though, you may want to consider getting a separate flashlight pouch and having a bigger internal Admin pocket on the pouch. What I suggest is getting a battle belt and putting a few things on there, I keep a smoke grenade pouch, 2 flashbangs, and pistol mags on my battle belt, I also have a dump pouch, but I figure its a given since most retain mags instead of dropping them. Use flex cuffs instead of metal ones unless required to use metal, it'll save you a pouch, and you'll look cooler with them clipped on to a carabiner or laced through some MOLLE space  plus on a carabiner, they're a quick grab away incase detaining someone needs to happen right then and there. When I train with flex cuffs, that's how I carry them, but I don't normally since, like I said, I'm a civvie and shouldn't need to hold someone captive
I put my medical pouch on my left thigh, because like you said, what If I have to get rid of the plate carrier? plus it lets you carry a good sized one. personally, I carry more than 4 primary mags, but its all your preference. I carry 6-8 depending on how much I expect to be in "contact" during a drill I would include a General Purpose pouch on your CIRAS, and a small medic if you have the space, just in case you or a colleague gets a minor cut or burn and you don't feel like opening up the medic pouch on your thigh. I would also put a tac knife on your belt, I don't keep one on mine since I use it for other things and i just bring it along when I train, so its on and off at any given time, but one thing I would point out is that its worth while to look into a good folder instead of a fixed blade. It gives you more options on where to put it, and you can prevent a hostile from grabbing it in close quarters and carving you with your own knife (happened so many times in training, and I don't carry a rambo sized knife on my back either, its a fair sized fixed blade on my belt) I have a CRKT for personal use and I love it, its got a safety system that prevents it from shutting under force. Oh yeah, since I have a QD silencer, I keep an Eagle flash bang pouch on my vest to use as a silencer pouch. Oh, and I voted Ranger Green for gear color since in my opinion, its the epitome of gear color. Its great in woodland, it is subtle enough to not be a dead giveaway in dessert/dry grass/arid regions, its EXCELLENT on mountains and its just a great looking color. ***** Here is a quick color/size comparison between my CIRAS and RRV when I first got it 
as you can see, the RRV has less material in some areas for increased mobility, but is really the same size if a cummerbund were to be attached. Its also in ranger green, so its a good comparison to Coyote Brown right there too. In my opinion, the RRV may well be one of the best thought out vests in the market at the moment. |
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Quoted:
First let me thank you for a great forum
I used to work as a contractor about 3 years ago, and I'm planning to get back in the game. I am planning to set up my equipment, since I gave away everything to a guy on my team when I left the buisness. I was hoping that some of you guys could help me out with some inputs.... This is what i was planning to set up: 1 eagle Ciras land or maritime 1 Hydration pouch or a eagle modular assault pack on my back 1 radio pouch on back/left 3 Eagle FB pouch for my M4 on front/left 2 double m4 mag pouches on front/right 1 medical pouch on thigh or vest 2 smoke grenade pouches on back/right 3 pistol mag pouches on belt 1 dump pouch on belt 1 handcuff pouch on belt 1 admin pouch on front Here is my questions: Did I forget anything on my vest setup? Why doesnt more people run medical pouches on there thigh if they have to release or is not wearing there M4/vest? which color is the best for PMC setup? Ranger green, OD, Black, Tan or multicam? I live in a cold climate, not desert. Which is better of running a pistol belt or a padded molle belt? Hydration pouch or the eagle modular assault pack? getting in/out of vehicles, carrying a backpack? Does enyone run with a rapell harness as standard? I use helicopters to get in/out on a regular basis? I have spent hundreds of hours looking thru every setup i could find, and I'm not getting any vicer... Sorry for my crappy english by the way
There isn't an ultimate set up. I voted Ranger Green as it's a good all around color. Blending in as a PMC usually involves dressing like a local and not drawing attention to yourself rather than putting on camouflage. For those of you who don't know this, pictures of contractors one frequently sees wearing camouflage in what appears to be the mountains of Afghanistan or deep in the Iraqi desert are actually just a few yards outside of a base or away from a convoy  .
I've been working as a contractor overseas for about six years. Working as a contractor, one can experience a broad range of environments and tasks. If you're working a PSD in a permissive or semi permissive environment, you can get by with a bit of stuff on your belt, a handgun, and perhaps a rifle with one or two extra magazines. It's all about anticipating trouble and avoiding it, not reacting to it and getting into a slugging match. On the other hand, if you're doing convoy security in parts of Afghanistan, you need to be loaded for bear and able to E&E if things go south. More often than not, newer guys in this line of work seem to overdo it and carry more crap on their rigs than SF guys who actually go out and do stuff... So, what kind of work will you be doing? Let that be your guide. I personally don't carry more than 6 magazines on my kit. Not that I won't ever need more than that, but extras fit handily in 5.56mm bandoleers and can be slung around the neck, hung from the back of a seat in a vehicle, etc. Same thing with smoke grenades; maybe a couple in a pack, but if you aren't out in the bad lands and don't need to break contact or mark an LZ, I wouldn't carry them on my gear. If you're doing mobile work, stage them in the vehicle. I don't wear anything on my back because I'm in and out of vehicles frequently. I don't use any type of drop leg stuff, just personal preference. I have a pistol belt on which I can carry a pistol, a couple of extra rifle and pistol magazines, a small emergency medical kit, and a dump pouch. On top I wear slick armor (personal preference) with a TT MAV that can hold six rifle mags, three pistol mags (actually two and a surefire), a pouch for chemlites, gloves, and a VS-17 panel, a radio, and a larger emergency medical kit. I also keep two magazines on my rifle. I usually use on of the rifle mag pouches on my kit to carry an extra radio, as my current position involves communicating and coordinating far more than shooting. Good luck. |
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It just showed up a couple of great answers to my question here.
I used to be involved in more DA than PSD, but I belive that time is over since the media is trying to ban PMC, at least here in norway. I am 6 foot 2 inches and a 160 pounds, so I am a skinny guy. I used to carry seperate body armor underneath my vest, it used to work great as things change fast, but i like the opertunity to throw on my ballistic vest and be good to go. The eagle MAP, cost is not an issue, but I was wondering if mobility was? Thank you once again for a forum packed with helpful and professional people |
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The MAP might be a problem if you're in and out of vehicles. Its not large by any means, but it not flat either. I don't usually wear my gear in a vehicle, so I didn't think to include this.
Like I said, I wear Large rifle plates, etc... and I was digging around and found a pretty decent picture of how its sized. Its not huge, but its bigger, I have it adjusted too low in this picture, but its an idea of the size, I wear a Large Long blouse so its not tiny 
This is a picture from when I first got the CIRAS and first tried FastMags, so there isn't much else on there |
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Not a pro, but doesn't camo/uniform color serve two functions––concealment and identification? If your team wears all OD, and you wear MC, then you "stand out"....the enemy might target you first since you'd be perceived as "special" and/or your team might (in the heat of combat) mistake you as "not one of us" (which might get bullets sent your way, pointy-end first)
Just wonderin'... |
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