And if you do tactical gear or uniforms, it's  'stitch bitch'

Understood.  A skilled person whose skills are in demand can require a "certain" level of respect from those who require products from such a skilled person-- or else some items/people go to the "end of the line", so to speak.

It's about supply and demand and mutual respect. BTDT from both ends.

Kind and decent folks always got fair consideration.  Demanding AZZholes always got deferred to the end of the line.

Not sure if this is someone from here, but I just saw another great review of the DZ Rig.

Yeah I saw that as well. Good review and very innovative load out carry.  I love reviews with chickens and dogs nosing around; it doesn't get any more real than that.  As opposed to those slick snake oil salesmen.

Of course this is all subject to change, in today's military, but back in the day, nobody got cut any slack.  If you were the guy who modified all his kit, you were a stitch bitch.  Not to mention a gear queer.  We even yelled at each other and occasionally went hands-on.  

I love that meme where a captured soldier is being "tortured" by having the wrong pro-nouns shouted at him.  That is some funny shit.

And rigs still not here.  Supposed to be in this morning.

Duly noted.

Not bad of  a review. i'd carry the knife lower (the end of the handle flush with top of the pouches may  be less intrusive, or maybe carry a smaller one), good work on the radio lid idea, medical kit looks quite messy. Maybe it is just me but i am not completely sold on the idea of carrying tourniquets that way in that kind of rig.

A ziploc bag would take care of that IFAK easy enough. Agreed on the TQs. I prefer to try and keep them centerline.

Those tourniquet pouches are just begging to catch a bush or something and get ripped open.

I have ordered a T-Rex Arms TQ pouch to put on the front of the right hand mag pouch to see how it does.  Right now I have a TQ on the top of the commander's pouch on my Jay Jay's webbing and I think I prefer that placement but the two mag pouches currently on the Diz don't allow it.

Here's how I have my IFAK.  It's in an ATS low profile IFAK "pouch."  Big enough to fit some Kerlix, Combat Gauze, and a OLAES bandage. I have it in the rear right hand mag pouch along w/ a pair of chest seals. Still working to find the best place for shears, but I will be mounting my old OIF-carried Kabar to it as soon as I find my old Spec Ops brand sheath.







Now, it is quite tight and pulling it out takes a strong tug, but putting it in harder and still easily done. The chest seals in the back help not hanging on the material. I will say it was initially too tight to tuck the tab, but after inserting and removing a few times, it's loosened up enough to allow its use again. I do like that guy's idea of using some adhesive backed loop for attaching a red cross patch on there. I'm probably going to steal that.

American Express standing by.

@trails-end

Showing in stock for L/XL now

Thank you.  Order placed.

Picked up a DZ Rig and CF3. Looking forward to comparing it to my DG16.

Got a L/XL rig in M81 heading my way!

Hot damn boys been sewing away and forgot to post up.  Will have them all done by weekend and start shipping out Monday morning.

I know you mentioned it already, but it’s a big thread.

What are you sewing up on them?

Not a bad setup, I was planning on a Trex TQ pouch myself. Still playing around with what I want to stuff into mine, got a couple ideas. For the front right-hand mag pouch, I’m thinking a monocular, probably a Vortex 10x36, along with maybe a couple other odds and ends that’ll fit under it. Anyone got recommendations for a better monocular than that?

Probably going to look into ghillie hoods/ponchos, too.

The drag handles on the rig IIRC

Well, according to Prepared Pathfinder, the drag handle was a bit floppy for his taste, so since he's the senior belt kit wear-er here, we are tacking them down another 1 /12", making them shorter/tighter.  

Yeah I bounce back n forth on this one.  I know Brits like to have both ammo pouches on "off" side, and for good reasons, but for long patrols in the bush, I like to have one on each side for balance.  Since the other two pouches will be either a trauma kit, radio, day/night optic, etc.  Now if I had 2 frags n 2 smokes, then sure things might even out a bit.  Or if I know I'm going in on a raid/assault, vs a recce patrol.  

So, yeah on the next run, the drag handle will be tightened up.  Also let me know how the rig works out for you and what you might want to see changed.  Some have already said horizontal molle on the shoulder straps for small pouches.  Possibly ladder locks instead of tri glides, to make adjustments on the fly.  And putting the hardware back on the yoke for downward pulls on all straps.  Possibly adding some velcro squares outside for med patches and such.  

I have been (re)watching quite a few Belt kit/PLCE vids as of late, just comparing what the issue was, what the custom was, and then comparing to our kit.  Judging from feedback so far, I think we did good.

I was thinking about the ladder locks.  What about replacing the D rings at the front of the belt with inverted ladder locks? Pull up to tighten. I may make up something to weave through the molle on my PLCE to see if that might work.

I have bottom ladder locks installed on mine.
I did not remove the D rings and used the split repair buckles. This way if the buckles malfunction somehow, I can still use the D ring and sliding buckle adjustment as originally intended. The sliding buckle is left on the strap above the ladder lock to reference the max tightness that is comfortable for me.

I will post pictures tomorrow of them and also the mounting solutions for the CAT tourniquets I use because TQ pouches are being discussed a little.

I was going to wait until I was completely set up before pictures but I think I will post a little here and there so I don’t end up posting a manifesto. LOL

Very cool.  I want to see some possible solutions before making a decision.  I don't know if I want to direct sew straps onto the base but you sorta gotta, if you want pull downs.  I will probably cut out d-rings on one rig and throw on spit bar ladder locks for a start.  

It's so crazy as I'm sitting here sewing the drag handles down; I have boxes of these rigs, and every time I pull one out of the box I'm like, hey, this is exactly how I would have made it; well no shit, that's your design.  It's still a bit un-real.  

The marketing dept is up in the mountains now doing a photo shoot for future, well marketing.  While I'm behind the machine sewing.  Well when it gets down below freezing tonight, I'll be warm and dry, with a hot cuppa.  

I haven't handled the rig yet, hopefully next week, but from the last review it looks like there aren't attachments for a dump pouch like on the JayJays rig.  The reviewer uses
a Flatline brand dump pouch that attaches behind mag pouches.  That actually looks better than taking belt space.

Is there any other way to attach a regular pouch in a similar way?

https://flatlinefiberco.com/product/the-dump-pouch/

You can utilize the PALS on the sides of the pouches, if need be.

For me, with a rig like this, I'd rather just get used to wearing cargo pants and use those pockets, instead. Same for the "where does my compass and map go?" question. Put them in your blouse.

I don't have the DZ, but I attached a small roll up dump pouch to the backside of my rear mag carrier on the left side, putting it between the mag pouch and canteen pouch. It's rolled up most of the time, and a quick tug allows it to unroll.

ETA: this one

I use one that has a more rigid mouth on the backside of my war belt, to make it easier to get items in and out, but the floppy one folds up really small when not needed and only adds a few ounces.

ETA2: it's not on in this pic, but is in the space circled in red

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ETA3: found a pic from earlier in the thread and you can see the rolled up dump pouch on the left side of the leftmost canteen pouch

Attached File

I'll try to be brief. Ladder locks first, and then tourniquets. Turns out it has to be two posts.
Whenever I need to make "improvements" to my kit, I try to come up with the simplest solution. Often times, the simplest solutions turn out to be the best ones.

The ladder lock bottom adjustment.

First pic is in case anyone isn't familiar with what a split buckle is, whether it's a ladder lock or male/female clip together buckle, etc.
These are made in case of breakage on sewn on buckles, so you don't have to cut and resew loops on your gear.

Second pic is on the DZ rig loop where the original D rings are located. I do not want to permanently remove the D rings in case I have to use them for the adjustment strap again for whatever reason in the future. Also, the D rings left on may be used to clip any gear on the rig. (Gloves, carabiners, etc.)

Third pic is how the original tri glide buckle is left on and used to slide down to reference where the strap is when fully adjusted. They can be moved to different heights incase I am wearing lighter or heavy clothing, chest rigs, plates, etc.
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Tourniquets
I use CATs and the M-4 single mag pouches work great and are cheap/plentiful.
They will fit the TQ, a pair of shears, and medical gloves. They are easy to open and keep the TQ covered pretty well.
They attach easily to the DZ rig, keep the front belt line clean, and either one is accessible with either hand.

I do have a system where I add two small plastic bags that are too small to fit the whole TQ, but the 2 halves overlap and are loose enough to fall away when the TQ is deployed, but keeps it water and dirt proof.

First 2 pictures are of that system.
Attached File

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The next 2 pics are of a TQ holder that is relatively inexpensive and available on Amazon.
As mentioned, I like to keep things simple. You do not have to sew any horizontal loops onto your DZ shoulder straps to use these.
They hold a TQ and shears securely. They have mounting straps for either horizontal or vertical molle. Hell, you don't even need molle, they can be attached to straps, belts, or whatever.

These are shown for you guys that like them there.
Personally, I don't put stuff on that part of my gear because I find that it interferes with my 2 point slung rifle. Especially when transitioning rifle to other shoulder.

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Very cool.  Yeah when I get down sewing, Imma gonna do it.

On dumpers, frankly I didn't give them much thought.  However, if this is an issue, I will.  I always just used cargo pockets.  But for sure, maybe we will add another row of molle for this and AK mags.

keep the rig as it is, you just can't cater to everyone and that's already plenty of modularity. Maybe too much. I wouldn't do horizontal pals on the shoulders as it forces to make a bulkier chest strap and the hard edges of the webbing are now all over the sides , where chafing may occur.

Regarding the dump pouch a couple of molle hangers and a Dragon Supplies or Jayjays, or the aforementioned US one are quick solutions.

As of now i think nobody used the pals webbing on pouches lid except as lashing points and no one complained that the shock cord system does not work to cinch down extra items one may attach to the side webbing of the pouches (again, looks like an easy fix if you just slide the ealstic out of the channel).

Seems to me that you are in the position of considering user-supplied suggestions, possibly to be included in V-2 of the DZ rig.

I'm certain that you put a lot of thought into the V-1 rig, but I reckon that some suggestions might prove worthwhile.  

Depends on the source of the suggestions, I think, and how much effort the person suggesting some mods has put into testing the DZ rig.

Some suggestions might be of marginal value, while increasing production costs beyond their actual usefulness.  I'm sure you have a "personal" list of features which you considered but have deferred for many purposes, production cost being but one reason.  It would be a rare item where the first iteration cannot be improved, as I'm sure you know.

Basically, I concur with joeviterbo in that at some point you can't possibly accommodate all suggestions.  Accommodating the most frequent and the most useful suggestions might make sense, particularly if done in a manner that does not raise the price point too much.

The rig is fundamentally sound and does its job well.  The DZ rig is intentionally designed as a "minimalist" rig, and not as a platform onto which every and any device/pouch will fit.  At some point, "enough is enough".
 
To my mind, and no Expert, accommodating the wishes of folks wanting to mount pistol holsters, pistol mag pouches, bayonets or other knives, and perhaps dump pouches seem to have some merit to their suggestions.  As long as such mods don't compromise the basic DZ rig, all is well.

Folks wanting AK and M1A/FAL mag pouches might also be worth listening-to.  While such pouches abound, perhaps pouches incorporating some of the useful features incorporated into your M-16 mag pouches might be worth making in such a way that they can be easily incorporated into the DZ rig.

The mag pouches from BAE/Eclipse sold by Entrygear  have always been my high-quality/low cost fave.  No financial interest.

Forgive the rambling, but I think you've done a great job of making an excellent rig at an unbeatable price point.  By all means "consider" all suggestions, but I suggest only incorporating the suggestions which do not raise the price-point, and do not compromise the overall rig.

All best wishes to you and your team!  I think you have a winner rig, and one which will become increasingly popular.

More progress.  Sides done.  Should get the front done tomorrow and may even start putting the body together. Friendly reminder to make sure pieces are facing the right way when assembling. That prevents you from having to take it apart, flip it around, and resew.

UPS sent an email that said mine will be here tomorrow.  Shipping must have slipped that one past you.

I might get it dirty this weekend.

Got the same notification. Hope it's not a fluke, it'd be nice to get it before or on my bday soon!

Please share pics of this, that brings back memories

Pros and cons   :-D  

Day in the mountains?  or warm and dry at night with a nice mug of coffee?

Though I will say today was a beautiful day for February up here in the mountains.  I got to spend most of it out and about instead of working.  Today wouldn't have been the worst day to spend playing in the mountains.

I do the same thing with tourniquets, same place.  But I use a USGI surplus flashbang pouch - I don't want to just depend on velcro to keep it closed, especially right on the front there, where I might have to go prone.

For the dump pouch, either do the roll-up dump pouch like someone used above, or there should be a dump pouch with two attachment straps, designed to sit under one of the canteen utility pouches, that tie into the PALS webbing on both sides of the canteen pouch.  IE, it hangs directly under the canteen pouch, with a piece of webbing on each side tying into the PALS webbing on the pouch above.  That way the rig itself wouldn't have to be modified.  You can roll the dump pouch up when not in use.

This.  Keep the rig simple.  There will obviously be a few improvements, but keep it simple.  Your rig is there to meet the 99% demand at a good price point.

The only thing I'd really change or add as a major change would be add an option for AK mag pouches.  But that's simple, as your ammo pouches are MOLLE.  So you just need a 2nd pouch design - an enlarged version of your current pouch basically.

Don't be arfraid to draw lines on your fabric to follow while sewing, to help you keep straight stitch lines.  You can use chalk, or if it's your own gear, use a fine sharpie.  And go slow with the stitching, even if it's one stitch at a time.  Luckily with my industrial machine, I can use the computer on it to choose the stitches per minute it can do, plus I swapped out the pulley for a much smaller one.  I can turn it down to somewhere around 300 stitches per minute when the pedal is all the way down - I've been slowly turning it up faster and faster as I get better and can keep up.  

It looks good so far.  The MOLLE rows look decent.  It's easy to get them all crooked and such.  Stitching on the binding tape looks good.

Thanks. I wasn’t worried about the stitching around the edges binding the panels together. Once the panels are joined, they’ll be covered in binding tape.  You may be able to see the chalk lines on the molle where I lined those up.  It’s coming together faster than I thought.  Depending on my schedule, it may be done in a week or so.

Rig is looking good.  That's where the rubber meets the road, when all the parts have to be final-assembled.  Then you're like, hmmm, I guess I don't need that last layer or whatever.  On a pouch level, this is why I started sewing with webbing reinforcement, vs double wall construction, to keep the seams thinner.

And oh hell yeah, I've sewed the wrong sides together.  

On the Diz rig, yeah I know you can get wrapped around the axle real quick with small improvements.  And for sure, my main focus at this point is to get the low profile yoke (for BA), 7.62-AK, and 7.62 NATO mag pouches out, along with a cmdr's pouch, and smoke, frag pouches.  With inserts for trauma kits and radios.  Then when we do the next run of rigs, we'll see where we're at.  

But I will R&D these suggestions just to try them all out.  

I do like the Eclipse line of pouches.  Sorta wonder why they never caught on.  Very close to what I'm doing with the tuck tab.  Good silent closure.  On that.  I still see guys making snarky remarks about why reloads need to be quiet.  And again, I say when you're with the thundering herd (line infantry), yeah probably not important.  But.  When you are with a small team (recon, surveillance) it can be.  When you need stealth and guile to break contact, not massive firepower.  You may blow through a mag, and stop, under cover to reload.  The enemy may still be in close proximity.  You need to get a reload in as silently as possible.  And quietly melt away.  This sems to be too fine a point for some.

People love arguing fine points. It's usually a placeholder for actually using their stuff.

I think the rig looks good and is well thought out. Something can always be different for someone. But you know, I did this charcuterie board 'class' with my wife at the local library that she wanted to do, and the presenter said "You can do this, that, or the other thing, but be selfish with your board. Do what YOU like, because you'll be eating it first and foremost, likely."

I like the flatline pouch, sits in the same place the JayJay’s does and doesn’t take up any of the side-mounted molle where you might want a radio, knife, TQ, or twinkies.

I still think “dump pouch” is a bit of a misnomer. While it’s intended for spent mags, I find it’s mostly used for incidentals picked up along the way.

My thoughts on that are  'why not make them silent?'  

I think your closure system you are using is solid for things with fixed form (magazines).  It is quiet, isn't that much more expensive (with labor) than fastex buckles, far more secure than just velcro, as both the velcro and the closure system are optional with your pouches, and something that people overlook - your system is both durable long-term (velcro wears out, fastex and such plastic clips can break, especially in cold weather) and reliable vs. the environment (velcro gets dirty / filled with ice and fastex and such buckles can get frozen solid easily) but your closure system is better in those cases.  

Long term durability is something alot of people overlook, even some of our GWAT guys, who are used to quick and easy and thorough resupply.  If a big war comes along, you might not be getting new gear supplied, at least not quickly, and nothing as nice as the stuff we have access to now.

Big progress today. Finished the front and bottom panels. Joined the sides and front. Taped those inside seams.  Ran one piece of tape across the top seam. Will use the overlap to join the tape on the back panel. No time the rest of the weekend, so it’ll have to wait for assembly.  Still need to revisit the shoulder harness. Also have to make a simple top flap.

Coming together fast, cap. What are you planning on doing for a lid?

Duplicate

Well I’m gonna make a simple Alice type lid to have on hand. But thanks to a special benefactor, I have a Crossfire Daypack lid that will crown my crudely made pack.

Looking good

@Diz

PM sent

It's fantastic.