My friend has that rig and the only downside that he has commented on if the fact that included with the package there are only mag pouches. Obviously you'll get other pouches but to start with you'll only have mag pouches.
That's what I was figuring mostly that I'd have some extra pouches for other gear etc down the road. Pick up some other pouches as I figured out what I needed etc then keep them around.
I prefer plate carriers over chest rigs because of the "hugger" feel that they give. The plates inside hold them rigid so they don't sag, and if properly fit they shouldn't sway on your body at all.
Chest rigs also tend to put all the mags/equipment lower over your gut rather than on your chest. Depending on your form, one of those styles may be better than the other, but I find that having the mags/equipment higher up allows me to lay prone easier, as there isn't a cluster of gear over my belly.
Of course plate carriers also provide more space to mount pouches and such, but that typically comes at the cost of being heavier. In the end, it mostly depends on how you set it up.
Plate carriers will also cost more, as you won't find a truly good plate carrier for $40.
Now about color:
I used to use all-OD gear (pretty much) and now I'm switching to all Coyote Brown. In fact, I just today placed an order for the CB replacement of my OD belt setup. Why? Because OD Green does not go well with any tan-based camouflage color. I want to be able to wear Woodland MARPAT and Desert MARPAT clothing without switching up my gear, and have it still work together. Those two patterns both have CB in them, so CB just works great with both. In fact, Coyote Brown goes well with pretty much everything...
Interesting I hadn't really given that much thought height/weight I'm 6'2, 210lbs or so with a very little bit of gut not terribly muscular in the modern sense but fairly solid upper body just because of my work. I haven't worn or had the chance to wear much for other gear than my blackhawk vest but it puts the mags low but since I typically only run single mags they tend to be thin and not dig in too much while going prone. It's also got some higher pouches though honestly they just aren't a size that I find a whole lot of use for. Typically I might put a dead rag in one, and a spare sniper rifle mag in the other or a pistol mag but neither is that useful they are small and oriented sideways. That all said are you saying that a plate carrier is better for a skinny guy or vice versus? Just couldn't tell but I'm very curious since I hadn't given much thought to weight/build effecting it but it's a good thing to consider.
I'm not super opposed to spending money on this setup, it's just that my budget is very small right now so the more money I spend the longer I've gotta run my black vest until I put together the cash for something better. So it's a time problem more than anything else and honestly I'm ready to get on to something other than black. After all these years working around it, I'm just ready for something that blends better out in the woods where I almost entirely play. If my current rig was OD I'd probably still keep on running it just because I'm fairly happy with it, but if I'm going to replace it I'd like to be able to change things up down the road as I find some setup that works better. And I'm also looking at the fact that once I own the pouches I can pickup anything else MOLLE and just move the pouches over to build out a whole new setup which makes much more sense to me than starting fresh so to speak.
On color that's been something I've considered. I like OD since I think it blends more in woodland than brown or tan, but you make a good point about looking good with the camo and I agree the brown tends to look better with tan camo. I don't right at the moment have any tan though and I'm not really planning on picking up any soon. Right now with the games I'm playing up here they have been small enough to not have real camo requirements. I doubt I'll have time to attend any larger games down state any time soon since I've just been too busy and tight on cash to make the trip. Not to mention real life getting in the way;) So I'm not too concerned with it, but on the other hand it makes sense with my goal of this whole thing to make it as functional as possible across the widest variety of camo etc. So I'll have to do some more thinking on that, I believe the only OD thing I've got right at the moment is my mesh mask that I recently picked up, which I could easily spray or buy another one since they aren't expensive at all.
Either way thanks much for the input guys any more ideas or suggestions on rigs would be appreciated. I should also say my primary usage. Games lately have been short, IE not long enough to require a reload if I'm running a highcap most of the time. I'm pushing things more towards the milsim side of things with locap/midcap loadouts rather than hicaps etc. but until other guys are setup that way it's not likely to go that direction real soon. I'd like to be able to load out enough mags for a full day if needed. I'd like to be able to handle some pistol mags since I always carry some sort of backup gun typically an AEP but I do run GBB's when the weather is warm enough for them to function properly. When I play up north it's more CQB but outdoors, it's around a sawmill so there are lots of closer engagements around lumber piles and buildings but I still tend to run 400 or less rounds per round before the opportunity to reload mags comes around. And I know I could get by just fine without a rig for my piddly needs but I really after using a vest for so many years prefer to have the ammo on hand and not need it than run out. But I think that having the ability to somewhat tailor my loadout to the game would come in handy. I figure I could loadout a bunch of pouches for longer games if they pop up, and maybe a lighter version for the majority of my playing. The other thing is I switch guns, allot. Seldom do I run an entire day with a single gun, it might come to that eventually. But since I've been back in airsoft I've been having fun playing with guns I haven't used in a while. So typically I'll run a M4 platform most of the day, but I'll swap to the sniper rifle part of the time, or the G36 or one of the other bunches of guns I've got just to play with something different. So mag pouches have to be somewhat able to handle other mags. My pouches on my blackhawk are designed for double m4 mags, and I've never had an issue tucking an AK mag, or G36 mag into them so I'm looking for something in the same vein, priority on m4 mags, but the ability to run some other things would be nice.
Luke
EDIT:
^so much yes.
1. Hydration packs- where do you put them on a chest rig? Sure, you could get a separate backpack like a Yote, but that's an extra cost. On a PC, it's really easy to get a super cheap MOLLE hydration pack that will attach directly to your back (you can also put a bladder right in the plate bag).
2. In my opinion, plate carriers are infinitely more modular/customizable than a chest rig (even one with MOLLE). There's just a lot more room. The downside is you have to buy pouches separately (unless they're bundled with the PC) but the upside is you have something that you can tailor to your specific needs.
3. Stinger said that plate carriers are typically heavier than chest rigs, which is true, but it doesn't have to be the case. There's a lot of low profile, minimalist PCs out there that are quite light.
4. I just came up with this idea while writing this: have you considered an RRV? They're kind of like a chest rig/plate carrier hybrid. I've never owned one though.
Keep in mind that I'm not a super experienced gear guy or anything (where's Knief?) and those are just my opinions based off of my experience.
That's something else I hadn't considered or forgot about. I would like some sort of hydration, I got heat exhaustion several years ago and honestly I don't do well in the heat and sun like I used to. I've found if I push water allot, I handle it much better. But even in these short games I'm finding myself not thinking about it and needing to push water more and more. That's also the reason I thought about a chest rig, is lightweight and a little cooler I figured, which might help a bit with my trouble in the heat but since I haven't worn one I'm just not sure if it's going to help.
I haven't looked at the RRV I'll take a look at it. I feel like an idiot even asking these questions to be honest because I've been involved in airsoft for a long time now but gear isn't something I've kept up with nor was really even that good with. For whatever reason I always bought guns, lots of guns;) But I typically just worked with what I had on gear other than camo. Now of course this interest in gear could just be because my day to day work is building holsters, so I deal with gear in that facet of life all the time. I've even considered building some gear since my sewing machine is more than capable of stitching any sort of nylon I can put through it, or even building some kydex stuff. I don't do kydex in my shop, but I've dabbled with it in the past and I've got all the flaring tools and whatnot to make production level gear. That all said I'm backed up with leather work like usual, so it's not that I have the time to build things, I do like to build stuff though;) But again I don't honestly know what the heck I would build:) I just don't have the experience to figure that stuff out yet. I can build carry holsters and whatnot because I've used them for years, have tons of experience in that section of the market and know what makes a good rig. Until I get that sort of experience in nylon gear I'm just a newbie trying to figure out what works, and hopefully trying to avoid expensive mistakes on gear I don't care for;)
Luke
