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Tacvest Mods

PhilB

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Hi guys, well as we all know tacvest bashing is both a fun and enjoyable sport. However, it has been done to death. We all know its a POS, we all know that there are MANY better options out there etc etc etc. On Archer Roto 1 I used a tactical tailor MAV, good piece of kit, but at home in my unit I have to use the tac vest. As a result I have done what we all do best, adapted and overcome. Here is what I have done to improve my tacvest;

1. Mag Carriage - The ability to only carry 4 mags is my largest bone of contention. To rectify the problem I bought a Dropzone modular panel. This basically converts the side pouch attachment area into a PALS modular panel and thus allows you to attach any pouches you desire. I next bought 2 triple HSGI mag pouches in CADPAT. I mounted these using TT 90 cant adaptors so the mag pouches were horizontal. This mod allows me to carry 9 mags, here is what it looks like:

Magpouches.jpg


Here is the mag pouches open:

Pouchesopen.jpg


Here is a close up of the panel:

PALSpanel.jpg


2. My next major issue is carrying water. With all of the other things we need to carry and the pouch options avail on the tacvest a camelbak is one of the only viable options. I personally dislike carrying a normal camelbak over the vest. I find the shoulder straps slip around and make it un-comfortable. The obvious solution is to purchase one of the many after market camelbak carriers. My issue with these is that they are designed to carry the bladder only. When rucking, carrying an assault pack, radio, etc I attach my camelbak to whatever else I am carrying. This works with a normal camelbak but a bladder alone is to prone to bursting without its cover. To remedy both issues I had a custom carrier built. It attaches to the vest via shoulder straps, and zap straps, and is sized to fit a 3L Camelbak Hotshot complete. This is a great option because it easily and comfortably carries the camelbak and you can easily slip it out and attach it to a ruck.

Camelbakandbuckles.jpg


Here it is open:

Camelbak.jpg


3. Finally my last major issue is the way the vest adjusts. I think that the metal buckles the vest comes with are completely useless. They do not stay tight and as a result the entire vest ends up sagging.
***NOTE*** this is a permanent mod***NOTE***
I took my vest into a seamstress and had her remove the standard buckles. I had her attach metal tri-glide buckles in their place. Then all I had to do was attach another tri-glide on each strap and loop it back over, much like a standard C7 sling. This mod does not loosen or come undone, additionally it is simply to adjust or unthread the buckles unlike the standard ones. Here is what it looks like:

Bucklescloseup.jpg



All of these mods make the tacvest somewhat more usable. I still feel that scrapping the vest completely and going with an off the shelf modular system would be the best option for us but, then I'm only a Cpl! If we are going to be saddled with an inferior piece of crap then these mods make it a bit better. Hope this helps. I will answer any questions as best I can.
 
Awesome mods to make the vest serviceable. Now, those are spot on mods so get on the DIN, fill out the on-line UCR and document these mods as possible alternatives (include the pics and manufacturers of the parts and submit it through your ADJ).  Seriously, the more well thought out UCR's they get the better.  I just got confirmation of receipt of all mine the other day.
 
OUTSTANDING! ive see some guys have the normal mag pouches removed and molle sewn on in place, and use dropzone or HSGI triples or doubles in place. this way looks easier to me, and also less permenant. id forgotten about Dropzones side panel for the TV. i espically like the camelback idea there, thats pretty nifty.
 
I think the mod for the camelbak is great, where did you get that done? can you send me the info please

Thanks
 
Thanks very much guys. To answer the questions and comments:

Jay - I will try and get on the DIN tonight but being a reservist my access is extremely limited. If one of you upstanding reg force members wants to send in the UCR and take the credit please be my guest. If so pm me and I can send you the pics

FourNiner - I was with a bunch of the guys in your unit that had the mods done to their vests. For those that dont know basically they took their vests in to a seamstress and had the maag pouches removed and a PALS panel put in their place. They then attached Dropzone rattle resistor mag pouches in place of the normal mag pouches. I didnt like, or want to go this route for several reasons. a) I was concerned about the mesh that the pouches were attached to ripping. I have personally gone through 2 tac vests, with the mesh ripping on each. b) It makes the vest somewhat more cumbersome and makes going in the prone and accessing the front, lower utility pouches somewhat difficult. A good mod with what they had avail but not for me.

Wanderer - I had the pouch built by Al Janes. You 3VP guys will know him. I'm not sure if he is still around as he had some stuff on the go. I am currently talking with Matt at CP Gear and hopefully they will be able to construct something similar. If you dont mind it not being cadpat I'm sure you could go into a seamstress or Mattech and have them build one for you. Hopefully CP will create this pouch and everyone can get one.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you guys want more detailed pictures of anything.
 
I could not find the Dropzone modular panel on their website. Either I overlooked something that was way too obvious, or it's not there anymore.

Army Outfitters has a CADPAT Camelbak cover, but I do not know if it will attach to the Tac Vest as yours will.
 
Like most stuff the panels are not on their website. I picked mine up at the PPCLI kit shop on work up trg. I'm sure if you called either DZ or PPCLI kit shop they could hook you up. The DZ panel is an all right option but there are a lot of things that I dont like about it. Hopefully someone makes some improvements and comes out with a better design.

With the camelbak cover, I had mine custom made because none of the one out there that I have tried would fit the camelbak with carrier. Just a point to note.
 
Hey guys, I've had a bunch of people pm me about the DZ panels. I think the easiest way to get them, unless you live in Edmonton and can drop into DZ, is to got through Oneshot. Darren aka Farmboy will take good care of you.

www.oneshottactical.com
 
Wow!!!  Your load carrying solution is quite ingenious, must have put lots of thought into it..  Being able to haul more ammo, and have that ammo more accessible is a big improvement over the issue vest.  Having the camelback in the center of your back without those shoulder straps must be nice too, as those straps can slide around and become annoying.  I do have two questions for you though, and one of them is a biggie.  Do you have any problems humping your ruck around with a full camelback?  Next question is knowing what the big holy book says about modifying kit, did your section commander have any issues with this, and have the other guys with modded vests taken any flak over them?  My reason for asking is pure curiousity, i'm not out to crap on your ideas.
 
Thanks for the kind words. First off reference the camelbak. In the past I have had issues rucking with the camelbak that is why I had this system made. I simply slide the camelbak out ofth the carrier and trow it behind the valise on my 64. The tube is still accessible so I can hydrate on the march. When we drop rucks its as easy as yanking the camelbak out and throwing it back in the carrier on the vest. It helps if your fire team partner just grabs it for you.

As for being allowed/not allowed. To be honest I haven't really asked my section commander. All of the mods on the vest aside from replacing the adjustment straps are non permanent. The back straps although permanent are not very noticable. I used all of these mods while on PLQ INF and had no issues with it. In my unit I'm lucky, in the sense that I just got back from Afghanistan so the CoC is basically leaving us alone with our kit. I think they realize that we have a fairly good handle on what our requirments are and as long as we aren't pushing the envelope to much are not bothering us.

Also just so guys know price points on this stuff. The camelbak carrier cost about $40 to have custom built, the mag pouches were about $60, the panel was $40ish (it comes in a set so you can attach it to both sides), and having the buckles replaced cost a whopping $15.

This system is not perfect. I am extremely happy with the adjustment straps and the camelbak carrier. It is the mag carrying that I am not 100% pleased with. The mag pouches are ok it is mainly the panel that is the issue. It tends to sag a bit (I had to add paracord to keep it on tight. Also it extends past the back of the actual panel on the vest. This is a pain because you have to loop the PALS panel through the rear straps of the vest. This becomes a hassel because as we all know getting those straps undone is an ordeal, and it alters the way the vest tightens and rides. You gain an extra channel of PALS that is so far back it is useless. Definitly a work in progress. Hopefully sometime in the future a different, improved version is released. But for all things considered not to bad. I hope this helps some of the troops out there. I just hate hearing nothing but bitching. I bitch as much as the next guy about our shitty kit, but proactive solutions are good to see.
 
Ok thanks for the info.  I tried rucking with a camelback on, but quickly did what you did and put it on my rucksack.  It's good to hear that your chain of command doesn't have you under the microscope for personal kit, hopefully it stays that way and you can use what works best for you.  I can't stand the issue tac vest either, i'm thinking of purchasing a modular chest rig base soon, as i have quite a few pouches here.  Good luck with the rest of your tac vest project  8)
 
Not a problem, I wish I didnt have to do it at all! A modular set up is the way to go. That is what I used on my last tour and if I end up going over again will use. But if I'm forced to use the tac vest at least its passable
 
Darren PM'd me regarding the panels.

Can you post a couple of photos showing how these attach and why there's a problem with sagging? What alterations to the design would you suggest, and can the current ones be so altered?

There is a fair chance that I could find myself overseas in a year or so when my Sqn takes over the TUAV job. My odds of getting outside the wire are slim to none as I see it so heavy investments in fancy kit are likely completely unwarranted, plus I have no desire to overdress fobbit-fashion. I've always been one to adapt or supplement issue kit so I see this as a reasonable solution.

Photos of the Camelbak carrier showing the attachment method would be appreciated as well, if it's not too much trouble. No rush.

And thanks for starting this thread.
 
PhilB, I find the sagging problem with the issued C9 pouch when used for the 2qz, so I don't think your problem is related to the panels but rather to the design of the Tac Vest.
 
I agree with you on the replacement of the mag pouches. i dont like them that high up, and neither do a couple of them, but it beats having only 4 mags, and if they have to use the TV it works a bit better. i have a TT mav, that works wonders for me.
 
Hi guys, so as requested. The sagging with the issue pouches is generally due to not having the vest tight enough. If the vest is tight then then entire side of the vest doesn't sag as much. That's why I changed the buckles so I could keep my vest tight.

Now first off is the camelbak carrier. Basically it attaches around the shoulder straps of the vest. It has velcro loops attached to d rings on the carrier so you can adjust the height of the carrier itself. Here is what it looks like with the loops open

Camelbakattachmentopen.jpg


and the loops closed around the vest:

Camelbakattachmentclosed.jpg


The sides of the carrier have d rings that interface with the daisy chain webbing on the vest. You simply zap strap the d ring to the vest and your good to go. Here is what it looks like:

Camelbakattachmentside.jpg


Its the same on both sides of the vest.

Now for the panel. Basically the panel attaches onto the daisy chain webbing on the vest with clips, then interfaces with the velcro on the center of the side panel on the vest and then loops through the rear attachment straps of the vest. Here is a front view of the panel. Basically looking at the panels attached to the vest, with the vest facing you. You can see the clips attached to the daisy chains.

Panelattachmentfront.jpg


Here is a picture of how the panel has to have the rear attachment straps of the vest looped through it:

panelattachmentrear.jpg


Finally a view looking down at the panel from the top of the vest. You can see how it sags a bit and also the para cord I have looped around to try and mitigate the issue. The paracord does not completely solve the problem but it does reduce the sagging a bit.

Panelsag.jpg


Basically the issue is that the center of the panel is only held on by velcro and so when everything is attached (mags, pouches, cant adaptor, etc) it pulls away. Unfortunately I am reluctant to suggest mods other than the paracord at this time because I am currently speaking with a few retailers about a permanent change to the design of the panel. Hope this helps
 
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