MOLLE Plate carrier Adapters for BDS Tactical chest rig

Made a set of MOLLE adapters for the BDS Tactical chest rig to interface with a MOLLE plate carrier. The chest rig came to me without shoulder straps/harness, and without buckles and one magazine flap, so I ordered replacement buckles and mag flap directly from the manufacturer. They came in coyote brown, which is a darker shade than the original Tan 499/ Khaki color.

The upper chest rig mounts are made of 1.5″ webbing with 1″ webbing for MOLLE; and 1.5″ buckles are sewn to them, while the side buckle straps are cut from Foliage Green 1.5″ webbing and 1/8″ shock cord is used for attachment to the MOLLE webbing on the back.

Overall, the plate carrier/Chest rig combination works pretty good with the interface system, which still allows the user to remove the chest rig quickly with the side release buckles

view of the rig combination

Back view showing the simple shock cord system with 4 straps

Close up of the upper rig mount

Back of the adapter, showing the Short MALICE clip used.

Shown on a display mannequin torso with 6x AR15 magazines loaded, coyote brown canteen/utility pouch on one side

With radio pouch in Coyote Brown on other side

View of the rear, with a hydration bladder pouch covering the black shock cord.

 

I am aware I could have modified the BDS Chest rig to use 1″ buckles that are standard with most armor interface kits available on the market, however I wanted to maintain the ability to accept original manufacturer’s shoulder straps/harness kits should I decide to swap out.

Armor carrier is Diamond Back Tactical’s Fast Attack Plate Carrier, first generation I believe; without the cummerbund flap option that the newer version have.

 

 

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Green and Black “Judy” Mountain rucksack loadout

So I decided to see what I could reasonably pack into the green and black rucksack that is a copy of the WW2/1950s+ US Army Mountain Rucksack; for a relatively cold weather.. The only information on it is a white embroidered tag saying “Professionally fabricated by Judy”. So it is now called a Judy rucksack by me, although I have never seen another one.

Basic loaded up, missing a folding fire stove that would go into the 6×9 center pocket along with fire start kit.

view of the back panel and painted frame

The contents of the outside pockets, the blue 3/8″ Closed cell foam pad, and the cook pot carrier. Left to right;

My pyramid A-Tacs shelter with cordage and stakes from A-Tacs shelter tent, cook pot set, army canteen

The lid flap with a zippered pocket, the zipper is a YKK metal zipper. Contents of the lid pocket, missing are antibacterial wipes, 1/2 a toilet paper roll, granola bars and other snacks, likely would be carried on my person

The contents of the main pocket which is a similar size to the USGI Large ALICE ruck. The stuffsacks and the Catoma Improved Bug Net System pop up bug tent are on top of a 1990s USGI Extreme Cold Weather Parka. Camo stuff sack has my 1970s Hirsch-Weiss (White Stag) goose down mummy sleeping bag, Stansports stuff sack has my BDU pants, and the Double Black Diamond stuff sack has the rest of my clothing.

I might acquire a stuff sack that is in between the two small sizes and the large sleeping bag size to consolidate my clothing.

Left, my 2 BDU pants out of the Stansports stuff sack. On the right, the rest of my clothing, poly-wool blend long johns, polyester underwear, normal socks, cotton t shirt, polyester long sleeve base layer shirt, wool socks.

 

It is not a complete load-out yet, I am thinking I want to make a few add-on pockets; one for the army tent poles coming in the mail, and a pair of either minimalist water bottle carriers/canteen carriers (elastic and straps like the cook pot carrier), or regular ol’ fabric carriers… I might add a couple D rings to the bottom of the main lid straps so I can securely lash the sleep pad on the bottom instead of the top. Water bottle carriers would be strapped to the frame horns on the rucksack frame, so that the heavy weight is closer to my back, and it would free up one of the pockets for carriage of other things. First aid kit is always on my person. The entire thing is not ultralight, or even lightweight, the USGI Large ALICE rucksack is far lighter with the aluminum frame and 420D pack cloth fabric.

 

Kidney pad, Cook pot carrier, and Hi Point 995 Redball satchel

Sewed up a few things over the last few days;

First up, a narrow kidney pad (not waist belt) for the WW2 rucksack frame being used on a much newer, unknown manufacturer custom rucksack that is basically a copy of the WW2 Mountain Rucksack;, and then a cook pot/pan carrier that attaches to the rucksack via the M1910 wire hook. Lastly, I sewed up a simple black 500D Cordura satchel for 5 Redball 20rd magazines and 6 10 round Hi Point 995 magazines, with velcro patch panel, 1.5″ center release buckle, 1.5″ shoulder strap. The magazines are retained by 3″ elastic webbing

Kidney pad, made with 500D Cordura, 3/8″ Closed cell foam, 1.5″ webbing, 2 D rings, a tension strap

Close up of tension system using a plastic cam buckle

Another view of the tension system, lifted from the ALICE rucksack system

Cook system carrier, 3″ elastic band for the perimeter, 2″ black strap for M1910 hook, 1″ buckle strap with center open buckle

view of the closure system

The back of the carrier, showing how it all ties together to maintain positive retention of cook pots

Showing how the carrier attaches to the rucksack via a M1910 wire hook on the grommeted tabs

995 carbine magazine bag, made for a customer.

Interior shot of the magazine bag

The back of the magazine bag, You can clearly see the diagonals for the Redball magazines on the bottom half of the bag.

Redid the A-tacs tent fly closure

I redid the A-Tacs pyramid tent’s fly/door closure, so that there is an overlap to keep inclement weather out. I used US Military herringbone patterned 1″ binding tape with button holes cut and sealed with a lighter, it may look slightly crude, due to not having a buttonhole attachment and proper zig zag stitch Fashion Disc for my old Singer 328K machine…but it works pretty good… Easiest to open and close from the inside, although it closes OK from the outside

Now..on to the photos!

3-quarter view in direct sunlight; there’s a slight slack on the sides, but it could be made taut by using the back pull out to another pole or to a tree, or to a ridge line.

 

Another 3 quarter view, mostly in shade.

Side view, please excuse the reflective glare; It shows how the crossed poles are leaning forward instead of being vertical.

Head on to the closed door; The way I set the whole thing up, I staked the back corners and the center door tie down first, then raised the tent with the poles, then staked the last corners down… it might have been better to do the door corners and doors first before the rear corners…. I may add a couple center panel pull outs to the sides if I feel it is necessary.

With one door out of the way, and other door staked down. There is room enough for 2 skinny people in there, or one person with equipment.

Close up of the herringbone tape with buttonhole slits melted into the tape and sewn to the door panel.

Close up of the Army BDU plastic buttons. I used the machine, with a riser plate, and a special button foot, hand cranked using the L and R needle positions on the machine.

 

A-Tacs FG pyramid tarp tent

Sewed up this pyramid shelter out of 5 yards of  Polyurethane/silicon coated waterproof 1.9oz Ripstop Nylon in A-Tacs FG camouflage colors. Final measurements are 7 ft 10 inches long, 4 ft, 7 inches wide, height at peak, 50 inches. I will have to redo the door closure system to get the overlap needed for further weatherproofing.

There are a total of 11 tie out loops, I may add a few more if it would enable one to do more variety in setups like a blind or an observation post, or something similar to that.

Right now the support it uses are 2 standard aluminum adjustable tarp/awning poles lashed together… it will be changed out for something more low visibility later on.

On to the photos!

 

Progress photo; door triangles cut and laid next to edge of front of main body, it is folded here, it should show how it looks when laid flat and folded in half.

front view of the shelter; You can see how the doors have no overlap, and a serious gap that would allow weather to go in….so it is being redone right now.

Side view, please pardon the USGI poncho peeking out, the poncho is  quite a bit wider than the shelter; The slight inclination of the door panels is evident here. One could add a rectangular tarp or poncho awning here for more space and for cooking/dining/general activities.

The back view of the shelter, You can see the additional tie outs in the center of each of the 3 edges, and the center of the primary seam line on the back panel. The roof tie out is in case the user wants to have additional space inside the shelter, and the other tie outs are for more secure staking of the shelter in high wind areas, or for alternate shelter layouts to make up for space restrictions.

Inside shot of the shelter with the doors folded back. The extra length is apparent here compared to the USGI poncho, and the relative narrowness is also evident here. I chose this width and length for a single person with room enough for gear/equipment/furred partner (dogs!), although two persons can snuggle up in there if needed.

Close up of the door closure system, 1st try. It is simply 6 US Army BDU buttons, and elastic loops that fits on them. The loops will be replaced by something else that would provide me with the overlap needed to keep weather out. This is one of the lightest, most silent methods of closures that I can think of for the purposes of this shelter.

Shown rolled and wrapped with the single peak line. The Coyote Brown  roll is the Bushcraft USA 10×10 Coyote tarp made of the same type of fabric (1.9oz PU coated Ripstop nylon). The pyramid shelter rolls into a smaller package, and is a bit lighter, even with the door closures being included.

Pencott Snowdrift 500D Chest rig for SR25/AR10 users

Made a prototype Chest rig in Pencott Snowdrift 500D Cordura fabric, with white buckles and light cream webbing. The design holds 6x SR25/AR10 20rd magazines, of the metal type, and should also fit Magpul .308 magazines. It has bungee cord secondary retention underneath the main flaps, and MOLLE panels on the sides for the attachment of MOLLE pouches, as available from Helikon and Gear Dynamics. Shoulder straps are padded, and with MOLLE webbing and D rings for attachment of things, standard X layout. There is a 9″ zipper on the back for flat items

View of whole rig

With flaps open, showing the bungee cord secondary retention and cord lock

Back of the rig

Showing the zippered section

Details of the MOLLE side panels

Detail of the bottom of magazine pockets

Detail of the buckle flaps retention straps at the longest, should fit 25rd Magpul magazines

Showing the straps X cross over on the back

With 3 canteen covers, clockwise from left, USMC Coyote brown, well worn 3 color Desert, and Eagle Industries Khaki, for contrast and comparison of the existing gear against the Pencott Snowdrift pattern.

Alas, I no longer have the rig in my possession, as it has been stolen along with a bunch of my other gear out of my car >:[ I can however make another one, with lighter colored thread or white thread, so as to keep this one unique for those who may have seen it around Oregon.

2nd Hi Point chest holster done up!

Sewn up a 2nd Hi Point .45 chest holster in Mossy Oak new Break up 500D Nylon fabric, for a customer!

Differences from the prototype are the following;

Lefthand draw

Reshaped main body

relocated magazine pocket to spine and added drain grommet

Adjustable thumb break strap

added an adjustable belt strap for further stabilization

Overall view with Hi point pistol and magazine in

Backside of the holster

Top of the holster

Empty holster;

Detail of adjustable thumb break strap, showing the Line 24 snap

Close up of the drain grommet

Mirror self shot, showing how the holster lays