Velocity Methods: Jungle Equipment | RECOIL OFFGRID

Whether you say “time is a flat circle” or “what’s outdated is new once more,” what we jokingly confer with as tactical vogue traits are certainly an actual factor. Similar to the International Warfare On Terror pulled everybody’s consideration towards micro chest rigs and CQB, its sundown has redirected the main target of many ready residents again towards conventional infantry capabilities. This consists of primary patrolling, reconnaissance, and the flexibility to hold extra gear. On one hand, it’s controversial that the market is solely bored by the limitless permutations of tiny chest harnesses and needs different choices. But it surely holds reliable benefit for folk to broaden their horizons past the laser-focus on door entry and room clearing. Particularly because the overwhelming majority of issues that could possibly be confronted by American civilians will not be solvable by kicking in a door and sweeping via a constructing with a fireplace crew, and package, they might or could not have.

Against this, shifting overland on foot with sufficient gear to be self-sustainable for hours or days doesn’t require a four-man stack, evening imaginative and prescient, or short-barreled firearms. In actual fact, primary patrolling abilities don’t require a gun or taking pictures to be concerned in any respect. It’s possible you’ll be trekking to a pre-planned bugout location, making your manner again to get assist for an injured liked one, or simply attempting to get a greater take a look at a foul state of affairs in some location that your automobile can’t get to.

We’re huge proponents of the philosophy that software drives gear choice, and any foot motion over a large distance requires completely different gear than storming a constructing filled with armed dangerous guys. That is the place extra conventional load-bearing gear (LBE) is available in. These sorts of harnesses are additionally known as belt package (to not be confused with battle belts) or jungle rigs — as a result of they typically emulate the belt-and-suspenders setups utilized by grunts in the course of the Vietnam Warfare. The unique military-issued stuff consisted of a canvas or nylon belt with an hooked up set of padded suspenders. Later iterations from the ’80s and ’90s included a nylon mesh vest that hooked up to the belt instead of easy Y-suspenders to extend carriage capability.

Fashionable variations have reverted again to the streamlined suspenders and make use of MOLLE/PALS-style webbing to supply higher modularity. There aren’t almost as many gear makers producing all these rigs, however one — Velocity Methods — produced their jungle rig based mostly on a request from particular operations models for a contemporary LBE setup higher suited to long-range patrols than plate carriers or chest rigs. Velocity despatched us one in all their full Jungle Rigs to assist us look at not solely the evolution of those sorts of LBE setups, but in addition the idea itself and its use for the ready citizen.

Supply

Velocity Methods: Velsyst.com

Larger Than a Constructing

The beauty of the Jungle Rig is simply how a lot it will possibly carry — and the way simply. The mixture of belt and suspenders permits you to carry a number of gear and distribute the burden between hips and shoulders higher than a backpack, rucksack, stand-alone battle belt, or a chest rig. The Velocity Methods Jungle Rig comes as a set, with a number of pouch configurations obtainable. It may be had with 4 rifle pouches that maintain three 30-round magazines every, two canteen pouches, and both two general-purpose pouches or a single massive butt pack.

Each of those choices are additionally obtainable with 7.62mm rifle pouches that maintain two 20-round magazines every. The load-carriage belt has two rows of MOLLE/PALS webbing on a light-weight nylon mesh base with a number of air flow to maintain warmth, moisture, and weight to a minimal. The suspenders are light-weight efficiency material in an H-configuration that attaches to the belt at six completely different factors round your waist for max assist. The MOLLE belt additionally consists of slits situated all through in an effort to weave your base belt over the webbing to accommodate holsters or different non-MOLLE equipment.

That’s a complete of twelve 30-round magazines, two canteens, and a number of cargo house left over for no matter else you wish to carry — rations, medical gear, fire-starers, chem lights, a hammock, sleeping mat … your wants and creativeness are the restrict. Don’t assume it’s essential to carry 360 rounds of 5.56mm on your AR? Swap a few the magazine pouches for no matter different MOLLE pouches you’ve mendacity round to make room for extra meals, water, or survival gear. As a aspect word, setups just like the Jungle Rig is perhaps an important alternative for the ladies in your life, if their construct makes chest-mounted load carriage troublesome or smaller shoulders make heavy rucks uncomfortable. No matter who’s sporting it, this rig is a superb resolution for when your preparedness downside is larger than one constructing or requires a couple of or two rooms’ price of ammo. 

What a setup just like the Jungle Rig doesn’t account for is armor. You possibly can actually put on a plate provider or gentle armor, then don the Jungle Rig excessive of it. However even commandos and different mild raid forces with a “direct motion” mission don’t at all times put on armor for long-range overland patrols. We’ve heard of models packing plate carriers of their ruck, patrolling “slick” after which armoring up at an goal rally level earlier than initiating an assault on their goal. Likewise, in the event you’re sporting a pack on high of the Jungle Rig, that will be a great way to have armor as an choice with out sporting it for a multi-mile trek over tough terrain. After all, relying on what the state of affairs is, you won’t want armor in any respect. By which case, the Jungle Rig is a vastly superior load carriage resolution to attempting to make use of a plate provider with no plates as LBE. (That concept may make you chuckle, however we’ve seen it!) 

Too A lot of a Good Factor

Gear behaves like a liquid — it’ll take the form of its container. The larger your backpack, the extra stuff you place it in. Irrespective of what number of instances we inform ourselves to pack the necessities or journey mild, half-filled pouches and packs demand to be full of that final little little bit of “simply in case” gear, yet one more survival meal, or a number of extra further batteries for the flashlight. On this manner, the Jungle Rig lets you carry a vital quantity of substances in comparison with most chest rigs. This leads us to maybe the one actual “con” we are able to discover with the Velocity Jungle Rig. The included pouches all embody polymer loops on the again in order that the shoulder harness straps will be looped via them. That is nice … in the event you use them.

However in the event you want to benefit from the modularity of the MOLLE/PALS load-bearing belt by utilizing different pouches, you’ll have to determine a solution to rig the straps in place, as there aren’t any hardpoints to mount the shoulder harness on to the belt itself. We used a double rifle magazine pouch from Wilde Customized Gear on the entrance left quarter of the belt. This allow us to have our first two rifle reloads obtainable for quick entry, whereas having three extra mags within the included Velocity flap pouch on the other aspect.

This labored effectively for us from an ammo administration standpoint however required us to regulate the pouch in order that the highest row of MOLLE slots on the again of the pouch rode above the belt, to supply an attachment level for the harness. Whereas it’s not a deal breaker, it’s price noting that this rig is unquestionably designed for use as packaged, and adaptation would require extra adaptation to mould it to your wants, if the OEM configuration winds up not being best.

All in all, the Velocity Methods Jungle Rig is a totally modernized tackle legacy army patrolling harnesses. The streamlined construct, use of contemporary supplies, and elevated modularity of MOLLE webbing catapults this Vietnam-era load bearing idea into the twenty first century, for no matter your wants could also be.

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Editor’s Word: This text has been modified from its authentic print model for the online.

Written by Tom Marshall