Haley Strategic releases the FlatPack

This is a pretty slick little pack/back panel to integrate into the D3CR.

It is pretty small - 1 liter hydro capacity, 700 cubic inches when fully expanded - but is sized well to fit onto the back of a plate carrier. Tactical Tailor/Grey Ghost Gear and others have launched backpacks designed to integrate into the back of an armor carrier, but they mostly seem to end up a bit big, bulky and unwieldy.

A compressed FlatPack looks about as slick as you can hope to get for a hydration carrier, yet it gives you the ability to expand out and carrier more gear if needed.

This isn't for carrying a multi-day load for sure, but enough space to support a day at the range, a long hike or a short range patrol activity.

I have a D3CR, and the chest rig harness is a bit on the lame side. That makes the FlatPack all the more appealing to me, given that it's is intended to replace the harness and integrate in with the chest rig.

The price may be a bit rich for a small, fairly basic pack ($130), but it's got a unique set of capabilities that don't exist elsewhere.

Discussion on Gear Evolution - Battle Belts, flexibility and plans

Last week, MVT posted up a video talking through his current fighting gear / load bearing equipment, which includes a new chest rig made to his specs. It also includes a pretty cool first person run through a shooting scenario - worth paying attention here to pick up on some of the tactics/techniques that Max teaches.

The set up that Max shows here - a light battle belt and midweight chest rig is interesting in that it is a pretty significant shift from the heavy British Para-webbing style battle belt that he used to be a big advocate for--here's the most recent example that I can find:

Image via MVT.

10-12ish mags, handgun, 4x canteen pouches on the back and a couple handgun pouches to round it out. We'll call it a "British-style" battle belt for lack of a better name.


I toyed around with a British battle belt, similar to Max Velocity's, through part of last year. Went cheap on the belt - got a Condor knock off and their harness, bought a few surplus USGI canteen pouches and used pouches that I had lying around to cobble one together.

Found a lot to like about it - way better load carrying ability and generally more comfortable / better mobility than a comparable weight of chest rig. Gives you the ability to carry a decent amount of food, a canteen, survival gear and a big IFAK, which can be a challenge using other load carrying gear. Good place to put your sidearm and good access to it. Easily adjusts to different weights of clothing, too.

After a bit of T&E, I ended up giving up on a British-style battle belt for my purposes, at least for the time being. Why?

The big deal breaker is operations in/around vehicles, and to a lesser extent moving through structures/room clearing. Canteen/utility pouches on the back and triple-thick mag pouches on the hips extends your width pretty significantly and you start having to turn sideways to get through doors, can't sit in a normal car comfortably, etc.

Image via BPRE

There's also no lighter/low threat profile to choose from with just the heavy belt. A lighter battle gives you the option of operating with just the lighter, more comfortable, lower profile belt on. Options and flexibility are good.

Of course, this isn't exactly a revelation--Max's heavier weight battle belts were a bit of an outlier in the tactical gear world. Folks have been running lighter battle belts in conjunction with a lighter chest rig or plate carrier mounted pouches for a while.




It looks like Max has arrived at a similar conclusion and ditched his big ol' battle belt, at least for general use. In his recent write-up on the new chest rig featured in the video above, Max says:

I have most recently been settling on using a light battlebelt, which is comfortable enough to wear most of the time, augmented by a chest rig. I feel that this is the most practical application across operational environments; it works well for both dismounted operations, vehicle operations, and with or without armor.

This matches my own personal assessment after running a variety of gear - plate carriers with pouches directly attached, stand alone chest rigs of a variety of sizes, 'British' battle belt, etc.

I'm currently mid-process of re-building my kit to incorporate three different layers - light battle belt, chest rig and slick plate carrier. In conjunction with concealed carry/daily carry gear, these standalone pieces give you the flexibility of different profiles to address different situations. Slick plate carrier and CCW if anticipating potential trouble but need to maintain low profile. Light battle belt for running drills on the range or hunting. Throw it all together if the Nazi Zombies are at the front gates.

Chest rig and carrier are sorted out - HSP D3CR and a Velocity Lightweight Plate Carrier. I may down the line drop some coin on a custom rig from Extreme Gear Labs, designers of the D3CR, but generally the stock D3CR does what I need it to do. Looking forward to a couple of the enhancements HSP has in the works this year. The ability to directly attach the D3CR to the carrier, or run it as a standalone rig is money.

Battle belt is a work in progress - ideally want pistol, pistol mags x2, 2-3 rifle mags, dump pouch, IFAK, H2O of some variety, flashlight and multi-tool. Maybe comms, too. Not sure if I can manage all of that with the given real estate, but we'll see.

Follow up posts/reviews are incoming.

In my experience, most people are continually tinkering with/adjusting their gear. Trying new things, incorporating new ideas or revisiting old ones. Travis Haley makes a big emphasis on preaching the importance of staying dynamic and adaptive...and at worst, adjusting and evaluating what you're doing exposes you to different ideas and keeps you on your toes.

Interested to hear from the tribe - are you tinkering with your battle rattle? What gear ideas have you tried out recently and left by the wayside?

Thumbs up for OP Tactical & Velocity Systems

I've had several lousy experiences with companies in the past year or so, but I wanted a good experience for a change.

I purchased a Velocity Systems plate carrier from OP Tactical during their Black Friday sales. First time purchase from OP, first Velocity product that I've purchased as well.

Sizing information on the Velocity plate carriers was/is a bit sparse across the interwebs, so I went with what looked to be the right choice based on a chart that I dug up on another website.

Received the carrier really quickly and determined that I'd ordered the wrong size on the cummerbund/cumberbund.

Contacted OP Tactical and offered to send in for an exchange or refund with shipping on my dime.

OP Tactical responded quickly, saying they'd get in touch with Velocity Systems to see if they could coordinate an exchange.

The Velocity rep reached out within about twenty minutes, saying they'd send out the size that I needed and include a return shipping label in the package.

That is how you do it!

In situations like this, I've had other companies say "Sorry, that's your problem, not ours." Or even just refuse to answer the e-mails.

OP Tactical was on the ball quickly, despite the hectic time of year, and took ownership of helping me out. Velocity System swooped in like a jet pack wearing bald eagle and took steps to fix my problem, on their dime.

Yep, it took OP Tactical a bit of time and Velocity is out a few dollars of margin in shipping costs. But, they've both exceeded my expectations, won me over as a fan and future customer, and led me to share the goodness with others.

That's how you do business and how you treat your customers. There are many out there who could take a page from their playbook!

Thumbs up to both.

The "Best" Current Body Armor Solution

Image via Grey Group Gear, where you can buy this setup.

Had a few people asking for the 'best' body armor out there today, so here's my take on it. There's probably some ultra-cool voodoo magic thing out there, but this is a pretty wicked setup if you've got the cash to play. I don't.

Velocity System's Ultra Low Vis (ULV) plates are standalone, multi-hit level III rated plates - that measure 1/5 of an inch thin. That's ridiculously thin - you can get over an inch plus very easily with most normal plates, plus backers and a bulky plate carrier, which ends up being like wearing around a life vest.

This allows 'em to be reasonably concealed under light clothing, which is a huge asset to someone trying to maintain a low-profile (like a civilian or, more commonly, a special ops type).

Weight is still not insignificant - you're at 11-ish pounds with front and back plates - but certainly on the low end. The cut is also a heck of a lot more ergonomic, leading to a better fit and longer comfort.

The cost? $1500-ish...a bit less if you shop around, but well over a $1k for sure.

The Devil's Advocate: No Armor?

The Devil's Advocate series seeks to explore ideas that run against the mainstream, accepted wisdom. We're not necessarily recommending a particular course of action, but instead exploring alternatives.

Body armor has become a hugely important tool in increasing the modern soldier's survivability. It's saved countless lives. If you're expecting a high likelihood of getting shot in the chest, there's no better idea than donning a set of good rifle plates.

Of course, body armor undeniably weighs a lot - 15 pounds of additional weight is a decent average. It also restricts movement to some degree and is fairly uncomfortable to wear. At the end of the day, those add up to reduced speed and reduced endurance, especially if you're not in excellent physical shape to begin with.

The weight may also mean tradeoffs between other critical gear--if 60 pounds is the most you can realistically operate with, that 15 pounds of armor probably means less food, water or other survival gear. What if it's 45 pounds? Or 30?

I know of at least a few occasions where Tier 1 SF guys, facing a long hike over difficult terrain have ditched their armor in favor of the lighter load, speed, mobility and added stamina that choice afforded them. And these guys were facing certain combat at the end of their journey, versus a citizen survivor who would be avoiding trouble whenever possible.

What do you think - is the body armor tradeoff always worth it? How do you run your gear - plate carrier or no plate carrier? When would you leave your rifle plates behind - if ever?