Vests, Chest Rigs, and Bandoliers - Useful or just LARP'ing?

[0ddl0t]

That's a bad idea. One thing I wouldn't have done after any hurricane I've been through is secure my neighborhood looking like a wannabe. LE literally convoys in, and after days or weeks of working endless 12s, they are not joyful.

I would agree. There's a fair bit of material written on the subject, and while there's value in all that projecting-power / patrolling / small unit shit, I just don't see the point unless you're looking at an incredibly long-term breakdown. Even California doesn't suck that bad.

The town of Paradise, CA was under evacuation for 27 days during which time looting was fairly rampant except in the 2 neighborhoods patrolled by residents. Less than 2 years prior, the nearby larger town of Oroville was evacuated for a day and a half during which time police apprehended 8 looters and took 53 looting reports despite a public policy of not reporting incidents as looting unless "stealing large numbers of goods from a single place, such as a store."

Police & National Guard did not seem to have any problems distinguishing between LARPers on patrol and those doing the looting:





PS: While most avoided conflict, a few looters resisted violently, including 1 shot & killed by police: https://www.sfgate.com/california-wi...e-13396306.php

[Hambo]

Police & National Guard did not seem to have any problems distinguishing between LARPers on patrol and those doing the looting:

Cool, have fun. My experience is different. The NG handed out water and did zero patrol work. Cops who were from out of the area did not try to tell the difference between good guys and bad guys. If you were out after dark, you were a looter. You went to jail and could sort it out when the courts reopened a month later. One deputy said afterward, "It was the best time of my career. No lights, no cameras." It was a zero tolerance police state, and you toed the line or got fucking hammered.

[HCM]

Keep in mind, the West was won with drop-legs! Everyone back in the 1800s West was cruising around with thigh-rigs tied down. 20 individual “mag” pouches sewed to their “battle belts “! Except the frontiersmen; they were perfecting the A/IWB game. Their EDC/ carry knife game was flawless as well!!

Maybe the West was won on TV with that shit but 1950s TV gunfighter rigs were not a thing in real life.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

I'm down for the boogalarp but a lot of my nylon got stolen in a vehicle break-in while I was moving, in one last fuck you from the city to me.

Still have a BFG 10 Speed chest rig that sits flat under a jacket and a HPG kit bag and I'm okay with those options, to be honest. I mean I would love to have all my shit back but that's not happening and the point is 4 mags that sit really flat is not the worst thing in the world to run with. I have zero desire to be obviously carrying anything in Canada, that's just screaming for trouble. A long gun means I'm in my vehicle or my house, but it has to pass casual inspection by anyone who comes to the door or makes me roll down my window. Nobody's looking for chest rigs under your coat here but I don't want to be explaining anything I don't have to.

I do think a handgun-centric approach for civil unrest works better in a lot of situations, though.

[JSGlock34]

There is a simplicity to the older gear that I miss with a lot of the newer stuff on the market.... the attached photo of the UW gear 4 mag chest rig is about as close as I could find on the current market to the old Eagle 4 cells... or you can always try to get lucky on one of the equipment exchange sites.

Attachment 48111

I spotted this on eBay; interesting Eagle chest rig.

PROTOTYPE Eagle Industries 5.56 Rifle FB Chest Rig Coyote Brown Kydex