Affordable MOLLE Rigs

CamoDeafie · May 20, 2020

Here's a smattering of systems. Latest I did in Woodland.. a mix of the following pieces; the only modifications was the addition of two 1" OD straps and triglides for the back vertical straps.
MOLLE II utility belt

LBV shoulder pads

SPEAR ELCS H harness panels

2x CMVS triple ammo pouches

2x 100rd SAW Utility pouches, one as a dump/general duty holdall, one as a container for the Jungle First aid kit insert

2x canteen covers with canteens.

Now..
Here is a complete OD Tactical Tailor MAV rig, built up from parts here and there on sales and ebay and so forth..

Holds 12 AR mags, 2 grenades, and whatever one can stuff into the Large Utility Pouches

And here... a 1st generation MOLLE LBV with ruck belt, ALICE/MLCE(Modernized Load Carrying Equipment) butt pack, 4x M16 pouches, 100rd SAW pouches, 1 grenade pouch, 2 later canteen covers, and a woodland Camelbak.

You could probably put together a MOLLE II DCU rig for way less than what the local surplus shops will sell sets, by buying smartly, often from Ebay and Amazon.. and one may be able to find USMC Coyote Brown FLCs and add pouches themselves for good prices.

The Heretic · May 20, 2020

Condor H harness with some Molle and a couple of pouches. Added a Condor hydration pack to that. Still gathering other pouches. Picked up a Condor tactical belt a while back, probably going to pickup a Condor "battle belt" too - that will be what the H harness attaches to.

Those are my inexpensive attempts.

My more expensive approach is a slightly used Eberlestock Tailhook pack which can hold a long gun, has two pockets for hydration bladders, two net pockets for water bottles, multiple other pockets internal and external. Has some straps on it that can take Molle gear.

Still working on these. Now that I have some free time, I am going to be testing out and modifying different GHB gear.

CamoDeafie · May 22, 2020

If one is willing to live with the colors, there are the army issue ACU Gravel camo chest rigs for like $20 on Ebay; and used chest rigs can run as cheap or similarly.. of course, Multicam gear tends to run more money than ACU. Coyote chest rigs from the USMC sets runs a lot more money due to the color and popularity. Surplus shops, flea markets, resale/thrift stores and some guns and pawn shops may have military gear at an affordable price range. A good place is Alley Cat Surplus in Boring, OR, and Action Surplus in Eugene.. the Aloha Surplus shop tends to run way higher prices but they do have piles of MOLLE and ALICE pouches that may be of use for gear.

doobee8 · May 22, 2020

If you don't like the ACU color, use Apple Green RIt Dye.

The Heretic · May 22, 2020

I just always get plain solid Olive Drab or as close as I can to it. In my experience, OD green blends in well on this side of the Cascades - so much so that I once almost lost a WWII satchel when I dropped it in a forest in King's Valley.

The solid color is less likely to be interpreted as camo in an urban setting, therefore less likely to alarm someone (*cough* snowflakes *cough*) and less likely to be identifiable - e.g., if I have to fade away after an incident in an urban setting, having someone describe me as wearing green vs. wearing camo, may give me an edge as the latter is easier to spot in an urban setting with a lot of people.