You know those grenade LBV's (Load Bearing Vests)?  Well, here's a look at one a la BLACKHAWK.  You don't have to buy them new - often times you can find their like at a well-stocked Military surplus store, and on the cheap compared to retail prices.

  You know the like, now.  Whether the front panels have mag pouches on them, or a cluster of grenade pouches at every angle imaginable - they are the same basic rig.  The major benefit of going this route is that firstly - the thing is built to handle the extreme circumstance.  It is built with real, modern warfare in mind, so a few trying paintball outings will bounce off of this thing like 5.56 off of an Abrams.  Second - it is exceptionally modular with the 550 chord securing/ sizing system and the buckling cinch-downs.  Third - it is built with the essentials in mind.  It is very light, but very tough, too.  Couple all of this with its affordability and you have a winner in my book.  Now, consequently all of these LBV's are set up for ALICE gear - the predecessor to MOLLE setups.  This is less prohibitive than really bears mentioning - though it is important to note.

Okay - so - how does this equal paintball?  Easy, but this is where the modding comes into play. 

  Those mag pouches with three 5.56 per pouch, or those snap-closure grenade holders won't do you too well just sewn onto the front panels as they are.  This is the problem with static setups, and consequently why MOLLE gear is so sought after.  What I did was take my nice, preternaturally sharp duty knife and liberate these pouches and snap fittings from the front as carefully as I was able.  Just cutting the thread and not the front panel (though it really doesn't matter if the pouch gets cut - you don't want it on there anyway) takes a bit of patience and wiggling, shifting, stretching, more cutting, and more patience.  Eventually, you will have the front panels bare of pouches and closures - with the buckling system in the front still intact (though nothing else). 

  Now, reach directly behind you where that handy-dandy roll of 1" tactical OD nylon webbing should be.  ;)  You might have to hit up the surplus store again, or even major fabric stores.  When selecting a thread - grab Upholstry Thread!  Don't use ANY other materials other than 100% Nylon because any cotton will change dimensions with you wash it (get it wet, or sweat, etc.), leading to a ruined vest (literally).  ONLY use 100% nylon thread and webbing, I say again.

  At this point - the rest is pretty straightforward.  Building a MOLLE web on the smallish front panels won't take much material, and it won't take much time, either.  You can run your 1" OD webbing flush with itself (no gaps - just one horizontal ribbon after the other) or you can leave the customary 1" gab between each 1" horizontal web.  Personally - I took a MOLLE pouch and my vest with me down to the local alterations and tailoring store and explained what I wanted.  Using a sewing machine is manditory.  Sure, you can give it a go without one, but you will run into problems when you are trying to sew two flexiblie objects - they'll twist and roll under the needle, leading to a butt-ugly job.  Plus, for the kind of strength you want in the points where the webbing is joined with the vest - you WANT to use a sewing machine. 

For those of you that have a machine and the gumshoe to do it yourself;

  Molle webbing is simple.  there is a 1" gap along the horizontal of the piece of webbing after each sewed attachment point, with a 1/8" thick attachment (for maximum strength).  So basically, the horizontal webbing will look like this:

||----1"----||----1"----||----1"----||----1"----|| and so on.  It is -not- supposed to look like the looping on a Booney Hat, though (for mental reference)  The nylon webbing should be laying completely flat when sewn.

  When finished - you'll have a MOLLE area that is just large enough for one dual loader pouch for each side, plus a very small area for maybe two MOLLE grenade pouches for each side.  I've never been one to carry a zillion rounds with me onto the field, so the 400 that this setup will hold will do me just dandy.  Or, if you are feeling enterprising, you can mount a cross-draw holster onto one side...it's MOLLE!  Do what you want with it without spending a butt-ton on SO's vests that aren't even close to spec in versatility, functionality, and durability. 







Heres the front view with the pouches already attached to the webbing. Now - lessons learned? That 1 1/8" is -sacred-. I suggest those of you that want to undertake this kind of thing yourselves stretch it out to 1 1/4" just in case you feel you might not have the steadiest of hands, or can sew the straightest.




























Moving on - here's a shot of the side panel. I had to use a hunter green webbing because we ran out of OD (irksome). And as you can see - the OD was spaced every other. That was before old girl screwed it up. As I said - I decided to put consecutive rungs of webbing after I ended up having to rethink it. Note that I could probably fit a double grenade pouch right there - and there is a like number of space on the other side.




















Alright - heres a shot of the top of one of the front flaps of the vest. You can see the webbing here, and as I was saying - I'm pretty sure that I'll put a single grenade pouch centered between the loader pouches. The pouch itself is an off-brand company that makes pretty sturdy stuff for the cheep. Don't get me wrong - Ill buy BLACKHAWK when I can - but these babies fell into my hands and I really like them (good for Q-pods, too, I think). I believe the company's name is 'Condor' or something like that.






















And here is an back iso view of Tactical Pillow. Again you can see the free webbing - but moreso the ALICE webbing on the back panel (canteen/ HP air). Also in all the pics is the emergency rigger/ rappel belt and belt pad. These things are a MUST in my book for a good, comfortable vest. The rigger belt is nice because it is thick, but not stiff like a standard 'pistol belt' or 'duty belt' a la USMC. Plus the pad makes for much more comfort for extended periods of time. Again - this pad is the cheap - but BLACKHAWK has one for just a few bucks more with the strategic ventilation system thing so it isn't just a big sweat magnet.













And there you have it! I've already taken this bad boy through a belly-crawl in the yard and it works great! The only thing I would change is the webbing rows (1 1/4" and not 1 1/8"), and each end of the webbing should be lock-stitched down for maximum strength. This can be anything from another (or two) vertical (parallel) stitchings, or an actual box-stitch.

You know - the kind that is all over your military gear (for a reason! It works!).

Anyway - it's a simple mod that saves you serious bucks, provides one heck of a little modular platform, and is top-notch quality.

-Feathers