Sweet! That looks awesome. I’m not familiar with that brand but it certainly looks like quality gear. Are those steel plates?
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@Jeff-A1 I like your idea on load out. I always make it a point to keep the chest area clear. It’s not uncommon to see pistol holsters there, but tactically it makes no sense. The chest need to remain clear for your butt stock, and in my experience the less cluttered your kit the better.
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@MarineGrunt The plates are Level IV encapsulated ceramic. At my age I needed to go light. Hard to take cover when you have a bunch of gear on your chest. Plenty of room in the cummerbund for a magazine or two. Rifle shoulders well. @AdamHutch My son-in-law gave me a Benchmade Adamas I could mount. Now to find a descent battle-belt without breaking the bank. Might stop by the Quantico PX on the way home this afternoon. If it isn’t dumping buckets tomorrow I will slip off to the range and run that new can 
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I have always dismissed the idea of body armor as a civilian. With the current climate in this country, I am seriously reconcidering
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No luck at Quantico but I did order a HSG Battle Belt from LAPG this weekend. That should be enough real-estate to hold my new pouches and a Bianchi M-9 Holster.
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@RUGER9 I’m with you. I was fortunate to be paranoid enough BEFORE poop hit the proverbial fan. Lead times were still insane then, but I’m glad I have some armor on hand just in case.
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@AdamHutch & @MarineGrunt The HSG Battle Belt just came in I had a Bianchi duty belt with inner side in Velcro:
Now to get the tear-away IFAK stocked.
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That’s a lovely piece of hardware, brother! Thanks for sharing @Jeff-A1
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@Jeff-A1 that should do just fine! I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting one as well.
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What do you mean by that? Do you leave the house anticipating having to breach the grocery store “at ready”?
Kick in the door at local auto parts store in full tac mode?
If you live in such an area that is that bad,maybe evaluating a move out of that area could be worth a family discussion. Yup, I agree…jobs, schools,family is what keeps us where we are,but if you have to consider armor for civilian life,somethings needs to change.
Unless you live in some combat ridden 3rd world country I personally feel that body armor is unwarranted in civilian life. People freak out now when they see someone open carry. Could you imagine the panic in people as your standing in line at the grocery store wearing armor,govest loaded to the hill,helment,tac gloves, goggles,jump boots,etc.? Recently where I live some dude made the news for days because he showed up at the local market open carrying an AR tactical style with finger at ready…to buy fruit! Sent a huge wave of panic through the community.
Im all for combat readiness,but If I have to wear armor to get bread. Im relocating.
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@MarineGrunt and @AdamHutch - Added three more pistol mags to the belt for a total weight of 12 lbs. Vest, 2 mags, knife and Water bladder is 20 lbs. About half of what I used to carry. Glad I didn’t decide on the M5E1 as a primary 
It is conveniently positioned.
@DomineeRV127 I understand your concern but you can tone it down on the sarcasm. If you have something constructive to say, please share your thoughts. I think we would all like to live out our years in peace. None of my brothers here have said different. My kit is not for the supermarket. Let’s call it a home-defense/training rig. I don’t think anyone in this community is calling for riots in the streets like some of the witless Democratic politicians are doing on the Hill. The same politicians that are allowing their cities to be burned to the ground because “orange man bad”.
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My apologies if youve taken offense to the way I might have phrased my thoughts as they were not intended to be sarcastic at all. Simply put…in a reality…body armor in civilian life is unwarranted unless you have plans on getting in the middle of some one else’s problems. In your original statement you said nothing of “home defense/training rig”. You did mention…
Im not so sure how you mean that,but I wonder…do every day civilians EXPECT some type of threat? I dont. We just had a riot in the city where I live. Excuse me, “democratically peaceful protest” where the police station was vandalized,looting,rioting,fires. Yeah, I live in the city where 13 of them were arrested and held on $1m bail each.
I didnt expect a threat here in my home 4 miles from the epic-center. I never expected a threat here in my home that made me want to have body armor. I know a lot of patriots that, like me, loaded and willing to defend our homes and our rights,but I dont know one person that owns body armor for home defense or training of any kind, We train for accuracy in different scenarios. Offense and defense. “wearing body armor in populated areas make sense”…? Really? So a populated area would be the grocery store. Does that warrant body armor?
“Takes seconds for a trained entry team to smash in the front door”…? Really?
The bigger question I would ask is…What type of life do you live to where your expecting a team to break in your front door,that you have to train your “significant other to cover the front door” while you gear up for combat in your own home? The dems arent coming for our guns this fast and in such an aggressive manner. If one has to live their civilian life, with body armor. Somehing needs evaluated. No sarcasm intended so If you receive any, evaluate.
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@AdamHutch and @MarineGrunt:
So the belt is about as universal as I can get it. I can run a 9 mm, .40 or full-sized 1911 .45 with it. Be a great range addition. Very comfortable to rest weight on hips and not back. No shifting or sliding around. Bianchi pistol belt velcroed to the inside of the HSG battle belt. It is lined with neoprene so it is soft and it sticks.
The vest is going to run light. 2-mags, a knife and water.
Full rig:
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Looking good brother! Stay safe out there
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@DomineeRV127 -Really sorry your town got hit. Glad your DA set the bail so high. Respect! Might keep those punks off the street and make it more difficult for Kamala to bail them out. Have you done any MOUT training? If so, you know walls don’t stop rounds. I was a Ground Combat Skills instructor and taught out of Ft Hood and Camp Swift for a few years. It takes me 5 seconds to attach the belt. another 10 seconds for the carrier. Takes me a bit longer than that to get out of bed 
My stuff ain’t wired as tight as it used to be. Just trying to be prepared for any eventuality.
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@DomineeRV127 do you know that Antifa shot through the passenger window of a truck that was stopped for one of their road blocks? The driver was hit and had to accelerate through the crowd to survive, which was probably the point. It seems like it was done to force the driver to panic and have the illusion of someone intentionally driving over “protesters”. Now days it’s not unreasonable to prepare for the worse. Also, I never suggested or hinted to going to the supermarket in full kit. Driving with a vest concealed isn’t much of an overreaction considering the current environment. If “they” decide to take their riots to the neighborhoods I will be prepared for the worst.
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No,never did any MOUT training. All I know is how my home is and where my go to gear is if Antifa starts marching up the hill to my suburbia hell home (Sorry,I live in Karen county usa,not my choice,but extremely convenient to my work), Ill be as ready as I can be.
As me as well,takes me longer to get my ass outta bed than it does for me to gear up. 
Thank you for serving!
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@Jeff-A1 Very nice brother. I’m considering moving my mag pouches from my vest to a belt…but I haven’t trained that way. Probably best to stick to what I know.
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I feel ya and now have a better understanding of your original post. One could never prepare for such a scenario of an protest outbreak all a sudden. I would guess to say “to each their own”. I dont do my daily rounds with my .45,12g and AR expecting the worst case scenario. No one could predict that. So knowing when to wear armor,one would have to anticipate heading into someone elses problems. Which I dont do. The city I live in has been under protest and had a riot recently. Didnt involve me,stayed my ass at work/home. Didnt try to find a reason to go through tht area just so I could gear up and be ready. Small circle,small problems. Dont start no sht,wont get no sht
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I do the same. I don’t live in the city or a liberal state, but am prepared for the current situation to deteriorate further. I expect things to escalate as the election approaches, and the days surrounding the election will probably be nuts. I won’t take unnecessary risks with my family, but also refuse to be the victim.
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