Let's start with the vest. This is a PALS / MOLLE chest rig, built to replace the one I've been running for a couple years now. It's based loosely on Tactical Tailor's Mini-MAV vest, which retails for about $50.
PALS webbing is really very simple to make, you just have to have 1" webbing and be able to sew it in parallel. The webbing is stitched down every 1.5", giving us a series of loops to which the pockets attach.
Front of the vest without the pockets attached.
To attach my pockets, I like to use Tactical Tailor's MALICE clips. They're cheap, secure, and easy to use. You sew parallel 1" webbing to the pouch, mirroring that on the vest, and then the clip is woven into the webbing, securely attaching the pouch.
The back of a pouch, showing weaving into vest.
For the webbing harness, I used flat 1.5" nylon webbing, which is thin enough to be comfortable underneath a backpack harness. Rather than cross the straps in the back, I chose to run them parallel and connect them with a piece of mesh.
Mesh back of webbing harness
On to the center vest pocket. I designed it to hold my notebook, writing tools, compass, and signal mirror, as well as having space on the front for the attachment of ID patches. I cut the velcro in 1" strips, and sewed it so it can double as PALS webbing. I made a pouch for the outside with a couple of pens, and found that I can stick my EMS shears behind it.
Front of pouch
Pull on the loop of orange tubular webbing, and the pouch swings open so you can access the contents. I added some 550 cord to keep it from falling open too far.
Inside
Back
This pouch was made with one continuous piece of green nylon canvas from an old military duffel, and the various internal pockets, strips of webbing and velcro were sewn on. I decided it best to lay everything out before I started sewing, which took an entire box of safety pins.
I also made a pouch for my Garmin eTrex 10 GPS reciever, and pouches for my Spyderco Endura 4 knife and my Nitecore P10 flashlight.
For the GPS pouch, I chose to add a piece of fleece to protect the screen from abrasion, folded over on one end to keep the front button from being pressed by the inside of the pouch. I also added elastic loops to keep the batteries handy when I store it.
GPS pouch, inside
Without the GPS
Back
Simple knife and light pouches
Back
Creating a lanyard for my light was somewhat tricky, as it doesn't have a lanyard hole. (Well, it does, but it's on the grip ring, which I don't use). I settled on tying a tautline hitch backed up with a fisherman's knot, which tightens into one of the grooves on the barrel of the light.
Dummy cord attachment for the light
Next up is a case for my Revision Sawfly ballistic glasses. Now, Revision includes a perfectly serviceable case, but I found it somewhat lacking in polish. Besides that, they design the case to hold the glasses and the two spare lenses that come with them. I've since bought lenses in the other two tints they offer, rounding out my kit, but they don't make a case that will hold the frames and all five lenses (grey, mocah, red-orange, yellow and clear) all at once.
The entire kit, with my case
I built the thing with the same nylon canvas I used for the chest pouch. As a liner I used a soft microfiber I had laying around from an old project. Each lens has an internal microfiber slot that it fits into, which I created by simple expedient of cutting out a strip of the stuff of the appropriate length, folding it over itself to make slots, and stitching the ends together.
Inside the case
Front of the case. Yes, I have name tapes on everything.
Handle, made with more orange 1" tube.
To prevent the glasses from being crushed and to keep them handy while hiking and doing SAR work, I built a pouch for the belt of my pack with a hard plastic liner. For the liner I used something called kydex; it's a heat-moldable plastic that is common in knife sheathes and gun holsters.
Pouch and insert, separately
Together
 |
| Soft case inside |
Closed
I use an Osprey Argon 85 for my SAR pack. While it's a nice, durable, comfortable pack, it's rather gigantic. To trim things down a little, I removed the stock pack lid and replaced it with a simple square of nylon canvas, to which I added neon green reflective striping and some ID patches.
Why yes, I like reflective stuff. How could you tell?
While I was at it, I decided to add some of the green reflective stuff to my cotton canvas work jacket that I wear when I'm standing around at Incident Base waiting for an assignment. I rather like the way it turned out.
Jacket
Without flash
Made myself a new wallet with pen slots, because I am indeed that much of a nerd. Used more of the nylon canvas.
Wallet
Open
I also did a little bit of work on my archery equipment. First I got the leather tools out and made a new wrist strap for my mechanical release. It's a gizmo that clips to the bowstring and allows me to release it with a trigger, rather than holding and releasing the string with my hands, thus allowing for a smoother release.
Leather wrist strap
Worn
Buckle in back
Soft leather lining on inside
The actual release
Jaws open when trigger is pulled, releasing the string and shooting the bow
Finally, I got some neon green and blue paracord and re-wrapped the grip of my bow, made a new wrist sling, and wrapped the end of the stabilizer with what was left, purely 'cuz it looked neat.
So yeah, I'd call it a productive couple days. Probably about $150 to $200 worth of gear if I'd bought it all off the shelf, and it wouldn't have been quite the way I wanted it anyways. Moral of the story? Learn to sew.
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