I used standard issue gel pads and sewed some soft leather over them. Stitched it around the edges. Feels good man...

Replacing the stock cheapo belt with a TYR cobra belt in the HSGI battle belt was very difficult.

Then I remembered I forgot the fucking holster and had to redo it with the added struggle because the belt was almost too thick to go through the holster belt holes.

I was using a 18 gauge sheet metal strip to separate the velcro between the inner belt and the battle belt, and also to keep the velcro from catching while inserting the new belt. Even with the steel to stop the velcro from catching, so much force was required to insert/remove the belts that I often bent the 2.25" wide 18 gauge steel strip pushing it through, and that was before I remembered the holster.

Other upgrades also included switching to all ESSTAC short pouches. The holster in question is also new (G-code XST) to replace the shit 80s folded fajita one I had before.

Sorry if this is an unacceptable post necro, but is there any chance of this still happening? I can't find this pattern anywhere.

>>18113
It's not exactly Rhodesian but there is a German company that sells airsofter stuff that contracted a while back to have a kinda-sort-Rhodesian-ish pattern made.

https://www.begadi.com/be-x-fieldjacket-opfor.html

What they've currently got left of that batch is 65-35 NYCO BDUs in a few different sizes.

I don't work for them, can't speak for the quality, and suspect shipping from Germany to North America might cost quite a bit.

But if you've got to have Rhodie camo, it's the only thing going right now that looks anywhere close to the real thing.

Trident Military used to sell "Rhodesian" (actually a somewhat similar looking Pakistani milsurp pattern) camo but they ran out of it years ago.

>>18144
>>18144
That looks like it needs a good break in and a couple heavy washes

>>18145
Ah, I just did a bit more digging.

SARCO, of all people, claims to have some surplus uniforms in a similar pattern in stock, and even printed fabric by the yard:

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/ngo-contractor-uniforms---atafrex.aspx

Once again, I do not work for this company, and know nothing about the quality, but at the very least they seem to be offering Rhodie-style patrol caps with the flap in the back to keep the sun off the back of your neck.

The khaki base in these pictures looks quite a bit darker and yellower than in the Begadi product, but that could be the lighting. The single picture of the fabric they're selling makes it look much lighter and less saturated, almost off-white or pale grey.

>>8725
IS the Vector file available for purchase?

If the straps are sewn into the part of the pouch that is away from the body, they are probably lifter straps. Put your mags into the pouches so that the straps are under/behind them with the top sticking out, then fasten the end to the velcro to hold them in. Need a mag in a hurry-ish, grab the strap and pull upwards to lift the mag out until you can get a decent grab on it. Never seen a chest rig use lifters like that, normally you see them on IFAKs or the like. But that's the best I can figure from the picture.

Can't help ya with the smell, unfortunately.

> straps in mag pouches

Mine didn't have those straps, did I get jibed? What sting are you talking about, mine is like 'mil surplus' smell

Still want one.

I've got some SAPI plates I picked up from a surplus store outside JBLM a few years ago I've been meaning to replace and suppliment with some soft stuff. Been looking at these and looks like it might be what you're looking for as well.

http://www.bulletproofme.com/RP-Level-3-PLUS-Ceramic.html

>>17911
Proceed with caution with those. I desperately wanted them to be good because they're almost half the cost of competitive weight/rating, but none of this "independently lab verified" stuff has ever actually been shown on those particular plates, only on the crappy steel stuff. They're stuff is not listed on the NIJ website either. In fact I can't even find any "youtube testing" they make fun of on those actual plates.

A lot of stuff the owner says is gibberish and raises a few flags.

>>17913
If you contacted Armour Wear, the company that supplies Bulletproofme with those particular plates, you could have the certification information sent to you. But yeah, only their IIIA stuff is listed on the NIJ compliance site. Might be because that's the only product they've submitted for any government contracts or something? I dunno. But if you got the information, you could find out what lab did the testing and make a call based on that.

Bulletproofme is one of the oldest sites on the internet that has sold armor to civis, though. I have to imagine that they can't have stayed in business so long while making false claims as to the proofing of their products.

In any case, you make a good point. Researching what you plan to buy is never a bad move.

Dude just go on eBay and pick up some plates. I just bought 4 ceramic plates for $330 shipped. Shop around for a while. You might be surprised at what you find on there.

Any idea about eastern bloc soft vests and plates?

  US Army 1st Air Cavalry Division soldier with an E63 personnel detector, in Ankhe, South Vietnam. https://youtu.be/4kGpf9W5s3c

A US 1st Air Cavalry Division soldier equipped with an E63 (XM-2) personnel detector manpack. The E63 intake tube is mounted to the barrel of his M-16 rifle and a signal cord runs from the backpack to a speaker under his helmet. The soldier advances slowly through an area of heavy brush, during training in Ankhe, South Vietnam. Another soldier moves in the background. Location: Ankhe South Vietnam. Date: January 31, 1966.

I prefer this Vietnam War-era personnel detector.

Inexpensive to produce, but the training costs are high.

I just realized I have a photo of the inner workings

But does it also detect bombs and drugs, cure HIV/AIDS, or find lost golf balls and broken water mains?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651
http://mashable.com/2014/02/26/egypts-miracle-hiv-device/

What about heart-beats?
http://www.pitt.edu/~kconover/dkl.htm

>>18148
Spend the same amount as a Baofeng and get a surplus Motorola XTS3000.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorola-XTS-3000-Model-III-H09UCH9PW7AN-800-mhz-Portable-Radio-Lot-of-5-/253058368963

>>18164

which won't talk to anyone

>>18148
My first radio was a Baofeng UV-5R that took two years of abuse. I reprogrammed it and stuffed it in the traveling box. Remember the box?

I spend the better part of a day with manuals learning to program the damned thing by hand to get onto local repeaters. Yes, it was difficult to program. That's why they make programming cables and CHIRP. Now, I cut and paste to different radios with different firmware. I play with RTL-SDR and have a Yaesu FT-897 base station these days.

And FIVE Baofengs, mostly for hiking using mobilinkd for APRS or otherwise messing around. They're brilliant for what they do, which is work as programmed, take abuse, and be cheap as hell. Sure, they look awful and have an ill-conceived interface. But for $25, you have a great little HT that you can take out and mistreat with excellent results.

>>18174
I taped a little piece of paper inside the battery compartment with instructions on how to program a repeater offeset, since I always forget the correct order.

And yeah they're not great, but they're good enough and have drastically lowered the cost of entry into ham radio. I think a lot of the hate just comes from the same old farts who got super angry when code requirements got dropped.

Anybody get contacts on AO-91 yet?

https://www.amsat.org/ao-91-commissioned-declared-open-for-amateur-use/
>The satellite was launched on November 18, 2017 as part of the ELaNa XIV mission, secondary payloads aboard the Delta II rocket that carried the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) satellite to orbit. AO-91 also features the Fox-1 style FM U/v repeater with an uplink on 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink on 145.960 MHz.

East German Border Guard General Officer's uniform

>>18193
The east German SS uniforms were chosen because the Ossis wanted to have a "uniquely socialist" uniform different from the western uniforms (at the time more of a "military double breasted suit" like the Royal Air Force's uniforms) and uniforms of the Soviet occupational forces.

Of course as Germans are known for their cynicism, perhaps choosing the uniforms of the National Socialists was a subtle joke about how yes Hans, we are the baddies.

>>18193
They're actually based on Prussian uniforms, which is what the SS uniforms were based on. Simpletons never look past the Nazi use to see the true origin of that design.

I have a few pairs of fleece-lined pants I got at Walmart a few years back, they seem to have held up well. As for a separate liner I'd recommend the Polartec milsurp bibs:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-MILITARY-POLARTEC-BLACK-FLEECE-COLD-WEATHER-OVERALLS-MEDIUM-S-R/152283108769?hash=item2374c7d5a1:g:TfIAAOSw4shYA9yz

>>18191

*Wrangler fleece-lined pants.