Based on a Naval Special Warfare design, the Mayflower R&C APC (Assault Plate Carrier) represents an evolution in Mayflower’s growing lineup of innovative products and solutions for the military athlete.

Despite being designed as a more “overt” plate carrier with exterior mounting options, we’re still classifying the APC as low-profile due to the versatile form-fitting nature of the design, the significant range of motion the end user is capable of and the lightweight nature of the 500D Cordura construction.

Today we’ll be taking a look at the brand new APC in both the following written review and corresponding video review below.

Assault Plate Carrier

I’ve spent a significant amount of time in the APC since receiving it for evaluation around two months ago. In that time I’ve really been able to get a feel for the multiple design elements that make this carrier stand out, as well as enable me to push myself out of the traditional loadout and shooting style I’m used to with chest rigs and plate carriers.

As designs and safety requirements have evolved in this industry, we’re seeing more thought into integrating side plate armor; as a natural result this has spawned creativity in available cummerbund options. My mention of a traditional loadout is in reference to the standard spare mag placement centered on the shooter’s chest. There’s no arguing this is one of the most optimal placements for those spare magazines and also facilitates quick reloads.

What I’ve been experimenting with is running a “slick” front and just two spare magazines; one in both the right and left side cummerbund. I’ve not only used this as a way to stay more streamlined and mobile, but as a way to work on reloads both right and left handed. I’m in no way advocating that this is the solution in all situations, but it’s been helping my training and I wanted to mention it.

Where this information fits into the design of the APC, is through the versatility of the cummerbund and the optional Triple Mag Insert that I’ll get into in a few paragraphs.

Plate Pockets

As mentioned previously, the APC is designed to provide ample PALS real estate to mount whatever mission essential equipment your needs dictate. We’ll first take a look at the core component of the carrier, the plate pockets.

These are available in two sizes, a small/medium and a large/extra-large. Being 5’10 with a 44″ chest I typically get medium sized carriers and rigs because I find that ordering the next size up leaves me with more adjustment than necessary and I also run medium SAPI plates. There is, however, a notable difference in the available PALS on the upper front and upper rear plate pockets of the S/M vs. the L/XL.

The S/M has a 2 rows x 4 columns in the front, while the rear features a single top row of 4 columns and two upper rows of 6 columns. The L/XL has a 4 x 6 pattern on both the front and back upper sections. The lower sections on both the S/M and L/XL all have 3 rows x 6 columns on both the front and back.

I’ve taken the time to describe this is so you’ll take note of how much wider and taller the upper sections are on the L/XL plate pockets. Because of my chest size I could go to large plates, requiring the larger carrier, but I would have been dealing with a wider and taller carrier than I would have liked.

There’s also the addition of two 3/4″ vertical webbing strips running on each side of the PALS which enable you to clip in a PTT (Push-to-Talk) attachment from comms.

I feel that because of the contoured shape of the upper plate pocket section I was really able to get a nice stock placement without having to “tuck” it behind the carrier as I’ve had to do with other wider plate carrier designs.

Triple Mag Insert and Pockets

The entire upper 10″ wide x 5″ tall section of the plate pocket doubles as an admin pocket featuring internal 1″ elastic sewn into four channels for storing pens, ChemLights or other admin supplies. It’s a contoured pocket accessible via velcro at the top which has more width at the bottom than the top. I found it easy to access items in this pocket when running plates and backers.

A lower kangaroo pocket was designed to hold up to three M4 mags and accepts a brilliant insert from Mayflower R&C called the Triple Mag Insert which is pure awesome! As the kangaroo pocket lacks any kind of retention or separation for the three mags it holds.

The Triple Mag Insert was designed to accomplish those by utilizing velcro to secure the insert to the kangaroo pocket opening, while providing shock cord retention and separation with sewn-in webbing dividers. It’s also made of thin pack Nylon which cuts down on the weight and bulk of the insert.

However, I found that when running plates and backers, the amount of available space in the kangaroo pocket (either with or without the insert) was lacking in width. The sides get squeezed, thus making drawing and re-inserting the outer mags a bit laborious. While re-inserting shouldn’t be much of a concern, the extra tension when drawing them is. I’m hopeful that the production version has accounted for this and just an issue on my pre-production APC.

The real value of the Triple Mag Insert comes in it’s versatility to also be used in the Cummerbund, which I’ll get to below.

Armor

While I may now have you confused about the plate pocket sizing, the simple answer is to order based on your plate size.

They’re sized to accommodate stand alone or in-conjunction with BALCs/ESAPI or Swimmer cut plates. The S/M APC will fit small, medium and 10×12 sized plates. The L/XL APC will fit large and extra-large plates.

The plate pockets will also accommodate soft armor backers if needed to upgrade “in-conjunction with” plates to their full ballistic protection rating. I run the NIJ Certified Velocity Systems VS-33A Level III-A Soft Armor Dyneema Backers behind my SAPI plates. While we’ve mentioned Dyneema isn’t as optimal in contact shot situations, these plate backers and not designed to be worn as stand-alone protection.

Inserting plates and/or backers is a pretty straight forward, yet well thought out design. In the front, there’s simply a flap with hook velcro that tucks around the bottom side of the plate and mates to the loop velcro on the body side of the front plate pocket. On the pre-production version I have, it lacks the strap hanger that’s been integrated into the production models, which lifts the plate up towards the top of the carrier to place it in the optimal position.

Despite my carrier not having this strap, I still felt that the plate adjustment flap did a great job of keeping the plate up where it needed to be in the pocket.

Cummerbund

The PALS compatible cummerbund on the APC is a well thought out design that accepts 6″x 6″ hard armor plates and side soft armor. The APC is also compatible with Mayflower’s suite of modular cummerbund options like their slick cummerbund sans PALS and their mesh cummerbund.

Three different sizes are available in the cummerbund for the APC and only differ in length and available PALS. The small has five columns, medium has seven and large has nine. The rear cummerbund attachment is another simple, yet well thought out design.

You simply lift an outer flap that is pretty much the entire lower rear section of the plate pocket and reveal a large loop velcro field. Utilizing the Velcro One-Wrap side of the cummerbund you simply stack the two sides of the cummerbund over each other and close the flap.

What’s great about the One-Wrap is that the bottom side has hook and the top had loop so it can be stacked, enabling a lower profile and sticking to the overall design elements of this carrier. One-Wrap is a fantastic invention and I can’t say enough about what great cable ties it makes!

The front attachment of the cummerbund is via another large flap that’s essentially the entire lower front half of the plate carrier pocket. If you look in the images you’ll see that the lower corners have 45 degree angles and a small piece of webbing to facilitate easier lifting, which really helps when wearing gloves.

You simply lift the flap and mate the hook and loop ends of each cummerbund to the loop field and close the flap. On the One-Wrap side of each cummerbund is also 5″ tall doubled elastic that really makes a difference in the overall comfort of the carrier. The elastic enables the carrier to fit sung to your body, yet flex and add to the mobility the APC is capable of.

Armor

On each side of the cummerbund you’ll find small offset webbing pull-tabs that easily allow you to access the interior.

Opening it up, you’ll see the larger area for soft armor and a full-width velcro pocket designed for the 6×6 side plates. The velcro-lined interior allows you to position the side plate either forward or back, depending on preference.

What I’ve found is that the interior cummerbund plate pocket is also perfect for the Triple Mag Insert and as described earlier, that’s how I’m running my APC.

With a Triple Mag Insert on both sides of the cummerbund and using Velocity Systems Dyneema IIIA Soft Armor inserts.

Shoulder Straps and Pads

The 2″ wide shoulders straps on the APC feature Mayflower’s velcro-backed webbing adjustment routed through two ITW Looplocs sewn-in on the rear plate pocket. The enables you to separate the front plate pocket from the rear if needed. The straps are sewn to the body side of the front plate pocket as well as bar tacked to the topmost stress point where the strap meets the pocket.

Covering the shoulder straps are the Armor Carrier Padded Shoulder Pieces, which are nicely innovative way to provide comfort and padding to the shoulder area.

They’re designed to also secure to the shoulder strap with two elastic loops, while still allowing easy access through a top flap to route comms wires and hydration tubes.

The body side of the shoulder pieces is made from 3D spacer mesh, which provides cushion and allows for air circulation and heat dissipation from the shoulder area.

I found these to really add to the comfort of this carrier and having run Mayflower’s Lo-Pro rig from our last review, it was definitely a welcome addition.

Notes and Video Review

One last thing to mention is the weight of the APC, I found it came in right at 17 lbs. fully loaded with SAPI plates, soft armor backers and side panels, Source Kangaroo Canteen in its LBT Bladder Pouch and my radio in a OC Tactical Small Radio Pouch. As it ships, the APC weighs just 1lb. 12 oz.

Something I would have liked to have seen on this carrier, is for the PTT webbing on the front to be 1″ webbing (instead of 3/4″). This would facilitate hooking in repair buckles to dock with Mayflower’s extensive line of chest rigs. It’s a feature we highlighted in our previous review of the Low-Profile Armor Carrier and UW Chest Rig. While it’s still possible to attach repair buckles, they don’t hold as well as they would if 1″ webbing was used. Velocity Systems also has a great feature called the SwiftClip attachment system to dock in chest rigs using the ITW Nexus QASM Buckles.

The APC is 100% Made in the USA and comes in MultiCam, Coyote Brown and Black. SKD Tactical is the first retailer to carry the new APC and also running a sale price of $195 on it until January 24th which is $15 off of the $210 SKD will be selling it for. They also only charge $5 for shipping!

Overall the APC is a fantastic plate carrier that’s loaded with features representative of the innovation that’s continuously evolving at Mayflower R&C. You won’t be disappointed with this carrier’s construction or it’s versatility. It truly lives up to the mobility requirements of the military athlete.

If you’re not familiar with OC Tactical’s incredibly-detailed custom gear manufacturing, we hope to change that with this review.

We’ll be highlighting a few of the great custom items that OC Tactical currently produces and what’s setting them apart in this industry.

I’ve been personally working with Mike from OC Tactical to produce some custom items, as well as working with him through ITS Tactical to develop a pouch for our ETA Kit.

A Different Kind of Custom

When you think custom gear, what comes to mind? To me it’s that lightbulb that goes off in your head when using your equipment, or tweaking it, when you say “this would be easier if I had…” That’s where OC Tactical comes in. They take your gear idea from concept to reality, with that personal touch that not many in this industry have the time to afford.

Let’s face it, custom work for a single item doesn’t equate to much profit when you factor in prototyping and labor. In fact, there are only a handful of people I know that have the time and resources to produce great custom gear like OC Tactical does. Mike is definitely in a small group of companies that are doing this kind of work the right way; with tremendous attention to detail, quality craftsmanship, great customer service and the 1-on-1 dialog needed to bring your idea to life.

A caveat to this, that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from journeying into the world of custom gear, is time. To develop your idea or modification in the way that OC Tactical does, it’s going to take time. This definitely is not somewhere where you can expect a fast production turnaround. The prototyping process and labor I mentioned above aren’t something that can be rushed and still retain all of the inherent service qualities OC Tactical provides.

OC Tactical is also the only place I know of to get custom gear manufactured in such a wide array of colorways and patterns like A-TACS, AOR1 and AOR2.

Production Items

OC Tactical isn’t 100% custom work and have many products they currently offer on their Website. The stock is dependent on their workload and most items listed currently require contact to inquire about the build time.

While the product offering from OC Tactical includes a few items not commonly found by larger manufacturers, as well as standard pouches and pockets, what’s truly setting them apart is a term I refer to as “user serviceability.”

This is pretty self-explanatory, but let’s truly examine the term and how it applies to gear. Whether you’re out at the range shooting, patrolling your beat, or sneaking up on smelly bad guys; there’s never a good time for gear to fail. The fact of the matter isn’t necessarily “if,” but “when.” Let’s face it, as bombproof as a lot of gear is; buckles can break, elastic can get stretched out, and things happen.

When they do, it’s always good to have a small gear repair kit to address these issues. This can include a few repair buckles, shock cord, malice clips, duct tape, etc. There are, however, only a certain number of things on a piece of gear that can be replaced by the end-user without access to a sewing machine.

What OC Tactical has done, is designed their gear with the end-user in mind and made as many things “user serviceable” as possible. To highlight exactly what this means, let’s take a look at one of the items we’re reviewing today.

Small Radio Pouch

One of the products OC Tactical has recently started listing as a product, began life as a custom request of mine for a pouch that could hold the small Vertex 410 series radios that we use here at ITS. Not everyone who uses radios on a daily basis runs MBITRs, which is what you’ll commonly find a pouch for when searching a manufacturers product listing. The reason is obvious though; MBITR pouches are what sells, due to most Military guys running them for comms.

In our case, we needed a bombproof radio pouch that could be mounted to MOLLE and fit our Vertex radios. We typically run these with Sordins so we can maintain comms when on the range or as other situations dictate and having enough width in the pocket to still attach the comms lead was also important.

Design

What OC Tactical came up with was a 1000d coated Cordura Small Radio Pouch that integrated user serviceability into each facet of the design. At the rear of the pouch is a doubled over 4 3/4″ wide x 3″ tall piece of Cordura that ingeniously provides the ability for a small channel to be sewn in for shock cord. This shock cord is looped through the 1″ webbing used in the buckle/adjustment portion of the pouch, run down through a grommet in the rear channel and out through the bottom. At the bottom of the pouch, the shock cord is routed through a Cordloc and secured with an overhand knot.

This provides an easy adjustment, as well as using shock cord for retention where possible. On the front of the pouch, shock cord is also used for the pouch body retention. A length of shock cord is run through a sewn piece of 1″ webbing on the front of the pouch and through what appears to be loops of 1″ lightweight binding tape and through a Cordloc secured with an overhand knot. The shock cord retention is also separated through the webbing as it crosses the body of the pouch so as to evenly distribute the retention and not allow it to bunch up.

This retention system, both on the top of the pouch and on the body, fall in line with the user serviceability aspect of OC Tactical I was mentioning. Rather than go with traditional sewn-in elastic that becomes stretched out, user replaceable shock cord is integrated so it can just be replaced when it gets stretched out.

With elastic retention of any kind, whether sewn-in or shock cord, it’s not a matter of “if” it becomes stretched out, but when. The SRB (Slide Release Buckle) assembly of the Small Radio Pouch is also designed in a way that it can be replaced with a repair buckle without having to break any stitches. Again the common failure points such as retention and the buckle have all been carefully assembled in a way to promote user serviceability.

Further features on the pouch include a drainage grommet in the bottom and a bound lip at the mouth of the pouch. It measures 3/4″ wide x 3″ tall x 1 3/4 deep, attaches with two small Malice clips and is available in any colorway and pattern that OC Tactical offers. They have truly outdone themselves on this small radio pouch concept and I couldn’t have asked for a better design. As with everything I’ve seen of theirs, the stitching is superb and made with incredible attention to detail.

Hearing Protection Covers

I’ve been wearing Sordin electronic earpro for a number of years now and had always wished someone would come out a more comfortable head strap with different colorways options.

The woodland camo cover that comes standard with Sordins has a pretty weak padding insert and has severely needed an upgrade for a long time.

While browsing the Lightfighter forum I saw that Troy, a Lightfighter member, had arranged for OC Tactical to start producing Hearing Protection Covers for him to sell to other members. This was actually my first time hearing about OC Tactical and well before we started ITS Tactical. I took one look at the quality in the photos and immediately knew it was the upgrade I’d been looking for.

As you’ll see in the photos below, I tried working with another custom gear manufacturer to produce a hearing protection cover about a year before I saw the OC Tactical design, but it wasn’t very good quality or integrate the padding upgrade I was after.

Design

The OC Tactical Hearing Protection Covers are made to fit the Peltor ComTac II, Sordin Supreme Pro-X or the Sordin Supreme Pro. They’re made in 33od coated Cordura and feature a 5″ velcro strip on the top for nametapes and a double layer of Dri-Lex foam padding on the underside for moisture wicking. The wider band Supreme Pro’s can be accommodated with a slightly wider cover or you can simply cut away that naugahyde coating and use the standard Sordin cover.

OC Tactical has now started offering the optional addition of small exterior velcro-straps to aid in wire management. As you can see in the photos, this would be a nice upgrade to the rigger’s rubber band I currently use to manage my comms wire when not running the Vertex radio.

If I had to be picky with the Sordin covers I have, I’d say that the inclusion of the small velcro tabs in the original cover interior would be a welcome addition on the OC Tactical version. It would help manage the cable that spans the headset a bit better and while not a necessity, it would make an already fantastic cover that much better.

The Hearing Protection Covers are available in pretty much any colorway and pattern that OC Tactical offers, but anything other than AOR1, AOR2, MultiCam and ACU are built with heavier Cordura material. All orders must be placed directly with Troy on Lightfighter (he goes by capntroy).

You won’t be disappointed with this upgraded cover; it’s done wonders for the comfort of my Sordins, especially when in them all day or using them with a helmet.

Notes

I hope this article has convinced you to give OC Tactical a look when planning your next custom gear idea/modification and highlighted just a few of the great products that they’ve produced. If you send an email inquiry be sure to mention that ITS sent you!

Look for more gear reviews from OC Tactical in the future, we’ve definitely got more OC Tactical goodness to cover!

If you’re looking for a simple, lightweight, low-profile chest rig look no further than the 215 Gear Recon Series Mod Chest Rig with Pockets.

Today we’ll be walking you through the rig, highlighting the features, material and the unique self-adjustment H Harness system that sets this apart from many rigs on the market today.

We’ve also included detailed photos and a video review below where we talk through our thoughts on the rig and how it worked for us.

215 Gear Mod Chest Rig w/ Pockets

In talking with 215 Gear, they’ve explained to us that their typical design philosophy is for a lighter, smarter set up; regardless of the item. We feel this is an accurate description of the features they’ve integrated into their Mod Chest Rig.

A highlight of 215 Gear’s attention to detail is the integration of a tourniquet solution built into their rig. Carrying a primary lifesaving device like a tourniquet is often neglected in chest rig designs and one that we feel is extremely important.

Let’s take a look at the features of this rig in detail and explain their purpose and function.

Storage Capacity

To focus on the lightweight and low-profile aspects of this rig, let’s first talk about the storage capacity. This rig is NOT purpose built for carrying some ridiculous 13-mag loadout that leaves you immobile and unable to fight properly. It WAS purpose built for a simple recon loadout of three mags and one in your gun.

While built to fit standard 30-round 5.56 magazines and PMAGs, we also tested the fit of AK-47 30-round magazines as well. You don’t get the same retention with AK mags and if you want to use the built-in retention pull tabs you’d have to replace them with longer shock cord. They’re also not as easy to draw and reinsert, but it can be done if needed.

Moving fore of the magazine carrier brings us to two GP pockets with attached pull-tab flaps and two pistol magazine pouches with removable/adjustable flaps and 1.5″ elastic retention. In our testing we ran Glock 19 and Sig P226 pistol magazines without the flaps and didn’t have any issues with retention, even while running.

The two GP pockets are great for miscellaneous items like a multi-tool, cleaning kit, flashlight, QuickClot Combat Gauze or admin supplies. It’s nice to see GP and pistol mags on a chest rig to enable the operator to free up his waist for increased mobility.

Moving port or starboard of the magazine carrier, you’ll find PALS webbing three columns wide that will accommodate MOLLE requiring up to eight rows in height. This is common to the Eagle MLCS pouches and many other three-column wide MOLLE pouches. Dual comms setups can be run using the PALS or even an extra pouch to hold a blowout kit. As every unit isn’t running MBITRs, the PALS provides an advantage for custom communication setups.

Retention/Routing

Briefly mentioned above, the three on-board magazine pouches feature user adjustable and replaceable shock cord retention, which also means that the retention and pull tabs are removable if desired. The doubled 1″ webbing pull tabs were large and easy to grab even with gloves on.

Large 2″ elastic loops with an integrated smaller loop channel are placed onto the H-harness shoulder straps to help manage comms cables and hydration tubes. These slide easily, so don’t depend on them to stay put in a certain place on the 2″ webbing shoulder straps other than sitting at the bottom. If you have a large and lightweight item secured to these, they could possibly stay put in a place other than at the bottom.

Moving down the rig you’ll see two smaller 1″ elastic loops on each side of the magazine carrier to continue the cable/tube management from the loops on the shoulder straps.

Tourniquet Integration

215 Gear’s Tourniquet holder is mounted to a 1″ webbing strip just below the magazine carrier. Although having a tourniquet in this handy location could get in the way when going prone, for the most part we didn’t mind its location at all. The potential to jab into your stomach would also be mitigated if wearing body armor.

Under stress the tourniquet holder is a bit difficult to open through the integrated release mechanism, but can simply be pulled out the side if needed due to the flexibility of the shock cord used in the holder. This doesn’t compromise the security of the tourniquet in the holder and we felt that it properly held the SOFTT-W Tourniquet we were running just fine. It can become lopsided from going prone and dragging on the ground, but we didn’t experience any premature opening or release in retention.

Unique Adjustment

The last feature we’ll look at is the adjustment of the Mod Chest Rig and the unique self-adjusting straps that aid in common donning and doffing issues with chest rigs.

The Mod Chest Rig features a single length of 2″ webbing as the basis for the H-harness design that’s completely detachable from the rig through the use of 2″ tri-glides in the front and 1″ ITW Fastex SRBs (slide release buckles) under each armpit.

Most H-harness type chest rigs utilize 1″ webbing that runs from the shoulder blade under each armpit and typically feature a tri-glide adjustment or an adjustment through the SRBs. Where 215′s design differs is the unique way they’ve attached the 1″ webbing to the tri-glide and the SRB. The webbing is sewn-in on the SRB male buckle and the top bar of the tri-glide, allowing the webbing to flow through the middle bar of the tri-glide when a 4.5″ long webbing pull tab attached to the bottom tri-glide bar is pulled by the wearer.

While seeming complicated to explain, it’s truly a simple and unique design. However, the self-adjustment depends on how good your flexibility is. To adjust each side of the straps you have to cross-grab each strap, meaning that you’re grabbing the right side adjustment with your left hand behind your back.

Out of the two people who put this rig through it’s paces one could adjust it properly by himself and the other didn’t have the flexibility to pull the adjustment tabs. This would also be harder while wearing this rig over an armor carrier. While someone may not have the flexibility to grab this adjustment themselves, it definitely increases the ability of a buddy to come along and simply grab the tab to help adjust the rig.

As far as doffing the Mod Chest Rig, to us it was easier to simply unclip an armpit Fastex SRB rather than trying to reach up and loosen the self-adjusting straps.

The 1″ waist strap is completely detachable via 1″ ITW Fastex SRBs with a sew-in adjustment on a right side tri-glide, leaving the left side to manage the slack and overall adjustment.

Material/Durability

While unlisted in the product description on 215 Gear’s Website, the material appears to be 500d Cordura. With lighter weight Cordura you’re more prone to wear than the common 1000d Cordura used in most tactical manufacturing, but it’s becoming more common these days to go with 500d and even 330d to trim weight.

Of course if you’re in a unit purchasing lighter weight pouches and rigs you can probably afford to easily replace them if they become damaged. We’ve been running this particular 215 Gear chest rig for about three months now with no wear issues whatsoever. Granted our testing on this rig hasn’t been downrange, but we definitely aren’t on a static range when we’re putting gear like this through its paces.

ITW Nexus Hardware is used throughout the Mod Chest Rig with color-matched single-side printed MultiCam webbing on the particular colorway we reviewed. The rig also comes in Coyote.

Measurements and Weight

Lightweight was definitely achieved with the Mod Chest Rig, weighing just under a pound at 15.7 ounces. The overall dimensions of the rectangular main rig area are 18″ wide by 7.75″ tall. The GP pockets are roughly 3″ wide x 4″ tall x 1″ deep.

There will most likely be plenty of slack leftover after you properly adjust the 2″ webbing shoulder straps and we’d recommend trimming off the excess and not stuffing it in the elastic routing loops just above. As the elastic routing loops move up and down your slack will fall out and could get in the way when drawing your mags.

Notes

215 Gear can can purpose build any variation of this rig for any unit and it’s also available in a version called the Mod Chest Rig MOLLE without the GP and pistol mag pouches. It’s nearly identical to the one we reviewed except for featuring PALS webbing over the mag pouches rather than the GP and pistol mag pouches.

The Mod Chest Rig can also be used for PSD work and easily be concealed under a cover shirt, the MOLLE version may be a better fit for that purpose, but the lightweight and lo-pro aspects of this rig are truly beneficial to multiple applications. The Recon Series Mod Chest Rig with Pockets runs $149.99 and $144.99 with MOLLE.

Visit 215Gear.com for more information on the Recon Series Mod Chest Rigs.

We know you guys have been eagerly awaiting our Camo Comparision II results, and today we’ll be releasing our preliminary comparison images.

We’re asking for your help to cast your vote on which four patterns you find to be the most effective in the terrain locations below.

As there are close to 200 images contained below, we need to narrow them down into the four most visually effective patterns before we release the further analysis on each of those respective patterns. If you remember from our previous article on Target Detection and Identification, there are many other ways to analyze a pattern other than what the naked eye sees.

Without further adieu, we present our preliminary Camo Comparison II images and look forward to your feedback. Please cast your votes in the polls at the end of each location.

Comparison Specifics

We were able to wrap up our 2nd Camo Comparison in a matter of one day (19 Jul 10) at Big Bend National Park in Texas, which was the closest location to us that we felt simulated Afghanistan terrain. While the entire trip took three days, we started our 10-hour drive early enough to use the first day to scout locations and make things easier on the day we shot the images. If you haven’t read the adventures we encountered along the way click here!

The comparison took place in four locations (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) and four distances made possible by optical camera zoom. All photos were shot on a tripod with a Canon EOS 40d using a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM. We tried to shoot as close to f16 as possible, which we’ve found to be the sweet spot for focus and depth of field on this particular lens.

50mm is closest to what the eye sees naturally and is represented by Distance 3 in each location. Distance 1 was an extreme wide angle at 17mm, Distance 2 was a wide angle at 30mm, and Distance 4 was a medium telephoto at 85mm. While we kept the optical zoom levels consistent, the distance we were shooting from varied in each location as described below. Details on each location such as time, date and GPS coordinates are also shown below.

Camouflage Patterns Used

• Crye MultiCam
• Bulldog Tactical Mirage Camo
• Digital Concealment Systems A-TACS
• Hyde Definition PenCott GreenZone
• Desert MARPAT (Desert Digital)
• Woodland MARPAT
• SAF Digital (Singapore)
• UCP (ACU)
• 3-Color Desert Camo (DCU)
• Chocolate Chip Desert Camo
• Desert Tiger Stripe
• Japanese Flecktarn

In each set you’ll first see our control image, which is a shot of the white mannequin we used sans camouflage.

Each of the 12 camouflage patterns was placed on a torso mannequin and each location was completed in a matter of just 20-30 minutes. This was to ensure that the lighting was realitively the same for each image. Full sun was the best description of the shooting conditions.

The white balance for the photos was custom set using an 18% Grey Card in each location. The photos have not been altered in any way by Photoshop or any other editing program and do not include our watermark. They have been resized to 1024 x 1024 though.

Larger images are available on our Flickr Account but are copyrighted and not free to use without permission. For more specifics on our images you can view the properties on each individual image on Flickr. Please contact if you need high-resolution use of our images.

What’s also great about Flickr is that you can view our sets as a slideshow. If you click the first image in the sets below, it will bring up a viewer that will allow you to easily move to the next picture by clicking on the arrow that will be visible when hovering on the right side of the image. This should be just as easy as the Flickr slideshow.

Location Alpha

In Location Alpha we tried to find a mountainous terrain that closely resembled the mountains of Afghanistan. The camera baseline distance was set at approx. 100 yards away, thus distance three would be the closest to what the eye would truly see. Location Alpha was shot on 19 July from 0800 to 0830. GPS Coordinates: 29 25.523 -103 08.551

Please cast your vote on which four patterns you find to be the most effective at the end of each terrain location. The polls will allow four (4) multiple choice selections.

Distance 1

Distance 2

Distance 3

Distance 4

Poll

[polldaddy poll=3573361]

Location Bravo

In Location Bravo we attempted to simulate a plains area with a mountainous background. The camera baseline distance was set at approx. 50 yards away, thus distance three would be the closest to what the eye would truly see. Location Bravo was shot on 19 July from 0945 to 1015. GPS Coordinates: 29 25.145 -103 08.255

Please cast your vote on which four patterns you find to be the most effective at the end of each terrain location. The polls will allow four (4) multiple choice selections.

Distance 1

Distance 2

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Location Charlie

In Location Charlie we tried to find a terrain that resembled a wash. The camera baseline distance was set at approx. 25 yards away, thus distance three would be the closest to what the eye would truly see. Location Charlie was shot on 19 July from 1115 to 1145. GPS Coordinates: 29 25.059 -103 08.464

Please cast your vote on which four patterns you find to be the most effective at the end of each terrain location. The polls will allow four (4) multiple choice selections.

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Location Delta

In Location Delta we tried to find an area that resembled a valley or grazing area. We fell this location is very important to the overall comparison, as it specifically shows what strong shadows from directly overhead sun do to camouflage. The camera baseline distance was set at approx. 75 yards away, thus distance three would be the closest to what the eye would truly see. Location Delta was shot on 19 July from 1300 to 1330. GPS Coordinates: 29 24.329 -103 08.501

Please cast your vote on which four patterns you find to be the most effective at the end of each terrain location. The polls will allow four (4) multiple choice selections.

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[polldaddy poll=3573394]

Plans for the future?

We hope to continue to develop and refine our technique for comparing camouflage patterns and bring our readers the results. While this comparison was completed in just one day, there was a lot of coordinating, planning and driving that went into bringing you these results.

This wouldn’t of been possible if not for the support of our members and the camouflage companies like Bulldog Tactical, Digital Concealment Systems, and PenCott that graciously sent us uniforms to use in the comparison. The SAF Digital and Japanese Flecktarn were also donated by one of our Plank Owners, Eric Chevalier.

We’d like to thank our friend Jack from The Survival Podcast for his hard work and input on this project, as this wouldn’t have happened without him (and his truck). Also, a huge thank you to Riaan Rossouw for his continued support and advice in all things camouflage.

Stay tuned for further comparison using the four patterns that our readers choose!

Why not top off the day with a trifecta of Camouflage news, and announce our next Camo Comparison!

Later next week, I’ll be heading down to Big Bend National Park with my friend Jack from The Survival Podcast to not only take the next round of comparison photos, but also to work on some collaboration articles we’ve been talking about doing.

This next comparison will forgo solid colors and feature MultiCam, Mirage, A-TACS, Pencott, Desert MARPAT, Woodland MARPAT, SAF Digital (Singapore), UCP (ACU), Three Color Desert, and Japanese Flecktarn.

We’ve been working closely with Rian Rossouw, who is well known in Camouflage circles, to bring on board some testing procedures that will not only evaluate the different camouflage uniforms on what you’d feel would work the best in the environment, but will also evaluate colors and micro/macro patterns.

We’re excited about the next round of testing, and can’t wait to bring you the results!

During MAROPS (Maritime Operations) the right gear can make all the difference in the world. Operating around a water environment demands a different level of performance from the gear you’re used to running and gunning with.

Typical MAROPS involve the transition of men and equipment, usually via Zodiac F-470, in an OTB or Over the Beach insertion. Having to move equipment around water calls for complete waterproofing, no simple water-resistant stuff.

Whether this is via the Zodiac, also known as a CRRC (Combat Rubber Raiding Craft), or carried with a Swimmer Scout pair preceding the main element, your equipment must stay dry and usable in these conditions.

In our MAROPS Gear Review series, we’ll be reviewing what we feel is some of the best equipment out there for maritime use. Today we’ll be focusing on Watershed Dry Bags.

Watershed Dry Bags

Watershed is a company that’s been helping the military and civilian markets keep their gear dry since the 80s. With waterproof technology originally conceived around White Water Rafting, the Watershed MTP (Maritime Tactical Products) bags have been standard issue to Naval Special Warfare for a few years now.

These fully-submersible, air-tight bags are made with non-IR ITW Nexus hardware and webbing, and 420d double polyurethane-laminated Nylon featuring a non-IR reflective outer emboss. This material is UV stable, will not fade or crack and is 4-5 times more abrasion and puncture resistant than PVC, which a lot of waterproof bags on the market are made out of.

Saltwater is also no match for the material, although we’d recommend rinsing off any equipment in freshwater after use around saltwater.

Oral Inflation Tube

What makes Watershed MTP bags unique compared to other dry bags on the market, is the inclusion of an Oral Inflation Tube, which also doubles as a Purge Valve. This design carries over from the UDT Vest Oral Inflation Tube .

Using this Oral Inflation Tube, you can either put air into the bag or remove it. You may be asking yourself “why is this important?”

By putting air into the bag and inflating it, you can turn your dry bag into a float bag to either use for supporting your weapon coming into shore, jumping on top of to float down a stream, or even tow behind you with some 1″ webbing while swimming your equipment into shore.

By using the Purge Valve to deplete what air you can from the bag, it can then be sucked down the rest of the way to remove the air. This would be important to either sink the bag for use as an underwater cache, or in diving operations, where the bag can be made neutrally buoyant (partial inflation) and towed along underwater. This last method is possible, but you have to be cognizant of Gas Laws.

Closure Systems

Yet another reason Watershed MTP bags stand apart is due to the closure systems that are used on their bags. While some bags on the market depend on rolling the top of a bag down to ensure waterproofness, Watershed has come up with their own closure system called ZipDry.

You may remember seeing a video we made at the SHOT Show this year, showing a demonstration of the patented ZipDry interlocking closure. It’s a truly remarkable closure system that can absorb the weight of someone standing on it without bursting, whether the top of the bag is rolled down or not. It’s also rated to a submersion depth of over 66 feet.

To open this closure, you simply have to kink an “S” shape into it and it will pop right open. Attempting to gorilla grip the tabs and pull it open is a sure way to damage the seal.

On their larger bags, Watershed uses a YKK Polyurethane Waterproof Zipper that’s commonly seen on Dry Suits (like the one in these photos). These zippers are bombproof when properly taken care of. What this means is that they need to be rinsed with freshwater after saltwater use and to ensure debris is removed. They should also be lubed accordingly and stored almost fully opened.

Chafe Liner

Each bag in the MTP series comes with a Cordura Chafe Liner to protect hard objects from chafing through the fabric and compromising the waterproofness.

The bags we reviewed had 330d MultiCam Chafe Liners, but are being replaced with 1000d Foliage Liners. All Watershed bags have always had 1000d Cordura Chafe Liners, these were just made up as samples to include in the bags we reviewed.

Small Utility Bag

The first of two bags we had the chance to beat up on, in the environment they know best, was the Small Utility Bag.

Featuring the ZipDry Closure mentioned above, the bag measures 10″ width x 11″ height x 6.5″ depth (closed and rolled-up). It also features a 2″ compression strap, and 1″ ITW Nexus buckles to secure the bag in its rolled-up state. Below those buckles on each side, are ITW Nexus D-Rings to aid in tying the bag down or to use as a lashing point.

The Small Utility Bag is the perfect size to toss in your pack to keep clothes, cameras, electronics and other small sensitive items dry, or to use as a standalone dry bag. Yes, it may be overkill for some of you, but it’s definitely peace of mind knowing whatever is in this bag will not get wet. You can’t say the same thing about some of the other dry bags we’ve used in the past.

Stennis

Brand new to the MTP lineup, and not yet featured on Watershed’s Web site, is the Stennis. The Stennis borrows a few of the well known features of the Kodiak XXXL Backpack and the Waterproof Ruck Liner and combines them into this appropriately sized dry bag that can swallow a fully loaded 7000 cu. in. Mystery Ranch Kodiak Pack (previously known as BDSB).

Having been issued the Watershed Kodiak XXXL Backpack, it has been regarded as “too big” in some cases. While it definitely has its applications, the Stennis truly shines for its intended use as a dry bag solution for large backs like the Mystery Ranch or a Large ALICE.

The slightly smaller size, and removable shoulder straps, also allows it to be used as a liner in these same packs and fill a dual role. The closure is handled with a YKK Polyurethane Waterproof Zipper, which creates a very large clamshell-like opening that aids in inserting a pack. The outside of the bag features a 1″ webbing carry strap on each side, to aid in lifting.

As noted, the shoulder straps are removable and only slightly padded with foam, in order to reduce the buoyancy when full submerged. There’s also a sternum strap as well. Due to the smaller size of the Stennis, there’s no need for the top compression straps like the Kodiak Backpack.

We didn’t find the bag to be top heavy while wearing it as a backpack (with the fully-loaded Mystery Ranch Kodiak), but this is also due to how the internal pack was loaded as well.

With no waist belt on the Stennis, its best to adopt the off-trail method of loading a pack. This is where heavier items are still centered between your shoulder blades, but moved a bit lower and away from the very top of your pack. This will help lower your center of gravity.

While the Stennis isn’t a rigid frame backpack, its still great for short-range carry.

Closing Notes

As you’ve read, Watershed bags have many different uses and come in a wide variety of accommodating sizes for different mission profiles. The MTP series used to be available in just Black and Smoke Green, but they’re now also producing them in the licensed Crye MultiCam pattern you see here.

The construction, sewing and bonding on Watershed bags is second to none, and we’re continually impressed with the quality and workmanship that goes into each and every one of their products. If the MTP line seems like overkill for you, we encourage you to check out their non-military line made with the same great quality, but without some of the bells and whistles.

Stay tuned as we continue to review all the gear you’re seeing in these photos with our next MAROPS Gear Review!