ACM CRYE STYLE V2 FIELD UNIFORM

When the police are in trouble they call SWAT...

Everybody needs a black set of BDUs, despite the “BB-magnet” effect in airsoft fields. SWAT teams wear them, James Bond wears them... even Chuck Norris made it clear that “Good Guys Wear Black”.

Crye Precision made popular the ‘combat uniform’ concept, with the spandex torso, the exposed knee and elbow pads and the adjustment tabs at the leg joints. This ‘field uniform’ is a more traditional and perhaps more versatile option. It is made of rugged ripstop material, with a looser fit and hidden inserts for knee and elbow pads.

Zipper

The jacket has no buttons but a two-way zipper closure with a velcroed storm flap. The stand up collar can be worn either closed or open by means of a double faced velcro tab. The cuffs are also velcro closed, with a wide range of adjustment. There is a triple pen holder on the left forearm, two small slanted chest pockets, and one large velcro covered pocket on each upper arm. Two velcro strips on the chest allow the use of nametags, eppaulettes on the shoulders for insignia. The bellowed back allows freedom of movement despite the absence of lycra on the body. As mentioned before, there are compartments for hidden elbow pads.

Bellowed back

Collar tab

Sleeve pocket

Elbow pad insert

The pants are pretty similar to classic BDU pants, with slanted hip pockets, two buttoned rear pockets and bellowed cargo pockets. However these pockets are velcro closed and have drawstrings. There are also two small pocket on the lower legs. The waist has an inner drawstring and a dual set of belt loops: a regular one and four bigger loops with buttons, for duty sized belts. There are also drawstrings at the bottoms, a reinforced seat and hidden kneepad compartments.

Cargo pocket

Calf pocket - Kneepad insert

I usually wear a size M and found this uniform quite ample, mostly in width. The ripstop fabric is a bit noisy and almost too warm in hot weather, but in exchange it is quite durable and won’t fade a bit no matter how many times you wash it. This is a highly recommendable choice at a very, very low cost.

Untucked

Untucked-rear

Tucked

Tucked-rear

PHANTOM/EAIMING "CHARLIE" BACKPACK REVIEW

At first sight this pack might look as a clone of the short lived and long discontinued* Arc’Teryx Charlie pack. However, ACM manufacturers Phantom/Eaiming introduced several improvements over the original design, namely a large velcro surface, a better padded backpanel and other less evident details.

(* It is even hard to find any reference photos of the original bag over the Internet, it seems as if Arc’Teryx tried to erase it from existence. You can read a thorough review at militarymorons.com)

The overall minimalistic and streamlined design is basically the same as in rock-climbing packs, that is just one big main compartment and a flat front pocket. A bit spartan, but lightweight and with less interferences. Inside the main compartment there are two thin dividers, one zippered for the hydration system, and one elasticated for flat items. There is a pass-through slot for the hydration tube on the top, and a bigbore grommetted drainhole at the bottom. The hydration compartment has built-in loops to hang any size of bladder quite properly.

The capacity is that of a grown-up daypack, enough to carry the essentials plus a bit more, so if you are planning on hiking to the Himalayas and back you’ll probably need a larger bag. Doing some maths it should be somewhere in between 20 to 30 liters.

Anyway, if you like pockets you can add as many as you like thanks to the MOLLE attachment points on the front and the sides. With those, and also with the compression straps on the sides, you can increment the load bearing capabilities of the pack beyond imagination. As you can see in the pictures, you can securely strap a rifle onto either side.

The carry handle is as sturdy as those on the back of some tactical vests, and you could certainly drag a person to safety with it. Another outstanding safety feature is that the shoulder straps can be instantly released, as they are attached by means of fastex buckles.

Speaking of shoulder straps, they are wide and well padded and incorporate loops to hang carabiners and such (but sadly no D-rings). They can be joined at the front by a fully adjustable sternum-strap. There is a small problem –common to many rucksacks- with the shoulder straps, which is that they are sewn in a straight line rather than angled outwards. This produces a twist on the backpanel when you tighten the shoulder straps against your wider-than-the-pack shoulders. Actually it is just an aesthetic thing, because the pack remains comfortable and stable.

In terms of stabilitiy, in addition to the sternum-strap you can either choose to use the waist belt, or stow it away into an ad hoc compartment behind the lumbar pad. This is a nice feature when you are wearing any other type of load bearing gear, or in case you carry a concealed pistol. The back panel has three padded areas, one on each shoulder and a third on the kidneys area. The padding is thick enough to form channels that should minimize perspiration. A potential problem is that the mesh lining on the back catches pine needles like a magnet!

The body of the pack is made of top-notch cordura, with seeming quality snap buckles and zippers. I used to pry away metal zipper pulls for stealth, but in this case they saved me the effort by using plain cord instead. The stitching seems quite durable too. The MOLLE webbing is quite stiff and strongly stitched, but on the negative side a full column of loops is too narrow to weave through (the one beside the pocket zipper). The “Dark Earth” color (there is also black available) goes with the majority of shades and patterns in use today. Did I mention the velcro surface for morale and ID patches? You will appreciate it when you have to fish for your pack in a sea of them ;-)

I can tell by personal experience that this is a rugged piece of gear, as I once managed to get lost in a thick brush area where I had to literally crawl my way out. Fearing a rather embarrassing rescue –or even death, glups!- I pulled myself free without caring much for the pack, just to find it clogged with pine needles but completely unscathed.

In any case, the most favorable argument is the price tag. This is a real bang-for-the-buck that you can get from most Asian retailers under either Phantom or Eaiming brands. I got mine from airsoftpark.com

Left: hidden belt

                             

                                      Right: belt in use

EMERSON FIELD PANTS MULTICAM REVIEW

Last summer I field tested these pants on my favorite Afghan-like terrain. As it can be seen in pictures, the MultiCam pattern blends great in both greenish and arid patches.

These are Emerson’s ‘field’ pants, which differ from ‘combat’ pants in the closed kneepad compartments and the lack of adjustment tabs at the knees and ankles.

The fabric is ripstop poly-cotton, and the cut is designed to conform an athletic male figure: narrow at the top and wider at the bottoms.

When it comes to Emerson sizing, I seem to be in between sizes S and M. These are an S and they are a bit too tight in the waist and the hips. There is little variation in length from one size to the next, but the adjustable drawstrings in the bottoms make it unnecessary putting your scissors to them. You can see a rather accurate size chart at airsoftpark.com, which is where I got them from.

The belt loops are wide enough for a rigger’s belt to pass through. I would have preferred that the front ones were a little closer to the button, so that it would not slip under the buckle. The fly is button-closed, which some users will love and others will hate.

There are ten pockets in total, scattered throughout the surface of the pants. This allows some weight distribution, to the point that you won’t believe the amount of junk you can carry in them. The front thigh pockets are a blessing to access while sitting, and the calf ones are great for those items that would otherwise end up digging in your anatomy. All of them are velcro closed, with no buttons.

The reinforcement patches on the knees are velcro-closed at the bottom so you can fit kneepads in there. The seat and croth are also reinforced.

What I like most about this line of garments is the durability and that they dry fast. This last feature is what leads me to always wear these pants in the rain, or in hikes which involve some river crossing. This also means that you can wash the pants and be confident that they will be ready next day. By the way, I have washed them a zillion times and they did not fade a bit.

Some negative aspects are a few loose threads, which may lead to unsewn pocket bottoms or lost buttons, and the position of the front belt loops. But when you look at the price tag you will forget about these...