Homemade Rig (In Progress)
 

This backpack lasted me all 5 years of highschool, and now, after a year of sitting my friends garage, it has risen from retirement, to take on it's new form (still beta):

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/900...nlarge17po.jpg
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/371...nlarge25jm.jpg

It's not completely finished, as I'm sure you will notice upon closer inspection, however, it's well on it's way.

Here's a picture of the "alpha" version... It shows the rig at some different angles... These were taken a few hours previous to the additon of the -good- chest rig, on the beta version...

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/637...ageshack9y.jpg

Anyways, this is gonna end up saving me a lot of money when it's finished... So even though it may be a bit ghetto, it was FREE and does exactly what all your $300 one's do! Yay!

What do you guys think so far?

BTW - YES I own a CT P22 springer! :lol: However, the only reason I own it is because my friends are too cheap to buy real airsoft, and they won't play with me unless I use the springer :(

Honest opinions? LOL


Yeah I think its Ghetto and no I don't think it does the same as a 300 dollar one.

But if it makes you happy more power to ya.

True, I should have written "will end up doing the same as..." It's really nowhere near done. Keep these ghetto pics in mind for when it's finally complete ;)

I have high hopes for this piece of garbage :lol:

Wish me luck!

You can get even cheap chest rigs or surplus army webbing easily under $50 if you look at surplus places. And you should get new friends if they make you use a springer, LOL!!

If it works for you, then all the power to you. At least you have some creativity.

Seems like more of a chest holster than a rig.

....lawl

I plan to extend it past just the chest, so that you can attach stuff to your waist too... On the back, I plan to (when I finally decided to waste the money on a primary) add straps to hold a rifle. Either that, or for now, just fill the entire back section with the same type of straps on the front (to attach more shit too :) ) I figure I'll toss on a latch for a walky talkie on the upper right shoulder as well...

Any additional ideas to make these future plans a bit better?

Thanks,
Mir

Uh...I like the 'do it yourself' spirityou have shown, but I am sorry to say the end product is not so impressive.

As stated previously, this is not the end result :) In fact, realistically, it's no where near done. This is just the rough base of what will be, hopefully, a simple, functional kit.

I guess it would have been smarter to wait until it was completed to post about it :) I'm just excited, I honestly didn't think it would turn as good as it did, which is inspiring. At least now I have something to work with...

Are you sure your not confusing it with another rig?

Below is a pic of the HSGI WEESATCH
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...mboy/will2.jpg

Bah, you're right :roll:
I've changed the thread name to "Homemade Rig (In Progress)"

Who really cares though, this thread wil get trashed anyways...

It's not like knowing that a backpack can be converted to a rig is of any use to anyone on this board... It seems the majority of you will gladly shell out hundreds of dollars on anything that's camo.

I wish I had money to waste :(

Don't think it'll "get trashed". At least you have creativity, and that "can do" spirit. It makes me wonder what you could do if you bought some stock materials like od cordura, webbing, fastex buckles etc.....

btw, if you are looking for some free fastex type buckles; http://www.itwnexus.com/index.html

You sir, are a saint!

I was literally, not more than 10 minutes ago, rooting through my all my old stuff in search of buckles. My search has finally ended! 8)

Thank you very much!!

EDIT: WOOT FREE SAMPLES!

or you can go to mountain equip co-op, $0.50 a piece. I picked up everything there for under $5 to make myself two 3-point slings...

I spending 300 on upgrades for my Glock, so I'm going to try to be as cheap as possible, and spend $0.00 in the making of this piece... Not that I can't afford the .50, just that it will be more satisfying after if I can look at it and say, "It was free!"

Plus, I'm really curious to see how it turns out using just the old stuff I have laying around.

:cheers:

I like it...make 3point sling now

I think if you make a rig thats functional for your needs during play and it doesnt impose any danger or risks to you or other players then GO FOR IT...not everyone has an endless budget and your right not to get sucked into the image of having the most expensive gear like some gearwhores who couldnt hit an elephant on the ass with a banjo from 3 feet never mind fire a weapon. In the British Army (certain units) are encouraged to take their S.I.A.E and customise it ( within reason) to suit the individuals needs in the field. Some of todays great Fieldwear comes though experimentation such as yours...good luck and I look forward to seeing your final creation. It might not look like it cost $500, and the good thing is...it wont have thus leaving you more $$$ to buy a good weapon which ultimately wins the match (user abillities considered), whether you keep your mags and compass in your hat or up your ass , as long as you get them in your weapon, full and send them in the right direction at the right time is what this simulation relys on for winning the game. Keep us all up to speed.

:lol:

Thank you, here's a bit of progress:

Front / Back (as of January 28, 2006 @ 10:30pm)
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/490...ront6fk.th.jpghttp://img92.imageshack.us/img92/577...00618bp.th.jpg

The white stuff on the back beneath the webbing is duct tape. Obviously, it's just temporary until tomorrow, at which point they will be riveted :twisted: I'll pound the rivets down with a hammer, and then add another layer of padding (so that if I am on my back, I'm not laying on the heads of 30 or 40 rivets! :roll: )

I have basic plans for the front, but that happens after I finish the base unit, which seems to be just the back piece, shoulder straps, webbing and buckles. Just so you all know, all the straps and webbing on this piece are fully adjustable. The tightest setting fits me perfectly when I'm wearing just a t-shirt, very solid, and at it's maximum limit, I guessing I could fit a sweater and winter coat.

Anyways, just thought I'd keep you all updated! More pics to come as soon as I have something worth showing!

Again, I'd like to thank Kokanee, Haggis, and yanhchan for their support! Honestly, your comments (and suggestions!) helped push me to keep working at it (even though at the beginning it looked pretty hopeless!) ;)

Peace guys,
Mirage

EDIT - Oh yeah, the two horizontal strips on the top of the back piece are velcrow ;)
EDIT 2 - Looking at it now, I should just wear it backwards, and use the back as the front, and be done with it! :lol: But what fun would that be :razz: Okay, back to work! :salute:

add something onto the strap for a radio...or a powerbar...lol

The webbing on both shoulder straps act as the "something" that holds the pouch/holster of the radio... Or you could just clip the radio straight onto the webbing...?

Regardless, I don't play seriously enough to warrant using a radio anyways, so, meh.

Radio's are great to have on the field, Even if your not using it to communicate with others, you can listen in. :wink:

I applaud your ingenuity but spend the 50 cents if you have to…
I’ve made or moded every piece of kit I play with to make it fit my own needs.

Thanks, Guardian!

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/2...vets1wj.th.jpg
Ok, so it's 52... At least I was close! :P

This is, according to photoshop, what it will look like after I rivet the webbing onto the back... Looks awfully bright, and in reality, will be shiny... That's not good... Why don't I just wear a big sign above my head "Shoot right below this sign" :lol:

Any other ideas (besides sewing) for how I should go about this :???:

Thanks,
Mirage

EDIT - Hmm, maybe I'll try cutting slits in the back fabric and attempt to weave the webbing through, like basketweaving! :)
EDIT 2 - Or just paint them black after...? (Thanks for that idea, Calvin. :cheers: I can't believe I didn't think of that... I need sleep... :zzz: )

For what ever reason, everytime I see the pistols and that rig, it just automatically lights up a CS Terrorist alert in my head. :lol:

Not bad, let's see if it holds up now. ;)

I think I saw the Toecutter wearing that...you need football shoulder pads or old, used, cut-up ATV tires to complete the look....

the shame!!!!

http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~redbat/movie/store/max104.jpg

Not that I know much about making gear or anything... But I think the rivets might just rip out. Like I said, I might not know what I'm talking about.

Also, shouldn't the channels be lined up? Or if there is a specific purpose for making it the way you did, I would like to understand why.

The rivets would probably fall out under normal circumstances, however, I'll put a smal metal washer on the head of the rivet before I tighten and snap the stem off. This will provide something to hold onto on the other side of the fabric, that is much larger then the hole.

As for the channels not being lined up... I have been thinking about this ala night, infact, I think lost sleep over it, cause I couldn't quit thinking about it.
Originally, I did that for cosmetic reasons, as I probably won't find myself using the webbing on the back for anything anyways...
However, I'm pretty sure I will end up reworking the layout of the webbing on the back to provide for a more realistic, functional piece.

Shine on you crazy diamond.

What is the spacing you used on the webbing? The PALS standard (if you care) is 1" webbing, 1" between rows and 1.5" between bartacks..... Or rivets, I guess? :P

Yep, using those exact measurements...the longest piece of webbing on the back is 10 inches, same as all of the webbing on the back of the HSGI.

I didn't know those measurements, so I found them by scaling down a picture of my rig to the same size as a pic of an HSGI, puttting them side by side (in Photoshop), and copying the spacing exactly.

I'm still trying to think of an alternate method of attaching all that webbing... Sigh

It's called a sewing machine, and I was being sarcastic when I said I didn't know anything about making gear...

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/gallery...hp?i=1933&c=19
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/gallery...imageuser=3325

Glad to see this thread it becoming very interesting and informative. Not that I'll be making a vest out of a backpack, but I appreciate the inginuity of those that gather, think and make airsoft stuff. Check out my drag bag:

http://www.airsoftcanada.com/gallery...4_original.jpg

Made out of an old CF sleeping bag (down feathers removed of course), used the fabric, the webbing liner inside the zippers, and the zipper cut to length, a 'pussie pad' sleeping bag foam roll up mat for padding, and the two cargo pockets from an old pair of CF cold weather pants. I tend to modify the hell outta my stuff as well, but this drag bag was a pretty big endeavour, and works great. Even used the same materials to make the shoulder straps to carry like a backpack.

Keep it up Mirage, always great when people post things they are making out of every day stuff.

Sorry, I have to say it, while its nice to see you are trying to do things on the cheap I hate to have to say but that thing will fall apart...and you will end up loosing more kit that a cheap set of web gear would have cost.

AM I being overly critical...probably but you wanted comments so there you go. I could pretty much guarantee that once you field that and it falls apart you will be a tad upset when your gbb mags or cell phone end up in the back 40.

There is a reason that people dont make tactical gear using rivets.....

Stalker: Thanks and nice job on your conversion. :cheers:

HellRanger: Umm... What can I say? Good fucking show. :salute:
I hardly want to even continue with this after see those pics... :cry:

Oh well, back to studying. Plumbing exam tomorrow, wanna keep my 95%.

EDIT - Bigmatty: At least I can find comfort in the fact that I didn't have to do all 52 rivets w/ washers, just to drop my mags in the mud. Thanks.

MOD: Please close, or trash, or whatever.
I'm done. :|

Mirage

A few points.

1) Experience is the best form of education

2) Different ideas and testing is the basis of new equipment

3) Don't stop making gear because someone says it's not good enough - learn from how it works in the field

4) Except suggestions from those who have done it before so you don't have to repeat mistakes ---> therefore saving time.

I don't intend on stopping making my own gear, and accepting the suggestions of those who have done this before is what led me to end this project.

I am, however, now looking for a different way of going about putting together a practical, solid piece of equipment, no frills.

Practice, and good materials. You'll get better the more you do and learn from all your mistakes. All in good time.

Relax dude, you wanted comments, you got them....sorry I didnt blow sunshine up your ass saying you had a l337 rig.

rivets thought nylon will fail, no matter if you use washers or not...the stresses involved on them would be too great. I was actually trying to save you headaches from loosing kit.

I don't know how I gave the impression I was not relaxed...

I agreed with your comment and forfieted my attempt before it failed on me despite the effort I put into it. I know there are other options, like sewing, but honestly, I'm not up for that.

Quite simply put: You saved me time by pointing out a crucial design flaw that I was unaware of, and I thanked you.

never mind meng..my sarcastic radar was on :)

glad I saved you time..

Mirage 13 ,
Everyone starts somewhere . Though it sounds like you are more excited with this project than a scoring teenager whom made it to homeplate on their first date :!: . Anyways , I think you did OK ( except comparing to my Weesatch ) by starting this project . With the drive and conviction that you have stood up to everyones critism , you might amount to something bigger as time comes
I live by one of many motto's:
" I done so long with so little , I can do anything nothing " .
There are items on the market that I can afford , but mostly I make myself for the pure satisfaction of doing/making myself .
Gene

I've made a bunch of my own gear. Best thing that I did was borrow someone elses stuff and copy it. My brother has a TacticalTailor rig and a teammate has a Tiger Tactical rig. I took the best parts of both and made my own. I now Have a $350+ rig that cost me around $75.

Here is my first rig. Made some sort of canvas with homemade holster and CPgear pouches.
http://quantis.dyndns.org:8080/images/ChestRigSmall.jpg

I then started desiging pouches. Heres one of my first attempts. It's digital Jungle stalker compared to CPgears Cadpat Wallet.
http://warmongers.dyndns.org/wp-content/DJS_side.jpg

Next Step is to start making a Full TacVest. Using more Digital Jungle Stalker. This is an "in progress" picture with some Mag pouches for show.
http://warmongers.dyndns.org/wp-cont...art1_small.JPG

And finally a finished product.
http://warmongers.dyndns.org/wp-cont...ront_Small.jpg

The back. It includes an space for an internal Water bladder.
http://warmongers.dyndns.org/wp-cont...Back_Small.jpg

Finally. Here's my completed Tacvest in action. I've added a dump pouch, Shovel pouch and radio pouch.
http://warmongers.dyndns.org/albums/...Quantis_AR.jpg

Heh....

We all start somewhere.

Good luck man, keep up the good work. I'm thinking of a similar idea, using an old Sportek Vest, holes, ringlets, thread, and a powerdrill. I think mine might a little ghetto-er than yours, cause I have even more limited resources, lol. (looks quite weird when I look at the thing, it's like a failed frankenstein, but it actually works quite well)

cheers to us guys with either no money/too much time/a thinking cap/DYI to save $$ .tude/odd ideas.



Good luck man.







JT.

8O thats all kinda cool