Loadouts for Beginners

Beyond our older sibling´s m81 woodland BDUS or the Chinese knockoffs made of Multicam pink we´re sold by some airsoft retailers, there are a lot of possibilites to have a nice-looking loadout without having to sign a mortgage to get it. In this entry, We´ll start with the most affordable and real loadout combination i´ve been able to find in order to achieve a better appearance and keeping expenditures within a certain budget. I´ll start with US loadouts, because there are plenty of them and are very easy to get and older ones are very affordable. In later entries, I´ll review Russian and British loadouts.



 ALICE (ALL-PURPOSE INDIVIDUAL CARRYING EQUIPMENT)

A good thing about ALICE is that being surplus equipment and being no longer in use for the most part, real gear is very affordable and very easy to find in surplus stores and Ebay. PLCE, the British version of ALICE is also cheap and easy to get, even in UK. There are a number of ALICE rigs, but basically, they are comprised of a harness hooked to a belt to which several types of pouches and a rucksack are also fixed by using clips.
That way, the loadout can be customized to meet certain mission requirements. Hence, in airsoft/milsim, the loadout can be configured to carry more or less cargo, depending on the type of game we are currently in. I recommend two of them: First of all, an LBE(Load-Bearing Equipment) which is made of an "Y" harness hooked to an LC-2 belt. This kind of rig was used by the Rangers of "Black Hawk Down"(Loadout to be reviewed in later entries) and can be obtained almost anywhere. Price range goes from $60 for a full rig(United States) with two triple pouches, two canteen pouches with canteens included, "Y" harness, compass pouch and flashlight to approximately 70€/55GBP in Europe. Fully original, totally reenactment-approved. In comparison, my DEVGRU-inspired loadout, made out of quality repro gear is worth $400 without boots and guns. Mind you, we are talking about REAL gear, so they are perfectly good to start a reenactment loadout.

On the other hand, the second candidate is the LBV vest. Created as an alternative lightweight vest to LBE, the Load Bearing Vest was released in the early 90s and was used by recon units and special operations forces. It was a single-piece vest, made of transpirable mesh in the back and sides with better shoulder padding. An LC2 belt could be added to carry additional equipment. The version I have is the Enhanced, second generation vest which carried four single m16-type pouches and four grenade pouches. Shown in the pic below, it sports an LC-2 ALICE belt, two M67 triple-mag pouches, a 200-round mag pouch in woodland camo(acting as dump pouch) an OD canteen pouch and a canvas universal holster in OD. All put together it cost 49€ which is approximately 55$ or 35 GBP. This kind of rig has been spotted in refpics of operators in the early stages of the Iraq invasion combined with DCUs, so it´s actual issued gear. 

UNIFORMS: Can be combined with LCE/LBV and it´s real gear cheap and easy to find. Most likely candidates for first-timers are Desert DCUs and Woodland BDUs. Not difficult to find in Ebay and surplus stores, prices ranging from $40 to $50 apiece plus shipping fees on Ebay. I´ve found some in Miami at Flagler Army-Navy for as low as $30 in average condition.  In Europe, they can be found in online surplus stores for 40-60€/GBP depending on the site. 

HEADGEAR: Being a beginner´s loadout, the best thing is to keep it simple and cheap, so go for Booine hats or PASGT helmets(plastic-made repro for about 15$ in the US, 20€/GBP in Europe) with an original helmet cover(about 10$ on Ebay) It´s not hard to find an original PASGT helmet in surplus stores or Ebay for around 150-200$ but they are heavy, hot and  the chinstraps are usually beat-up. My personal recommendation is to stick to the boonie hat. Propper makes excellent ones and they are in the $15/€15 price range. Affordable and high quality gear. 

BOOTS: Depending if you want to look like an old or modern unit, this item can be the most expensive of the loadout. My advice: Don´t skim money on boots. Feet and ankles can be quite flimsy if you´re not used to running on rough terrain carrying heavy loads and you can get seriously injured if you´re not  wearing proper footwear. If you go for a Woodland loadout, get yourselves good USGI surplus boots or jungle boots in the 40-60$ range (approximately the same in € and GBP on Ebay) plus shipping fees. If you also do trekking, mountaineering and other outdoor sports i´d recommend spend your money on high-end brands like the ones used by real operators just as Lowa, Asolo, Salomon, Merrell, Magnum, etc. If you want to look like regular infantry units and want to use standard issue boots, i´d go for standard jump boots or USGI desert boots. Can be found on almost any surplus store and very easily on Ebay.

For those of you who have never used combat boots before, I strongly recommend thick sports socks, even in summer. And with this, you´re ready to ditch cheap chinese-made gear we so often see on weekends.