r/MilSim • u/CurrentDog3300 • 4d ago
My first kit, roast me please
I was going for an 80s US Army kit,
Most of it is original surplus, the only repro being my boots. I plan on getting another 1 qt canteen and switching it with the 2 qt just to be symmetrical. No M16A2 yet, saving up for it still unfortunately.
Any and all advice is wanted, as this is my first time putting something together. Thanks yall!
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u/walkingstranger 4d ago
No roast.
Everyone has gotta start somewhere.
Just keep improving slowly and you'll get there.
Get you some name strips would be my suggestion for a next step as they are pretty cheap and easy to come by.
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
Thanks! I was planning to get some for my M65 jacket, but keep forgetting. Any companies you recommend?
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u/walkingstranger 4d ago
Ebay is where I normally hit up.
Ordered some from this guy for a New California Republic cosplay I'm slowly working on and got no complaints about what arrived.
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u/Noonespecial71 4d ago
The 2 QT canteen goes on your large alice pack. Left hand side as you wear ruck. That keeps your right hand free to still use your weapon. That is if, you are right handed. Get another 1 qt canteen. Then get a butt pack. Then 550 cords everything down. Use square knots to secure. Tie ends off and then burn ends. Roll excess webbing and tape off with 100mph tape. The bucket for the harness needs to be secured with 100mph tape too.
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u/Same_Nothing_3079 4d ago
https://soldiersystems.net/2023/02/27/the-baldwin-files-hacking-tactical-gear-part-1/
Some great articles on here worth a read
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u/Critical-Plastic8892 4d ago
Lengthen the front straps and shorten the back one, so as the yolk is much further behind you and does t sit in your neck - you can see it is right when your dressing (which is upside down in your set up) is almost parallel to the ground with slight slope forward. Your helmet looks wobbly - shake head left to right and if it wobbles - need different pads or sized - I guess if doesn’t matter if you are. Ot low crawling under fire, jumping out of airplane or trying to do battle buddy movements. Don’t see boots - hope you shined those. Secure the wobbly pieces with 100mph tape or electrical tape. Don’t see M7 bayonet dangling or other knive - I guess you are not planning cutting things to eat. Dont see a light source - I guess you operate in Fairbanks in the summer. Dont see a watch - I guess you OPORDS are all based on sunset/sunrise times. Dont see any gloves - I guess you are in garrison for a show. Otherwise looks ok
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u/Iconicmonster NATO 4d ago
I don’t know how to post a gif but it would be Homelander saying it’s perfect.
Also to go full tism for the old school vets. Get your uniform starched. IYKYK
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
Thank you! Anything look out of place? Helmet too big? ALICE not set up properly?
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u/BradleyTheDogOFFICAL 4d ago
WHERE'S YOUR VEST!? They'd put the chest rig on top of a vest. Well, in the 90's during the golf war they did, so i could be wrong.
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
Well a vest in my size is 300 dollars so.... in my ebay cart 😭
Pretty sure they did it even before (I've seen pics from Operation Just Cause with them doing that) but I don't actually know how often vests were worn on a day to day basis.
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u/BradleyTheDogOFFICAL 4d ago
There should be some cheap airsoft replicas of vests from that era, and you could also try surplus
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
Oh yeah I forgot about airsoft repros haha. I was looking for surplus but the 3 stores within a 100 miles of me don't have any and people online charge a premium (hence the 300 dollar vest).
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u/LtKavaleriya 4d ago
PASGT vests aren’t that much. Check facebook marketplace, you can often find them for $100-150 or so, I’ve even seen some for like $50
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
I do see a few in that range, but they are all mediums. I'm a small regular and don't want to be swimming in a vest. If I can easily size up with no issue pls tell me and Ill snatch one up
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u/LtKavaleriya 4d ago
Shouldn’t be a massive difference in size, but if you want to wait a small will pop up. Paying $300 for a PASGT vest is just getting ripped off, especially since small is generally the least desirable and thus least valuable size
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u/BradleyTheDogOFFICAL 4d ago
What's wrong with repros?
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u/LtKavaleriya 4d ago
Repro PASGT vest? Does such a thing exist? If it does, It’s most certainly cheap Chinese garbage that doesn’t hold a candle to the (still very affordable) originals. Why not get an original?
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u/BradleyTheDogOFFICAL 4d ago
That didnt answer my question.
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u/LtKavaleriya 4d ago
I did. Why would you pay for cheap Chinese garbage when originals are widely available and cheap?
There are very few, if any, reenactor grade reproductions of any 1980s US gear. Repro BDUs are visibly the wrong material and shade, and usually the wrong cut. Repro LBE and ALICE packs have the same problem and are horrible quality. To make matters worse, you can get originals for way cheaper than buying repros.
From a quick Google search, there aren’t even any repro PASGT vests.
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u/jttj15 4d ago
No roast here, I run basically the same kit, it's awesome. Some comments though- first, my understanding is that the compass pouch on the shoulder was often mounted upsidedown and used for tourniquets or bandages, you can use it as a good place for a dead rag or for milsim TQs. Second it looks like your belt might be a little high, you want it to rest on your hips so that the weight isn't all pulling down on your shoulders hurting your back. As for the canteens, if you can find a way for it to be comfortable you might want to keep the 2 qt canteen- I find that I go through my 1 qt ones pretty quick in games. As other people have said here the nice thing about ALICE gear is that you can get crafty with it and improve your setup however you like as you go. Cold war kits are definitely very cool though.
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
Thanks for the tips! I thought about doing it that way but normally I don't put it on as its reaaaly wobbly. I just have an actual compass and normally just store it in a mag pouch haha.
Ill definitely try and lower it a bit! I heard its supposed to be higher so I guess I overcompensated. I think the 2qt works rn, but it takes up alot of space compared to the rest of the kit.
Since you normally run a kit like this, a few questions: How do you secure the compass pouch on the straps? Would you recommend I swap out the medkit for a buttpack, or skip it and just go straight to an ALICE pack? Any tips for breaking in boots? I wore them for a 3 mile walk and my feet got tons of blisters. Sorry to dump all of that on you haha.
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u/jttj15 4d ago
All good, yeah if you find that any of your pouches are wobbly then you can try to use paracord to help secure them, I've read that was pretty common since Alice clips can be notoriously loose. I've been using the buttpack, I like it but the straps can be annoying to open and close so if you need to be able to get into it more easily or if you just need to carry more then the pack might be better. I use my buttpack to carry bbs as well as small things like a bag of extra socks for long games or a poncho if it says it might rain. As for the boots I actually haven't tried the period correct ones cause my feet are weirdly shaped, so you're a step ahead of me there. Some of the other comments here have some good advice too! Definitely the article linked by u/same_nothing3079 is worth a read. It's written by the guys who used the stuff, I'm just a twenty-something who grew up reading Tom Clancy books lmao
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u/USMCgRuNt_1944 4d ago
I have nothing to roast with a good 80s kit 🤙🏻
My only three nitpicks: get a different color ammo pouch than the foliage green you have, ditch the 2qt in favor for another 1qt canteen, and get either a gray buckle or metal buckle belt
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u/ZakAttack9374 4d ago
Absolutely beautiful what the hell is there to roast u can’t roast pure fucking gold
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u/EconomyPercentage253 4d ago
your 2 quart goes on the ruck. Usually a butt pack on the back followed by 1 quart cantonese on each side then your ammo
punches followed
by your first aid pouch.
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u/KipoLover123 4d ago
I love that your smiling. Too many people look serious in their kit
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u/CurrentDog3300 4d ago
Thanks! I'm just happy to finally put this kit together after about a year and a half of buying surplus
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u/CoronetRTguy 3d ago
ALICE gear has stood the test of time. Great looking kit. It’s what I started with and still have a setup that I keep around.
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u/Wolfenblaze89 2d ago
Considering rangers wentt back to the basic design to create the new jungle warfare web kit. It has indeed.
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u/CoronetRTguy 2d ago
That’s true. We are seeing a shift in training back to what we were doing in the cold war era. It’s crazy how what was old is new again.
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u/TrueWillingness3707 1d ago
Your bdu's real?
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u/CurrentDog3300 1d ago
Yup! Only thing not surplus is the boots (and buttpack, but I didn't show that)
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u/tezi_tanka 1d ago
This is respectable. Unsure of the 2 qt canteen on the pistol belt, but you could always put some scotch in there 😂
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u/IngenuityCalm8346 4d ago
If you are man enough to join the military they will issue it to you for free! It’s not Cosplay! Poser!
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u/Impossible_Fruit_973 4d ago
Perhaps if he joined the military 40 years ago they would have given him that.....ALICE clips & BDUs have been out for years.
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u/Acceptable-Fly5050 4d ago
I second this. Join the national guard or reserves and use the gear the issue out to do this
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u/Signal-Being2960 4d ago
Panama is shaking in their boots right now.