Harness Systems

05/10/2004

"Whoooaaaa!" says the newbie. "Check out all those bullets!, that guy must have hundreds of them!".

If you expend some cash on a good harness or pod pouch system, you can expect to hear this from a newbie sooner or later at your field. And even if you're a semi-dedicated paintballer, you're going to need to carry your gear somehow. This means pods for paintballs, and an optional pouch for your tank, or possibly a kit-bag with miscellaneous items.

When it comes to buying a harness system, it's pretty hard to know what kind of setup will suit you the best long term. On one hand you may want something that is strictly comfortable and good for rigorous movement, perhaps you want to look the part and are going to adapt a military harness for paintball, or mabey capacity is your priority. Whatever you choose, it's almost a sure bet that a year down the line, you're going to want to either modify what you've got, or get something else.

You can get by with just the one "setup", but it never hurts to be flexible.

Speedball harnesses

Typified by the DYE or Redz series, these packs are known for being extremely comfortable, and also strike a good balance of comfort and capacity. These sets usually affix around your waist with a wide neoprene style belt. They can be used for both speedball and recball, however if you want to use one for recball, you may need to think about camouflaging the logos and perhaps even your pods, since they often stick out. The pods are usually affixed by elastic bands/neoprene, and while good for speedball, are sometime not sturdy enough for the "rough and tumble" recballer who is extremely rough on his gear.

4+1 packs

Your typical 4+1 pack has the recball/scenario player in mind. Many scenario players are after the milsim look, so they run thier marker off a remote line. 4+1 packs (Or 2+1, 6+1 & 8+1) place a large pouch for your CO2/HPA tank in the centre of the pack, and run pod pouches horizontally, or occasionally vertically. The pouches are more suited to recball than speedball packs, because the pods are held in place with a full pouch. Also;- recballers do not tend to discard thier empty pods on the field like a speedballer does, so being able to carry away your empty pods is pretty essential.

Scenario vests

For your average recballer, a full vest may be overkill. In addition to pod pouches and a tank pouch, scenario vests usually have space for a PRS radio, ID card, and additional pockets for paint grenades etc. They also tend to disrupt your camouflage BDU as they occupy a lot of space on your body, and only come in a very limited number of colours. Such as black and Olive Drab. Scenario vests are however getting better. Some vests now come with velcro to affix and remove pouches as needed, and other ways to customize.

Belt mounted pouches

Belt mounted pouches are probably the most ideal option if you like a lightweight setup, and like to change how much gear you carry with you on a game by game basis. The downside to this, is that anything mounted ONLY on a belt tends to bounce around as you move. Especially if you have a pouch on your belt carrying a heavy air tank. For this reason, belt mounted pouches are really only ideal for the "lightweight carrying" paintballer.

Military harnesses

The upside to these is that they are very durable and already come in a camo colour. The downside however is they they are not made for paintball. The pouches are design for real firearm magazines, and so most paintball pods will not fit. To adapt these for paintball, you will normally need to modify your pods to fit, or use another type of canister to carry your paintballs. The same applies for using a pouch to hold a gas tank.... except in that case you might end up modifying the pouch itself.

Most harness systems that cater for a Co2/HPA tank will be rated up to a certain capacity, ie- the manufacturer will say "Can fit 20oz CO2 or 114cu air tank". Even if you don't run a remote, this can still be useful if you want to carry a spare tank with you for when you run out.

You might also want to consider a small kit-bag/pouch for misc items. Including but not limited to:

•  Rag/Handkerchief for wiping paint/sweat/goggles
•  Barrel plug
•  Squeegee(s) (I often carry 2 different types)
•  Goggle cleaner & anti-fog spray
•  Allen keys or other useful tools
•  Water bottle.

All this is optional but can be handy to have.

Photos thanks to:
Azza, Dambuster, Rob, Yeti, and Ricebrnr of A5OG.net

Jamie Innes