I currently carry my BOB in a backpack, but this is fairly heavy and uncomfortable do to my bad back. As many LEO's know carrying a heavy duty belt around your waist for hours on end can lead to severe lower back pain. I would hate to have to carry around my BOB for extended periods. I was thinking of purchasing a MOLLE vest that would allow me to better distribute weight around the vest. This would also make it easier to access certain items around the vest. Has anyone tried this set up and had fair success?

You may want to check out the True north gear Aero Vest also. Looks pretty functional although it may not have the same capacity as a MOLLE vest it appears to be a variation on an ALICE type system. I have a couple of the true north gear packs for my EDC (Serac model) and my BOB (firefly medic model) and was considering adding this vest to the BOB for conversion to an ALICE if necessary.

Cheers,
Nemo

I asked a similar question back in this thread.

I haven't done anything yet, but I just got in touch with a local SAR group, so when I eventually get involved with them I'll probably end up with some type of vest.

I use a photographer's vest and cargo pants for my stuff. As others have pointed out, the vest isn't as hard on my back as the backpack I used to wear, and backpacks are notoriously hard to get stuff out of quickly.

See
http://lifehacker.com/software/screenshot-tour/show-us-your-go-bag-part-2-292427.php
for photos of a variety of go-bags, go-pants, and go-vests (this is part 2; it has a link to part 1).

Ammo does fit in photo vests, by the way:
http://lifehacker.com/photogallery/show-us-your-go-bag-part-1/2388489

A photo vest is a real article of clothing, so I get more use out of it than the thing that's called a "vest" in the phrase MOLLE vest. I wear it in airports with my walkie-talkie, water, TSA-passable survival stuff, paperback books, magazines, etc., without attracting unwanted attention by looking like a paramilitary wannabe.

The problems with a photo vest are - it's not padded, so stuff pokes you and you have to be careful setting it down or sitting down if you have breakable stuff in it; if it's hot, it makes you sweat less than a backpack, but you still sweat; it can be hard to get into if you have a bulky wrist watch that catches on the armholes; although the I much prefer the weight distribution in the vest over that of a backpack, it's still heavy; it can be a pain to sit in when you have to sit without taking it off - depends on how you pack it.

One nice thing is that it's the equivalent of another carryon bag when you fly. I have a rollabord and a small toiletries bag that gets me waved onboard without comment, but they don't pay attention to what's in the vest, and it's another bag's worth of stuff that I don't want to check.

Everybody's mileage varies, so what you need won't match my needs. But my photo vest does yeoman's service for me as a go bag, travel bag, and - gasp - photo bag. :-> I have two vests, and I recommend trying them on and loading them up before buying if you go the photo vest route. Some vests have collars that are too far forward or too high or something, and they press on my neck really hard, making them unuseable to carry a load.

I have to agree with Philip. A photo vest draws a lot less scrutiny than some tactical rig. I love mine when I fly or just when I'm wandering around town. Having gone through several looking for the "perfect vest" I've learned to stay away from ones with lots of small, overlapping pockets. My current vest is this one from The Sportsmans Guide. I like everything about it except the back pockets don't hold round water bottles comfortably.

-Blast

IzzyJG99, do you have a web address for MilSpec Tactical? Nothing shows up in a web search.

Thanks

I have tried the photo/fisherman vest before and I couldn't get the gear I wanted to fit around in a comfortable manner. I like the MOLLE vests that I used in the Army and they worked well. As far as air travel, I have been doing more of that lately. I can't seem to figure out what is or isn't allowed on any given day. Ever since 9/11 I have carried a ball point pen tucked in the button crease in a polo shirt. It can be sharp enough to do damage while in flight. I would not want to carry anything that may even be construed as survival gear on a commercial airline. No need to attract attention these days. Do I feel vunerable and kind of naked without my normal EDC while flying? Absolutely....But I don't have a better solution.

I've noticed several replies that might think that I would use a vest in an EDC capability or for special situations. I am looking at it from the BOB point of view and would not mind a rig that would tell others to stay away.

Ah, that changes everything. In that case a photographer's vest would be the wrong choice.

-Blast

I like the look of this vest for an office/car kit. I think it would be a great way to store my stuff and grab easily.