In Depth: Lightweight Shoulder Rig Prototype

NOTE: A full production variant of this is now on the market but we've only got photos of the prototype - the camera refused to take any photos of the full version.

We've noticed that a lot of people don't like a big vest or for LARPing purposes need something a little more lightweight. We developed a lightweight rig as a custom commission for a customer back in June and it set us thinking about adapting them fully for production.

Essentially, a shoulder rig places two hard points under your arms and secures them by hanging them from your shoulder and anchoring them to your belt. A narrow strap runs across the top of your back to connect both sides of the system. You can then tighten the whole system so you're left with unimpeded movement and a lot of flexibility in your load-out. There's plenty of elastic built into the system so the rig will move with you.

The base rig comes with a modified MkIII holster for use on one hard point and a small MOLLE panel. You can purchase a set up with 2 MOLLE panels or two holsters but the basic unit is 1 holster, 1 MOLLE panel.

Why MOLLE panels? Why not just modify the pouches and clip holders you offer like you did with the holster? Good question. The answer is flexibility. We design our kit to last so if your needs evolve and suddenly you're not carrying a Strongarm there but a Stryfe instead then you're going to need a clip holder not a dump pouch on your other hard point. Rather than leaving you with a highly specialised piece of equipment that can only be used with our system, we felt it best to offer something that could be used elsewhere. Of course, there's plenty of MOLLE compatible gear in our full range and a wonder combination might be out there we haven't thought of. Offering MOLLE panels instead allows that sort of creativity. Frankly, I'm waiting for a customer to order one of these and try to put an 1812 Hex Stack kit on there for a laugh.

So why no MOLLE mounted holster? Well, holsters are awkward in that every blaster has a slightly different centre of gravity which makes creating a MOLLE or belt mounted variant for a multiple blaster holster very difficult. The Firestrike was simple to do, it's a holster that will fit only one blaster. For the rest, it was much simpler to mount it using the side release buckles that we have and demonstrate to the end user how best to level the blaster according to their needs.

The system itself is fully adjustable and contains plenty of elastic loops to hold in any surplus straps. The initial prototype version didn't include any padding under the shoulder buckles but after feedback we've decided to put them in - even our formed ITW Nexus buckles weren't comfortable enough!

Please note that we're only offering the Firestrike holsters as a special commission at the moment due to concealed carry issues and will likely only have them made in bright yellow or red fabric.

The Lightweight shoulder rigs went on sale on 27th July at £22 including VAT and you can choose from 2 from the following list:
Pistol Holster
MOLLE Panel + 1812 double clip holder
MOLLE Panel + Small Zip Dump Pouch

Orders can be placed by emailing orders@blastersmiths.co.uk and will have our usual 1-2 week lead time.