For many years, tactical gear was associated with the armed forces as well as law enforcement officers since they were the first ones to put it to use. These days, however, tactical gear has burst through the professional area and successfully landed into the mainstream. Now you’ll find hunters, survivalists and a bunch of other outdoor enthusiasts implementing it in their daily routines.
Mind you, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t take away from or minimise the importance of what the military or police organisations do, it just goes to show how practical and versatile tactical equipment actually is. With that said, there’s one specific item that has proven its usefulness in more ways than one – a multi-functional and durable tactical harness for storing all of your essentials.
How Does a Tactical Harness Work?
Tactical harnesses use the so-called molle system which is short for modular lightweight load-carrying equipment. This system allows you to carry all of your equipment efficiently without compromising the functionality or integrity of each item. It’s essentially an attachment style based on straps and buckles that lets you organise your gear to your liking and what you intend on doing with it. In other words, you get to adjust your straps and pouches according to the situation at hand. Sounds pretty neat, wouldn’t you agree?
Who Needs a Tactical Harness?
As previously mentioned, tactical harnesses were originally invented to serve the military and armed forces in their professional endeavours. Nowadays, these harnesses can be accessed by all everyone that feels the need for it. Whether you’re entangled in high-intensity jobs such as construction and mining or maybe you just want to have a shot (pun intended) at paintball or airsoft, strapping on a harness should make it much easier for you to go through with your plans.
What Are the Advantages of Wearing a Tactical Harness?
There are a number of reasons why tactical harnesses are leaving a big mark in the modern world given how handy and convenient they are.
Help You Organise Heavy Combat Load
It’s no secret that military and police officers are faced with the difficult challenge of carrying very heavy loads to fulfil their duties. This is why tactical harnesses were specifically designed to take some of that load off by providing an effective storage method. Since finding its way onto the mainstream scene, many civilians have incorporated a tactical harness into their lives to take advantage of its features.
The design is simple really, with molle webbing, you can attach various components onto one another to form a strong bond that stays in place for as long as you need it. As a result, you can store all the bare necessities, including knife and gun holsters, magazine pouches, canteen carriers, tactical flashlights and even first aid kits. This particular design has completely revolutionised the way tactical gear is carried, regardless of whether it’s a professional duty or not.
Highly Customisable
Since you’re essentially creating your own harness out of scratch, it’s inherently prone to customisation and personalization according to your needs. You can quite literally attach pouches and pockets wherever you want so that it suits your needs. Once you’ve got everything planned out, your gear will stay within reach constantly so that you don’t have to waste time or energy trying to find specific items. In situations where time is of the essence, this can be a literal life-saver.
Durable and Sturdy
Despite the term ‘light’ being a part of the name, molle harnesses are actually made of heavy-duty nylon materials that can also be found in tactical backpacks, vests and many other kinds of gear. The likelihood of such fabrics getting torn or damaged is quite low so feel free to navigate through all the storage pouches with ease.
What Are the Disadvantages of Wearing a Tactical Harness?
As much as no one wants to admit it, there are two sides of the same coin. Sure, molle harnesses have paved the way in which tactical gear is managed and organised on the field but that does come with a price.
Might Limit Mobility
Mind you, the sole purpose of harnesses is to allow you to carry heavy tactical load without hindering your mobility. And it does the job wonderfully in that department. But one specific area where it falls short is exactly the same as the one that makes it so special – the adjustable straps and pouches.
When not secured properly, the straps can swing and bounce in accordance with your movements, which could potentially damage your equipment and cause it to fail, maybe in the worst possible time. And no, this isn’t because you’re making sudden or uncoordinated movements, it’s largely due to the fact that your harness isn’t strapped in as it should be.
Need Some Time to Get Used to
While the harnesses themselves provide a great deal of strapping and storage options, you might need some time to adjust to the feeling of having so many things attached to your chest. Some people don’t mind it whereas others consider it as a nuisance. You’ll get the hang of things soon enough though and in time, you won’t even notice that it’s there.