I was recently loaned a Blue Force Gear Six Pack Bandolier by Deliberate Dynamics and have been spending a significant amount of time with it.
Similar in design to the BFG TenSpeed line of products which sacrifice long-term durability for significant weight, cost, and size savings, the bandolier lists for $43.95 and is designed to hold six M4 type magazines in its elastic pockets. It has a shoulder strap and a waist strap, both of which are constructed from thin webbing. This piece of gear defines minimalism.
It naturally hangs below your arm opposite the shoulder upon which the strap rests, and stays in place quite well through a lot of movement and activity, though it can be moved farther back behind the torso if you wish to hide it from the view of those in front of you. Retention of items carried is excellent.
The elastic nature of the pouches has caused me to use them for practically everything but M4 mags; it’s a slim and lightweight solution for carrying radios, GPS units, pistols, flashlights, etc. I find that when asymmetrical items are placed in one pouch, it’s best to leave the pouch on the other side unused – so I limit myself to the use of three pouches.
Loading the bandolier up with an IcomIC-A4 radio, a loaded Lancer 20rd 5.56 magazine, and a Glock 22 for 14 hours of hiking in a 20 hour period resulted in an interesting problem – the thin webbing of the shoulder strap cut into my shoulder and apparently pinched a nerve, for about half an hour after I reached my destination, I was unable to move my right arm and had to place it in a sling to avoid an annoying pain in my neck. Granted, I had also slung a ~7lb rifle on that shoulder – but I noticed more discomfort on the hike coming from the bandolier strap than the rifle sling (which was also a Blue Force Gear product and made of thicker webbing).
On the next outing, I padded the area under the webbing and reduced the amount of weight carried in the bandolier, and experienced no issues with pain or limited mobility, although I had a heavier rifle slung on that shoulder for a significant portion of the day.
I’ve noticed some wear on the elastic where the edges of items carried caused stress. I’m not entirely surprised, as elastic material is not 1000D Cordura. The TenSpeed stuff is not intended for heavy and constant use. This is meant to be a quickly accessible storage and carry solution for M4 mags or similarly sized items, to be used only when needed, and it accomplishes this goal quite well. I do not think that this wear will negatively affect the performance of the bandolier for quite some time.
The only thing I’d change would be some type of shoulder pad or thicker webbing for the shoulder strap. Despite the problems outlined above and the wear, I absolutely love the bandolier and do not think it’ll be far from me whether I’m at the range or hiking in the desert.
I have found wear on several BFG products and don’t think they will last forever. That being said they have a lifetime warranty and I always planned on just sending it back and getting a new one when it did wear out, so maybe it will last a forever.
The biggest problem I have seen with the BFG 10 speed line is the magazines have much more pressure at the bottom of the pouch because of the design and sometimes the magazines will be squeezed upwards so they are not fully seated in the pouch. It only seems to be an issue when I am running around or climbing over stuff. I guess it is important to understand the role this type of gear is filling. It is not patrol gear, it is low-profile gear that packs light and small. Great for work that requires the use of rifles in an urban environment where big kit is a no go.
Hey Andrew, did you get a chance to shoot with it? I was curious if it would work well for something you could pull out of a backpack and sling and get busy quickly. Wasn’t sure if as you got down to the last mag or 2 if they would be hard to pull out without the added resistance from the weight of the other mags.
I haven’t used it at the range yet. I think it’s something I could put in the top/back pocket of a backpack and grab as I was dumping the pack.
I have tried grabbing a single mag from an otherwise empty bandolier and as long as the waist strap is reasonably tight, I don’t have a problem with the bandolier coming along with the mag.