High Speed Gear Suspenders
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HSG 'LOW DRAG' SUSPENDERS
June 2002 - A thread on AW, and my own needs, prompted me to talk to Gene at High Speed Gear Inc. about designing low-profile suspenders that would be strong enough to support the weight of a belt rig and be compatible with vests, armour etc. Gene said 'Shoot me a sketch and I'll make you one'. Here's what came of that. Background: A common gear setup seen nowadays consists of some kind of belt, and drop holster for a handgun, and a magazine thigh rig, all worn in conjunction with a load bearing vest. Sometimes the weight of this rig starts pulling your pants down, or starts digging into your hips. Currently available elastic suspenders cannot support the weight of the rig, and regular LBE suspenders are too bulky to wear under a vest or armour. The idea was to come up with suspenders to help offload the weight of the belt rig from the hips (so you can wear the belt a bit looser and not worry about it slipping down) and low profile enough to wear comfortably under a vest or body armour. The proposed solution: High Speed Gear's 'Low Drag' (HSLD) Suspenders. BTW, I came up with that name too :-) The challenge was to come up with suspenders that would support the
weight of a belt rig, but also had some elasticity to keep the straps
on the shoulders and have some 'give' when moving. I came up with a
simple design and sent the sketches to Gene to make for me. We went
exchanged ideas and came up with some changes to my original sketches
and Gene made up the first prototype. |
HSLD suspenders
used to hold up BDU pants, in conjunction with an SOE rigger belt. Suspenders
are made from 1.5" wide cordura webbing. Belt attachment straps
are 1" wide. (update: the 'X' will now be
a floating X with a strap seperator, instead of being sewn. The rear
adjustment triglides will also be got rid off, so that they won't be
felt when wearing a pack etc.) |
HSLD suspenders
used with BH padded pistol belt. The suspenders can be used with wide
or narrow belts. Also shown is a custom M4 mag thigh rig also from HSG,
with horizontal pistol mag pouches. The prototype shows length adjustments
on the front and back, but later models may do away with the ones on
the back for more comfort when wearing a pack. |
Gene's method used
on his thigh rig and holster thing straps was applied here, to provide
elastic tension. Gene used a length of shock cord looped around that
would support the weight of the rig, but also have some 'give' (left
pic). When fully stretched out, a loop of paracord stops the shock cord
from over-extending (middle pic). The shock cord and paracord can be
user-replaced and adjusted. The right picture shows the rear of the
HSLD suspenders. You can see the reducer from 1.5" to 1".
(update: the inside of the belt strap will have hook velcro to interface
with the loop velcro that lines many tactical belts, and also provide
some 'grip' on other belts to prevent sideways slipping) |
These are the 2nd prototype
suspenders made in tan (the straps are more of a 'bronze' colour) with
some changes incorporated. The rear adjustment triglides have been eliminated
for comfort and instead of sewing the 'X', a plastic strap divider has
been used so that the 'X' can float (right pic). The divider is flat
and will not feel uncomfortable under a pack since it sits between the
back muscles. (I have since sewn this 'X' like the first prototype after
I found the position I liked and got rid of the plastic divider). Everyone
wears them differently so it's not practical to fix the location of
the 'X' before you try it on and use it for a while.
|
IMPRESSIONS/OBSERVATIONS CONCLUSION Gene informed me that the suspenders are growing in popularity and are getting very favourable reviews from military and non-military personnel alike. I'm very happy to hear that I've contributed to a design that is of some use to people. |
Some features of HSLD suspenders:
For more info, write [email protected] or visit http://www.highspeedgearinc.com |