BULLE – US MOLLE Cutaway Vest

Bulle US MOLLE Cutaway Vest – From Flecktarn

(all pictures are clickable)

So… You’ve got your rifle, your pistol, your magazines, ammunition, radio and all other related apparel… excellent. Now, where are you going to put it all? In your trouser pockets? Surely not, that would just be silly, unless you have really large trousers with a lot of pockets. No, you need something a lot more practical, you need an assault vest to hold everything in!

Now, I’m no expert on tactical gear, but what lessons I have learned over the years I’ve been playing Airsoft is that you need something practical, comfortable and hard-wearing in the field to keep all your gear safe. In fact, I’d put down an assault vest as probably the next thing to buy after an AEG, above a pistol, because they really are that useful. Most of us have more than 1 magazine on us at any time, especially if you play with low or mid-caps. Plus you’ve got that big bag of ammunition to carry around, perhaps a side-arm and an all important chocolate bar. Where are you going to store all this gear upon your person throughout the day? Look no further than the Bulle US MOLLE Cutaway Vest, and we’re lucky enough to have one here!

Bulle are a major manufacturer of tactical gear, and they have been doing so for years. Probably one of the most popular brands you’ll see on the Airsoft battlefield, they’re products are made to such high standards, that you’ll find their products on the real battlefield too. Their prices are very competitive too, but don’t let the low cost fool you into thinking these replica vests are anything from cheaply made, far from it. And by adopting the MOLLE system, these vests have almost limitless configuration options depending on the type of ‘mission’ you’re undertaking.

So what is MOLLE? Pronounced ‘Molly’, the acronym for MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is the current generation of load bearing equipment in use by the United States armed forces, and other military powers across the globe. Based on rows of heavy duty nylon stitched onto the vest, it allows the user to attach any standard MOLLE pouch or accessory, in any configuration he or she desires. This method has now become the standard for virtually any military tactical gear replacing the old ‘click and stick’ modular vest systems.

Specifications:

Bulle US MOLLE Cutaway Vest – with multiple release points

Fits Chest Sizes – 38″ – 46″ (5’7 – 6’2 in height)

Will Accept 32.5x30cm SAPI Ceramic Plates

Made From 1000D Milspec PU-coated Condura

6 Pouches Included

So lets take a look at the vest itself…

The concept of the cutaway vest is an extremely simple one, yet highly effective in a battlefield environment. Designed to allow quick removal of body armour, primarily for medics and emergency services personal to have immediate access to a casualties wounds whilst ensuring the minimum of movement to the body and thus not inflicting any further unnecessary damage. The release mechanism is a very simple steel cable that runs through securing loops on the attachment points (see picture) locking them into place and now allowing any sideways movement. Once this cable has been pulled through, the loops unlock allowing the vest to quite literally fall apart. The vest comes apart at four main points, these being the two shoulder straps and the two side panels around the waist area, along with a securing belt / strap located under the vest itself. Once the vest is fully loaded, the weight of all the accessories alone is usually enough to cause it to disassemble, but a gentle pull ensures it comes apart quite quickly. Now, on the Airsoft battlefield you might ask why you’d want such a thing? We’d hope nobody is going to sustain any injuries that would warrant the necessity of this feature, but it still comes in handy if you want to remove your armour in a hurry.

The release point is located by default on a Velcro panel at the front of the vest, under the operators chin. Although it doesn’t get in the way, it could be accidentally engaged here (I say accidentally, it would be very tempting for someone to pull on this for a laugh and watch the whole thing drop off you!), so there are a number of other configurations you can experiment with. There are three attachment points for the release cable on this vest, although you can get creative and find other ways, one of my personal favourites is to cable the system in reverse and have the pull handle under the Velcro flap at the back (more in this later).

When disassembled the vest is made up of seven main parts and these include: Front section which features the shoulder straps with click fasteners, the rear section which houses the quick release system, two side panels which have MOLLE loops and three smaller click fasteners (per panel), the elasticated securing belt (made up of two pieces) and the release cable itself with it’s Velcro backed pull handle. Then of course you have your pouches, of which six are included with the vest – more on these later.

The front and rear panels of the vest are where the majority of bulk and weight come from. Once fully assembled it’s not overly heavy (not if you compared it to the real deal with Kevlar and Ceramic plates!), but it’s certainly more beefy than a number of other vests and harnesses you might see at most skirmish sites. Each panel has a breathable mesh on the inside, with a Velcro backed access point at the bottom of the vest which allows you to get to the foam panels which are in place of the Kevlar and Ceramic plates on this replica. The first foam panel which would replicate the Kevlar liner is around 4mm thick, this is easily removed by just pulling it out of the vests lining. The second panel is much thicker, at around 10mm and this would be the Ceramic plate on the real thing. This is where the majority of your protection is coming from, and is held in place by a T shaped section of fabric with a Velcro fastener at the bottom. Again, this is also removable should you want to, and perhaps in the warmer months of the year you might well do so. Both panels are quite easy to get back into place.

The front panel has a total of 48 MOLLE loops, with the top strip being Velcro backed. A total of 6 click connectors (female, 3 on each side) keep the side panels secure in place, along with 2″ x 5.5″ Velcro panels – this vest is certainly not going to fall off you! The shoulder harnesses are kept locked in place with 2″ wide click connectors attached to condura strapping allowing a lot of adjustment. Both of the shoulder straps have Velcro backed covers which not only keep the strapping secure but can also be used to keep comms cables and hydration gear tidy. The front panel also has the 3 attachment points for the release cable, along with a couple of condura ‘spinal’ loops to keep the cable secure and in place.

The rear section of the vest is where the quick release system is housed, underneath a 360x160mm Velcro backed panel, also secured by a snap fastener on bottom of the vest facing inwards. Inside here are three extremely tough ‘parachute cord’ type loops which keep the side panels and shoulder harnesses together along with condura material loops that the panels slide through to keep them aligned perfectly. A central ‘spinal’ loop is located in the middle of the rear panel to keep the steel cable rigid and in place. The rear section of the vest is also covered in MOLLE loops so the addition of a hydration pouch is no problem here. A very tough drag handle is located at the top of the rear panel, should you fall asleep and need to be pulled out of bed. Both panels have steel eyelets at the bottom, on the inside face to facilitate as water drainage holes.

The side panels of the vest are also covered in MOLLE loops, 18 of them in total on each panel. There are three main points of adjustment here to keep the vest fitting nice and snug to the body, and this is also what makes the vest so versatile covering a range from 38″ to 46″ chest measurement. Firstly you have seven steel eyelets on a rigid fabric ‘plate’ which the securing quick release loops can go through, the furthest away allowing more room, whilst the nearest to the panel for the smallest setting. This ‘plate’ is connected to the side panels by three 2″ strips of elasticated fabric allowing comfortable movement when twisting and bending for example, plus the three smaller click fasteners can be lengthened (or shortened) by up to three positions, passing through the MOLLE loops themselves. That is an awful lot of adjustment, and for this vest it doesn’t stop there.

On the inside of the vest is an elasticated belt, which keeps the vest secure to your body so it doesn’t move around too much whilst your jumping up and down avoiding enemy fire. This has six steel eyelets for adjustment, which again pass through the quick release system. A 2″ by 8″ double elasticated strap allows plenty of movement around the belly area so that it’s not to tight, and a 3″ by 8″ Velcro panel allows plenty of further adjustment when strapping it on.

And now a word on pouches…

The Bulle US MOLLE Cutaway vest comes with a total of 6 pouches to keep you and your accessories happy, and these are: Bulle US MOLLE CMT 1st Aid Utility Pouch, Bulle US MOLLE Velcro Admin Pouch, Bulle US MOLLE Lightweight Double Pistol SMG Pouch, Bulle US MOLLE Adjustable High Speed Double Mag Pouch x2, Bulle US MOLLE PRC148 MBITR Radio Pouch. Lets have a look at these in some more detail:

1st Aid Utility Pouch This is the largest pouch that the vest comes with as standard, and probably one of the most useful. Intended to be used as a first aid pouch, it has all the necessary loops and pockets to keep bandages, scissors, morphine, you name it… all nice and secure. But you’re probably not going to use it as a first aid pouch, unless you take your Airsoft VERY seriously indeed (or perhaps you’re not even using the vest for war game re-enactment?). This would probably be where I’d store a large bag of BB’s as you’d quite easily get a 3500rnd bag in here. You’ve got a total of 8 elasticated loops along with a Velcro secured pocket on the inside, so probably the best set-up would be a large speed-loader secured by the 2 widest straps, a big bag of ammo inside and tools in the pockets? It’s entirely up to you, and that is what makes this vest so adaptable. Two zippers keep this pouch closed with cord toggles on the end to allow you to get into it in a hurry. A further mesh covered and Velcro secured pocket is on the outside, along with a steel eyelet drainage hole on the bottom.

Double Magazine Pouch These do exactly what they say on the, er, tin? A double magazine pouch, side-by-side, which we’ve tested with a variety of magazines, and they seem to hold them all. They accept G3 mags, M14 mags, a couple of MP5 mags (you can get 3 in each pocket at a squeeze), AUG mags and of course M16 magazines of which you can get 2 in each pocket (albeit a little tight fit). This vest comes with 2 double magazine pouches, so that is a possible 12 MP5 mags you can carry, or 4 M16/M14/G3 or any other similar sized magazines. The pockets have elasticated straps on the side to allow expansion and the top flap is adjustable for height, and although we haven’t tested it, you could possible get an AK mag in here? Drainage holes on the bottom as standard.

Admin Pouch This one is usually located at the top of the chest and has a Velcro backed front to allow the addition of name tags and other badges. This is probably where you’d store your map, compass and other related apparel. On the inside are 6 elasticated loops and some elasticated paracord to keep things snug. It has two internal pockets, each housing 3 loops, which would probably rather useful for holding shotgun shells, especially on the outer most pocket. Again, plenty of chocolate bar holding potential too!

Double SMG / Pistol Magazine Pouch Like the Admin pouch, you’ll normally find this one at the top of chest. Like the Double Magazine Pouch it has elasticated sides for expansion, and the top cover is adjustable for height. No problem fitting a variety of 9mm sized pistol magazines in here, Glock, Sig, Beretta etc.

Radio Pouch Designed for the larger Military type radios, or indeed some of the larger Motorola PMR radios, this pouch is highly adjustable and will accommodate some of the smaller handsets on the market. An internal Velcro strap allows adjustment for the depth of the pocket, whilst a click fastener on the top, held in place with paracord type material keeps the radio from going astray. Be default this pouch is installed on one of the side panels, but I found it more comfortable to have located on the left shoulder.

Adjusting The Vest…

When the vest was shipped to me, the quick release mechanism was not set up, and the panels were held in place by loops of paracord material, this is because this vest needs to be configured to the wearers size. With a little practise it doesn’t take long to set up, and hopefully (unless you’re going to pull that release cable!) you’ll only have to do this once. You simply pull the paracord loops through the steel eyelets at the desired setting (I’m a medium build so I had them on about the 5th one in), do the same for the shoulder straps, and then run the cable through these loops to lock them into place. It’s a little difficult to explain, but hopefully you’ll get the idea from the picture. Take the time to get everything set just right, and the vest will be comfortable and stay in place.

Putting On & Wearing The Vest…

Although it looks like a slightly daunting task, the vest isn’t actually that difficult to put on. there are a number of different ways of going about it, but by far the simplest is to leave one of the side panels free of MOLLE accessories, and unclip just one side, and place the vest on, kind of diagonally. You don’t absolutely have to leave a side panel free of pouches, but it does make accessing the click fasteners a little easier. If you’ve opted to run the release cable through a different path, so that the handle is located at the bottom of the vest, or hidden inside the panel at the back of the vest, you can also utilise the click fasteners on the shoulder straps to make it easier to get into.

Having spent a day wearing this vest in a skirmish, although it took a little while to get used to (I normally wear a lightweight cross-draw vest as mentioned previously), I found it fairly comfortable and it offered a very high degree of protection. So high indeed, that you couldn’t really feel body hits at all, more like hear them. It’s currently the winter months here in the UK, so in it’s current configuration it keeps you nice and warm, however in the summer you might want to consider removing some of the extra padding!

Conclusion

The Bulle US MOLLE Cutaway Vest is quite a bargain at £135 (correct at time of review), which includes 6 MOLLE pouches and a never ending list of configuration options should you wish to add more. The quality of the materials used and the strength of the stitching means it’s going to last, in fact, it’s such good quality I can imagine the same amount of work has gone into making it as would be on the real thing. The vest offers excellent protection (perhaps a little too much?) and supreme load carrying qualities. Possibly my only criticism would be it’d have been nice to have belt loops on the bottom of the vest to help support the weight of a tactical belt / thigh holster etc… Rather than have these only supported on the waist.

If you’re looking for a tough, multi-purpose assault vest / load carrier that is built to last and looks the part, then look no further than the Bulle US MOLLE Cutaway Vest.

Check out our range of Tactical Vests here