I recently started a thread asking for information regarding London Bridge Trading gear. Since there’s a dearth of information regarding their gear, I’d thought I’d post some information regarding LBT.
First: Their customer service is great. I called in asking for information regarding the size of 6094s. The 6094A is made for plates used by the SEALs, which as far as I know, are ‘swimmers cut’ plates. Plate cut more generously for arm movement.
After speaking with customer service, they recommended the 6094B which was designed around XL plates.
I also asked about the Comfort Armor Suspension System (“CASS”) and the battle belt. They stated that the CASS was more or less for road marches, but not really for dynamic things like climbing fences.
I ordered the 6094B in Coyote Tan and battle belt (Item# 1647B-M). I’m a size 31 waist, but they recommended the ‘medium’ size which is size 32" to 37" (IIRC).
Impressions of the Gear
I finally got to try on the gear yesterday.
The 6094B fits the 10x12" IV plates I have from bulletproofme.com.
The front has one ‘kangaroo’ pouch for a triple mag kangaroo pouch or maps, etc.
Here it is with the triple kangaroo pouch installed.
Behind the Kangaroo pouch is the plate pocket:
Behind the plate pocket is another pouch with neoprene in it, which you can fit soft armor in (plate backers–does not look large enough for BALCs or even concealment cut armor).
As Mr. Defoor mentioned in his excellent review, the side holds plate pockets and has a space for a radio.
The PC has a size hook & loop system to secure the PC around your torso, but it was too large for me and I took it off.
The cumberbund was also too large for me. I had to pull it out of the vest. It is rigged with bungee cord to allow the cumberbund to move with you as you move. I rerigged it for my slim size and reinstalled it.
The Belt
The belt’s not too bad. The stitching’s a little lacking. As you see in this picture, the first molle loop is too small to thread gear on.
It’s also very soft (I know some people prefer stiffer belts)
Here you can see it folding over when I pick it up from the middle:
General initial impressions
The LBT 6094B is very comfortable. According to LBT, it weighs 3.1lbs and is made from 1000D cordura. Upon inserting my hard plates and throwing the vest on, I noticed it felt substantially more comfortable than my old Eagle CIRAS. Whereas my CIRAS used to dig in to my groin, the 6094B suspends itself comfortably around my ribcage area. I also felt like I had more mobility in the 6094B.
However, mobility comes at the cost of the coverage and molle real estate. I had substantially less area to put pouches on. The 6094B also does not house soft BALCs armor for fragmentation threats.
The Kangaroo pouch is excellent. A great, low-profile way to carry mags.
Current set up:
I need to wear this thing in the hot sun for multiple days to see if I really like this kit or not (so far I really like it).
I’ll likely look in to a Vel Tye hugger in the future if/when I’m deployed.
Also, thanks to everyone who posted in my earlier LBT post. All the advice and information there was excellent.