u/Emergency-Isopod9760

With so many of these clones of the Ferro Mini Dangler. And seeing as a lot of Ferro goods are popular and often recreated in Ukraine with various alterations. I figured I would share one I have. This one is a Ukrainian clone made by Protec U.A. I received as part of a bonus item to combine two existing orders I had at the time. I mistakenly had picked this instead of another one of the SPUD pouch clones. Regardless I am grateful. Protec has a pretty interesting history; they've been around since 2015 and during the 2022 invasion a lot of their product stock and equipment were stolen by the occupying Russians at the time. The company ended up restarting production from scratch. Compared to an original mini dangler, the quality and build is pretty solid. No complaints there, should be interesting to give it a try at some point whenever I have time.

Screen grabs from an old AP archive video during the Lebanese conflict in the 1980s. Thought it was neat to share this gem of a Lebanese combatant, presumably a phalangist using an M16A1 to engage the Druze.

Link to the footage for anyone wanting the sauce: G03078504

Also arrived from Ukraine. There are so many SPUD style pouches being made nowadays like the sea of various Chinese and foreign clones. This is one of the many examples coming out of Ukraine from Protec Tactical. The flap design and instead of the Y shaped cut out shapes, the shapes on these are different. Fit and form it's just a Ukrainian SPUD clone with a different flap and being sold at a lot less of a price than a real SPUD pouch. The price of four is comparable to that of a real one. Photos showing it with STANAGs and an AK mag.

I have shared some posts in the past of my AVS MBAV with some stuff I've added onto it here and there. Primarily in the form of armor addons like the L4 Performance Triangle Armor. I had previously been tinkering with some stuff from M-TAC installed, ended up replacing those as I found they were not exactly compatible with the AVS corset. Not to mention I did not have any inserts for them. Ended up looking around before someone pointed me into the direction of Protec tactical gear, which is a Ukrainian based company mostly known for making 1:1 clone of the Ferro Concepts FCPC V5 and Crye AVS and building upon those designs with various different changes. After debating on it for a bit I bit the bullet and snagged some items from Protec which I think took about 2-3 weeks to get to me. Shipping was like 14 or so days. Out of the package everything feels very high quality and well made too with original Western materials including the inserts using Dyneema.

Absolutely professional service given the time zone and geographic distance, pleasant experience with Yuri Pushorov (the owner) and he answered any and all questions I had. Protec came out with this not too long ago from what I understand as it is a brand-new product. Similar to the M-TAC throat protector I had, the Protec one is also designed to accommodate a number of different helmets and headsets. If I am not mistaken, I might be the first American to have a Protec throat and shoulder protector along with some of his SPUD style pouch clones (not pictured.) The inserts for the shoulder and throat protector are DSTU Class 2 protection level. Overall, the shoulder pads with the inserts are quite comfortable I do strongly recommend getting pads for the AVS harness for maximum comfort and breathability. Did end up doing some movements with the whole thing on including shooting. I hardly noticed the shoulder pads. The throat protector however is obviously a large surface area but easy to get out of the way when not in use. I am aware of L4 Performance also coming out with one pretty soon which is much smaller and lighter which will be cool to see at some point. At some point next week, I'll try to get a photo everything with the L4 Performance LCA once it arrives from Finland.

Anyone knows what this mean? I had a package shipped from family in Ukraine without any issue and made it through British customs without any hassle before landing in the US. It reached ISC NEW YORK NY on the 11th, and the status has remained the same since then. I'm assuming it's in customs and has like 45 days to be released. It's likely just waiting to be processed and released. I'm not in any rush but just wanted to know if I should be a concerned since reading some other's experiences with ISC NEW YORK specifically. Just wanted to know how long it might be seeing as its expected delivery date is unlikely.

Ordered something from a Ukrainian based seller and already expected the shipping time to be a little long which I am okay with, but I was a little curious about this latest status. I assume that it's already been processed/scanned at the USPS facility but is most likely in the possession of customs and is waiting to be inspected or whatever. I am aware the turnaround time through Ukrposhta is 14-20 days at the most. The latest status update was on the 11th of May showing it was processed through ISC NEW YORK NY (USPS) but no updates since then and it is expected to be delivered by tomorrow, but I am skeptical that it'll actually be delivered on that date.

Now the question is, is my package in the possession of customs awaiting processing/release which I've kept track on it, and it seemed to have passed through Ukraine and the UK without any issue. Is it still on its way to me? Or just stuck in limbo because of US Customs being absolutely horrendous as per usual. Just a little curious as the USPS and 17Track explanations were a little vague to me.

Forgot I still had this in a box. I've downsized most of my silly kit collection, but this is the one rig I doubt I'll ever part with. Even though I haven't bothered to do much with it save for running around the woods with it and shooting at discarded home appliances made in China. Somehow this rig is younger than me by like a year in a half which is neat. At some point I'll finish this and get it properly kitted out like how it originally was shipped from Safariland.

Safariland ELCS rig, introduced in 1999 and once part of the SPEAR system that brought America's Special Forces kit into the Year 2000 and was a mainstay with American SOF and other units that managed to get ahold of one during the GWOT until the need for such kit was eventually pushed off to the side by newer systems that replaced it. Overall, a neat piece of kit.

You used to be able to get these for pretty cheap back then and now they've gone up in price with complete sets being almost impossible to find now and only individual components varying in price. I was able to get mine for next to nothing along with the pouches. I did substitute two of the double mag pouches with MOLLE II ones since I currently do not have any of the actual SPEAR double mag pouches. As previously stated, the prices for SPEAR components are being sold for crackhead prices sadly. Which is really a shame because it's really a neat bit of kit and compared to the original LBV this thing shares some similarities to. The ELCS obviously is the superior rig in terms of comfort and modularity.

Included some historical images showing this thing in use including the last examples of it being used in American service in this post being from around 2008 of a USAF Security Forces unit using ELCS kits. The tri-color desert versions of these are almost impossible to find with the woodland versions being one most will encounter on the surplus market. Interestingly enough, at some point the Chinese thought it would be neat to copy the design and ended up producing their own versions in Type 07 for the Type 95-1.

A question did cross my mind, is a rig almost pushing 30 still viable today? Seeing as split rigs, chest rigs, and various belt kits have come out over the past few years. I wonder if something like this can still cut it for some average Joe who found one of these for a steal to run over a slick carrier. In my opinion, I think I would ditch the single mag pouches as they are kind of a pain to fish mags out of let alone trying to reindex into. Apart from that maybe rig up some custom foam panels since the ELCS originally came with foam inserts which were flotation capable, but originals are hard to find. Really it wouldn't be hard to just make new ones with newer foam if you plan on running this without an armor carrier. Other than that, I think it's pretty useable.

I have spent way too much time and money on this thing, and I still have yet to finish it. It would have been done a lot sooner, but I ended up moving I did have another AVS I was working on at the time some years back, but it ended up going to a fellow autist in Ukraine when I was downsizing my gear collection.

So far, this is how I have it configured right now. Last time I had it the thing had some stuff from M-TAC that I ended up selling seeing as it was not compatible with the AVS. I ended up going the route of Protec Tactical UA which I must say is a very professional and outstanding service as they were willing to work with some schmuck like me in Yankee land that has a silly interest of collecting kit. I will share some photos of their products whenever they end up arriving and I have some time to share some photos. I'm still waiting on some other components to come in from Europe, namely some harness pads from SENDNODS which is a bit more expensive over the QORE pads and honestly both are a huge improvement over the standard Crye ones. Protec does sell some similar pads for around the price of the QORE ones, but I haven't had a chance to order them yet as I already sunk cash into the SENDNODS ones. Personally, I think both are great but if I were to opt for one, I think the QORE ones are probably the better option when comparing the prices of the two, at some point I will take some photos for anyone interested.

Apart from that I have some other stuff, I just haven't bothered to get everything out as I'm playing with outdated GWOT gear at the moment. I think going forward I may replace the MK4, but I may just keep it and configure it a little more or just get the front flap from AXL in order to run an L4 XXS Wide GP on the front of the placard then slap some TQ wings on the plate bag. I had considered replacing the original cummerbund for one from L4, but I think I'll just keep the standard one and get tube adapters from GOM or something.

At some point I will take some photos of this thing with the L4 LCA belt whenever it arrives, but I think for right now this is as far as the AVS will go before I'm finally done with it.

I am not sure if there is or has been a discussion on armored ass protectors/sitting mats. It's more of a Ukrainian/Russian thing that has taken off since the 2022 invasion, but there are solutions that do exist on the commercial market outside of Ukraine and Russia. The example I have here is one from a reputable Western source. The L4 Performance (Formerly Green Force Gear) BTA (Beaver Tail Armor) which is made in Finland with genuine materials. The actual IIIA insert is made in Sweden by SPT Protection, but it's pretty light weight. L4 does offer it though I should note that L4 can only ship armor to NATO countries.

As far as I can tell I might be the only known owner of one in the US unless there is also some likeminded autist that has a habit of buying oddities of nylon kit that also has one. It's an interesting piece for sure and is mostly meant to be utilized with L4 Performance's LCA belt system. I have tested it on a Tyr Tactical belt pad which kind of works but there's just not enough surface area of hook and loop to keep it retained in place. I am still awaiting on my L4 LCA to arrive, but I will be able to take some photos hopefully soon once it does arrive showing the BTA attached to the LCA.

I have also seen a similar system of the Chinese variety that I have been curious about and perhaps will start documenting at some point, but I think for now I'm just going to stick to current NATO & Ukrainian examples. (I sunk way too much money into silly nylon and won't be stopping any time soon.)