04 Mar Reconbrothers Templar’s Gear CPC Back Panel Pre-sets
Reconbrothers Templar’s Gear CPC Back Panel Pre-sets
Getting a setup that works for you takes time, testing & experience. With this video we’ll try to ease up a part of that process by solely focusing us on back panels.
In order to do this, we came up with certain quick attachable “pre-set” back panels that are entirely constructed of Templar’s Gear products. So, in this blog we’ll show what different panels we have come up with and we’ll share the thought processes that went into them.
But before we dig into this subject, make sure to subscribe to our blog page by filling in the form. Also Make sure to visit our Youtube Channel by clicking the button. Have a look at our store shop.reconbrothers.com for your quality tactical stuff. And obviously here you can find the back panels which we’ll talk about in this blog.
Intro
Purpose of a back panel & the problem
So, the question we should ask ourselves first is “What do you need on a back panel?”. Well, in our eyes it is mainly meant for either storage, items you can utilize with indirect access or items your buddies need access to.
A back panel has quite a lot of space to utilize, so if you don’t need a lot it can be pretty easily thought out. But once you have to combine different aspects and need to consider convenience as well, it can become complicated to build something that works.
Our solution
So we’ve put our heads together to work out some setups with different purposes such that either you don’t need to think too much about a back panel. Or just to show some examples and give you some ideas on the thought process that goes into making these.
When designing these pre-sets we aimed to keep a few things in mind. Here we’re talking about item fitment, user convenience and the maximum utilization of panel space.
Just so you know, we’ve had many ideas of which some were a total failure after testing. And thus we scrapped those.
Used brand
The pre-sets we have created are all made with Templar’s Gear products and are therefore available in all their 15 different colors and patterns, so more than enough choice for you.
Furthermore, all the pre-sets are build with the Templar’s Gear CPC standard back panel as a base and thus they fit on all the CPC plate carriers and also on the new TPC Gen 3.
Obviously, the advantage of working with this quick attachable panel is that you can quickly change to different setups whenever you need without doing all the weaving work again. Or with a simple removal, you’re able to carry a backpack.
Options we considered
So as mentioned before, a back panel highly depends on your individual and team their needs. And for this we have build these setups around 3 main purposes, namely: hydration, first-aid & extra ammo.
Used Pouches
Hydration
As for hydration, when designing these we have solely used the TG Hydration Pouch M, because it is small enough to configure other pouches next to it while allowing to carry up to 1,5 liters of water. We also learned from our personal experience that the L version is volume wise too big in most applications unless you need to carry lots of water with you.
First-Aid
For the first-aid versions we have worked with the TG Rip-off First-Aid Pouch which is amongst the best compact IFAK designs we know about. This because it is secured with the use of a Velcro panel and a buckled strap as well as being pretty spacious for its size.
Ammo
As for the ammo setups we have mainly worked with AR, AK and slim submachine mag pouches which are for the MP5 for example. The selection of mag pouches we’ve chosen are all flap pouches. This so that the mags are well retained and things like sand or rain getting in those pouches is prevented as much as possible.
More specifically, we’ve used the TG Double Magazine Pouch AR Gen 3 and also the AK version. And for the SMG setups we’ve made use of the TG Machine Pistol Pouch SLIM Gen 3.
As for the amount of mags you can carry on these different back panels, we only created setups where you can carry up to 4 extra AR, AK or SMG mags. We’ve also tried to make back panels with only two extra mags, but for a good access these needed to be on top and these came out to high when we had to consider the conjunction of other pouches. So those were a no-go.
Other Pouches
At last in order to complete the setups, we also made use of utility, smoke, radio and flashbang pouches. The flashbang versions will always be double and as for the smokes these can come in single or double configurations.
As for the utility ones, we made use of either the TG Utility Pouch MOLLE Gen 1.1 S and its M or L cousin depending on the available space we’ve had.
For the smokes we used the TG Smoke Grenade Pouch and for the flashbangs we’ve used the TG Flashbang Pouch
And as for the radio pouch, we’ve used the TG Universal Radio Pouch, since as its name says it is universal and above that, it can also be used as a single AR or AK pouch as well.
Now, in a bit we are going to cover the different back panel pre-sets we came up with and made available over our shop, but first we want to share our general thought process that went into making these.
Thought Process Front Panels
Dominance Of Wearer
First to mention is that we designed these setups for the perspective of a right dominant wearer. If you’re a lefty then you can mirror the setup.
More concretely, this means that the hydration system is positioned on the right side of the panel, so that your drinking tube goes over your right shoulder.
This way there’s always a spot free on your left side for the use of a PTT system, considering you use one.
If we made setups whereas a radio can be mounted on the back, we always positioned it on the top left. So that the cables run over your left shoulder to your PTT on the front. The reason for it being on top is simply because the size of your radio can be pretty big and the antenna needs its space as well.
Pouch Accessibility
Next, as for grenade and magazine pouches we have placed these as much as possible on top, so that access is easy.
In fact, we made work of all pouches being easy accessible, even the ones on the bottom. For this we made sure that the gap between them is big enough to take out or insert an item into its pouch as well as opening and closing zippers still being possible.
Pouch Priority
Aside this, we have also given a priority to position pouches your buddies need to access as much as possible to the right considering that most people are right hand dominant and this eases access a bit more.
Applied MOLLE “tricks”
Now, in order to acquire these configurations and make them work properly, we did need to apply some MOLLE tricks. Here we had to skip a MOLLE loop on the smoke grenade pouches that have been placed on top and in some cases even start from the second PALS row.
And with the use of the Utility L pouch we had to attach it one row lower than the panel itself when placed on the bottom. These tricks don’t affect the use of these pouches, but allow a more convenient fitment.
The last thing to mention is that we have given these panels names as well, so they’re easy distinguishable for you. That all being said, let’s jump over to our panels starting with the hydration versions first.
The Back Panel Pre-sets
Hydration
Utility Mule
First on the list is the Utility Mule, whereas we basically placed a hydration pouch on the right for your water and a Utility Pouch S on the left bottom for storage. On the top left you got the option to position a smoke grenade pouch or a double flashbang pouch, so a buddy can grab those whenever it is required.
Breacher Mule
The second hydration version is called the Breacher Mule, here we started with those two flashbang pouches on top so they are very easy to reach and we replaced the bottom utility pouch with a smoke one. This gives you the ability to carry two flashbang grenades and one big smoke grenade aside the drinking bladder.
Popper Mule
Another version of this is what we have called the Popper Mule and with this one we basically switched those flashbangs from the previous one with another smoke pouch.
Chatter Mule
The very last of the hydration versions are called the Chatter Mules and with those we have attached a radio pouch on the left top while the bottom left spot can be utilized for either a utility, smoke or a double flashbang pouch. This is ideal for if you don’t need to access your radio yourself, while still allowing you to carry a bladder and either extra grenades or other items.
And those were all the options that worked out with this hydration configuration. We’ve also tried others with magazine pouches, but they did’t pass testing since those magazines could block your head movements, especially in a prone position.
That said, we now come to the first-aid versions and the first one here is what we have called the Armed Survivor which can come in three different configurations.
First-Aid
Armed Survivor
The base of these pre-sets are build around the idea to have both an IFAK available and a big storage pouch by using the Utility MOLLE L Pouch. Here the utility pouch is positioned on the bottom to keep everything easily accessible in this setup. On the top you’ll find the first-aid pouch and next to it you get the option to go for a smoke, double flashbang or a radio pouch.
Pathfinder
Next we come to the Pathfinder and with this one we opted for a slightly smaller utility pouch to make space available for a radio. So here we used a Utility MOLLE M Pouch instead of the L version.
We also switched the position of the first-aid to the bottom such that you get the ability to directly attach a tourniquet on it as well. And aside these three pouches you also get the option to add a smoke or double flashbang pouch on the bottom left as well. So, this one really serves as a very versatile back setup above the ability to carry an IFAK.
Attack Ox & Combat Horse
The next two are based on this very same principal, but instead of carrying a radio, you get to carry an extra smoke or double flashbang pouch. For an easier access we here placed the grenade pouches to the right of the panel unlike with the radio whereas it is positioned on the left. The one with the flashbangs is what we’ve called the Attack Ox and the option that allows you to carry two big smoke grenades is called the Combat Horse.
Also here we have tried to combine this setup with extra magazine pouches, but yet again their positioning was too high in order to be convenient for the movement of your head.
That covers the options for the first-aid versions. Let’s now have a look at the last pre-sets which are build around carrying extra ammo, which are called the Battle Buddies.
Battle Buddies
Here we mainly worked around providing the ability to carry up to 4 extra AR, AK or SMG magazines along with a big utility pouch to store extra stuff. So, for easy access of those mag pouches we positioned them on top and the Utility MOLLE L is present on the bottom of the panel again. The remaining open spot is utilized to provide either a smoke, double flash or a radio pouch to serve your specific requirements.
That were all the pre-set back panels that we have come up with and also passed our testing. If you are interested in one of these, you can find them in all the current 15 available colors through our store shop.reconbrothers.com. And as always, you can expect an all-year around discount with these since they fall under our combo pack products.
Thanks for reading our blog
“Reconbrothers Templar’s Gear CPC Back Panel Pre-sets”
So guys, hopefully you got some insight in what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to creating a back panel setup.
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