>>8057>Are you military? Why are you on bunker-chan if you're military?Maybe. And for the same reason you're here.
As for the rest, the best thing you can do to avoid snagging is to tie and tape down your straps. Conduct checks on you and your buddies before every exercise. The biggest thing that gets caught is the rhino mount on your helmet if you have one. A good tip is to attach that as a whole item and keep it in a pouch on your person, then attach it only when you're actually going to be using it. Common sense, but even military guys do that stupid shit.
Second, belts are good, but can fuck with your ruck. Make sure you try it out and can wear it comfortably without it digging into your back. Keep your back slick, and if you do have a hydration pack like a camelbak, make sure it isn't permanently attached. At the very least, you should be able to place it in your ruck and then in whatever pouch you've left on your back, so as not to create a gap between you and the ruck. Not the biggest deal if in a vehicle, but make sure you can get in and out without too much hassle.
Also, keep the side of your pistol mostly clear, or limit it to a flat admin pouch, as well as ensuring you have a low to mid-ride holster. This will ensure you can draw your weapon if need-be. Some kind of retention solution is prudent as well. You can go with a lanyard, or simply having a bungee over the pistol to keep it in the holster. Do not, for the love of god, buy a serpa holster. Those are shit. Esstac makes some good stuff, and that's where I got my belt. Mine mostly stays on, so think things through.
The IFAK should be kept on your baseline kit, that is, whatever you aren't going to be taking off. I keep mine on my belt, but putting it on your rig or carrier should be just as good. Keep another in a pack. The IFAK on yoru kit is for others to use on you or for you to use on yourself if need-be. Never use your IFAK on someone else. Use an extra one in your pack instead or whatever is in their kit. You should have an SOP for this so that everyone knows where the IFAK is located on everyone else. You can either mark it or designate a place. A common one is in the rear left side, almost to the back, but enough so that it won't interfere with your ruck.
The multitool can be kept almost anywhere. I keep mine in a pocket in my pants, but have carried it in my admin pouch either to the side or up front. Doesn't need to be anything fancy, just something you can use to cut 550 cord, tape, etc.
You should have a head lamp, red and white light, and make sure your maps are red-light readable.
The knife is best kept on your kit. I like to carry it near my left shoulder, but it shouldn't interfere with shouldering the weapon on that side either, nor should the straps of your ruck rest on it. This is a recipe for pain.
As for the holster, if I'm reading it right, you have both the weapon and magazines next to each other. I would highly recommend you keep them opposite of each other so that you can reload faster, and to keep a speed pouch for an extra rifle magazine. However, seeing as you seem to have an SR-25, this might not be such an issue. It will be if you're a rifleman. Something to think about.
Things to think about:
Knee pads. Bounding movements are a bitch, and will fuck your knees up if you aren't careful. I personally never used mine and my knees are fucked.
Helmets. If you don't have one, you should. One of the leading causes of casualties are TBIs(Traumatic Brain Injury). It doesn't have to be a ballistic helmet, but it should protect your head in case you take a fall or something falls on you. I highly recommend the standard ACH. It's cheap, works, and while it may not be as light as the new high-cut helmets, it does provide more protection and can do all the same things. Yes, you can even wear peltors under it. It's built with that purpose in mind. Just get yourself another strap for it, because the issued one sucks. Don't mount too much stuff on it, just the necessary stuff. Put on a helmet cover on it too. It will dampen noise when you brush against things, and you can use it to weave vegetation into it.
Soft covers. A boonie is always good, and if you aren't moving or getting shot at, is more comfortable and easier to work in. If you have two, you can turn one into a veil.
All in all, seems you're doing well. Make sure you have at least enough room for six magazines on your person. The standard is eight, but, I find that's overkill. Six is the sweet spot, and you can always carry more in your ruck.
Keep dry clothing, to include socks, and maybe an extra pair of boots for long outings in your ruck. Keep this all in a wet weather bag. They're green and are about $8 on any milsurp store. I have one for every bag. Keep a sleep system. The snugpak stuff is good, and is much lighter and packs smaller than the USGI sleep systems. Make sure you have a bivy cover as well.
And for one last tip, I would say dummy cord your optics, and other important items to your rifle or your person. You do not want to be ten miles into a movement just to find that you no longer have an optic or a pair of NODs. Anything you can't afford to lose should be tied down. Pouches should be built with this in mind. Some guys carry the pouches with bungee cords. I like them too, but I have closed top pouches as well. Don't worry about the velcro too much. If you're having to reload, that velcro isn't going to be louder than whatever is going on around you.
Also, carry a weapons cleaning kit with plenty of CLP. This should be kept in your ruck.
Carry a rite-in-the-rain notebook with an appropriate pen or pencil. Keep these on your person or admin pouch. They are useful whenever you are making sector sketches or to write down things before sending them up. Keep laminated smart cards for anything you might need like 9-line medevac, etc.
Keep extra water in your ruck apart from your camelbak. If you carry canteens, use them to fill up the bag instead of drinking form them. This way they won't slosh and make noise.
Keep comfort items like baby wipes, ibuprofein, a hygiene kit, and a boo-boo kit in your ruck or assault pack. Moleskin is also good if you're prone to blisters. Never let those go untreated. If you develop a hot spot, wait for a halt, then fix it. You do not want to be slowing the others down because you've fucked your feet up. Take care of your feet. Take care of all your body parts for that matter. Have a good pair of eyepro and gloves, earpro too. Wear them and camouflage any exposed skin using a compact you can buy at any online store. Learn how to apply face paint. It isn't just making random patterns. Regular rule of thumb is that lighter colors go in shadowed features and darker colors go in prominent features. You can stripe or blotch, or combination of the two. Try it and see what works.
Signaling items are also good a VS-17 panel and chemlights are a must have for TLs and up. Smoke, and other items are also useful. Make a PACE plan for all these things. You should have backups to your backups and pre-determined SOPs. Pre-plan and rehearse. Don't go into things blind.
A lot of surplus gear is good enough for the most part. I did just fine with it and I've been doing the job for more than a decade. However, there are better things out there, just avoid obvious shit like condor and so on. If something has an NSN number, chances are that it's good. I myself have been issued some better gear and have a lot of my own gear as well. Do this for long enough and you'll learn what does and doesn't work.