[THEORY] The 4 Point System for Drop-legs

I get asked about my design choices a great deal and recently I have been asked about my system for drop-legs. I have advocated a 4 point system for them since my time with BSUK and it's based on the field testing we did there and the years of experience since. I don't think, however, in all that time I've ever fully elucidated my design choices at any sort of length so I thought it'd make a good post for the new blog.

Key Considerations:
The primary considerations that differentiate Nerf stuff from 

• Nerf stuff is much lighter than real steel but also much larger
• Cost/benefit ratios - gear is already bespoke and built by hand in the UK, keeping costs down is important to make equipment affordable to players

Belt Loops:
Perhaps the most striking thing about the 4 point system is the split belt loops. The vertical loops at the top are two 25mm straps, each independently adjustableto their own length. This actually costs more than a single 50mm buckle equivalent but it's an important choice. One of the things we found with airsoft gear and even Nerf loads during testing was the tendency for equipment to 'walk' forwards on the thigh. It would start at the 9 o'clock position and then steadily rotate around the leg over the course of testing towards the 12 o'clock position. In an effort to solve this, we elected to split the strap into two so that one line could be placed on either side of a belt loop to lock the holster in place and prevent it from rotating.

There are other, unexpected advantages, to this design. For example, MOLLE vest wears can loop the straps between their webbing so as to offer a greater degree of vertical freedom or simply anchor their vests to their shoulders. I did this a great deal with my gear at Green Cloaks and found it very comfortable once I got the tension right.

The other advantage is that it permits you to spread the load across the width of belt so in the case of heavier blasters, there's less pull on one side. You can even spread the load asymmetrically if you so choose because each of the 25mm buckles can be set to their own length.

With my transition to BoffTac, I made some changes to the traditional MkIV holster based 4 point system. The most prominent in these is the belt loops. BoffTac belt loops are fixed webbing and press stud as standard. The vertical straps on the lower half of the side release buckle are much longer to compensate for the loss of flexibility that comes from binning the Velcro. The reason for this is that as blasters have gotten heavier (Stryfes with metal cages, bigger batteries etc) I spent more and more time putting press studs straight into the belt loops to lock them into place. In the end, I simply elected to save time by just fixing the belt loops and offering studs as standard.

Thigh straps:
The thigh straps are another point of departure from a lot of airsoft and milspec gear that opts for 50mm straps. 50mm straps ought to be as comfortable as their 25mm cousins. A properly set holster that uses the two point belt loops that come as part of the 4 point system ought not to have a problem with narrower straps digging into the flesh of the thigh so narrower straps shouldn't be an issue. If your holster is set right, you ought to be able to get two fingers between the straps and your leg. If not, loosen them and secure the belt loops properly.

In testing, we found that having two straps, one at the top and one at the bottom of the holster or magazine pouch was better for helping keep the panel shaped properly. With Nerf magazines being much larger than their real steel counterparts, it's important to recognise that the various forces are multipled so points of contact need to be more. Equally, you have to accomdate for larger panel sizes which are also better served by having two leg straps instead of one.

The decision to elect for a 25mm strap rather than a 50mm is partly down to cost and partly down to supply chain elegance. In seeking to minimise the number of parts used in each device combined with the fact that there's no comfort difference (that we've found in 6 and a half years of testing) between 25mm and 50mm, it makes sense to opt for the option that keep the price down where possible. Fewer input materials result in a more flexible supply chain, too which has a further impact in reducing costs.

Final words:
I've been doing tactical gear design in Nerf professionally since 2013 and as an amateur since 2011. It's nice to have blog back to explore why I do what I do. In answering client questions directly, it forces me to reflect on why and to recognise that there are other ways to do the thing even if I elect to do them differently. If folks have other questions for me then I'd be happy to answer them for you.

And of course, just because I make design choices like these in my line items, doesn't mean I can't accomadate custom orders or requests.