Artesh Webbing: DIYing Iranian 2nd Line Gear
By Marc Kyle Percival-Degage
Iranian uniforms are incredibly difficult to come by mainly due to sanctions, and their gear is even more difficult to obtain. So much so that typically the only existing Iranian gear are Iran-Iraq war era bringbacks from US servicemen that commanding high prices, or from couriers going to and from Iran. This means options for tactical webbing are scarce for anyone with uniforms.
There’s a multitude of different chest rigs, load bearing vests, armor vests, that are in Iranian military service, so this is not a complete list but rather a deliberate selection of tactical gear that can be easily made with little modification and has a distinct appearance conducive for Iranian loadouts.
The disadvantage and also the advantage of Iranian kit is that close copies can be made with a bit of improvising. There are three commercial vests that we will cover and the modifications it’ll need to look like a clone of its original Iranian reference.
Iranian MOLLE LBV
Materials Needed:
-Base MOLLE vest
-Classic Army AK pouches
-Thread cutter or small surgical knife
Total cost: $65-70
Easily the most unbiquitous type of 2nd line gear for Iranian forces, these tan colored Blackhawk! style vests were introduced in the late 2000s, and are worn by the average infantry conscript, to the special forces units within the IRGC. Two variants exist, one with Y-shaped shoulders and one with the regular, boxy shaped shoulders seen on any commercial Blackhawk! style crossdraw vest.
Soldiers on parade, pouches are single cell G3 pouches in desert DPM and plain tan. (irna)
Both G3 and AK/MP5 magazine pouch configurations exist, each with different closure systems and camouflage patterns.
G3 pouches have male and female buckle or double snap closure systems, with the former being documented in Iranian desert DPM, 3-color desert and tan, and the latter being seen in primarily 3-color desert and on rare occasions in desert digital. Sometimes they are individual pouches or are 2-cell pouches.
2-cell AK pouches with buckle closures in DPM, 3 color and tan. (i.r.iran.army IG)
Iranian IRGC Brig. Gen. with a KH2002. Note his two cell Spanish buckle enclosed pouches in 3 color desert. (globalmilitaryreview)
Their AK/MP5/Uzi pouches feature a buckle closure system like G3 pouches paired with velcro, and more uniquely, Spanish buckles. Spanish buckled pouches are mostly in 3-color desert and sometimes tan, while buckle and velcro closed AK pouches come in 3 color desert, tan, and desert digital. Uniquely, Spanish buckled AK pouches will come in 6 color “chocolate chip” patterns, and the buckled AK pouches have been spotted in a digital green by Navy SF users in Syria. These pouches are also almost always 2-cell pairs.
Classic Army Classic II pouches from Airsofr GI
Out of sheer luck, I stumbled upon Classic Army 2-cell AK pouches that look identical. The flap is rounded, and most importantly, it has a buckle closure system as well. Iranian pouches are tan, but slight sun bleaching over time will make them look indistinguishable.
9 March 2021: Acquired the Classic Army pouches, will sand off the Classic Army molded letters off the buckles to make it look more Iranian like, as well as considering cutting the pouch flap elastic off as it serves no purpose.
Classic Army AK Pouch (Before):
After:
Cut the elastic band over the top of the pouch, and sand off the Classic Army marking on the buckles.
Bonus: Condor grenade pouches in Coyote Brown will work as good grenade pouch substitutes
Left to right: Condor Modular Vest in Coyote Brown, RapDom Tactical Modular Style Vest in the same color
I opted for the Rothco MOLLE vest as its zipper is also of thr same coyote brown color. Its stitching on the belt loops and 2nd row of velcro was easy to remove with scissors.
Now for the vest itself. Upon observation, there is a variant with Y-shaped shoulder straps, with faux leather stock padding for both shoulders or a grenade pouch on the right shoulder, and a radio pouch on its right side. The other version is cut like a regular crossdraw vest. For the latter, both shoulders have faux leather to pad a rifle stock and all of these vests lack belt loops. A strip of female Velcro is found just below the stock pads.
To replicate an Iranian vest, Rothco MOLLE vests, Condor MOLLE vests and a vest made by RapDom Tactical both are visually identical substitutes. Both have rifle stock padding, but have belt loops and a second Velcro row below the first that need to be removed, as well as the Rothco made offering. This can be easily done with your thread cutter or small surgical knife but a pair of small, sharp scissors does the trick for many of these vests with wide and looser stitches. Attach the MOLLE pouches and the vest is complete.
Complete. (19 April 2021)
2. Iranian Chicom Chest Rig
Materials needed:
-Tan/brown 3-cell AK chest rig
-As close to tan color wise
-Snap closure kit, mallet
-Thread cutter or surgical knife
Total cost: $16-20
Iranian Chicoms worn peculiarly over the MOLLE vests. This was likely dome for Unit SOP reasons. (usokwi)
While it’s true that Iranians will use regular Chicom chest rigs with toggle closures for AKs, these are far rarer than one would expect as most Chicoms in service are domestically made in Iran. Iranian chest rigs come in the tan color and their pouches are closed with black snap closures.
This will be the most DIY intensive of all of the three vests, but is still fairly easy. Start by carefully cutting the thread off the toggles and loops of the pouches. Then, grab the threads from the inside. You should be able to pull those threads and it will appear ladder like. If the ladder threads won’t come free, find the point where it is anchored up front and cut that top thread with the thread cutter, and the entire row of threads can be pulled free.
Now make small cuts and add your snap closures on using the kit and a hammer.
Cut the toggles off and add snap closures, and it’s set. (17 March 2021)
Quick tip: If your snap buttons are not black, sandpaper them and then spraypaint black. The sandpapering will make the paint stick and eliminate premature wear.
This can be done before or after the modifications, but sun bleaching or dyeing the rig to be a light tan is recommended.
3. Black Split-Front Vest
Aliexpress black tactical vest.
Materials needed:
-Aliexpress split front vest
-(Optional): Spanish Buckles
-Thread cutter
-Sewing machine/tailor
Total cost: $23 ($30+ tailor fee if adding Spanish buckles)
Soldiers training with their split front rigs. (aparat)
This aliexpress rig is practically identical to the Iranian rig, it is a split front rig, closed up front with buckles, have similar padded shoulders and is height adjusted with a single strap system, and has belt loops. The only thing needed would be to probably replace the pouch buckle closure with Spanish buckles but is not necessary.