Speed, mobility, and endurance are by far the most important physical aspects of combat nowadays. The ability to walk for miles upon endless miles without stopping, run without feeling like you’re being dragged down by an anchor, and maneuver without clunky gadgets and tidbits all greatly affect your performance in the field. Long gone is the belief that you have to be ready for everything, which always resulted in operators carrying a massive pack on their backs.
Today, when preparing for an outing, we always focus on building a lightweight tactical loadout with speed and mobility in mind.
Base Layer
Starting off with the most intimate part of your tactical loadout, the clothes you wear are the very bottom section of your loadout pyramid. To complement your needs, they need to check the following boxes:
- They’re comfortable
- They’re breathable
- They’re layered
In tactical terms, comfort and breathability go hand in hand. Modern tactical shirts are often made from lightweight and breathable fabrics to help keep you cool and dry. The fact of the matter is, you will sweat, and investing in a breathable shirt goes a long way in helping with that.
When it comes to pants, the two things you should always keep in mind are pockets and reinforced knees. Pockets are self-explanatory; you always want to maximize your carrying capacity without shoving a bunch of things down your pack. Knee protectors are often built into tactical pants, while some models also have the option of taking them out. Kneeling is interwoven with tactical movement, and if you don’t keep your knees protected, you’ll certainly feel it at the end of the day.
Boots
Anyone who’s ever served knows that having a comfortable pair of boots is possibly the most important part of your loadout. You’re going to spend the vast majority of your time on your feet, and if you opt for the right pair of boots, it isn’t going to suck as nearly as much as it could. What does the right pair of boots mean, though?
Good boots are durable and comfortable – those two categories are more important than everything else. Durability is especially important because you’re going to be crossing a lot of terrain, and your boots need to be able to withstand the abuse without cracking open. On top of that, the weather conditions may be extreme, and you need boots that can handle rain or snow while they keep your feet dry and warm.
Regarding comfort, the most important thing is the sole. You’re going to make tens of thousands of steps a day, and you want boots that will prevent your feet from feeling numb in the evening and developing blisters.
Vest, Helmet, and Pack
Once we have our bottom layer down, we have to take a look at the things that stand out. Your vest, helmet, and pack will bring the bulk of the weight to your tactical loadout, and this is where we really get to improve speed and mobility.
Starting off with the vest, opting for a modular, lightweight vest is the safest bet. Just like with tactical gun accessories, these vests are extremely popular nowadays because they allow the wearer to add and remove certain vest accessories as they need to. For example, if you’re not the comms person on your team, you can remove a pouch for the radio. You can also remove magazine pouches, depending on how many magazines you’re bringing with you. You can also make the vest heavier if you’re bringing body armor, but that’s an inescapable necessity that we can’t get around.
Modern helmets weigh around 3 pounds, which isn’t necessarily lighter than the helmets worn during World War II, but they’re nevertheless safer as they’re lined with Kevlar. You can’t really save on weight with helmets, but you can opt not to carry NVGs and other attachments.
Finally, your pack and the pouches on your person are going to greatly affect your speed and mobility. It’s highly recommended you only use as big of a pack as you need. For example, there’s no need for a 10-day pack if you’re going on a 3-day mission, as larger packs are considerably heavier than smaller ones. They also make it more difficult for you to move. If you can fit food, survival gear, supplies, a second set of clothes, and some ammo in your pack, you’re going to be fine.
Conclusion
To sum up, get breathable shirts, pocketed pants, and always wear comfortable and durable boots. Lightweight and modular vests are the best kind, and make sure not to carry a needlessly big pack.