Panzer,
Thank you for the kind words.
Elixar - while Blackhawk may be a decent value option in gear, a blanket 'you can never go wrong with Blackhawk' statement is just silly.
Aside from the STRIKE line of gear, which is well made (regardless of country of origin and politics), the rest of it is a crap-shoot. Popped stitches on holsters, gloves that unravel after minimal use. I won't get into the whole ethical issue of them copying stuff done by everyone else (including unique designs), since that's nothing to do with gear quality.
One can 'go wrong' with any piece of gear...esp. if you buy the wrong gear for the wrong mission. Granted, we're talking airsoft here, but many of the same issues still apply, unless you are going for a certain look ('impression' as they say in Europe).
The Wasatch design has its place, to be certain. It was designed for door-kickers who needed armor and ammo. It was designed to be worn over body armor. The Weesatch addressed some of these limitations (smaller folks or folks who didn't wear armor), additional shoulder pads addressed the non-armor wear.
As I, and other here, have counseled on MANY occasions, figure out (to the best of your ability) how you will be using this stuff....THEN decide what items fit that role.
"Rural" operations? Perhaps a patrol vest would work better.
MOUT ops or in and out of vehicles a lot? Perhaps a chest rig.
Body Armor? Do you want to attach your gear directly or in a separate rig?
