Built for Battle Scorpion Vest | Tactical Gear Review

Built for Battle ‘Scorpion’ Vest

19 01 2011

About 10 years ago I got my first vest, it was a Russian M22 made by Splav and I got it from www.rusmilitary.com.

The vest had 4 AK mag pouches, 2 multi-purpose, 4 grenade, 1 bayonet and 1 flare pouch, all sewn on. Inside were two map pouches, on the shoulders and back were ALICE (All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment) type loops for attaching extra pouches, and at the bottom were belt loops. To prevent heat buildup the shoulders were made from a tough mesh and the back left open as much as possible. Adjustment was able to be done while the vest was being worn by six straps on the sides. All in all it was a very lightweight and tough vest, and I’ve still got it. Ok it’s been sprayed to hell and the velcro is only just hanging in there, but it still does the job.

Like anything though it did have points I would of liked to change. I shoot from my right shoulder and I really don’t want a pouch there, ok I don’t have to put anything in it, but if I don’t use it, why have it? Then there was the AK mag pouches. Stick an SA80/M4 mag in there and it drops down to the bottom, a bit hard to get to when you need it. I was also stuck with the Russian woodland camo (Les). I’m not saying it was bad, it wasn’t, but it was a bit dark for use with Multicam. Last was the lack of MOLLE loops. As I said SA80/M4 mags would get lost in them, and with more MOLLE pouches coming on the market I wanted more flexibility in what I could carry. Unfortunatley the vest had had it’s day and was being left behind more often. I say unfortunatley because I liked it, it was light and cool unlike many of the rigs coming on to the market and I really liked being able to pull it tight, or loosen it, while being worn. You might think that’s a small thing, but if your on night ops and stick on a thick fleece you could find yourself having problems pulling the zip up, it was never a problem with the M22.

Step forward a few years, and on the market from UK company Built for Battle came their Scorpion vest. Weighing only 700 grams this vest had everything the M22 had, but in tan this time, and with MOLLE front and rear. The only other change they made was they used double mesh on the shoulders, not sure why as it’s tough enough already, but it doesn’t add any weight so it’s all good.

Built for Battle 'Scorpion' with various Multicam MOLLE pouches.

As soon as I put it on it felt just like the my old M22. With 3 adjustments straps either side, same as the M22, I can honestly say that there is no other vest I have worn that fits as well as this does, well apart from the M22 obviously. I forgot to mention, the vest also has 2 vertical adjustment straps to raise or lower the vest. Unless you can dislocate your shoulders you will need to do this with the vest off though.

One of the things I’ve recently come to appericate about the vest are the belt loops. You might think that’s a bit strange, but bear with me. When I was in the Army we used 58 pattern webbing (I know, old fart) and of course it’s now PLCE. It’s the same principle though, a yoke to go over your shoulders and attach to a belt, front and back. The belt then holds the pouches. It was comfortable, cool to wear, and you could lie down with no problems. The two front pouches had ammo in them and then going all the way around you other pouches for gas mask, mess tins, utility, water bottle etc… The only downside was it got a bit cramped sitting in a vehicle, but in those days we used to walk a lot so it didn’t really matter. Well now I’ve come full circle and I’ve decided to set myself up with belt order again. I will still use a vest, but I want to be able to wear a belt if needed. My only problem was in the good ‘ol’ days I had a waist, but I’ve now filled out, tightening a belt re-arranges my internal organs, which pinches a bit. An alternative was to get a belt and battle braces, a good solution and there’s a few on the market, but then my slow old brain had a flash of inspiration! Why don’t I just use the belt loops on the Scorpion? The pictures below are shown with DPM PLCE belt order just to show what I mean, obviously the vest is suited more to Multicam or a lighter type of camo.