OE TECH, rubbish or not so much?

[DasPhoenix]

Not sure if this is really the appropriate place for this question, so feel free to move it...

Being new to airsoft, I'm in the market for tactical gear (belt, vest, dump pouch, etc). Browsing AirsoftGI for awhile led me to the conclusion that buying OE TECH is the cheapest way to get some gear. Does the low price point come with a corresponding lack of value and durability? I'm not going to get hung up on niggles about how closely it replicates military gear, but I will be kind of pissed if my plate carrier falls apart after a few months.

So, does anyone have any experience with OE TECH gear, and was it good or bad?

For reference, the item I was most interested in was:
www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?cPath=28_176&products_id=1732

[Pagan]

I owned that exact rig for quite a while.

I loved it, and honestly have thought about getting another one for a qcb rig.

Everyone that I know who has had that one, or ever used mine, commented on the quality.

[Dynamo]

I started off with Condor/OE Tech gear and I can say that it really depends on how hard you push your gear. If you are one of those people that like to crash through brush and buildings and shit then you will want something that will hold up a bit more. OE Tech stuff is good for a beginner only because it is cheap and it looks "good enough".

That being said, you will eventually have to replace it...but it all depends on your play style. The nice thing about it is that if you ever want to switch styles, or loadouts then you can do so at a cheaper price. I always like to think that there is an evolution when it comes to airsoft. Pretty much everyone starts out with lower end gear and works their way up to buying better quality stuff after learning what they need/want out of their gear.

I went from buying a whole bunch of stuff, to realizing that I didn't need (or couldn't play in) half of it...then I went to a different loadout, decided I didn't like it and ended up buying a high end set of what I knew I wanted/needed for my playstyle. If I had gone right for the quality stuff, I would have spent even more money trying to figure out what I liked/didn't like.

So, it is my suggestion to go ahead and grab OE Tech stuff for now until you get a good idea of what you want as your end result. Buying good gear isn't always cheap. While many on these forums will tell you otherwise, I can say with great certainty that once you go through the "evolution", you will know how to spend your money.

Good luck with the journey man. Try everything out and eventually you will know when it is time to switch to the higher quality stuff.

[DasPhoenix]

Awesome. Pretty good insight there Dynamo. Hopefully that carrier will serve me as well as it served Pagan.

[TheEnd]

Like Dynamo said it's great to start out with and build your first load out. It should hold up pretty well, but don't be surprised if the MOLLE isn't strait and the stitching frays after a while. The resale value is pretty low.

Having said that, good gear can be just as cheap if you shop around. Also, if you find your high quality piece of gear doesn't fit your needs, it will be easier to sell and you will probably get more of your money back. Brands like Pantac and Flyye can be just a few dollars more, but are made of better materials and built better. Pantac and Flyye gear sells pretty fast on these boards.

I've used OE Tech/Condor gear up until just a little while ago and was pleased with it. It's not the best, but it worked. It's up to you to decide which way to go.

[Knief]

The biggest problem I've had with cheaper gear is, as the TheEnd noted, bad alignment on the PALS webbing. For me, it has usually amounted to one column of webbing, usually on the end of a panel, being too narrow to fit a strap through, rending it useless. None of this has been on OE TECH gear (which I have little experience with), mostly milspex. But it's something to watch out for on the cheaper stuff that doesn't seem to crop up nearly as often on the more expensive reproductions like Pantac and FLYYE or the real stuff (Eagle, Allied Industries, LBT, Mayflower, Blackhawk, etc).

[Dahm]

Another problem, that relates to what Knief and TheEnd are talking about, is that lets say you want to put a set up of pouches on your budget vest. Lets call that set up A. Later, you'll want a second set up as times change, so lets call that B. If you still have the same vest, you may want set up C, and D, etc. etc.

If you put your MOLLE pouches on correctly, you're weaving the strap from the vest, back to the pouch, to the vest, pouch, vest on every loop until you get to the bottom. If the MOLLE/PALS webbing is misaligned like it is on many cheaper gear models out there, this would put a lot of stress on the stitching which (how ya doin'!) is another weak point of cheap gear. Many people don't realize that.

So, now when you go to put on set up B, you're putting more stress on the stitching. This will happen again for C and D, etc. Not to mention, as you load up more mags, pistol mags, smokes, and other heavy items in those pouches, there is more stress put on the stitching.

Its not just the misaligned PALS webbing, and the shoddy stitching, but its how one affects the other, and basically allows the vest to unravel itself.

[Andrew]

I am assuming OE Tech is very similar to Condor, or the same thing for that matter. If so I have had my Condor PC for 2 years now and can say that it has held up great. I have never had a problem with it. I mean it is just airsoft so one doesn't have to rely on it as much if say you were in a real firefight. Just my .02 cents.

[DasPhoenix]

Dec 2, 2011 1:56:37 GMT -5 Dahm said:

Its not just the misaligned PALS webbing, and the shoddy stitching, but its how one affects the other, and basically allows the vest to unravel itself.

Is this the sort of stitching that can be corrected by hand? Or is it pretty much done at that point?

[Tollis]

You would have a hard time correcting the stitching without a heavy duty sewing machine because of the multiple layers of nylon they use, I've tried it before on my old condor rig and it didn't work out that well, so I just saved up my money and got an eagle industries plate carrier with cummerbund.

[Sandbur]

I own the OE Tech (Condor) mar ciras and can say that it is alright. I have Flyye pouches and can definately tell the difference between the two companies fabric and stitching. The Flyye fabric seems to be more durable and the stiching holds up better. There are some frays on the pc, but nothing seems like it's going to fall apart soon.

As Knief has stated, there can be columns of PALS that are too naroow. I have one column on the right side of my plate carrier that is too narrow and it forces me to place my pouch one column back. It makes reaching for that puch a little uncomfortable, but I guess that's what you get when you pay $80.00. The saying, "you get what you pay for" definately applies for gear and airsoft in general.

[Krutch]

With a little time and a few zip ties one can decently fix the off kilter webbing.

[DasPhoenix]

All good stuff to know, thanks. AirsoftGI shipped my gear yesterday, so hopefully I'll have it sometime this upcoming week.

[samfisher]

That's basically a replica of the MBSS from Allied Industries. If you compare it to the real deal you're going to notice that the material is treated differently. A lot of your higher end gear folks and even the high end repos as well as the newer Condor nylon items use Cordura. Developed by DuPont Cordura treated Denier in either 1000 or 500 and is highly abrassion resistant compared to other Denier. Also they are advertising it as 600 Denier not 1000 so you're looking at a lighter/thinner material with less abrassion resistance than your high end tactical nylon products. Also I don't believe you're looking at any kind of lifetime warranty that you get with Pantac or many American based tactical nylon gear products. So, depending on frequency of use and level of abuse it may or may not be worth saving the money to buy one. As has often been said "buy once and cry once."

The webbing on the OETech isn't great compared to the PANTAC, FLYYE, or Allied Industries MBSS. You'll notice it's not as tightly sewn to the vest the loops are bit more loose and have more give. If you're carrying heavily loaded pouches you may notice they don't hold as tightly close to your vest as they would on a PANTAC or FLYYE or example. The other issue is that extra give in your pouches causes them to shift, even if only slightly, more placing more stress on the stitching that secures the PALS webbing to the vest. The weak point of most vests is the webbing and if you ever get a failure it's likely to be in that location.

For the airsoft hobbyist attending local and some mid-level state games it's a good value to cost item, but for those who attend expensive milsim events that last for significant duration and plan on staying in the sport for a long time it would be worth it to pony-up the dough and step-up to the FLYYE or PANTAC.

Will it fall apart on you after a few months? Boy, that's tough to say since Qaulity Control is going to play a huge factor there. The other determining variable is just how much weight you'll place in the pouches you hang on it. I would expect it to last a few seasons, but if it didn't you'll be out of luck in terms of warranty most likely. The trade off is that you can almost buy two of those suckers for the cost of one PANTAC. Get the best gear you can though without running up credit card debt or blowing all your money. This is afterall suppose to be for fun not like you're going to die if your tactical nylon fails you in airsoft.

Good call going the MBSS plate carrier route. It's a great set-up for summer games thanks to the side venting and its low weight. I'm not a huge fan of bulky pouches on my side since I like to have nothing in my way to my side arm.

[Dahm]

Dec 4, 2011 0:57:56 GMT -5 samfisher said:

Developed by DuPont Cordura treated Denier in either 1000 or 500 and is highly abrassion resistant compared to other Denier. Also they are advertising it as 600 Denier not 1000 so you're looking at a lighter/thinner material with less abrassion resistance than your high end tactical nylon products.

While I agree with everything you said I just wanted to add that 1000 Denier isn't the gold standard anymore. Studies have shown that in military applications even material as light as 500 Denier outlasts hard use and the 50% weight reduction helps immensely to lighten up a soldiers loadout. The source of Cordura, how its treated, and stitching is probably the most important factors in how long gear lasts.