I hear a lot of people complaining about the new weight limits this wipe. I also hear a lot of people not mentioning much beyond their rig and their armor when discussing this. How much are people paying attention to the weight of all the things they're bringing into raid?
It all adds up. Are you bringing a melee weapon, and how heavy is it? That KATT axe from EOD is 1.861 kg alone. How much is in your secure container? A document case is 0.7 kg.
What about meds? The IFAK is 0.5 kg, the Salewa 0.6 kg, and the AFAK 0.8 kg. A Grizzly (1.6 kg) and a CMS (0.4 kg) is 2 kg, while an Afak + ALU splint (0.22 kg) is 1.02 kg.
USEC trooper armor + blackrock is 8.8 kg (6.8 + 1.8), while the Strandhogg armored rig is 6.8 kg. The rat rig is 9.2 kg. The 6b13 ceramic armor is 10.5 kg.
The difference between the lightest headset (walker razor at 0.43 kg) and heaviest (ComTac 2 at 0.7 kg) is over a quarter kg.
Helmets range from the extremely heavy class 5's and sixes at 4 kg and more, to the mid-range with ULACH onthe heavier end of that (1.9 kg), and TC-2001 at the lighter end of that (1.4kg) to the light and high end Wendy's at just over a kg and FAST-MT and Crye Precision at just under a kg. The LShZ light helmet and HJELM stand out as under a kg for class 3's, but even the ratnik is only 1.3 kg.
For backpacks, a daypack is 0.62 kg, a berkut is 0.96, a scav backpack is 1.68, and a pillbox is 2.52 kg. Some of the larger ones range from ~3kg to 6 kg (or more!).
What does this mean? Let's compare two sample load outs without any weapons (except melee, which isn't lost) or extra food. First, let's look at someone that's using armor+rig and has a docs case and assortment of healing items.
ULACH Helmet – 1.9 kg
USEC Armor – 6.8 kg
ComTac 2 Headset – 0.7 kg
Blackrock Harness – 1.8 kg
Berkut Backpack – 0.96 kg
Grizzly – 1.6 kg
CMS – 0.4 kg
KATT axe – 1.861 kg
TOTAL – 16.021kg
Next, let's look at consciously choosing some lighter options, ones that hopefully aren't too much more expensive given the flea or some good trade options. These aren't the lightest options, these are some lighter options that should be easily accessible to most after the flea is available.
MSA TC-2001 Helmet – 1.4 kg
M32 Headset – 0.49 kg
MMAC Armored Rig – 7.2 kg
Daypack Backpack – 0.672 kg
IFAK – 0.5 kg
ALU Splint – 0.22 kg
Army Bandage – 0.043
CALOK-B – 0.043
CMS – 0.4 kg
Antique Axe – 1.1 kg
TOTAL – 12.068 kg
Now, obviously those changes come with trade offs. You can't as easily insurance fraud or grab a bigger rig or good found armor in every case if your armor is also your rig. On the other hand, over 4 kg extra leeway on your starting equipment to keep you underweight is quite a bit. If the MMAC is considered hard to come by, the ANA M1 might be a suitable replacement, at 1.1 kg more.
Alternatively, if you're using the ceramic armors because they are cheap and plentiful and you can get them from scavs and scav runs, consider what the extra weight those bring does.
Thoughts? What's your favorite load out, and how does it compare weight-wise?
