At the time I purchased this cummerbund, Spiritus had 3 relevant offerings: the design shown here, the standard MOLLE (velcro instead of Tubes) and an elastic cummerbund with velcro. By the time of writing however, the MOLLE Tubes is the only option on the Spiritus site and they have “gone all in on Tubes”, to include the upcoming LV-120 only having one option a cummerbund that features integrated Tubes.
Even upon its’ release around 6-7 years ago this design was certainly not wildly different to other options already on the market, but my best guess is that this design was made necessary based on an internal requirement to not use any laminated fabric (which was becoming the norm throughout the industry at the time). Spiritus had trialled laminates in their earlier Mixed Tactics PC prototypes, but had experienced issues with the layers separating, so the commercial LV-119 PC ecosystem release featured almost no laminated materials.
Your MOLLE Tubes cummerbund will be supplied with a pair of loose, split-bar 4″ male Tubes buckles, with the female buckles being stitched in to the cummerbund. Cord pulls on the female Tubes are simple but are made from a locking cord that is durable, secure and provides for a good amount of grip.
Also in the package you will find a couple of lengths of elastic cord for weaving in-between the rear portion of the cummerbund and the grid inside the back of the LV-119 plate carrier. This will of course also play well with any other PC with a rear attachment grid, and can in fact be attached to any carrier with a full PALS grid on the rear.
This design has two main components to each row/strand, consisting of an outer layer of typical 1″ nylon webbing and an internal stiffening spar which is sheathed in a slightly lighter nylon fabric. I have inserted the male part of the Tube buckle between the two layers in the image above to assist in showing this. This setup allows for mounting of pouches both internally and externally on the cummerbund in any desired position.
Some years down the line, many people noticed the popularity and proliferation of the AXL Equinox and the Crye SPC cummerbund and asked whether Spiritus would also offer something structural. While the Spiritus MOLLE cummerbund is not as stiff and rigid as the AXL, it has always had a structural element ever since its’ release. The cord-lash style attachment at the rear might not provide quite as much of a structured effect as the new LV-120 cummerbund will, and the sizing adjustment is slower and a little more awkward compared to other PCs, but the lower back area of the LV-119 is a far better looking proposition than the spaghetti on the back of a JPC 2.0.
Alternately spaced PALS such as this is good for lightening weight of materials and increasing airflow where pouches aren’t attached. Most PALS pouches are either 3 or 5 rows tall where they attach, so the missing rows aren’t an issue. Though of course there are some pouches which are 2 or 4 (or more), which may not mount quite as neatly or securely. But those are fortunately a minority in the market.
Stitching on my example shown here does not look supremely perfect, but this is an aesthetic concern at the end of the day. Both of the layers making up each row are extremely securely triple stitched together at every 1.5″ interval. Also the areas where the female Tube buckles attach are a particularly complex and heavy-duty assembly, which has been overbuilt in order to offer a high level of rigidity and support.
Personally I purchased some Foliage Green 4″ Tubes directly from FirstSpear and took a cutting tool to the original Black Tubes, since FG Tubes happen to match grey gear. This was an entirely superfluous and aesthetic flourish however.
More importantly, in order to get my LV-119 PC sitting just right with both front and rear plates as close to the optimal positions as possible, I folded the bottom row of webbing on this cummerbund inboard and simply threaded my pouch through the folded section in order to secure it. This allows the rear bag to sit a couple of inches higher than would otherwise be possible. A great deal of cummerbunds from the last few years are designed with only 3 PALS rows at the rear and then expand to 5 nearer the front, this is in order to provide the same effect from the factory as I have achieved by slightly altering the Spiritus product. The upcoming LV-120 PC’s cummerbund has the 3-to-5 expanding cummerbund design.
A vital thing to remember when ordering this cummerbund (or any other that is similar), is to take in to account any equipment which you might attach internally, as this will affect the size that you need. Common examples would be soft armour panels, hard armour side plates and radio pouches that mount inside of the cummerbund. Even if you are of fairly average build, you will likely need a larger cummerbund than you would initially expect if you do plan to add such equipment to your plate carrier setup.
Regardless of which size you might need however, the Spiritus MOLLE Tubes cummerbund is a great option if Tubes buckles are your preference. Fairly minimalist yet extremely strong and durable. A noticeable amount of structure but not overly stiff or rigid.
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