How to RAID Mod | The BEST Hot Weather Shell

It's worth pointing out that Raid mod can trace back to WWII where some Paratroopers Raid mod their M42 Jump uniforms, and Vietnam where some people in MAC-V-SOG and SF raid mod their jungle uniforms.

Sick vid, going to try this. Another method you can try for sewing sleeve pockets, especially on BDUs with wide arm openings is pull the sleeve into the arm hole. This will allow you to place it flat on your machine without having to use the hemming feature and gives your freedom of rotation. Just make sure it's pinned well.

Awesome video and great work; great example for the rest of us :)

Fantastic tutorial sir! Looking forward to trying my hand at this!

Any recommendation on sewing needle and thread type/size? I just got through removing, hand sewing velcro on to, and installing one shoulder pocket and it took almost 3 hours lol. It would be great to just use my sewing machine.

It's interesting to not the difference between historic clothing and modern clothing. Traditional the BDU is a blouse and not a "jacket" yet now we wear so little clothes in modern times that we call a blouse a jacket even though it isn't.

whats that adhesive btw?
does it wash out?

It's hard for me to find jackets with the patch space on the should/bicep area, so I've though about just sewing it to a jacket myself since it's the only part I really care about, but I'm nervous I'm gonna mess it up somehow. For the velcro spots, did you hand or machine sew them? Sorry if this is a stupid question, just curious how I should do it

There isn’t anything tactical about hearing Velcro rip open lmfao

Vedy nigh!

Great creep show! I learned to sew in 8th grade “home ec” so now, with your encouragement, I can crye for less. Lucas sent me, BTW

and Love a Merica

can you talk a bit more on the thread type and sewing machine model? I ran into issues trying to use a basic, non-heavy duty sewing machine not being able to go through the multiple layers. Advice appreciated.

Whats that half mask from the start of the video?

Great ideas n info!!

@KitCreep You could also velcro the chest pockets on the outside so you can access the same side but without angled pockets. This allows access with chest rig in place. Provided you dont have a large cumberbun on your rig.

Do a video on the uber cool Airforce ABUs ❤

So nice to see someone else that's into camouflage ❤

When boys start sowing

Please stop saying right at the end of every sentence!

Good stuff and oof about the Lyme.

Great content, thank you!

appreciate the video i live in texas where its over 90 daily and love m81

This is badass! I recently chopped up a BDU woodland to and paired it with my favorite Miller Lite T Shirt to make a drippy "Combat Top" I love this shit

now do early combat shirt aka cut the sleeves off this and sew them on an ac dc or metallica t shirt

Nice work! When can we expect some cooking videos? 😛🤣

Well done, worth a sub in my opinion.👍💯

Brings back old memories

Bonus of doing the pockets all yourself is you can add additional pen or oganizer channels in the pockets. Can be any old fabric, doesnt need to be camo.

Can you do this for the BDU pants. They are so poorly cut and bind. I’ve always wanted to convert my MARPATs into better fitting pants more like a Crye

Everyone is talking about the Raid Mod…I wanna know more about that mask!

The best uniform I've worn for pocket functionality is the regular OCP top with the arm pockets that have forward facing zippers and the shoulder bellows on the back.

The hot weather OCPs are really great for air flow, but the button top pockets are annoying. Matter of fact, the pants are ridiculous too, what with the mini pleats on the inseam and the different color knee patches and the different material for the second layer.

Love it. I have a bunch of surplus stuff on my own and this has given me some ideas and inspiration on what to do. Though I am not really sure what exactly to do. Once I get some free time and look through all the things I have...

This was cool. Changed my mind on Combat Shirts. Makes me want to try it, but I need a big size BDU and I think I'll invest in FDE hook & loop for Arizona.

I thought the little sleeve in the pocket was for your death chit.

what balaclava is that

When i was a teen, one of the kids i played airsoft with had his mom make a smock, like it had hand pockets, big pockets on the back, he bought 3 tops and sacrificed 1 to make 2 smocks, and that thing went hard as fuck. He didnt run any gear just his smock and bdu pants. You are limited only by your imagination!

I too have that hit of adhd

Pretty good idea.

you would have a better time hand stitching those pockets on. It takes longer but it is easier and there is less bleeding.

my only comment... get same or close to colour Velcro... 😀

I have no idea how to sew but, I took my m81 BUDs to a tailor and made them raid mod it.

I made the tailor add Crye kneepad holders on the trousers and used the chest pockets to be on the front like the G3 cut. I gave the tailor my Crye pants to the the measurements from the kneepad holders. I had two BDU jackets, so one of them was cannibalized for the top chest pockets to be used on the trousers, also the fabric was used to make the kneepad holders and the lower waist pockets were moved to the shoulders, however the pockets are vertical which I then realized was really bad...

In the end I had all 4 pockets on the jacket and the vertical shoulder pockets, while I had the trousers with kneepad holders and front facing pockets on top of the kneepads.

After this video I have decided to hit up the same tailor again. So for the jacket the shoulder pockets are being removed and replaced with the lower waist pockets and they will be at an angle this time, The chest pockets will be removed and sewed back on at an angle like ACU. The removed shoulder pockets are going to be sewed to the trousers on the sides of the calf.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Also, a lot of people that I showed my raid mod complained that the crye kneepads were not needed but from my experience they are the most comfortable kneepads out there and it's very advantageous to have especially in urban terrain. Personally I have busted my knees enough times during exercises and had the old kneepads with straps absolutely torture me, especially when you need to cover big distances.

Brilliant stuff sir

The much-anticipated raid mod BDU top video has arrived and was worth the wait. How do you get an idea of the chest pocket alignment? The arms pockets are lined up with the shoulder seam. BDU tops are an overall great layering item to have. I used mine with an ECWCS level 2 waffle top underneath. It was very warm but not bulky. This video motivated me to get into DIY raid mods. I thought about getting some used ones to learn on. I have a seam ripper and can remove the pockets and flaps. However, I would struggle to complete the raid mod because I don't know how to sew. What would you recommend to get started? Lyme is a shitshow and makes being in nature less pleasant than it should be. The last time I was in Yosemite I was in shorts and a windbreaker. If I was in hot weather BDU pants or a raid mod or standard BDU top it would have saved me from a lot of mosquito bites. Thank you for posting the video and giving me the inspiration and motivation to raid mod BDU tops.

by drip he meant "dripping from all the sweat"

Great video. I've got a few shirts I'm wanting to update. Have you thought about trying some updates on pants? That be cool to see what you come up with

this is so cool!!!! in 2003, we modified our DCU tops and made our own "Raid" mods. (most FOBs had a tailor/patches shop).

Awesome video. Starting 1 tonight.

Love this!

Hmmm, as a Woodland guy myself, I may have to begin a savings plan for this.