How to Field-Test Your Kit Before You Need It
Most people don’t test their gear until something goes wrong — and by then, it’s too late. Whether you're building a bug-out kit, dialing in a range loadout, or setting up for home defense, your gear isn’t ready until you’ve moved in it, trained in it, and worked through the unexpected.
This post isn’t about what to buy — it’s about how to field-test what you already have. Before you rely on your kit, you should know exactly how it performs when conditions aren’t perfect and time isn’t on your side.
1. Know the Mission (Or the Scenario)
First things first: there is no loadout that does it all. This post isn’t about imagining every scenario under the sun and trying to build the “perfect” kit for each one — that’s not realistic, and it’s not helpful.
What is helpful is being honest with yourself about what you're preparing for. Are you setting up a kit for home defense? A bug-out situation? Vehicle-based patrol? Each has different demands, and your gear should reflect that.
Your mission drives your kit — not the other way around. If you're planning to move on foot, weight and endurance matter more than admin space. If you're vehicle-based, fast access might take priority over comfort.
Field testing without context is just cosplay. Dial in your purpose first, then start pushing your gear through the paces.
Modularity plays a huge role here. These days, most people don’t want a one-trick piece of gear — they want something that adapts to different roles. That’s where something like the MAP Pack comes in. It can run as a stand-alone backpack or assault pack, molle directly onto a plate carrier as a back panel, or integrate with a tactical chest rig like the Tracker Chest Rig, which was specifically designed to work with it. This kind of flexibility lets you scale your loadout depending on your environment, your role, or the level of mobility you need.
2. Run It Cold (No Adjustments)
Put your full kit on and run basic movements without adjusting anything. No mirror checks, no fine-tuning, no taping down loose straps — just wear it as-is and get to work.
Go prone. Sprint 50 yards. Try a reload from your magazine pouches. Get in and out of a vehicle. Sit in a chair. Hit the ground. Crawl. Can you reach your med kit? Does anything catch or shift? Did your sling tangle?
The goal of testing isn’t comfort — it’s to run your kit until it breaks. Breaking is a good thing. That’s data. Nothing is indestructible. Everything fails eventually. Your job is to find out when, and under what conditions — before it matters.
Maybe a molle mag pouch rips out under tension. Maybe your sling hardware starts separating after repeated drops. Maybe your admin pouch shifts just enough to block your draw. It’s better to find that out now — during a dry run — than when you're in a scenario that counts.
While you’re testing — whether that’s at the range, in a drill, or even just moving through your daily routine — pay attention to the details. What were you doing when something failed? How were you moving? What stressors were in play? Those small observations will help you modify your setup to prevent future breakage, or plan around its limits.
At Erebus, we look at failures the same way. A failure isn’t a failure — it’s feedback. When something breaks, we don’t get discouraged — we get excited. That’s a learning opportunity. It tells us exactly how to make that product better, tougher, and smarter for the next iteration.
3. Time + Movement = Truth
Kit that feels fine for 15 minutes might fall apart after an hour. Or worse — it might just shift, rub, or loosen in subtle ways that you won’t notice until it’s too late. That’s why time and movement are essential parts of any real test.
Strap in and go live with your gear. Wear it while you train, hike, do dry-fire reps, or even run errands. Sweat in it. Sit in it. Climb something. Lay on concrete. Add awkward movement and unpredictable positions.
Don’t be afraid to be that guy on the hiking trail with a plate carrier on. You’re not doing it for the look — you’re doing it to see how your kit behaves under stress, in motion, and over time.
Watch for hotspots, shifting weight, or anything that starts out minor and becomes a problem over time. Good kit should feel like an extension of your body — not something you're constantly adjusting or fighting with.
The more time you put in wearing your gear like you plan to use it, the faster you’ll identify what actually works — and what’s just working for now.