Chest rigs

On the fabric itself it soaks in and does a good job dyeing it. It will fade and rub off with time but that just helps break up the pattern. On the buckles and hard objects it will scratch off the same as any other paint.

I have been getting into the chest rigs lately. I like to keep them as simple as possible and keep weight to a minimum. Ammo, IFAK, trauma shears and tourniquet. Everything else will be on my belt or in my pack. I have bought one from Whiskey Tango Foxtrot for my AR that I use everyday. I have 5 ea. 20 round mags on the rig, then in a dangler pouch is the IFAK, then in a separate pouch is the tourniquet. Trauma shears are shoved in between the the velcro panels on the chest rig.
I then bought another WTF chest rig that holds 6 ea. 9mm stick mags for my 9mm AR and set it up identically.
I also bought a chest rig from Gadsden Dynamics that holds 24 12 gauge shotshells and am building it up to carry up to 24 more shells on shot shell cards and have an IFAK, trauma shears and tourniquet. This will support my 930 SPX.
So far the build quality of the WTF chest rigs seem good, but only time will tell how they hold up. The Gadsden chest rig is made of a softer material and is a little bit harder to put on because of that. It's overall quality seems good as well.

Pics?

This is the one I have set up for the AR.

I've been working on a new rig lately, and today I can say it's finished for now. I moved back to an LBE (belt/suspenders) and I think I can say I prefer those over chest rigs. I assembled a Vietnam-era M1956 web gear in high school and love how comfortable that rig is, and I wanted something similar but more modern. This rig is based around an Eagle Industries SFLCS H-Harness; a less well-known piece but one that I am fully satisfied with.

The Special Forces Load Carriage System (SFLCS) program was a predecessor to modern MOLLE equipment designed for Army and Navy Special Operations use in the early 2000s. The program included the Ranger Load Carriage System (RLCS) designed for the US Army and Maritime Load Carriage System (MLCS) for NSW, both of which were identical systems in different colors based on branch. The MLCS was khaki with black buckles, the RLCS was ranger green with tan buckles, and civilian versions were khaki with tan buckles. The program included several types of plate carriers, chest rigs (the RRV was part of this program, below top middle), and numerous pouches all issued as a set to an individual soldier or sailor. The program evaluated the combat reliability of MOLLE-type gear before budget was allocated to the design and distribution of MOLLE gear to line troops.



One of the less common items in the SFLCS Program was the Machine Gunner's H-Harness (above, center). It is a heavy-duty harness with thick padded straps designed to carry as much weight as possible as comfortably as possible, and was often loaded with up to 800 rds in four 200 rd pouches. The harness is oversized to be worn over body armor, and requires a taller build to be worn comfortably without armor. The MLCS and RLCS versions differ in that the RLCS cummerbund is slimmer and more flexible, while the MLCS version is fitted with foam flotation pads to ease the weight during water insertions. The civilian version follows after the MLCS. The cummerbund consists of three panels, with the rear panel being removable to tighten the fit. The issued buttpack is designed to fit to this panel, however it can be attached without the rear panel with some creativity.



My rig is pictured above. It is a civilian pattern harness I ordered from Keep Shooting. The harness I received was brand new, but I believe I ordered the last one they had. The real beauty of these rigs is that they're not a heavily sought-after item and can be had for pretty cheap, yet I'd even venture the say they're more robust than ALICE gear. I paid less than $60 for mine.

The majority of my pouches are surplus, but I had to substitute for some items that aren't really in circulation anymore.
From left to right:

-Condor AK Double Magazine Pouch
-Eagle Industries M60 Ammo Pouch
-Condor Modular Recon Buttpack
-North American Rescue CAT Tourniquet (buried under buttpack)
-Eagle Industries SF Medical Pouch
-Condor AK Double Magazine Pouch

Original SFLCS buttpacks are downright impossible to find for any reasonable price, and all the AK magazine pouches I was looking for are discontinued. Fortunately Condor makes clones of both, and while both items are discontinued I managed to get a hold of what I needed. I like this style of magazine pouch for their versatility. Each pouch will fit at least two of nearly any kind of magazine (or three AR mags), and can fit two shotshell cards. I stuffed a GI wool sock in the bottom of each so the shot cards reach the top. The buttpack is well built and waterproofed, and the side pockets fit a canteen. My assault pack (USMC FILBE) sits right on top so my harness bears the weight of my pack, most of which is transferred to my hips.

I still need to fill it with ammunition and round out the IFAK, but I'm very happy with how this setup turned out.

S.R., nice setups. I'm continually amazed at the improvements in chest rigs.

Back in my special opertions days it was basically the Vietnam LBE. And they actually worked well with some modifications. Instead of using the clips we tied everything on with paracord. But a little later (mid 70s) we adopted the old Rhodesian chest rigs. The big advantage of these was the zipper fronts which facilitated crawling and spending extended time in a prone shooting position. You simply unzipped the chest rig so your mags and other kit didn't get in the way.

Weight is your emeny and I have to shake my head at some of these "modern" rigs that carry everything and the kitchen sink. Two or three days of humping a couple of weapons (M-16 and M-205 Grenade Launcher plus a 1911), 300 - 500 round of ammo, some rations and lots of water gets old and every pound you can lose is to your benefit.

Looking good!

Regards

Think I'm going to go to the gym instead. They wouldn't let a rig in the door, anyways...

Gear should really be a KISS philosophy and there's a lot of bad information out there. Brent0331 and Dooshbag's Brother, Dick are both good youtube channels for this sort of thing. Fighting gear is for making holes and plugging holes. Anything that doesn't need to be accessed quickly should be in the pack. Of course some mission specific things like navigation gear could be put on the fighting load, but some people get too carried away with it. The whole "leatherman in a pistol pouch" trend bugs me, same for lights. If you really need that kind of thing on your rig it should be in an admin pouch, otherwise stuff it in the pack.