Let's talk chest rigs.

freddy · Jun 21, 2017

GOPerfect said:
Hell, I barely wore armor when I was deployed, and wear it even less at work.

Willjr75 said:
I was in during the era of flak jackets and during the transition to chest plates. When I was issued the 25 lb vest, I hated it immediately. I could no longer run fast. Hills killed me. I fatigued way to quickly. I wasn't the only one. The whole platoon suffered.

You'll never see Recon, Delta, Green Berets, Seals, ect wearing armor unless it's a forced attack like a hostage rescue in a building with the chopper hovering by to pick them up. Why? It slows them down ln if they have to walk any considerable distance. In Vietnam the flak jacket was tossed for the same reason. Could you imagine humping in the jungle wearing that shit?

Home defense, short range patrols in SHTF, etc - why not have plates for this?

Better to have it and not need it, than...

misunderestimated · Jun 21, 2017

FrankenCub said:
I've been looking at different chest rigs, some better than $125, others cheap and probably made in China.
I really don't need anything extravagant, just to carry the basics, mags for pistol and rifle, radio, lights, ets. I've also been thinking about some that have sling attachments on them for one less strap going over my shoulder.

It kinda burns me. I used to work in an upholstery shop and can easily make my own that would rival any of the expensive ones but I can't justify buying a new sewing machine to do it. My current machine is giving me fits and I can't time it for the life of me.

Anyone have any advise on what you like or don't like?

So let me ask, what would you use it for?

Podmonkey · Jun 21, 2017

There was a guy in my old unit, was the Humvee Gunner. His vehicle got separated from the convoy somehow and subsequently ambushed. Adolfo took a direct hit from an RPG round, right in the rear SAPI plate. It was a dud but the impact shattered his plate, spine and crushed his heart and lungs. Body armor can only do so much I guess......
He was the Battalion's first casualty.

MilesTeg · Jun 21, 2017

Here's another belt, it's not cheap.

Belts

I have to admit I like this one the best but I doubt I will she'll out that kind of dough. Although if you price out a belt with one of the covers for it they are in the same ball park. I really want to set one of these up but by the time you get all of the pouches and connectors and holsters you will be in the $500 range. I really want to set up one of these but man is it ever expensive.

Marine Cpl · Jun 21, 2017

MilesTeg said:
Here's another belt, it's not cheap.

Belts

I have to admit I like this one the best but I doubt I will she'll out that kind of dough. Although if you price out a belt with one of the covers for it they are in the same ball park. I really want to set one of these up but by the time you get all of the pouches and connectors and holsters you will be in the $500 range. I really want to set up one of these but man is it ever expensive.

Holy cow. Yea. That's expensive. You don't think that the cheaper, taller 6 inch high belts would distribute the weight better and cause less flopping around?

MilesTeg · Jun 21, 2017

Willjr75 said:
Holy cow. Yea. That's expensive. You don't think that the cheaper, taller 6 inch high belts would distribute the weight better and cause less flopping around?

I watched their videos on it and their material does seem to be noticeably stiffer. For extended wear times I'm not sure if this one would be as comfortable as the 4" ones. I'm pretty torn here, I'm trying to setup for the new pistol but don't want to go all out if I decide to go another direction.

Another thing I'm unsure of is those larger belts you still have to purchase an inner belt. When you add up the cost your still $150 range for a belt.

Podmonkey · Jun 21, 2017

MilesTeg said:
I watched their videos on it and their material does seem to be noticeably stiffer. For extended wear times I'm not sure if this one would be as comfortable as the 4" ones. I'm pretty torn here, I'm trying to setup for the new pistol but don't want to go all out if I decide to go another direction.

Another thing I'm unsure of is those larger belts you still have to purchase an inner belt. When you add up the cost your still $150 range for a belt.

The Blue Force Gear one seems to include both inner and outer portions. But you're right, that one runs $180.

FrankenCub said:
Doesn't everybody train?
I do train some with a group of guys I know, mostly for fun but that's the best way to improve. Not that it will happen, but if shit ever goes south I want to be able to carry plenty of ammo on me when moving about. And if I decide my area isn't as secure as it should be we have a whole hill top that our group will be headed to. Again, ammo close to my weapons.

I think belts like these would make great bump in the night kits too. Put all yor essentials on it, cell phone, light, ammo, gun holster, med kit and whatever else you think you'd need. Then whatever your state of dress you can just strap it on and hopefully discover its just the cat again.

MilesTeg · Jun 21, 2017

Not to mention a standardized training platform. If use the safariland quick detach holster system, you can practice with different firearms on the same rig. To me that's a huge deal. God I need to win the lottery.

Podmonkey · Jun 21, 2017

FrankenCub said:
I can't say enough how much I like my Safariland ALS! I don't have the quick detach for it yet but will be getting it. I won't be using other handguns though so one holster platform is good for me. I don't see myself letting the P99 go. It shoots way too well and have been shooting targets at 80yds just so I know I can do it if I need to. But the standardized training is big. I keep doing things differently every time because I don't have the gear I want. That isn't going to work in a high stress situation if things go south.

The only thing I don't like about my PPQ is the lack of aftermarket support. Which I don't get, I thought it was supposed to be a popular pistol.

freddy · Jun 21, 2017

FrankenCub said:
I can't say enough how much I like my Safariland ALS!

100%

The retention is secure, the ALS release is intuitive, and the draw fast. The pricing is fair, too.

misunderestimated · Jun 21, 2017

OK got it. I was looking at one of these for a "run out of the house in an emergency vest" and after I loaded it with fire arm,and magazines and a flash light it looked too tactical cool for the average Joe ,I realized it was too over the top.and would not want to try and explain it in a court room to the average NY jury who already hate us and what we do or own.

I have since purchased a shoulder rig that I keep a 45 and spare magazines and clip on flash light

Good luck with your purchase

This is the one I had.
Loaded Gear Tactical Vest VX-200 (Black) Right Hand
I felt it was worth more then what I paid for it

Marine Cpl · Jun 21, 2017

Podmonkey said:
The Blue Force Gear one seems to include both inner and outer portions. But you're right, that one runs $180.

I think belts like these would make great bump in the night kits too. Put all yor essentials on it, cell phone, light, ammo, gun holster, med kit and whatever else you think you'd need. Then whatever your state of dress you can just strap it on and hopefully discover its just the cat again.

Cool. I never thought of that. Just hang it on the bed post. My dumbass has it in the closet rolled up in my bugout bag.

Doc8404 · Jun 21, 2017

Willjr75 said:
Cool. I never thought of that. Just hang it on the bed post. My dumbass has it in the closet rolled up in my bugout bag.

Riiiight. You know this is your bedroom setup

Marine Cpl · Jun 21, 2017

Doc8404 said:
View attachment 14907

Riiiight. You know this is your bedroom setup

No. That's creepy. Thank God I never got to see one of those.

Marine Cpl · Jun 21, 2017

That reminds me of this.

Podmonkey · Jun 21, 2017

MilesTeg said:
Here's another belt, it's not cheap.

Belts

I have to admit I like this one the best but I doubt I will she'll out that kind of dough. Although if you price out a belt with one of the covers for it they are in the same ball park. I really want to set one of these up but by the time you get all of the pouches and connectors and holsters you will be in the $500 range. I really want to set up one of these but man is it ever expensive.

So these two layer belts, how do they work? Do you thread the inner layer through belt loops and velcro the outer layer over that? Or can you just strapnthe whole thing on over topnthe pants? I want something lower profile like those.
I want to go with the Ten-speed chest rig because its, low profile and light and minimalist. I want a belt with similar qualities and that I can just strap on in an instant and go. Like minuteman gear if you will. And I want to avoid looking like a military wannabe. I wanna keep my LBE gear as lopro as possible sonI could conceal it under outer garments. I want gear that lets me be prepared doesn't draw undue attention. I think the Ten-speed accomplishes this and those belts may compliment it perfectly. I wanna keep rifle stuff and a few other items related to "oh holy shit the sky is falling" type items on the chest rig and the pistol and ammo plus the more mundane "bump in the night" gear on the belt. So belt for more everyday under rule of law situations and belt+ chest rig for LA riot level and beyond issues basically.

Marine Cpl · Jun 21, 2017

Some come with the belt as one solid piece.

Podmonkey · Jun 21, 2017

Willjr75 said:
That reminds me of this.

Thats sad though.

Frankly · Jun 22, 2017

It's really kind of bizarre, all these elite special forces expert supermen... retire and buy sewing machines, trying to out do one another and out sew Kyle Lamb or Larry Vickers....

Frankly · Jun 22, 2017

FWIW I have a heavy Cobra buckle type belt from TUFF products and a bunch of hard and soft attachments with TekLoks to hold them on.

Advantage is the TUFF belt will thread through your normal everyday pants making the heavy belt a lot more "everyday" (although you still have to play with it to change the size even slightly") and I can change and swap to carry only what I need. I have some Bladetech Kydex AR and pistol pouches that you can tighten way down (enough to crawl on your belly and not loose them) as well as a dump pouch and of course a pistol holster. I use a 3-Gun shell caddy that is optimized for speed but you could get a cheap Uncle Mikes version that is slow but secure.

It's a lot less of a product and still carries what you'd need to fight the bad guys. You still throw all your other stuff into a backpack anyway so why carry so many odd pouches and bags and crap all over your body? I'd always be fighting them.

I wear the belt as a regular belt a lot of the time but when I go to the range I snap on my holster and mag pouches and am good to go. If I do multigun then I snap on more gear. If the world ends I think I'll manage somehow?

MilesTeg · Jun 22, 2017

Podmonkey said:
So these two layer belts, how do they work? Do you thread the inner layer through belt loops and velcro the outer layer over that? Or can you just strapnthe whole thing on over topnthe pants? I want something lower profile like those.
I want to go with the Ten-speed chest rig because its, low profile and light and minimalist. I want a belt with similar qualities and that I can just strap on in an instant and go. Like minuteman gear if you will. And I want to avoid looking like a military wannabe. I wanna keep my LBE gear as lopro as possible sonI could conceal it under outer garments. I want gear that lets me be prepared doesn't draw undue attention. I think the Ten-speed accomplishes this and those belts may compliment it perfectly. I wanna keep rifle stuff and a few other items related to "oh holy shit the sky is falling" type items on the chest rig and the pistol and ammo plus the more mundane "bump in the night" gear on the belt. So belt for more everyday under rule of law situations and belt+ chest rig for LA riot level and beyond issues basically.

I think your in the market for 3 different systems, I haven't had my coffee yet so I might have misread your post. The belts that have been thrown around here are usually called war belts, battle belts or duty belts. Their job is to go over your clothes and not thread into your belt loops and usually ride higher than your normal belt.

From your post above about trying conceal this sort of rig I'm not sure it's possible. I'm sure you could dress baggy and conceal anything but that's not really the point of a war belt. Now with that said I did come across a company making war belts for conceal carry called their Slim line. I didn't link them in because the reviews were atrocious. In my opinion if your looking to conceal carry some of the best money you can spend is buying a good gun belt. They make gun belts in the same type of webbing that the war belts are made of. I personally use a reinforced leather belt, hopefully I will try something different soon. One thing to keep an eye out most of the webbing style belts are now using cobra buckles. Normal cobra buckles will not go through pant loops. There's a new design out here that the male end is smaller and can fit through the loops.

For the vest I really am not looking into them until I'm in the market for body armor. I was planning on getting one for training but now believe a war belt will suit me much better. Some people might think opposite and that's find but I really think a war belt does everything a non plate carrier vest does but better.

MilesTeg · Jun 22, 2017

Frankly said:
It's really kind of bizarre, all these elite special forces expert supermen... retire and buy sewing machines, trying to out do one another and out sew Kyle Lamb or Larry Vickers....

Well I served with parachute riggers that had sewing as part of their job description. In reality I think a lot of these people come up with an idea or design and contract out the building of the product.

Doc8404 · Jun 22, 2017

Willjr75 said:
No. That's creepy. Thank God I never got to see one of those.

That's how we kept ours.

Doc8404 · Jun 22, 2017

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001...=TCB6ACBV9AQ64NCYR1Y6&dpPl=1&dpID=81n4kZk3luL

MilesTeg · Jun 22, 2017

@Podmonkey here's a few links on the inner/outer belt relationship you asked about.

Pictures of T.Rex Arm's belts. T.REX ARMS Orion – T.REX ARMS

Here's a video I found that shows more.
Which lead me to a new manufacturer. TACTICAL TAILOR Quality Tactical Gear for Military and Law Enforcement

Let's talk chest rigs.

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