Let's talk chest rigs.

[Eddie Gunks]

Personally i dont like battle belts. To really be effective you need some sort of suspenders or chest rig to attach them to.

I experimented with this stuff for 3 gun. Specifically iron man 3 gun. I found my regular belt and yhe rack minus to be the best option.

Battle belts are just to cumbersome.

These guys make some real nice stuff. This is the harness i git for my BB.

Fight Light X Harness






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[MilesTeg]

Personally i dont like battle belts. To really be effective you need some sort of suspenders or chest rig to attach them to.

I experimented with this stuff for 3 gun. Specifically iron man 3 gun. I found my regular belt and yhe rack minus to be the best option.

Battle belts are just to cumbersome.

These guys make some real nice stuff. This is the harness i git for my BB.

Fight Light X Harness

I feel like I see more belts being worn in those matches than vests, but that could just be in my head. Thank you for your impression it's valuable to hear from someone who has tried both systems.

 

[BDSKJCHRIS]

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?

i have only used mine for practice and courses, (will eventually get into 3-gun), but i have the mookie war rig light from SOE (the all pals webbing version, if i werew to buy it again i would get the 8 mag version). it is a nice rig, has held up great and has plenty of room to lay it out however you like. they also make a cop rig, as well as their ak/m4 rigs, all of which are pretty well liked.

plenty of people talk shit about the owner of soe, but as long as you can read and understand that most of what they sell is built to order, you will be happy with your purchase, if you want instant gratification, shop on amazon.

right now coupon code "Matt Hall" will save you 30% and give you immediate shipping on a black or coyote edc or low profile belt (other colors will need to be built to order but will be expedited).

 

[Frankly]

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.

Oh I am just kidding there is nothing pansy about it, especially when a giant needle go through your finger. I spent half a year learning to sew and bought an industrial machine back in the day, made my own (shitty) tent and pack thinking I would be the next "The North Face" before learning all the things I didn't know. My wife is a medical doctor and she still sews many of her own clothes because quality is so low, and to this day we both check stitching when shopping.

I imagine Kyle Lamb (VTAC) and Larry Vickers (Blue Force Gear) have their own team of craftspeople to prototype and contractors to do runs of products where they might make thousands of belts in a week.

 

[Eddie Gunks]

I feel like I see more belts being worn in those matches than vests, but that could just be in my head. Thank you for your impression it's valuable to hear from someone who has tried both systems.

the only event i where anything other than my regular "walking around belt" was the ironman 3 gun.

the only time i see chest rigs is the "deturk" vest which holds shotgun shells.

only 1% of guys where battle belts....most of them are military guys......most switch away from them quickly.

again, at every 3 gun match i shoot i use my regular leather belt.




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[MilesTeg]

the only event i where anything other than my regular "walking around belt" was the ironman 3 gun.

the only time i see chest rigs is the "deturk" vest which holds shotgun shells.

only 1% of guys where battle belts....most of them are military guys......most switch away from them quickly.

again, at every 3 gun match i shoot i use my regular leather belt.




.

Great info thanks!

 

[Eddie Gunks]

for example. i run the HSGI double AR mag pouch. 4 pistol mag kydex. and my go to shotgun rig holds 12. [ i also have two more rigs that hold 8 each ( all invictus). ]

so even in NY i can run most any stage with my 3 AR mags, 5 pistol mags and 25 shotgun shells (i obviously counted what is in the guns and on my belt.) the only match that may require more AR mags is the ones i design cause i make "fuck you eddie" stages. that is what everyone says before, during , and after shooting them.

in major matches i can usually get by with all the above 3 standard Ar mags (90 rounds i usually do not need anywhere near this amount but if you drop a mag, one breaks, you forget to load all 30 in it etc etc). 5 pistol mags (23x5) and 28 shot gun shells and 12-13 in the gun.

i am fat. so all this fits easily on my leather belt.

chest rigs suck to lay down and shoot with btw.




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[Podmonkey]

the only event i where anything other than my regular "walking around belt" was the ironman 3 gun.

the only time i see chest rigs is the "deturk" vest which holds shotgun shells.

only 1% of guys where battle belts....most of them are military guys......most switch away from them quickly.

again, at every 3 gun match i shoot i use my regular leather belt.




.

Yeah, that's what I was kinda thinking too. I just thought it would be nice to to have a pistol belt I could strap on real quick. But what I think I will do is get the Ten-Speed chest rig and pair it with a regular belt with some of Blue Force Gears Ten-Speed pistol mag pouches and their belt mounted med kit and dump pouch. That should make for a nice light, basic but complete kit.

 

[FrankenCub]

Oh I am just kidding there is nothing pansy about it, especially when a giant needle go through your finger. I spent half a year learning to sew and bought an industrial machine back in the day, made my own (shitty) tent and pack thinking I would be the next "The North Face" before learning all the things I didn't know. My wife is a medical doctor and she still sews many of her own clothes because quality is so low, and to this day we both check stitching when shopping.

I imagine Kyle Lamb (VTAC) and Larry Vickers (Blue Force Gear) have their own team of craftspeople to prototype and contractors to do runs of products where they might make thousands of belts in a week.

Just something funny to add. The guy I worked for wasn't paying attention when he was stitching up a new boat cover and drove a needle right through his finger nail and bone lol. Those machines are no joke. We had 2 Pfaff machines. When I started there I was making tent straps under contract for the military. Further into my employment there the owner was taking more and more time off and I got stuck dealing with pissed off customers so I started doing some of the work my boss was supposed to be doing. Took me longer but I wanted the customers off my back. Last time he went to Florida with leather seats to a Lincoln Continental yet to be finished. I kept routing the customer's calls to my boss's cell phone. After a week the customer showed up at the shop extremely pissed off, not at me, but my boss. I decided to take a chance and told the guy I would do my best to try to finish them myself but I felt I really didn't have the experience to do them. They were really complicated with all the different sections and fold of those fancy ass seats but he ok with it as long as I held my end up.
Surprisingly they turned out beautiful and the customer was super happy. When my boss finally showed up he noticed the Lincoln seats were already installed and started the thousand questions so I chewed his ass but good! When the customer showed up to pay the he also chewed his ass lol. A few days later I open the shop and it's been cleared out, he took off back to Florida. Turned out he owed $25k in back child support. He left bolts upon bolts of canvas and vinyl material there for making seats and covers. Enough to fill one of the smaller shipping containers! Had I though about it, it would have went home with me as severance pay.

Ok, back to our normal programming.... You guys have gave me so much information that now I'm questioning myself again, battle belt, chest rig....ugh
Some really fine examples though. Will have to take more time looking through them.

 

[Frankly]

If you're around Rochester you can see my stuff.

 

[FrankenCub]

I'm down by Binghamton

 

[MilesTeg]

The more I look into this the more I'm convinced I like the two belt setups. The inner belt goes through your pant loops and is used to keep your load carrying belt in place an not shift around. With this said I'm waffling between the different systems. Right now G Code is winning but I haven't made up my mind yet.

 

[Marine Cpl]

3 rifle magazines on your right side and 3 pistol magazines on your left side assuming the magazines aren't neutered and you are in business.

 

[MilesTeg]

3 rifle magazines on your right side and 3 pistol magazines on your left side assuming the magazines aren't neutered and you are in business.

Have you tried the stacked magazine carriers. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. SCORPION Stack Belt

I'm wanting to pick up the pistol only ones then grab the rifle at a latter date. I probably will only combine them if we get some relief this state or shoot out of state.

 

[Marine Cpl]

Have you tried the stacked magazine carriers. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. SCORPION Stack Belt

I'm wanting to pick up the pistol only ones then grab the rifle at a latter date. I probably will only combine them if we get some relief this state or shoot out of state.

Those look cool. With 4 on each side of compliant magazines, that'll work too. You got me rethinking things now.

 

[togmaster]

Aside from range use or training I'm not a fan of the inner/outer belt set up. I feel in a a situation where you need to strap on gear quickly and go, a battle belt set up is advantageous.

 

[MilesTeg]

Aside from range use or training I'm not a fan of the inner/outer belt set up. I feel in a a situation where you need to strap on gear quickly and go, a battle belt set up is advantageous.

You can use the outer belt without the inner belt. The system would be great for every situation besides rapid response. Which a normal belt with pouches would suck too in that system.

 

[FrankenCub]

Have you tried the stacked magazine carriers. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. SCORPION Stack Belt

I'm wanting to pick up the pistol only ones then grab the rifle at a latter date. I probably will only combine them if we get some relief this state or shoot out of state.

Holy shit!!!!!! $350?! I'm certainly not white collar enough for that lol. I'll probably pick up something Amazon cheap for now, closing on some property on the 20th so now things will be a bit tight, it happened kinda fast. After we're moved over there things will lighten up significantly though and I can move forward with some projects.

 

[MilesTeg]

Ya I'm definitely not buying that kit. I was having trouble finding a picture of their stack magazine system and that was the one I found. Here's the picture I was looking for. Scorpion Stacking Kit

I think I'm going to buy a holster and magazine carriers from them for the new gun and eventually look at putting a belt system together.

 

[Acer-m14]

4 pages .. can we move this to the BAR to really show some chest rigs .. LMAO ..

 

[FrankenCub]

Nah...these kind are much more reliable and even the top of the line rigs cost less after 6 months

 

[Podmonkey]

It's a fair bit more expensive but I'm also looking at this:


Phalanx Chest Rig Type 2 MOLLE

 

[Frankly]

Just for reference here is a sturdy single Tuff Products belt with the smaller Cobra buckle that fits through belt loops... Glock in a Bladetech with Level II retention, AR mag pouches, pistol mags, shotgun shell caddy for 8, all Bladetech TekLoks. This goes on over my regular clothes and allows me to practice reloads and shooting without being as heavy as a full on belt. I could wear it in competition more than battle, everything is reasonably secure.

 

[Podmonkey]

View attachment 15655

Just for reference here is a sturdy single Tuff Products belt with the smaller Cobra buckle that fits through belt loops... Glock in a Bladetech with Level II retention, AR mag pouches, pistol mags, shotgun shell caddy for 8, all Bladetech TekLoks. This goes on over my regular clothes and allows me to practice reloads and shooting without being as heavy as a full on belt. I could wear it in competition more than battle, everything is reasonably secure.

So that can be strapped over the pants if you're in a hurry, or through the belt loops for extra security?

 

[Frankly]

So that can be strapped over the pants if you're in a hurry, or through the belt loops for extra security?

Yeah exactly. It's more of a competition belt but given the sorts of things we may likely do in a SHTF scenario then walking around with a few pistol and rifle mags may be all you ever need to do for neighborhood watch. Hang a First Aid bag off the back and done.

I can use it for multiple things which is nice. Heck I'll even wear it plain without any gear, it's a nice belt.

I have a Level II Kevlar Vest and normal outerwear and a few day packs, a double rifle bag. Short of buying a complete military kit with $600 helmets and all the ding dongs, I think I have a decent basic preparedness set up that remains versatile and affordable, sort of. If I need more than three big mags spontaneously by surprise then I'm already dead.

 

[Podmonkey]

Yeah exactly. It's more of a competition belt but given the sorts of things we may likely do in a SHTF scenario then walking around with a few pistol and rifle mags may be all you ever need to do for neighborhood watch. Hang a First Aid bag off the back and done.

I can use it for multiple things which is nice. Heck I'll even wear it plain without any gear, it's a nice belt.

I have a Level II Kevlar Vest and normal outerwear and a few day packs, a double rifle bag. Short of buying a complete military kit with $600 helmets and all the ding dongs, I think I have a decent basic preparedness set up that remains versatile and affordable, sort of. If I need more than three big mags spontaneously by surprise then I'm already dead.

Thank you very much for posting that. That belt is precisely what I'm looking for.
With that belt I would put the Blue Force Gear elastic pouches on, 1 rifle mag pouch, 1 double pistol pouch, the mini med kit and their belt mounted dump pouch and that would provide me a simple, complete, and pretty lo-pro setup for training as well as an excellent bump in the night rig. For SHTF I could pair it up with the BFG Ten-Speed chest rig for just about anything I'd need for a short duration situation. And the nice thing about the BFG Ten-Speed rifle pouches is you could stuff just about anything in em, so with the chest rig the belt rifle pouch could become a junk drawer pouch.
That's it, that's my setup. Simple, basic and fairly non mall ninja-ey.

 

[MilesTeg]

Funny this just popped up again I just placed my order for a G code setup. Hopefully it and the new gun will be in at the end of next week or the week after.

 

[Podmonkey]

So big thanks to @Frankly for posting that Tuff Products belt. I ordered one a few days ago along with some Blue Force Gear pouches for an upcoming training class. I got the belt, a double pistol mag pouch, a single AR15 mag pouch, a dump pouch and a small med kit all designed to mount to a 1.5" belt. I figure this setup will suffice for range or training use as well as an ersatz battle belt. I will also remove some of the items for use as an EDC belt.
Now what do you all think of something like this as a lower viz alternative to a chest rig?
4033 TUFF Active Shooter Bag

 

[MilesTeg]

I got my G-code belt setup in the mail this past weekend. It's been crazy so I just got to set it up. My initial impression is it's a great setup. The downfall is I ordered the wrong size, well kind of. I was right on the measurement for the two different lengths, I mean within the 1/8". So I decided to pick the larger one thinking the would be some downward adjustment. Well come to find out the don't adjust down any only upwards. So I need to gain some weight. Ya the wife isn't buying it either. The good news is it fits but I'm maxed out on the small end. Still no gun to test it on so I can give a full review.

 

[Marine Cpl]

View attachment 16968 View attachment 16969 I got my G-code belt setup in the mail this past weekend. It's been crazy so I just got to set it up. My initial impression is it's a great setup. The downfall is I ordered the wrong size, well kind of. I was right on the measurement for the two different lengths, I mean within the 1/8". So I decided to pick the larger one thinking the would be some downward adjustment. Well come to find out the don't adjust down any only upwards. So I need to gain some weight. Ya the wife isn't buying it either. The good news is it fits but I'm maxed out on the small end. Still no gun to test it on so I can give a full review.

Is that the one that was really expensive that you linked once before?

 

[MilesTeg]

Is that the one that was really expensive that you linked once before?

No that was the ronin. The G-code one seemed to be the perfect middle ground. The Mag pouches can be used with single stacks and double stack magazines. Also for $40-50 I can buy a new holster for any pistol and just click it in. So it's pretty versatile which is what drew me in.