Chest Rig Recommendations

[baku911]

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

Straight to the point. After selling my plate carrier I've found myself in need of a new webbing/chest rig as they seem comfortable, practical, lighter and so on. I did not like the plate carrier as it was heavy, bulky, uncomfortable and restricted my movement. After 3 years I've had enough of it.
Therefore, my question to you lovely folk is what do you recommend as a webbing/chest rig? What are your experiences? What do you run personally and what pros and cons have you found using your rig? 
After few hours research it seems like Arktis 42 (see picture below) would be my choice. However, before I commit to a purchase I would like some input from the forum. 
Equipment that I always have with me are 6 mid-cap AR platform magazines, speed loader and occasionally a small personal radio.

Thank you

[Jacob Wright]

If that’s all you carry, then the Arktis rig would be spot on. I picked one up for about £5 on a surplus stall and it must be one of my best purchases!!

 

Can’t go wrong with a chest rig in my opinion and it even leaves you available to throw on a belt rig or holster if you so choose!

[ziontrain]

I use one of these - 4 mags on the rig, one in the gun

[Cannonfodder]

I use a SADF M83 chest rig. It holds 6 mags plus has a couple of other pouches, they're well made and lightweight. The only downside I can think of is that they're designed to take 7.62 mags so the m4 mags might be a bit small

[Lozart]

I've been using loads of different chest rigs for years now. I have a couple of plate carriers too but since the only sites I frequent now tend to be woodland they've been ditched in favour of chest rigs.

 

A molle rig is very flexible in terms of being able to work out what you want to carry and then getting a specific set of pouches for that. For example, I started out with a WAS 901 chest rig. I covered it in the standard WAS flap topped, double magazine pouches which was great because I ALWAYS had enough mags but I could also fit utility pouches to house bangs, smokes, my suppressor/tracer if I didn't need it right away etc. But it was heavy and bulky after a while.

 

More recently I started using the Spiritus style rigs (clones but still). Yes, they're lightweight, yes they're configurable BUT they do have their limits. If you're playing short skirmish games and you're fairly sparing with your ammo then you'll be fine. If you want to carry radios, pyro, etc then you start having to add more stuff on that puts them into the realms of fixed chest rigs for size and weight. If you're out for long enough to need more than half a dozen mags (or 4 if you're using 7.62 sized gear) then you're stuffed. Plus six mags stuffed into a micro rig gets pretty bulky!

 

I've also picked up clones of the Mayflower Gen IV and Gen V rigs and they're working well for me. Gen IV fits close to the body and I have it set up for my MK12 DMR. Four mags in the main pouches then a couple of spares in the utilities at one end. Bangs in the other. The Gen V is setup for my M14s and can hold 6-8 mags (M14 mids don't hold loads of rounds) without getting bulky (plus it has a centre zip for getting it on and off easily.

 

I've just ordered a repro 1961A too for shits and giggles and so I can see just how much gear I can wedge into one rig!

[Jacob Wright]

1 hour ago, Cannonfodder said:

I use a SADF M83 chest rig. It holds 6 mags plus has a couple of other pouches, they're well made and lightweight. The only downside I can think of is that they're designed to take 7.62 mags so the m4 mags might be a bit small

I’ve got one of these, and yes the M4 magazines do get a bit ‘lost’ unless you’ve got Magpuls/ ranger tabs on them. 

[baku911]

Thank you for all your inputs. Much appreciated. I've pulled a trigger on a used arktis 42. If that proves to be no good then I'll look for SADF M83 or the LBT 1961A as they both look like something I'd willing to wear. Only downside to the arktis that I can see is that I won't be able to move or remove the pouches unlike molle systems. We shall see!

[Jacob Wright]

I think you’ll love the Arktis rig, if you only carry a few magazines and that then hopefully the inability to move pouches around shouldn’t bother you. 
 

Let us know how you get on with it!

 

😀

[baku911]

Will do! With work at the weekends I won't be able to test it for another month or so. Will share my thoughts as soon as I get to play with it. Thanks!

[Lozart]

16 hours ago, baku911 said:

Only downside to the arktis that I can see is that I won't be able to move or remove the pouches unlike molle systems. We shall see!

 

Not always a downside. If you can't spend hours fucking about with rearranging pouches and falling down the rabbit hole of trying to find the exact PERFECT pouch for your specific widget then you'll be able to concentrate on just, y'know, having a life.

[Jacob Wright]

It’s a fair point 😂

[mightyjebus]

https://shop.jkarmy.com/blue-style-m4-gen2-chest-rig-ikea-style-custom-mdae.html

 

 

[TheFull9]

On 13/08/2021 at 10:40, Lozart said:

you'll be able to concentrate on just, y'know, having a life.

 

pff

 

No thank you.

[baku911]

On 13/08/2021 at 10:40, Lozart said:

 

Not always a downside. If you can't spend hours fucking about with rearranging pouches and falling down the rabbit hole of trying to find the exact PERFECT pouch for your specific widget then you'll be able to concentrate on just, y'know, having a life.

that is true! although on my plate carrier I only played about with two pouches. Oh my... that sounds wrong out of context 😆

On 13/08/2021 at 11:57, mightyjebus said:

https://shop.jkarmy.com/blue-style-m4-gen2-chest-rig-ikea-style-custom-mdae.html

 

 

that will be my go to if all else fails. aren't they made out of some kind of sustainable material? at least I'll be kind to the environment!😆

[Joe142]

Personally my preference for a decent chest rig would be the Hayley strategic DC3RM along with the drop down pouch, I run that along side a shooters belt and am able to run 5-6 m4 mags comfortably along with a few other necessities, sometimes I’ll also run a flat pack if I need to carry a hydro pouch and extra ammo, but obvs all depends on budget as it can be a rather pricy setup 😂

[Lozart]

15 hours ago, Joe142 said:

Personally my preference for a decent chest rig would be the Hayley strategic DC3RM along with the drop down pouch, I run that along side a shooters belt and am able to run 5-6 m4 mags comfortably along with a few other necessities, sometimes I’ll also run a flat pack if I need to carry a hydro pouch and extra ammo, but obvs all depends on budget as it can be a rather pricy setup 😂

 

See now, this is my point. If all you need is a few M4 mags then that's exactly what those micro style rigs are for. If you have an M14 running midcaps and the game scenario requires you to take more than 4 with you, you're stuffed.

[Steveocee]

I run a 1 Tigris Placard system, very small chest rig, 3 m4 mags on my chest, a viper dangler on the bottom of it holding another and then 1 in the gun. I run that when running my normal battle rifle setup, same again but with a belt and pistol if I'm on the DMR and the same chest rig again if using my hpa pistol.

 

Really nice build quality and not overly priced.

[Oneshotscott]

I'm in the same position. I have a helikon tmr which is great but limited to 4x556 mags so I'm having to research a shooter belt setup to accommodate my other mags and "lightweight" kit. 

[TheFull9]

Personally I have expander bases/options for all my many micro rigs (couple spiritus, couple custom and a haley).  3 Ferro chesty wides and a Spiritus Thing 2, but there's various other options out there.  If modularity is what you want or you'd like to build that sort of setup over time it means you can basically always configure a chest rig to carry exactly what you want.  The harness and back straps are all the same whether you add the extra width/pouches or not, only takes 2 seconds to swap between configs, not to mention of course the PC cross-compatibility.  Just an option.

 

If you need to carry lots of fat/big/weird mags and the popular micros don't suit because you don't want a belt as well, then there's no shortage of standard all-PALS chest rigs out there to attach any pouch your heart desires on to.

[Barny]

Have you seen these? 

 

I recently bought one and with a bit of fiddling and a viper 308 insert i can run 4x high cap .308 mags in it. 

 

Tbh it feels a bit cheap to me, certainly don't think its £60+ worth but it does feel very lightweight and comfortable too. I've  not fielded it yet so no practical use. But house clearing practise it work very well. And like you I've got fed up of my PC!  

[baku911]

On 15/08/2021 at 20:17, Joe142 said:

Personally my preference for a decent chest rig would be the Hayley strategic DC3RM along with the drop down pouch, I run that along side a shooters belt and am able to run 5-6 m4 mags comfortably along with a few other necessities, sometimes I’ll also run a flat pack if I need to carry a hydro pouch and extra ammo, but obvs all depends on budget as it can be a rather pricy setup 😂

I do like the look of the Hayley rig. Wish I could justify the price for the amount of use it's going to get as I'm not able to play as much as I used to few years ago. Might look into it further if the Arktis turns out to be not so great.

13 hours ago, Steveocee said:

I run a 1 Tigris Placard system, very small chest rig, 3 m4 mags on my chest, a viper dangler on the bottom of it holding another and then 1 in the gun. I run that when running my normal battle rifle setup, same again but with a belt and pistol if I'm on the DMR and the same chest rig again if using my hpa pistol.

 

Really nice build quality and not overly priced.

That's a good shout too.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. Really appreciate it!

3 hours ago, Barny said:

Have you seen these? 

 

I recently bought one and with a bit of fiddling and a viper 308 insert i can run 4x high cap .308 mags in it. 

 

Tbh it feels a bit cheap to me, certainly don't think its £60+ worth but it does feel very lightweight and comfortable too. I've  not fielded it yet so no practical use. But house clearing practise it work very well. And like you I've got fed up of my PC!  

Looks a bit tight to me when he puts the M4 magazines in. Reminds me of the PC when I had to stuff two magazines into one pouch and sometimes struggled to get them back in or even out. Hopefully the Arktis proves me otherwise. 
yeah. some of the rigs can be overpriced and in the end not worth the money you pay. That's why I mostly turn towards stuff that is used by the military. Not for the wannabe soldier looks, but for the durability. And some surplus can be bought at very good prices and last you ages. Might not be the most comfortable and lightweight kit, but certainly can last and stand the wear and tear.

[Wavey_Gravey]

Knock offs are never worth the money, that Krydex rig is just another chinesium copy of a spiritus rig with some branding.

 

 

 

 

[Lozart]

52 minutes ago, Wavey_Gravey said:

Knock offs are never worth the money, that Krydex rig is just another chinesium copy of a spiritus rig with some branding.

 

 

 

 

 

That really does depend wholly on your budget and how much of it you want to sink into one item. All the legit gear that's out there is designed with professionals in mind. Some of it is made for range days (Helikon TMR for example) but most of it isn't. None of that gear is designed purely for airsoft with the exception of WTF gear as that started out as Paintball kit.

 

If your actual survival depends on the performance of your gear then absolutely, buy good kit. Buy the branded stuff. If your gear just needs to survive a Sunday skirmish once a month then sure, buy it if you want to but if you have other priorities in life like family, mortgage, eating, then Chinese gear is absolutely fine.

[Wavey_Gravey]

Totally agree it’s budget dependant. I like to “buy once cry once” but that said it doesn’t mean real has to be expensive.

 

A pat.83 chest rig is the same price if not cheaper than that Krydex rig and it will stand up to so much more abuse, it’s one less thing to worry about breaking in our game of toy guns.

[Lozart]

1 hour ago, Wavey_Gravey said:

A pat.83 chest rig is the same price if not cheaper than that Krydex rig and it will stand up to so much more abuse, it’s one less thing to worry about breaking in our game of toy guns.

 

I take it you're talking about a second hand pat. 83 chest rig? Although even then you're still looking at upwards of £50 for a genuine one.