Chest rigs...

**El Mac** · 01-18-09, 20:22

Gents,
I'm looking for input on currently available chest rigs. I'd like input that comes from personal experience with the gear.

It seems to be narrowed down to either Eagle, SKD/Eagle, ATS or perhaps Tactical Tailor.

What do you guys recommend regarding these different brands? Pros/cons, quality of contruction, quality of material, comfort, etc.?

Thanks for the help....

**Saginaw79** · 01-18-09, 20:41

Id say go w/ TT, I love their stuff

**CLHC** · 01-18-09, 21:13

Here's my "starter" or "entry-level" into chest rigs by Eagle/SKD:

Hope you find what you're looking for and Enjoy!

**JSGlock34** · 01-18-09, 22:12

I've owned several Eagle chest rigs. The quality is excellent and I heartily recommend Eagle's products. I've posted below before in other threads, but thought I'd consolidate some of my thoughts here. Without knowing exactly what you're looking for in a chest rig, it's hard to offer too much advice. Are you just looking to carry ammo, or do you have a requirement to add a first aid kit or radio? How many magazines do you need to carry?

Almost any discussion of chest rigs comes around to the Eagle/SKD Universal, which is a solid piece of kit. It is well made and stitched. There is an excellent review on Military Morons that is hard to add to. I agree with the conclusion that the rig offers more capability for the price than just about anything else on the market, and that it is useful for experienced and novice shooters alike. I made the mistake of giving one up, and then purchased one again.

I am not a fan of the padded shoulder straps, and sometimes I find it easy to get hung up on the MOLLE straps on the side if I'm trying to transition to a sidearm on the belt. When I wear the rig, I either move the sidearm to a mag pouch or use a thigh drop. I'm also not a fan of the elastic retention system - when you load single mags in the center two pouches, there isn't much holding them in there. I prefer to download this rig, as I personally find 8 magazines excessive for my purposes. I wish that Eagle/SKD would offer bungee retention for these two pouches, and that's a common user modification. These are minor gripes though, and this rig performed well for me at a practical carbine class.

My only other comment regarding this chest rig is that I think some people are attracted to it because it offers a lot of capability for the money (8 AR mags, 4 pistol mags and MOLLE points) without thinking whether or not they need that much capability. As much as I like this rig, 8 magazines is a lot for a civilian shooter (and is even more than the basic combat load for most soldiers) and it is easy to find yourself overloaded. I download mine, but unfortunately this rig's retention device works best when the rig is at full capacity.

So I find that I actually use my KISS Eagle CP223 carrier more often, and this is the rig I often recommend to new users. While it holds half of the SKD rig (4 AR mags and 2 pistol mags) and has no MOLLE panels for customization, it is flat, lightweight, unobtrusive and inexpensive (less than $60). I also find that it does not interfere with a belt holster or magazine pouch. It's a good rig for figuring out what you features you might like or dislike, before spending money on one of the pricier designs. Blackhawk makes a similar model at about half the price, but I haven't used it.

I own both and find that the different rigs are useful for different purposes.

Eagle makes quality kit - you can't go wrong with any Eagle gear. The Eagle M4-FB chest rig has a following here too and bears consideration. I'd also keep an eye on SKDTAC's upcoming PIG chest rig, which supposedly will address some of the minor criticisms of the Eagle/SKD rig. Good luck.

**rob_s** · 01-19-09, 05:14

Evolution of a Chest Rig

Load Carriage for Training Classes

**No.6** · 01-19-09, 08:09

I have used the Eagle/SKD in class and my only gripe is, that by the end of the day, especially if you're fully loaded every relay, the back starts to hurt a bit. Seems to me that if the weight was distributed more to the sides and less in front (ala Tactical Tailor two piece) it would be more comfortable for extended periods. May not be as readily accessible as having the 30rd mags in front. As a starter rig though the SKD one is very hard to beat for the money.

**Gutshot John** · 01-19-09, 10:16

Originally Posted by No.6

I have used the Eagle/SKD in class and my only gripe is, that by the end of the day, especially if you're fully loaded every relay, the back starts to hurt a bit. Seems to me that if the weight was distributed more to the sides and less in front (ala Tactical Tailor two piece) it would be more comfortable for extended periods. May not be as readily accessible as having the 30rd mags in front. As a starter rig though the SKD one is very hard to beat for the money.

Unfortunately that's true for any chest rig. I've experienced the same thing. A full-on camelbak pack helps.

It's one of the reasons I switched to a TT MAV that has plenty of pouches/items on the back. It's a bit more weight, but it balances better.

All that said, the SKD Rig remains one of my favorites. It's a great rig, especially for the money. I think the straight MOLLE version allows more customization and can compensate for the balance issue through the use of a shingle. Much of the unbalance has to do with the size/capacity of mag pouches. Two or three stacked, fully-loaded mags acts like a lever pulling you forward, not a lot but after a full day of your back muscles compensating it starts to hurt. Similarly the fat mag pouches make it much more difficult to go prone...especially if you have a food blister, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

Same principle as loading a ruck. Keep the heavier items as close to the body and as close to the center of gravity (or lower) as possible.