Clean MOLLE chest rigs – as the name suggests, these rigs have a clean MOLLE platform that allows you to completely customize your loadout.

If you need to carry a lot of gear, a heavy rig is the way to go.Īnd from a customizability point of view, there are two types: clean MOLLE chest rigs and chest rigs with static pouches.Īlso check out our review on the best chest rigs out there!

Heavy chest rigs usually have plenty of MOLLE real estate and can accommodate a variety of different pouches and accessories. Heavy chest rigs – these are designed for carrying large amounts of gear.Medium chest rigs are a good choice for those who need to carry more gear but still want to be able to move quickly and easily. They typically have more MOLLE real estate than light rigs, but they’re not as bulky as heavy rigs. Medium chest rigs – these offer a happy medium between light and heavy rigs.Minimal chest rigs can usually be easily concealed when necessary and they don’t weigh you down with unnecessary gear. Light or minimalist chest rigs – these are typically used for low-vis operations or when you need to go light and fast.The first is by customizability and the second is basically by their size.įrom the size point of view, chest rigs can be categorized into three main types: light, medium, and heavy chest rigs. If you’re looking for a new way to carry magazines, I’d suggest taking a look at Blue Force.When it comes to chest rigs there are two ways you can categorize them. It is one thing for me to wear this in practice, but another for it to stand up to repeated tours and daily use. I’ve scoured the Internet for anything even closely resembling complaints about material or design failures and I’ve come up empty. I still can’t answer the “how” part of the question, but I know it does. How can something so light stand up to hard use? So I was skeptical about the Ten Speed philosophy. I know I’m old fashioned in that way, but that’s the way it is. I prefer for my ARs and my pistols to be made of steel. I had no idea what to expect with Blue Force’s Ten Speed set up. The pistol mag pouches are ideal for many flashlights. Because of the flexible nature of the elastic (which is far more forgiving than most nylon), you can carry a wide variety of extras. The Rack Minus has 12 rows of MOLLE attachment points, so you can combine rifle mag holders and pistol mag holders (like the Double Pistol Mag Pouch in the photo below). The Blue Force Ten Speed gear comes in a variety of colors and patterns.īlue Force makes their Ten Speed line in a variety of configurations. The Triple M4 sells for $33.īlue Force makes their gear in the U.S., and back their workmanship with a lifetime warranty. In the photo above, Jacob has tucked his Glock 19 into the Ten Speed elastic and it holds exceptionally well. The elastic is strong enough to hold aluminum or steel magazines, polymer magazines, and can even be used improvisationally.

But the hold isn’t so tight that you’ll take the chest rig with you when you pull on a mag. There’s no need for bungee straps, or pouch covers, as the elastic will hold. The Triple M4 Pouch is a mix of ULTRAcomp, and “military grade elastic.” The result is a balance between tension and release that makes carrying a magazine secure and pulling a magazine reliably easy. For those interested in minimalism, Blue Force’s Ten Speed gear is a must. The Rack Minus won’t do much without some add-ons. It retails for right at $100 and comes in brown, grey or multi-cam. The Rack Minus works alone, as we’re showing here, or it can be paired on top of a plate carrier. But it holds its shape very well and isn’t prone to stretching at all. With the cut-outs so evenly spaced, and with so much material removed, I expected there to be more play, more give, in the rig. I can’t confirm the abrasive resistance of the material, but it feels solid enough. It feels almost like a cross between canvas and vinyl, and is reported to be four times as abrasion resistant as 1,000 denier Cordura. The Rack is made from a proprietary laminate material Blue Force call ULTRAcomp. And the Rack Minus is thin - that is a hard detail to ignore - and it weighs next to nothing.

Minimalist chest rig