Chest Rigs and Mags for your Black Rifle

Until they wear out Here's a Ten-Speed pistol mag pouch that blew out on the bottom. I used Sil Net to patch it up.

I prefer pouches with flaps or bungee top retention. The Ten-Speed might be good for tactical teams who's kit is not exposed to the elements for any serious length of time but I'm hesitant to rely on them for sole retention of my magazines.

And you didn't send it back to us?

So far I've seen Ten Speed pouches last 2 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not sure how much more exposed they could get.


419671_325270810856604_140872812629739_1084224_1059155221_n.jpg
 
And you didn't send it back to us?

So far I've seen Ten Speed pouches last 2 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not sure how much more exposed they could get.

You've been to Iraq and Afghanistan? ;)

I'm not doubting that dudes use them, I'm just noting that my Ten-Speed mag pouches are starting to fail after about a years worth of use.

I bought mine to test and review on my website, and I don't even run them as my primary mag pouches. So the wear you see is ONLY from use at the range.
 
I run 10 speed pouches on pretty much everything.

They can wear - BFG does a pretty good job fixing that in short order. I've have my 10speed SR-25 rig for over a 1.5years - I run it at demo's and times units lets me come out to play with them. Its still in serviceable shape. I've seen a lot of units run them hard operationally - and the wear has been relatively minor.

That said - its lite and low profile - can you get more durable- yes, but not at the penalties many want to pay.
 
I'm not saying they aren't great pouches, but I think that they are better suited for high speed low drag operations as opposed to regular soldiering. Maybe I'm just hard on my kit but I would be hesitant to run them as my primary magazine pouches on my rig. Maybe one or two for fast mag changes.

What I really want to try is the BFG Double M4 pouch with the HW attachment. I've retrofit a lot of TT gear with HW backings because I love how light and low profile the system is.

TT Mag Pouch with HW backing. No more Malice Clips!
HW.jpg
 
Personally, I'd like to run covered mag pouches anywhere I'll be in contact with the ground while in the prone, just a comfort thing for me.
I wouldn't be opposed to replacing the 3 double mag pouches with a triple shingle. I have used shingles, and I'm confident it'll keep everything in there. I'd really like to get one of the tenspeeds though, maybe soon.
 
Last edited:
I'm really pleased with the discussion that has come out of this thread.

I had a guy yesterday showing my designs for his "full deck" of . . . 4 mags? 8 mags? that would attach directly to his AR.

Awesome, but not for me.

Now here's a killer question though: do you use elastics, velco flap covers, or let your mags feel the breeze?

Esstac kiwi plastic inserts! They absolutely are the best I have tried, in the esstac holder they have great retention, insert a mag easily and give you speed on reloads as well.
 
What I really want to try is the BFG Double M4 pouch with the HW attachment. I've retrofit a lot of TT gear with HW backings because I love how light and low profile the system is.

TT Mag Pouch with HW backing. No more Malice Clips!
HW.jpg

Pretty clever how you cannibalized Helium Whisper attachments. I might have to do that with my favourite pouches... once I find a favourite pouch type haha.


Esstac kiwi plastic inserts! They absolutely are the best I have tried, in the esstac holder they have great retention, insert a mag easily and give you speed on reloads as well.

How long have you been running the kiwi inserts? I've been eyeing them and they look nice but I haven't really seen any detailed reviews on them.
 
Pretty clever how you cannibalized Helium Whisper attachments.

Thanks. So far they are holding up well. I'll post up some more pics when I've got the whole rig squared away. I always hated how the bottoms of the malice clips poke into you when you aren't wearing armour.

I've been eyeing them and they look nice but I haven't really seen any detailed reviews on them.

Here's a review I wrote on them. I liked them overall but I found them to be a little bulky when you start adding pouches on top of them. Review is HERE
 
Thanks. So far they are holding up well. I'll post up some more pics when I've got the whole rig squared away. I always hated how the bottoms of the malice clips poke into you when you aren't wearing armour.

Cool, I'll definitely be on the lookout for that. I haven't finger banged those new HW pouches yet so I was wondering how difficult it is to strip it from the Ten Speed bit and sew it on securely to an existing pouch (which is the primary head scratcher for me)?


Here's a review I wrote on them. I liked them overall but I found them to be a little bulky when you start adding pouches on top of them. Review is HERE

Haha I was searching your profile for a link to your page but no dice. I'm not really concerned with layering pouches as I'm running a Boar rig as my primary and keeping the IFAK and GP pouches to either side while keeping the front mostly slick (just a double Ten Speed pouch at the moment) seems to keep the bulk down with the integrated mag pouches. I'm going to look long and hard at those kiwi inserts though.
 
Cool, I'll definitely be on the lookout for that. I haven't finger banged those new HW pouches yet so I was wondering how difficult it is to strip it from the Ten Speed bit and sew it on securely to an existing pouch (which is the primary head scratcher for me)?




Haha I was searching your profile for a link to your page but no dice. I'm not really concerned with layering pouches as I'm running a Boar rig as my primary and keeping the IFAK and GP pouches to either side while keeping the front mostly slick (just a double Ten Speed pouch at the moment) seems to keep the bulk down with the integrated mag pouches. I'm going to look long and hard at those kiwi inserts though.

If you are already running an esstac boar I would go for it. I really like the difference especially for cqb matches. I only run pistol mags mounted on mine, so I cannot speak to stacking issues.
 
Off topic but DS Tactical carries ESSTAC pouches and KIWI inserts.

http://www.dstactical.com/index.php?cPath=25_58_64

I knew DS Tactical is the Canadian Esstac supply but I didn't know they had the kiwi's in. Thanks for the heads up.


If you are already running an esstac boar I would go for it. I really like the difference especially for cqb matches. I only run pistol mags mounted on mine, so I cannot speak to stacking issues.

Nice, I'm definitely gonna have to check it out then.
 
I would probably go with anywhere from 6-12 mags, spread out instead of in a brick. a single layer (probably 4 pouches) across the guts so you can still get prone and maybe double stack pouches on the sides. depending if you need an open side for pistol drawing room you could carry as many as 12 mags quite easily with this type of setup.
4 straigh across the belly and two double stacked on either side. balanced, neat and relatively comfy... weight aside. If youre doing a 3-gun comp or the like, determine how many rounds you will actually need and then look at spreading them evenly and in easy-to-reach location.
 
I would probably go with anywhere from 6-12 mags, spread out instead of in a brick. a single layer (probably 4 pouches) across the guts so you can still get prone and maybe double stack pouches on the sides. depending if you need an open side for pistol drawing room you could carry as many as 12 mags quite easily with this type of setup.
4 straigh across the belly and two double stacked on either side. balanced, neat and relatively comfy... weight aside. If youre doing a 3-gun comp or the like, determine how many rounds you will actually need and then look at spreading them evenly and in easy-to-reach location.

ofcourse that's great if you've got the body width to do that, i found with my smaller frame, i can fit 3 easily, the forth could be awkward depending on location... as mentioned before, mission dictates load out for sure, if i didn't need any spare pistol mags, then i can have a 1 or 2 extra rifle mags
 
Off topic but DS Tactical carries ESSTAC pouches and KIWI inserts.

http://www.dstactical.com/index.php?cPath=25_58_64

Thanks for posting; I got my HSP D3 chest rig a couple days ago and the first thing I did is remove the Hypalon tabs, the mags are looser than I like now tho so KIWIs sould solve this perfect.
The tabs worked OK with PMAG30s but not so with 20s (I do prefer the 20s but I'll definitely need to add ranger to them), the pistol pouches didn't need thabs at all with the magnets inside, and the Hypalon tabs made the whole rig too busy IMHO.

and to get this thread back on track my rig has 4 rifle and 2 pistol pouches, with room for two LAR 10s in the side pockets and another PMAG in the "stuffit" pouch... enough to be a pain in the ass me thinks ;)
 
I run an HSGI Weesatch, it has space for 8 mags up front (4x double) and 2 in the rifle. This is OK but you need up to 12 for service rifle, and going prone on top of 8 mags is... Uncomfortable. I may have to move to something else, although the vest is great for CQB.
 
Back
Top Bottom