Commando Chest Rig - ArniesAirsoft

Author

dacanadianbomb

Registered: October 2004
Posts: 50

Review Date: 20/1/06

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: �115.00 | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Lightweight,enough mags,good straps,good utility pouches,fair price
Cons:	Horizontal securing strap buckle opens easily,3 Ak mags fit extremely tight and not that easy to extract.

Blackhawk Commando Chest Rig review :

Hello all again,

Here is a review of the Blackhawk product groups Commando Chest Rig.

It is a Chest rig designed to be used for M4/AK mags.
As you can see from the pic, it has 4 main mag pouches, and two utility pouches on either side.

Mag pouches :

4 Pouches on the front, secured by velcro and buttons. You cant really seem to use one or the other, because the velcro will always be used. The mag pouches will comfortably fit 3 AR mags, or 3 AK mags
I have tried getting GBB mags into the slot, but they sink down too deep to be effectively recovered if needed.

Utility pouches :

The utility pouches are of a respectable size, and are secured via fastex buckles. I can comfortably fit my cell-phone, wallet and keys in there. I have also carried a 3700 bb bag,bb loader and other accessories in there with no great hassle.

Admin panel :

There is a small admin panel right behind the mag pouches, and it is secured via two buttons . It is good for docs and maps and stuff. I have even put a mag in there for quick access. But dont forget that mag is directly on your chest when you go prone. Since there are two buttons, and is fairly deep, it unfortunately doesn't work at all for keeping pistols in there.

Shoulder straps :

I personally find the shoulder straps are comfortable,and lean. They are secured to the rig by fastex buckles at the top and sides. There are D rings attached so you can hook various items up like small pmr's ( if you don't mind them flapping ) , one point slings, or run camelbak tubes through them.

Horizontal strap :

There is a horizontal strap with one webbing channel accross it, which secures the bottom of the vest to your body.
I personally run a TT medic pouch*1 on there, but this interferes with my camelbak pack.
If you want to run a camelbak or other hydration system, I would recommend using a horizontal style pouch, since it interferes less.

Pros :

I really like this rig. Its a solid lightweight piece of gear. Minimalistic yet still very effective. I as a user like Chest rigs more in comparison to vests.Its sturdy,durable and at 115$ I paid for it, a good buy for a industry name piece of gear. You can safely use at least two different types of AEG ( M16/4 and AK ) without having to change rigs.
Blackhawk product groups Nytaneon , which is located on the chest facing side of the rig,is supposed to be some realy fancy deal about staying cool and stuff IIRC. I must say it is very comfortable towards the chest.

Cons :

I personally find the fastex buckles to be a bit annoying on the utility pouches. The Buckles look cheap. Not that that is a real problem, because after all its just a fastex buckle, but still it just looks shiny cheap and feels little fragile.

Another thing that annoys me about the horizontal back strap, is that if you dont use the elastic bands to secure the excess strap, the strap will slide through the buckle, and you will constantly have to tighten it again.
Use all the elastics properly and you should be good to go.
And I personally hate having to battle elastic bands on straps.

You cant wear gloves which material nicely binds to velcro. The entire flap is covered with velcro, so you always have the mag pouch flap attaching to the glove your trying to reload with . But then again thats something that will happen with any pouch or rig that has a lot of velcro on the flap.

I would still recommend this rig, to someone who is looking to get something that is pretty sturdy, at a decent cost, and doesn't wants to run a M4 / AK aeg.

*1 = Small Medical kits are too cheap not to have one on field! The life it might saves, could be yours !

Thanks for your time and patience