Background: Always been a shooter, got the fundamentals down. I want to take the square range skills and "spice it up" a little bit. I recently took my first carbine class and ran with a cheap Condor Chest rig to get a feel of what I like and what I didn't. I'm ready to spend the coin and get everything the way I want it, but I don't know EXACTLY what pieces of gear fit my needs. Hopefully you guys can help.

I want a combination chest rig/battle belt system. I want them to be modular in that I can take the battle belt solo or add the chest rig for additional payload.

Belt Requirements:

-Sturdy
-2 Rifle Mags (KYWI, ITW, Taco, Kydex??)
-2 Pistol Mags (KYWI, Taco, Kydex??)
-High Thigh Holster (quickly interchangeable between platforms)
-Passive Retention (no bungee, no flaps, no buttons)

Chest Requirements:

-Low Profile, MOLLE webbing for easy customization
-4 Rifle Mags
-2 Pistol Mags
-Small Utility Pouch
-Active Retention (bungee, velcro, etc)

Let's say I've got $500 to put the entire thing together. Tell me what you like and why

It's been my experience that pouches come down to personal taste. Before I got into tactical shooting I thought TACOs were the shit, then I did a few classes and I realized since I only use an AR, I didn't need the ability to switch to hold different mags and specialized AR pouches would be better for me. Then I got into fastmags, and quickly learned how freaken loud they are. Then I got some KIWIs, but I didn't like the bulk while empty. Right now I'm pretty into the BFG helium whisper ten speed pouches, but that may change in the future. It's not a bad idea to get some cheap knockoffs to see what you do and don't like. Also you can get some pretty good gear from airsofters when they age out of it.

Belt:

Esstac Shooters belt, Esstac double pistol KYWI, Esstac shorty double rifle KYWI. KYWIs attached with Esstac belt loops.

Safariland 63 series holster with midride UBL and QLS to swap out when needed.

Chest Rig:

Haley D3CR with Haley MP2 inserts. No MOLLE, but you don't need it for your set-up.


Done.

BFG pouches look cool, but I question the ability to reinsert empties or partials while retaining a weapon in the strong hand. On the flip side, I hate the bulk of the fastmag system on my chest- guess you can't have it all. I might check the EE for some good deals on various pouches.

I really like that belt now that I've looked at it a little closer. Using the little clips seems cheap/fragile to me, but there are enough glowing recommendations for them that who am I to argue. Relatively cheap and easy solution IMO. $200 gets half of this rig done.

The holster combo looks complicated as hell on a computer, but maybe makes more sense once its in my hand. Even then, Looks like a $250 investment for one gun and eats into my budget pretty good. How 'instinctive' is that thumb break mechanism? I don't want to have to think about how to get my sidearm out. I'm looking for smooth and fast. Retention only needs to be good enough to keep the gun from flopping out when running- I'm not worried about someone taking it away for my purposes.

I've looked at the chest rig but I'm concerned about the bulk. Even with my condor rig and some basic pistol pouches mounted up front, I feel like its really bulky on my chest and is uncomfortable in a really low prone. Not being able to customize the positioning or remove pouches if I want is a bit of a turn off especially with the higher end price tag.

One question regarding mag pouches.....do you run one rifle pattern or several?  I run ARs, AKs, and a FAL. For me, Tacos are the best option. Although the new G code soft pouches look like an interesting alternative.

Belt
Surplus usmc warbelt
2 rifle tacos
2pistol tacos or surplus eagle mag pouches
First-aid/saw pouch for misc

Chest rig
Pretty much any MOLLE panel rig
Surplus rifle and pistol mag pouches

Go train for a year with that rig and figure out what else you need or don't need. Long hunting trips are good too.

raf:

No offense taken here and I think you ask some very good questions that are definitely pertinent to the discussion.

For me shooting is recreational 90% of the time- I love to shoot and do it very often. At the same time however I believe in the importance of the 2nd amendment and the private citizens right and duty to protect themselves, their family, and their country. For that reason I want to spend my recreational shooting time working with a kit that could fit the bill in the event that I find myself on a two-way range- but also not be so ridiculous that I'm hauling plates, hydration, and huge fixed blades, etc. down to my range just to blow a few bowling pins away or ring some steel.

Prioritizing my purposes as follows:

1) One-way Range. Keep some extra ammo with me to save walks to the truck and work reloads and transitions from kit.
2) 1, 2, or 3 gun competition style shooting. I don't plan on going pro, so just something that would work to shoot a match or two.
3) Two-way range, WROL, Zombies, etc.


Regarding my weapon systems- I run AR platforms chambered in 5.56 and for this kit I'll use only mid-large frame double stack handguns. Currently prefer M&P40 or Glock23. At some point I may integrate some shotgun into the mix, but that is a low priority and can be added on easily.

03RN:

I've been working with my existing rig for a little over a year. I know what I want, but its hard to tell what kit gets me there without trying it on. I do know that not all MOLLE panels are created equal which is one of the reasons I'm getting away from this Condor platform. My biggest negatives about the Condor is 6 primary mags is too wide for me, there isn't enough purchase on the magazine to access quickly, and once I stack additional pouches in front of primary mags things get bulky quick.

Any reason you prefer the Taco's to some of the other options?

Thanks!

I like tacos on the belt because they retain well, fit Glock, Beretta, and 1911 mags. Or AR/ASK mags. They are also fast.

I prefer full flap mag pouches on the chest. I like protecting the mags that I don't need immediate access to.

A tactical tailor mav or split front mav(what I use) or pretty much anything from skd would be an improvement.

Surplus USMC chest rig

For the belt, I would go for the Emdom MM belt, Safariland QLS, and ITW FastMag pouches

Already ordered the Esstac belt, but definitely interested in the Safariland system and its good to hear another recommendation. I have one FastMag and it seems OK, but a bit noisy and I'm not impressed with the retention. To be fair, I haven't spent a ton of time running it so maybe I'll give it some more time.

You may need a new band. or add a band, to your FastMag.  As far as noise - you'll notice it if you bump into something hard, like a doorway, but you won't find a fast, quiet mag when it comes to drawing from the pouch.  The KYWI would probably be the next fastest, and the kydex liner makes it just as loud.  Of course, if you are sending rounds downrange, how important is quiet?

I  use the FastMags on my belt, and more traditional pouches on my plate carrier.  The ones on the belt are the first go-to, and then I'll resupply from my carrier to my belt, or draw from the carrier as a secondary source depending on how much ammo I need for the drill.