After selling off my small trucking company and getting a normal 9 to 5 job I finally am going to do some of the things I've missed.
The past 11 years I've spent in the gas and oil fields 7 of them sleeping in the sleeper of one of my trucks. It turns out that sitting in a seat eating truck stop grub and chugging monster's and mountain dews to stay awake will put a touch of a gut on you. So, since I finally have time on my hands I plan on slimming down and getting back into hunting and even more backpacking.
One of the things I got recently for both of these activities is a Hill People Gear SAR chest rig.
I thought I'd give a very early overview of my setup for anyone else that might be interested.
I've only worn it for about 7 or 8 miles of hiking around my hunting camp over the past couple of days so I'll continue to update things as I use it and my contents evolve.

The search and rescue version is pretty much just the original chest kit, but with two rows of molle on the front of it for mounting a radio.

I opted to mount an esee 3 here instead.
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Handgun compartment:
Inside the handgun portion I have a Glock 19 and a spare 19 rd mag.
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The holster is a Gun Goddess velcro backed  holster designed for women to carry in their purses, but it works fine for my needs.
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During hunting season I'll carry my 4 inch 629 here, which fits with no problems in this pouch.

Main  compartment:
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Inside of the main compartment I have a few items that I'd like to keep on me rather than keep in my pack.
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1) Sawyer squeeze (I've considered putting in a Sawyer mini to shave ozs and size, but I've always found their flow rate atrocious after just a little use)
2) Cnoc 1 liter collapsible water bottle (just got this recently, but I've had good luck with their 2 liter bladders)
3) leatherman wave
4) regular size Bic lighter
5) write in the rain pad and pencil
6) My trusty Garmin (I plan on replacing this with a garmin inreach to not only shave size/weight, but to give me the ability to send and receive text by satellite when I'm hiking in areas with no service)
7) rechargeable headlamp (going to be replaced by a nitecore nu 25)
8) Spam to munch on

Front compartment:
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1) some beef sticks
2) granola bar
3) Gatorade packets
4) magnesium/fero fire starter
5) work sharp field sharpener
6) not pictured---Tops whistle on a length of paracord.

Total weight on it is 4.8 lbs which is about a lb / lb and a half heavier than I planned, but with me planning on getting a 43x for carry as well as the other changes I have planned I should get there. I honestly didn't notice the weight hiking for those few miles with it but I also didn't have a pack on my back and the temp was 17 degrees,  not 97.

Looks good, I'd add a couple of Mylar survival blankets (they'll fit nicely and can be used for signaling if needed.)

Damn I feel dumb.
I had planned on adding one as well as a drum liner (might as well, considering how little they weight they add), but I plum forgot.
Thanks for the idea/reminder

BTW, sorry for the blurry potato pics......
The pics were clear when I took them,  but I had to resize them to get them to fit and it added some blur.
I is tek challenged

Cordage of some sort, too.  

I've been thinking about getting one of  these. I just don't know if I'd use it, or if it would end up in that box of other stuff I thought I'd use but don't

Was debating adding some bank line, but the leatherman won out. Maybe I should rethink that and move the wave back to my ruck.
Sure can build a shelter easier with a knife and cordage rather than a knife and a.......knife/pliers.

Regardless,  I do have bank line and paracord in my ruck, but I really should try and cover as many of the "c's" as possible in this kit.


Thanks for the suggestion. Advice taken: 25 ft bank line in----wave out to the ruck; although I doubt it will stay there. Aiming for a ruck that resembles a thru hikers pack more than a SHTFWTFBBQ bug out bag. I want it to be light enough to put some miles on.

Yeah they aren't real cheap, but from everything I have read they hold up well to use.  
Time will tell with mine.  
If you would like some better pics of the stitching or anything let me know. I'll either back you away from the ledge or push you over in the proud arfcom tradition of helping people spend their money on shit they didn't know they needed.

I have the runners kit bag for yard work, I moved my ESEE over to one of the straps to keep it streamlined.  Can still access it with both hands, just grab it to look when I’m re-sheathing it. Just something to consider so it’s less front floppy.
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Where's your medical? Bandaids, tourniquet, Israeli bandage or quick clot etc. Doesn't have to be much, but I always have at least a TQ in mine.

I run with one of their snubby kit bags. Good products, I would recommend to anyone for a method of carry when active.

I have their Runner’s Kit Bag. Great product. Used it to carry a Glock 20, spare magazine, and some essentials on day hikes out west. Thanks for the write up, OP. Now I’m considering their larger chest rigs to expand what I could easily carry.??

Love them for what they are.  I have six of them, favorite is the Original Snubby for backpacking.  The full size ones are easy to overload and it takes a little trial and error to stay disciplined.  Don't try to make this the "do everything".  I'll post pics up of some of previous load outs later.  

I use this to augment my regular line-1 kit or EDC.  

ROCK6

I use my regular kit bag all the time.  Just looking at the OP's load out I would not find that much gear in mine comfortable.  IMHO it gets to a point where your trying to put so much stuff in it, that its just time to use a backpack.  I use mine for layering gear.

I havent taken any pics in a while but I keep very minimal survival gear in it and use the front pouch to hold my wallet, keys, and cell phone when hiking so they are not bouncing around in my pockets.  I may or may not add my Ruger LCP 380 depending on what I am doing.

That's the line I'm trying to walk.
I hopefully can get this to 3/3.5 lbs from the 4.8 lbs it is now.  
Going to an Inreach from my 62, going to a NU25 in place of my larger headlamp and switching my carry to a 43x should all help me get there.

I've also considered trying a Katadyn befree to replace my Squeeze and Cnoc bottle that will save me 3 or 4 ozs.

While I'll never be able to do a long thru hike of the AT like I've dreamed, I still want to do some section hikes and want this to be light enough to keep on me throughout.

Also @thederrick106 and @ROCK6 : Do you guys use the load lifter straps to attach to your rucksack straps when hiking or do you just keep your kit bag light enough that you don't bother?    
Thanks gents.

Never used the load-lifters, just the regular harness setup, and I've had it loaded heavy before.  I just prefer having it on me when I dump my pack.  It gets hot, but we hike in the southeast summer heat/humidity so we're sweating heavy anyways

ROCK6

Is this in addition to, or in lieu of a backpack?

I ask this because having a lighter AND a fire stick, or a knife AND a sharpener is kind of crazy to me.

Put the sharpener and the fire stick in your backpack.

Even if you have a backpack, I can’t think of a time ( and I’ve spent a LOT of time in the backcountry) where I have dulled the blade of my knife to the point I needed to sharpen it in the field.

I get the two is one, one is none mindset, but unless you’re bugging out, lighten the load.

Never used them.  Like Rock I like having it as a separate bit of gear from my actual pack.  With that said I haven't carried it with a pack too often.  I usually use my kit bag when out woods walking.  I also use it almost all the time when riding motorcycle, ATV, and snowmobile.

I spend a lot of time in the woods hunting and I don't use my kit bag for that, I usually transition over to a dedicated hunting pack, and since I have a long gone I usually don't carry a pistol.

Old pics from 2017:

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Have you guys considered some sort of lumbar/fanny pack? You could wear it as a front sling bag with a backpack on (or just on your waist facing forward) and when you ground the backpack you could put it around your waist.

I have the HPG fanny pack. It has the same compartment as the kit bags, but just a waist strap. It works well and I use it when I am hiking places around the area. With local gun control in the commie part of VA, I stopped wearing it as it probably would draw more attention than I want. For rucking or wearing a pack, I would rather have something like the kit bag.

I still use one sometimes, never had anyone pay any attention to it that I'm aware of including when talking to park rangers, etc.  The HPG bag is a well made piece of gear but I sweat a lot and don't care for anything on my chest- personal preference, find what works for you.

TURN AROUND!  QUICK, TURN AROUND!  

I know what happens on the other side of that sign!

Yeah, I don't understand the love for this bag on the forum. Get the weight down by your COG... especially if you're carrying a gun, why mess with muscle memory and throw it on  your chest?

Then again, I prefer a battle belt over a chest rig too.

I have one that I use while riding my bicycle. Can get to my gun a lot easier with that on the front. I like it!

I am a huge battle belt fan vs chest rigs/vests.  This bag fills a unique role for me around the yard by keeping the gun clean, the phone undamaged, and surprisingly doesn’t flop around like I expected it too.  It’s worth borrowing one for a day or two to try out, it has its applications just like so many other things we throw money at.

Yep. My tractor and loader's seats make belt mounted stuff uncomfortable. I also end up rolling around underneath equipment like balers and haybines. It definitely keep the gun and phone cleaner and not soaked with sweat.  

This.

Tourniquet at a minimum. You can improvise other things if required.

I have been pondering one of these myself for hiking the AT but a fanny pack might fit in better during certain times. I wonder if these can be used as a chest pack/fanny pack (I don't own one) or has HPG has considered a convertible style of pack i.e. its a chest pack on the trail but you get to a re supply point and you can convert it to a waist pack to draw less attention. Most people are ill aware of their surroundings and if they are used to hikers in the area, a fanny pack wont stick out as much as rolling around in town with a chest pack.

Around the yard, I use my pockets for my phone  and a belt for my holster.  Or I leave the phone in the house.  I've never had a moment when I was thinking, " damn, I could really use a pistol on my chest right now."

As for the goody bag that OP is carrying,  I agree that a backpack or fanny pack makes more sense,  from a purely ergonomic standpoint.   Though zi admit a gun in those places is less ideal.

@sea2summit. Do you have a picture of your battle belt setup?

I’m lazy, there’s great threads in the armory on belts and setup.

These are the onesies I have in a usable condition right now, I’ve got a TTAC and _condor somewhere in boxes.

One on the left was an attempt at using one for 3-gun, middle is my “working” belt for around the house problems, the one on the right is set up as it was for the last deployment(if I had a need or more money I would absolutely change everything to Ronin belts). My only strong opinion on battle belts is more than one pistol mag is dumb, if you have to use your pistol when you’re in a battle belt and carrying a rifle your day has already gone so bad you probably won’t get to reload IMHO.
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Hip Belt on the backpack gets in the way of the fanny/lumbar pack.
I sometimes carry IWB, and use the HPG to carry other stuff or a different type of handgun. I've had a rimfire in my HPG, and a centerfire on my hip.
Also, chest is better for when you're in a sitting position like a vehicle, tree stand or blind.
Different tools for different jobs.

Trade the worksharp for something smaller from DMT.
Also the file on the Wave can be used to sharpen a blade. Just not the blades on wave, naturally.
Get a simpler multiplier from Leatherman than the wave.
The wave has a lot of redundancy amongst the tools.
I like to have three ways to make a fire on me. So can't complain about the lighter.

"Goofy" is the comment from those that simply fail to understand the concept or actually tried to backpack 100 miles with a concealed carry system you've practiced with extensively.  While I've tried a fanny pack and other methods, it's still subpar compared to a purpose-designed "chest pack" like HPG's Kit Bags.  They simply integrate better with backpacks and if you actually backpack serious distances, you'll quickly figure out why you don't want anything other than the pack's hip belt around your waist.

While mine are predominantly used for backpacking, I've found them equally useful when driving (usually four-wheeling/back roads), kayaking, fly-fishing, and mountain biking.  If overloaded, they can screw with your center of gravity, but that really has to be a heavy/bulky load, something I've always recommend to avoid.  That said, I've carried as much as 80 rounds in PCC mags on my Recon Kit Bag and ran a stage of drills and it was just as secure and balanced as my Spiritus or Halely micro chest rigs.  Believe me, I love belt rigs and prefer them over chest rigs and have used a few overseas:





However, a small chest rig still has it's place and HPG's Kit Bags are about the best I've found for combining distance backpacking and a CCW platform.  I've never said they're for everyone, but I do recommend at least trying one before bashing a concept you've never put into practice.  Someone brought up the valid point that affects through- or section-hikers.  You frequently stop or stay in smaller towns to resupply.  Walking around with a chest mounted kit bag would be awkward, which is why you use the minimalist IWB trigger-guard holsters to secure you CCW in your Kit Bag when worn and easily removed and added to your pants/shorts and concealed by a T-shirt when in town.  

ROCK6