I believe I have narrowed the modular system I want down to these two.  Any positives or negatives would be greatly appreciated.

Tim

Personally speaking, of course....

I believe the quality of the Hellcat to be better than anything BHI makes, from personal experience.

And, BHI is NOT made in America!!!!

From personal expirience (and sales), the BHI STRIKE line is built very solid. This is not to take anything away from SO TECH..simply telling you the STRIKE chest rigs are built well for the money.

I hope the "not made in the USA" crowd doesn't own a tv made in China, an SAR1, Wolf ammo, Tasco scope, Nikon binos or anything else made offshore. We won't even talk about non-military items like clothing since 93% of all clothes in the USA are not made here...something to think about

I have both and like them both, I use the strike for LE applications and the hellcat for more DA type work.  It all depends on your mission and what you need to carry.

I've got the STRIKE commando vest with the following pouches (left to right): single frag pouch (holds my Surefire spares carrier) Double AR mag pouch (4 mags), Double pistol Mag pouch (dead center of vest) Double AR mag pouch and lastly a single pouch that holds 4 AR mags.  Above this row of pouches in the upper center portion of the vest, I have the map/admin pouch (holds a Surefire FL too.)  

General observations.  The pouches are well made, and are VERY secure on the vest.  They are a real pain to get on and off however, so I don't change it around too much.  The vest supports the weight of the gear quite well, but I have found one problem with this vest.  

The shoulder straps run up and over, then criss cross in the back.  This brings the straps quite close to my neck, and they do cause some irritation after wearing it for extended periods.  I will need to do something about this.  

I use this vest for competitions (3 gun and CQB events.)  I'm not law enforcement nor military, so my life is not depending on this gear.  But, I wouldn't worry about the gear if my life was on the line.  I feel that BHI makes good stuff, but people talk it down because it is not made in America.  I don't believe that just because something is made in America means it is made to a higher quality standard.  BHI might not be the best, but I don't feel any gear manufacturer can claim that anyway.  I think they all have something in their product line that is the best of the breed, but some items that are just average, and others still that are sub par.

These are, of course, just MY opinions.

Having a holster mounted to the rig is important to me and Arktis mentions having one on their rigs.  I couldnt tell where it was or how it worked on their vest.  Any descriptions or pics of this would be appreciated.

I run a hellcat for my main harness, no matter how you configure it, you always have 6 AR mags.  Alot to be said for that.

I do have a Strike Plate carrier and drop leg pannel, they work, but are not as well made as other companies.  The only reason I use any Blackhawk gear is that they can deliver to me fast. I wish I could have all Eagle and TT gear, but sometimes I dont have the time to wait.

Quoted: Having a holster mounted to the rig is important to me and Arktis mentions having one on their rigs.  I couldnt tell where it was or how it worked on their vest.  Any descriptions or pics of this would be appreciated.

http://www.arktisltd.co.uk/vestsmilitary.htm

Holster compartment is on the internal left side when worn.  I'm interested as well and awaiting info. Here's the link to their home UK website that shows other models.

Sinstral,
I like your pro American stance.  I live on the other side of town and my employer is always looking to 'globalize', which means more local people get layed off and work goes to China, Mexico, or Pakistan.  All for one more dollar profit in the COE's vest. When we all are out of work who is going to buy the products we once built all in house?

Anyway I am looking for a modular vest (or something) to outfit as a hunting vest.  I currently use a fanny pack and everthing is lost inside, plus I basically have to take it off to find anything.  I figure a decent modular vest could serve this purpose with a few pouches. Plus I would like a hydration bladder in the back.  Being left-handed I need a clean left shoulder area (no buckles, etc).  Any reccomendations?

Where is our cool weather?

Quoted: Quoted: I hope the "not made in the USA" crowd doesn't own a tv made in China, an SAR1, Wolf ammo, Tasco scope, Nikon binos or anything else made offshore. We won't even talk about non-military items like clothing since 93% of all clothes in the USA are not made here...something to think about It is harder and harder to buy things made in the USA....but with firearms, accessories, and tactical gear it isn't that hard.  Our entire product line with the exception of the OKO is made in the US, most of it less than 10 miles from our main shop.   I think many people's beef with Blackhawk is they make their stuff in Vietnam and China.  I wouldn't care so much if it was made in Democratic nations. I buy all my gear made in the US or at least from Democratic, non-totalitarian and non-communist nations.  Quality control in those nations is extremely lacking. Blackhawk's excuse is they can make it cheaper overseas...well their gear doesn't cost that much less than US made brands like Eagle, SO Tech, Tactical Tailor etc.  The only thing they have over the other manufacturers is they have almost everything they list in stock all the time.

I'd rather buy all my gear from companies here in the states as well BUT as long as customers ask for BHI, I will carry them. Out of every brand I carry, 95% of my items are Made in the USA...Eagle, SOE, Leupold, K-Bar, etc...

Many customers can't afford to wait months for backorders to be lifted so they opt for the company that can actually get the goods to them fast. Supply and demand