Chest rig vs molle rig

[Farmer]

Ok, I searched the forum looking for either a gear write up, or a discussion but didnt find anything.

I will be getting my first chest rig/gear platform probably by the end of the month. ( gotta love 3 check months) I was thinking either

Condor Modular Chest Set MOLLE Vest http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=28

Or Condor ACU Tactical Hydration Vest http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=28

ignore the color choices, as I am not sure what color I am gonna go for. probably a solid color. od, black or tan.

I am not overly happy with molle, but not sure the tac vest will be adapable enough.

I currently run a G-36c. if that matters. I think the clips will fit into the m-4 pouches, at least well enough that that doesnt bother me.

Does anyone have absolute horror stories, or lessons learned the hard way or "mad props" about either of these? I will probably be getting it from aonw, as they are my "local" shop and well frankly I like the people and atmosphere.

[NFS_Shadow]

I always hatted my vest. Soon as i had the money i upgraded to a condor Molle plate carrier. Probably the best airsoft related purchase i've made. Allows for so much more versatility.

[DutchElvis]

FYI, the Modular Chest Set is sized fairly large. I had one a while ago. You may want to wear soft body armor under it in order for it to fit properly.

[DutchElvis]

FYI, the Modular Chest Set is sized fairly large. I had one a while ago. You may want to wear soft body armor under it in order for it to fit properly.

[Farmer]

Hmm sized larger huh? As much as I am not sure about MOLLE since I am a larger guy, who I am kidding, since I am a middle aged old fat security guard lol that might just be perfect. Thanks. Thats the type of info I was hoping for, the vest comment, and the size thing, neither of which you will find on any of the other reviews. Believe me, I have looked at so many reviews about aeg's, chest rig vs plate carriers vs plain old lbe/lbv they are starting to swim lol

[ogrejager]

So go try some on. Even Albany has a store (2 now, sorta) that caters to people who buy these things. Find your local store and go put some stuff on. Go to AONW and see what you like best.

[Cloudyrains]

I personally have had the MOLLE one for a year now and absolutely love it, although I don't wear it anymore due to getting a plate carrier. It easily fits 6 M4 mags (and M14 if you push hard enough) and AK mags, and the built in hydration pouch is great. Since there is already mag pouches built in, it allows you to put more MOLLE gear on the front for extra tacticool funtimes. I usually leave the top admin pouch thingy off though, as it doesn't really do much aside from, well, support admin pouches in a convenient location. All in all it is an excellent starter chest rig and is functionally the same (if not more) as an RRV, although not as cool looking. I would definitely go with it.

[$tealth]

What kind of chest rig/plate carrier you get depends on your play style.
If you want a "High-speed Low-drag" setup, I'd get a battle belt or perhaps a mesh vest. The downside to a battle belt is that you can't carry that much ammo, but with a high-speed loadout then you don't really need as much ammo because ideally you would move more than you shoot.
For a tank sort of play style, a big plate carrier with lots of MOLLE room would be ideal because then you can carry lots of ammo and such. However it weighs you down a bit, which to some is a con and to some is a pro.
For something in-between, a larger chest rig/lighter weight plate carrier would do you good.

Personally, I have a Condor chest rig (I think it might be a discontinued model, I got it used and haven't seen it in any airsoft stores) and I can easily fit plenty of ammo with my pistol rig on my drop leg. I'd like to run a battle belt + H-harness as well so I can have the weight more evenly distributed, but I have yet to actually get one.

As far as your G36 mags fitting in the M4 mag pouches, I'd be surprised if they fit. I know AK mag pouches fit G36 mags just fine, but I've never seen them fit in M4 mag pouches. Which is why I suggest getting a "clean slate" sort of rig with just MOLLE on it, so that you can put AK mag pouches on it. There are also a couple chest rigs designed for AK mags that you might be able to find somewhere in the NW... One of them is NC Star which only holds 6 AK mags which would probably mean 3 G36 mags. The other is made by Pantac (It's a higher-end brand which is hard to find in a lot of places, but Airsoft GI has a ton of gear from them) which holds 12 AK mags, but it's not as cozy so you could probably fit 6 G36 mags into the pouches.

As far as MOLLE vs. fixed pouches, it all depends on how important modularity is to you. If you don't think you'll be getting more mags any time soon, then a vest/chest rig with fixed pouches would be fine. However, if you like to be able to move stuff around, then MOLLE is the way to go.

Here's some good options:

Condor OPS Chest Rig: http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=28

Condor LBV Vest (chest rig): http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=28 (not sure about the pouches on this one, I'd bring a couple of your G36 mags with ya when you go to look at stuff to see if they fit or not)

Condor RRV: http://www.airsoftoutletnw.com/index.ph ... &Itemid=28

There are 100s of other options just on AONW, I only went a couple pages into the vests section.

[nb]

If you go the route that "$tealth" suggests, I understand that these pouches should be able to double stack G36 mags.

[Solid]

I've always found that the full chest/torso rigs are much better than the over-the-shoulder style that you have listed for the chest rig. MOLLE is just nice for moving things around how you want it, just much more expensive to buy all the crap. So if you want cost effective, go with a preset rig, otherwise go MOLLE if you want to be all tacticool with it.

[Darius137]

I also suggest you go into the store.

Get a solid color so you can work it into multiple LARPIING adventures.



I've never been a fan of battle belts because I don't like how it restricts my movement. I'd suggest something that has MOLLE on your chest, such as a "chest rig" or "RRV".

A Plate carrier is more for dressing up, as plates don't have any bonuses in airsoft and all it gives you is extra weight and bulk, as well as the chance that you won't feel your hits.