The Blue Force Gear Ten Speed Chest Rig is a simple chest rig that serves a purpose. This lightweight, comfortable fitting chest rig is certainly a product of the times. Not that long ago the tactical market had a ‘bigger is better’ mentality. Products were coming out that were designed to provide as much coverage as possible, and as much MOLLE and PALS webbing as they could fit onto a piece of kit. Around 2010 things started changing, and troops in Afghanistan were taking a minimalist approach. This Blue Force Gear chest rig really represents a minimalist approach.
Approaching the basics
This kit is designed to hold the most basic essentials for a firefight. Namely ammunition, and maybe an IFAK. The Blue Force Gear chest rig isn’t designed for Marines patrolling 10 clicks in Helmand province. It’s designed for those who need to quickly don a kit they don’t normally need. For example, most police officers carry a rifle in their car, but many don’t carry extra mags on their belt.
When the rifle is pulled into play the situation has grown quite serious and having extra ammo on hand can be a literal lifesaver. The Blue Force gear chest rig is easy and quick to don. Toss it on, secure a buckle and you are ready to go. The kit itself is quite small and very portable. It can be stored anywhere and accessed with ease.
Sizing the Blue Force Gear Chest Rig
Fitting this chest rig to individuals is quite simple. Adjust the single horizontal strap’s width, and the adjust the two vertical straps until it’s comfortable. I like wearing the Blue Force Gear chest rig right below my chest. In this situation, it fits right around the stomach. This makes it easier to reach the magazines and rides more comfortably in my opinion.
On the Range
Shooting the Marine Corps Table 3A day fire course was a throwback to the old days. However, instead of having to wear a massive MTV flak jacket that made me about as efficient as a T-rex I get to use the Blue Force Gear chest rig. It’s light and comfortable and you hardly notice it, even with full loaded mags.
Drawing the magazines is simpler, and very quick. Because there isn’t any kind of retention on the magazine there is nothing to slow you down. In terms of retention the elastic is quite durable and really holds the magazines in place. When shooting and moving the magazines didn’t budge an inch.
As a test, I wore the kit and four full 30 round Lancer magazines through a series of burpees, box jumps, tire flips, and sit ups. Again they never budged, and stayed in place well. This series of exercises also showed me how to properly adjust the Blue Force gear chest rig. Because of the movement required in these exercises I found dropping the rig a little lower and tightening it a bit made it even more accessible and comfortable.
Table 3A (Found here.) requires some movement and I found moving with this kit is comfortable and easy to do. Because the magazines sit above the top of the chest rig the rig never bends on top of the mags.
Comfort
Comfort is a big deal when wearing gear for extended periods of time. The Blue Force Gear chest rig has two thick and supportive vertical straps and one thick horizontal strap that runs across the top. These straps displace weight well, and there isn’t any discomfort on wearing, moving, or shooting with this rig.
Final Shots
Customization of the Blue Force gear chest rig is minimal, with only two sections of 3 x 3 MOLLE webbing. However, it’s a minimalist kit and that’s to be expected. This chest rig really reminds me of the movie Heat. They used low profile, minimalist chest rigs to carry extra ammunition. This rig isn’t quite like HEAT’s but could be concealed under the right jacket or hoodie.
This article is courtesy of Travis Pike from The Loadout Room.
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