My definition of the perfect civilian chest rig: OSOE Micro Rig w/ H-harness and H20

[Guest Paulie771]

Standard disclaimer: I'm not an employee of OSOE or TRG. I paid for all this gear myself through On Target in Murfreesboro (actually it was a trade). These opinions are mine and mine alone.

I've seen a lot of posts lately that regard civilians and what sort of gear they need to purchase. While this is a very personal choice and not everyone is the same, most people have the same general requirements:

1. Extra mags for their weapon/s

2. VOK/BOK/Medkit in case something bad happens

3. Space for extra gear

And that's about it. However, in my opinion, most of the new guys seem to want to carry as much stuff as a warrior overseas uses. Sorry guys, but there's no reason for that, for several reasons.

A. You're not fighting a war, why carry all that stuff?

B. You're more than likely not in anything close to the shape they are in

C. You probably won't know WTF you're doing with half the stuff you buy.

The only time something like will be used is for Zombies (whether they are Liberal-Zombies, Active-shooter Zombies, Bump-in-the-Night Zombies, ETC), Classes, and Looking-cool-with-my-friends.

In my experience, civilians need a BoK, some extra mags (but not a ton!), a tourniquet, water, and maybe a smoke. Some of the past rigs I have used include: TT 1 and 2 pc, Eagle CIRAS, ESSTAC Bush Boar A1, SKD/Eagle Universal, and OSOE's AK/M4 rig. With that in mind, I believe the Original Special Operations Equipment (OSOE) Micro Rig is the best out there for a CIVILIAN wanting a chest rig.

I have had one of the original Micros for a couple of years now and have taken a couple of classes with it. It has performed flawlessly through out this time. However, OSOE has made some improvements to the basic design that adds a lot to the rig.

My first Micro Rig. Coyote brown, nothing added. Missing the waist belt (I think the dog ate it, seriously). As you can see, it has 2 double mag pouches and a large admin/BoK pouch. 2 straps make an X-like harness across the back of the shoulders.

There's nothing on the bottom at all. No elastic, no drain grommets, etc.

Inside of the front panel. Velcro allows the adding of organization.

Finally, a pic of the rig in action at Tactical Response's Fighting Rifle a couple of years ago. Notice how the straps cross in the back and the (now missing, damn dog) waist belt. I'm not a small dude and it has plenty of room left to expand or contract.

Now for the reasons I think this is THE rig, for me. I've converted back to Mulitcam for all my gear. Notice, first the added panel of velcro to the outside of the admin pouch for adding of patches, because we all need more places for patches.

See the added grommet holes? No more carrying the creek water you just waded through avoiding those MZBs. Also notice the 3 sets of 2 elastic loops on the bottom of each pouch. These allow the carrying of CAT-T, SOF-T, or TK-4 tourniquets, as well as the ALS pocket smokes/CS (what they were designed for), or tweenkies.

Something the original did not have are PALS on the side of the pouches. You can add a secondary's mag pouch here or rubber band a tourni there.

The back consists of an OSOE hydro carrier mounted to the H-Harness. You can add a lot of **** to the back with all the PALS there, but I don't. Either way, it perfectly fits the Camelback 3L bladder. The H-Harness had elastic on the left shoulder to route tubes or commo lines. It is very, very comfortable and lo-pro, with out choking or digging into your neck.

The velcro is still inside the front panel.

Pouch flaps opened. The mag pouches are expandable top to bottom to allow the carrying of various types of mags. I have M4 mags here, I used the original with an AK. It will hold the AK mags bullets down. They also make a .308 version that uses M14/FAL/G3 mags along with AK. I almost forgot, but they make a dedicated Shotgun rig that is **** for you scattergun users.

What I carry. I have a clamshell med kit with my VoK in it and a full size smoke in the admin pouch. I keep a spare TK4 as an Asherman in there as well. You can see the 4 M4 mags. I have to get a pistol pouch for the left side, and touri pouch for the TK4 to go on the H-Harness. You can also see the SOF-T in the loops under the admin pouch. I keep a multitool and some electrolyte powder in the front panel pocket.

So there you have it. With this rig, I have my primary mags (4) to go with the 2 in the rifle (loaded and Redi-mod), as well as my BoK, Hydro, smoke, tournis, and it's comfortable to wear. Combine this with my daily carry, and I have a good knife, a flashlight, pistol, pistol mag, and other goodies. I should be good to go. Thoughts?

In conclusion, this rig is versatile (Left and right hand available, multiple weapon types), big enough to carry everything a normal guy might need and small enough to keep his gear load in check, affordable, and bomb-proof durable.

All of this stuff can be ordered through Tactical Response Gear or OSOE.

OSOE Micro Rig

OSOE Hydro Carrier

OSOE H-Harness

TRG VOK

Edited March 19, 2010 by Paulie771

[creeky]

That is a really nice review! Thanks for posting it.

I have often wondered what was logical for a regular guy to have around.

I would guess 99% of us are not "operators"... I would suspect most of us would fall into the "Tactical-Dad" (or "Tactical-Mom") categories.

I've often thought if I was ever able to take the Carbine Class with C.I.S. what would I do for a rig. Can't really justify the cost for something I'd only use once. This system makes a lot of practical sense to me.

[Guest Paulie771]

Thanks, I'm glad you got something out of it.

[kwe45919]

First price I found on the Micro Rig is $85 with the H-harness at $45. Not to bad. I think I'll definatly be looking into these a little further considering they aren't that expensive......

Original S.O.E. Gear

[Guest Paulie771]

Please keep in mind that the one you linked, kwe, is like my original. The improved version is $95 (linked at the bottom of my OP at TacticalResponseGear.com). Multicam and ACU are another $10.

If it shows on TRG's site, it's in stock (active inventory) and I've never had an order not ship with in a day (fastest was 15 minutes from receipt of confirmation to shipping notice). You might have to wait a little if you order straight from John. Or you can get it at On Target in Murfreesboro or The Outpost off I24. They are both stocking dealers.

[crashgordan]

Notice it appears you are running the "lightning bolt" on your AK....

tell us what you think of it...

considering it myself.

[Guest Paulie771]

I no longer have that AK as I have standardized on ARs. However, if you like doing really fast reloads and them be very similiar to reloads on an AR (sweeping the bolt/charging handle back, not using the bolt release) it's the only way to fly. It is unbelievable how intuitive it feels and takes an easy second or two off your reloads. It does mess up the manual of arms for an AK, but if you're not worried about it, I'd definately give a shot.

I took that bolt to the 'smith at On Target and he cut and rewelded the handle to the other side, then spray painted it black again for much, much less than a new Lightning Bolt costs. You've got to cut your top cover yourself though. I know Anthony Navarro (inventer/owner of the LB), so I'd have no problem buying one if I had the cash (I didn't at the time).