ESSTAC Boar Chest-Rig Kit:
Esstac brings us a sweet chest rig setup with lots of modular pieces to allow your kit to be further customized to your needs. Main functionality is that it holds 8, 30 round NATO magazines with bungee cord retention setup. Classic webbing straps are standard and I am showing the optional padded straps and back panel kit. The sleeve kit includes a non slip sleeve for your blastn' shoulder, 2 PALS sleeves (2 channels x 2 rows), and 1 loop Velcro sleeve. I also show the big hydration carrier addon which includes 2 SRB sleeves to attach to the shoulder straps/back panel. A new back strap is included which has velcro to stick to the hydration carrier. Webbing loops with velcro closure are also included to further secure the carrier to the belt using the green webbing loops you can see on the back of the carrier. All the straps come with elastic bands to deal with your leftover slack when changing between armored and unarmored sizing. Getting back to the meat and potatoes, the whole mag panel can be torn off and replaced with another module such as the AK setup. Some people are a little sketchy about having this mag module on with velcro, but when it is on your body, trust me it has a rock solid grip. Each mag pouch has its own adjustable and removable webbing strap using velcro. This way the user can adjust the height their mags ride in the pouches to accommodate Magpulls and other mag additions. Since not a sewn closed pouch, the mag areas drain sand or water well. PALs webbing is all over this thing to allow you to further fill out this rig to your needs. For those who don't need quite as much mag pouch business, the Bush Boar is available which has 6 mag pouches and the Trim Bush has 4. These variants are take up less waist space so may be a better choice for those smaller and not wearing armor. My thoughts so far is that it works great being able to be adjusted to how I want it. As with most bungee pull mag setups, mag extraction is very fast, but re-inserting can be a hassle with the cord getting in the way of the opening. Quality is great as always and how everything interfaces together is well thought out. I wish the Boar was easier to get on and off and Esstac was already one step ahead and apparently a zippered front version is also available. My only full complaint is the extra hydration carrier was overall built great, but the interior D-ring is quite the zipper snag hazard when not in use. I recommend a quick stitch on it to have it tend to hang down rather than up.
Recommended place of purchase: <www.skdtac.com>
EAGLE INDUSTRIES MOLLE style Plate Carrier with Cummerbund:
I need to get some more pics, but thought I'd get this up for a placeholder. First pic shows my first trial loadout for a Camp Guernsey base trip. You're likely asking "we are your mag pouches chump!?", but my main role was media guy, so the Spec-Ops Op order pouches up front worked well for that. Second..is my current random loadout, a pic for mere comedy's sake. I got the optional shoulder pads which slide on sadly causing the main strap adjusters to be covered. I still need to get some plates to wear this up propper, but so far have found it to be really great especially for the price. (They go for around $165)
