View Full Version : Chest or Thigh Rig
What is your personal preference on gear setup?
Glock 21SF with a M3 light attached. Hiking/camping, range, eventual 3-gun, etc.
I've been looking at a thigh rig and also a chest rig.
Your pros v. cons for each setup? I'm tending to like the chest rig more at this point since I could also carry AR15 mags, suppresor, etc on the harness...
Thanks for your input on some of my dreaming.
Driftwood
06-25-2010, 09:24
If it's hiking, campling, range, general purpose, etc......then simply a standard belt holster is best, IMO.
Hiking, camping might be difficult if your pack has a hip strap / belt to support the weight. It is very difficult to pull your weapon with the pack on if you chose a belt holster. Chest rig and pack would do well if you made sure the two items did not interfere with each others access. I would go for the thigh option which I selected. JMO
cowboykjohnson
06-25-2010, 10:05
I like my thigh rig when hiking. My pack gets in the way of a belt holster.
Here's what I'm thinking:
Belt Holster:
Pros - Commonality, cheap(er)
Cons - in way of pack
Thigh Rig:
Pros - Ease of movement/draw, positive locking
Cons - Off balance, could block pocket access, must be attached to belt, cost, not concealable
Chest Rig:
Pros - Easy draw, lots of storage, keeps weight above hips, customizable
Cons - can interfere with pack, cost, not very concealable
cowboykjohnson
06-25-2010, 10:24
If your thigh rig is properly supported you don't even realize it's there, But for balance you can get a drop platform for the other side with mags on it.
RCS Raven
Looks interesting... but I'm still not convinced on IWB's for my body type.
cowboykjohnson
06-25-2010, 10:28
I can't wear an IWB on my hip (digs into bone) but it is very confortable for me to carry IWB towards the small of my back.
Rgr cowboy, I've done that on occasion. I just prefer an OWB with a long button up untucked. That's how I role... the preppy gansta! HAHA. I'm kidding.
Mike, do you have any extra pictures of the Raven setup? I'd be interested in seeing the back of the holster, etc. Does it use belt loops or what? Their website through google is a little ambigious.
SA Friday
06-25-2010, 11:10
Rgr cowboy, I've done that on occasion. I just prefer an OWB with a long button up untucked. That's how I role... the preppy gansta! HAHA. I'm kidding.
Mike, do you have any extra pictures of the Raven setup? I'd be interested in seeing the back of the holster, etc. Does it use belt loops or what? Their website through google is a little ambigious.
Ya, definately light in the pic department, but it looks like both IWB and std belt loops can be attached to the holster.
cowboykjohnson
06-25-2010, 11:23
Rgr cowboy, I've done that on occasion. I just prefer an OWB with a long button up untucked. That's how I role... the preppy gansta! HAHA. I'm kidding.
I know what you mean, I wear wranglers, and tuck in shirts... my carry style has to work with that because I don't like change!
A polo shirt untucked is standard fair for me.
I'd honestly feel douchey carrying in a thigh or chest rig if I was just hiking.
Looks interesting... but I'm still not convinced on IWB's for my body type.
It can be converted to iwb; yes but it comes as an owb belt holster. I thought I saw a few of your posts saying you used an MTAC??
"The mission drives the gear, not the other way around" - Pat Rogers
The situation drives the gear, not the other way around. - civilian version
There is not a one size fits all solution. If you're just CCW'ing around town, that's a belt holster by your own admitted preference. If you're out hiking with just a pistol a thigh rig, ala Safariland 6004 might be the better option for you, though I think you'll find that any long duration hikes will disprove the idea that this is a good solution. Thigh platforms also impair entering and exiting vehicles, limits access to the weapon in a vehicle as well.
Chest rig, well that's one way to go and if you get a base low profile platform (ATS and Eagle both make excellent ones) you can add and remove pouches as the activity would call for.
I'm not a fan of Raven for a few reasons, but I'm not going to bad mouth them because I think the product is quality, I just am not comfortable with the design impacts on my chubby sides :)
I think you're realistically looking at a few different options here Bear, as my boss is fond of saying, identify all of the requirements, then go find the solution/product, not the other way around. You also just need to accept that you're going to have multiple pieces of gear. I tried for years to keep my platforms to one single holster, one single chest rig... yeah that didn't work out so well. And in the end it cost me about 3x as much as it would have if I'd just done my research and chosen the right gear for the right role the first time.
OgenRwot
06-26-2010, 09:25
There is no one good solution to this problem.
On the belt is great for the range and what not and around the camp site. But if you have a pack and you're hiking/backpacking it's not gonna work.
Chest rig works/drop leg work great for competitions, that comes down to personal preference. Drop leg also works with a pack, chest rig is hit or miss depending on your pack and chest rig. That's why I don't have a holster on my chest rig. More room for mags as well.
I use a drop leg for back packing and competition. Hiking around with no pack, it's on the belt.
SA Friday
06-26-2010, 09:35
I have a bag built into my pack harnesses that carries my gun when backpacking. Strong Side concealed carry without the pack.
There's an inside shot with the pancake clips.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee160/hhsieh/Glock%2019/IMG_7761.jpg
Chest rig works/drop leg work great for competitions,
Not at all.
Thats the slowest place to keep it.
SSChameleon
06-26-2010, 10:33
I've been using a hunter holster on the belt while hiking. If I have a pack I use a nylon holster that snaps over the belt on my pack. I've never used a chest rig, and the only drop leg I tried was cheap and uncomfortable.
lead_magnet
06-26-2010, 12:09
Some perspectives that maybe haven't been discussed here yet:
Chest rigs are easy to draw from while in a vehicle. Hard to draw from while prone.
If your wearing a chest rig / vest with a standard belt holster, sometimes the vest can get in the way of drawing the weapon.
I personally don't like thigh rigs because I don't like having my weapon that low. To me its odd while runing and feels insecure. And when drawing it takes just a fraction of a second to get the wepon on target.
Oh, and the worst thing about a thigh right is if your leg gets blown off you can't draw your pistol to take out the guy with the RPG that just pwnd you....think about it.
Oh, and the worst thing about a thigh right is if your leg gets blown off you can't draw your pistol to take out the guy with the RPG that just pwnd you....think about it.
Press X to respawn and go get kill that MF'er back!!
I don't understand the comments about the thigh rigs altering balance. I can't imagine a pound below the waist effecting balance all that much.
Also, while it is not the most efficient or safe (as far as sweeping people), you could probably carry on the waist in a cross draw manner with a pack.
the problem i always had with thigh holsters was them not wanting to stay put. i only tried cheap ones and a serpa drop leg, but they all bounced around and felt heavy. anyone know of one that don't do that?
as far as chest goes, i dunno about everyone else but when i backpack by pack is too big with too much going on with it to have a pistol holstered anywhere in the chest, and really its an rei super lightweight back. its a no go for me on the belt too or even on the pack belt because its too fat to put a holster on it. now my hiking day pack is a completely different issue.
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