Everyone is trying to find a good way to carry and use their gear as effectively on the range, on the field, or for bugging-out. The biggest issues with this dilemma are weight distribution of gear and the ability to add on to the existing rig or vest, making it more personal for the end user and giving them greater sense of control. Being a smaller guy, lugging around bigger vest with lots of equipment isn’t the most ideal situation for me, so I decided to give the Condor Rapid Assault Chest Rig a chance. I’m glad I did.
Right out of the box you can tell that the Condor Rapid Assault Chest Rig is made of very high quality material that feels strong and reliable. This chest rig has 6 AR-15 single-stack magazine pouches with an additional mesh pocket that rides against your stomach for fitting papers or a cleaning kit for your rifle. There are quick-detach clips on the shoulder straps that are easy to release but strong enough to withstand constant use. There are also 3 rows on MOLLE loops (12 loops on each row) on the front of the vest for additional MOLLE pouches The rig includes a lot of adjustability for a “one-size-fits-most” platform. If you are a bigger guy, a smaller guy, you want to wear body armor in addition to your loadout, or you want to attach it to another piece of equipment; chances are that it will fit.
Without any equipment attached to or inside, the Condor Rapid Assault Chest Rig feels weightless weighing in at 1.2 pounds. When you load the rig with 6 30 round magazines, it only weighs in at an impressive 7.2 pounds. The chest rig rides very comfortably on your shoulders and seems to hug your body even with the very little padding on the straps. If you are looking for a tighter fit, there’s a waist strap that you can adjust and clip in to help the rig ride more comfortably and make it less likely to move and swing all over the place. One annoying thing about the chest rig is having to spend quite some time adjusting the rig to your body size, but once it fits, you never need to adjust another strap again. Easy on, easy off.
The next thing tested was AR magazine brand compatibility and the ease of draw. The best AR magazines I have found to fit in this vest are Magpul’s PMAGs. Following that are the aluminum GI mags and Troy Industry magazines. I highly recommend matching the Condor Rapid Assault Chest Rig with Magpul PMAGs because they seem to ride higher and are easier to draw from the pouch without compromising the friction lock. The GI mags tend to wiggle just a bit in the pouch and are little low riding, but are very easy to draw from the pouch. I also tried using Thermold and TangoDown magazines and I highly recommend you do not use them in the Condor Rapid Assault Chest Rig; they are very hard to draw and insert into the pouch.
After months of use, I have found the Condor Rapid Assault Chest Rig to be very reliable, cost effective, and extremely light weight even with the full 180 rounds packed in to it. When using the rig at the range, I feel very comfortable doing rifle drills and I find that having a simple rig is better. Condor has done an amazing job delivering high quality at a low price. This vest should last me quite a long time and I look forward to using up some of those MOLLE loops.
By: Michael Reyneke
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Good information. Thanks for the review