Product Review: 5.11 TACTEC TACTICAL CHEST RIG

The 5.11 TACTEC Tactical Chest Rig has been in our inventory since 2013. It was a new release at the time when 5.11 was becoming a recognized brand. Nutnfancy, Instructor Zero, and various channels gave good early impressions.

Like all zombie hunters, I needed a way to carry equipment on me at a moment's notice.  It was inexpensive but had enough features to suit a variety of mission profiles.

Here is how the chest rig evolved over the years.

2013-2014 - "Do it All"
The setup was built around the Kel-Tec SU22. Around this time I maxed out the magazine capacity and even added an additional double AR mag pouch to the front right side. With 8 magazines I could throw more than 200 rounds of suppressed .22lr at the hordes of undead.

Also MOLLE'd to the front is a Maxpedition admin panel, a 5.11 vertical trauma kit and a radio pouch that holds a Versa Alerto dual band ham radio that has the same capabilities as the popular Baofeng UV5R.

I connected a big rectangular pouch to the back strap of the chest rig to hold additional medical supplies. If you look at the upper right photo, my medical supplies at the time were rudimentary and came from the local equivalent of your CVS or Walgreens.

This era of chest rigs could be described pretty well by the following links.

25 lb Tactical / Survival Loadout + 72 Hour Bug Out Survival Kit - Best Budget Tactical Chest Rig?

Drug Smuggler Interdiction Lightweight Loadout

2015-2016 "Maximum Ammo"

I switched to feeding our AR15. I didn't have a plate carrier then but the AR500 plate slid easily into the mesh pouch makeshift-style.

I again carried as much ammunition as I could. That was 8 mags plus one in the rifle. No battle belt meant everything was on the rig and it held up!  Observe the three 19-round .40 pistol magazines. The good news is nothing fell out even if I ran up and down the range in IPSC-style courses of fire.

2016-2018 

I already had a proper plate carrier by this time so we didn't need to throw everything on it plus the kitchen sink.

Enter the light weight configuration. Gone are most of the accessory pouches and this is how the manufacturers intended it to be used.

Magazine count is down to five so the rightmost side carries a bleeder kit and compass. The Vortex Ranger 1000 was a favorite toy. Back when the .22lr was our primary zombie blaster having a rangefinder was an absolute must because I needed each shot to land between the eyes up to 200 yards.

2019-present

Its my daughter's chest rig now. 

Using her "logic", all of my stuff is now her stuff. Fine then. >:3 (she typed that squiggle face, deal with it. YEET)

This mission profile is for long range zombie hunting with her suppressed long guns. Her sidearm is a MetroArms Mac 1911 Classic 9mm. Its got a match grade bull barrel and all EGW upgraded internals and hammer. 

Her favorite item is her knife the Schrade SCHF13.

I only had to tighten a few straps at the back harness to fit her 11 year old-frame. She used it a few times at the range and she also gave it a positive score!

More on this whole big igloo kit later.

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7-Year Evaluation

Good: 

• Elastic mag holders good as new after 7 years!
• Affordable
• Soft but durable fabric
• Stitching has held up. Even the mesh pouch compartment is still good. 
• Lightweight, easy to stuff into a backpack. 
• Dries quickly if left in the sun. Doesn't smell. 
• Carries all kinds of AR magazines.

Instructor Zero also uses this chest rig for extensive training programs around the world if you needed me to mention a noteworthy internet celebrity zombie slayer.

Bad:

• TacTec sounds like "tic tac". aaaaaargh I can't get over it
• Every two pouches are not separated by a wall. What actually holds the magazines are an elastic loop that's about 3 inches wide. Its adequately secure but because there is no divider for the two "pouches", they can slide around if you only use the top flap to secure each magazine. You could use a sewing kit and 10 minutes if you can't stand it. 
• For a long while this particular feature bugged the heck out of me and a lot of users to this day. I eventually got over it.

Ugly:

You might be tempted to get carried away accessorizing it like I did. That's the magic of MOLLE. It can hold up to whatever suits your fancy as I happily found out.

Score: 8/10


Summary: 

If you need a versatile, sturdy, and well-made LBE, the 5.11 TacTec will get it done. There are more popular choices out there today but this was one of the not-so mainstream options in 2013 and it still holds up. As stated before, the weird mag pouch thing is a minor thing if you can just get over it.

Our chest rig has endured seven years of service and will continue to do so in these interesting times.

Stay vigilant!