Helikon-TexPatrol Line, Guardian Chest Rig

This is a fantastic chest rig. I'm a huge fan of the magazine capacity and large canteen pouches that also function as large general-purpose pouches. It can be paired with a slick front plate carrier or worn stand-alone. Fully loaded this chest rig weighs in for me at 12 lbs.I upgraded the X-harness with an HX Hybrid Harness from Lunar Concepts for improved weight distribution and comfort, while still allowing for a true chest rig ride height so that I can pair it with a battle belt or a large pack with a waist belt.Even with $100 worth of upgrades this chest rig offers great value compared to other options on the market. Would highly recommend it!

These products are of the highest quality, on par with Crye, Tyr,etc…name the brand, it’s just as good. It costs half as much. I’ve been doing violent jobs for 27 years, and have had a lot of kit issued as well as purchased. I can’t say enough good things about Helikon Tex.

Love the chest rig. Only thing that I dislike about it is that it does NOT hold 2 ak47 magazines in the front pouches. It WILL hold 2 AR15 magazines, but it will be a very tight fit. Doesn’t bother me tho because I’ll just carry an extra two magazines on my battle belt instead, to make up for it. Also the canteen pouches fit my canteens. The stitching is good all around. And the color is as expected. Little pricey in my opinion tho.

Received this chest rig on time and in excellent condition. I really like the main triple magazine pouches and the dividers within them. Magazines are held securely and protected from the elements and fully adjustable to accommodate AR15 or AK mags. The double side utility pouches work as advertised but I would have liked to see some form of organization in them. Not that it matters much since I intend to use one for a canteen or IFAK and the other for a padded PVS14 pouch. I hate X harness chest rigs so fortunately this rig is compatible with swift clips and I swapped it out for a Direct Action Gear H harness with no issues. It also clips into uraflex buckles too. The included velcro holders (x2 pistol mag pouch, 1x pistol holder, 2x rifle mag pouch) add a little too much bulk and make the rig uncomfortable for my taste so I removed them all and now it sits just right.There are no loose threads, it's well stitched together, and the fabric is cordura brand so I think it's going to hold up just fine in the field. There is plenty of webbing to attach additional pouches such as a fighting knife or a roll up dump pouch. I really like the way I have mine laid out.I do have to complain about one thing though; the color. I ordered this in "Adaptive Green" and the pictures on Amazon had me thinking it would be a more Ranger Green shade of green. Not the case. It is more of a coyote shade of green, it just barley hits on the green spectrum. If you have a strict SOP that you have to follow where you gear has to be Ranger or Olive Drab green, I could see Adaptive Green being a sour point of debate for some. This can be a plus since the color looks great with tan based uniforms and green patterns like M81 Woodland. Aesthetically I have no issue with it but if you follow any kind of gear color regulations be advised on this. In my picture I placed coyote tan gloves to show the difference, it's extremely similar depending on lighting conditions.All in all a great comfortable chest rig with plenty of area to personalize it to your needs. As long as you aren't too hung up on the color it is a great buy!

This appears to be a great heavy chest rig. Canteen pockets work as advertised. I’m thinking one canteen and one IFAK for now. The holster and pistol mag pouches are crap, so I removed them. I’m still giving this five stars, though, because they’re pointless to have on a rig like this. I suspect I’m going to need to replace the straps with an H harness, but I’ll run it stock for a bit first and see.Helikon Tex is excellent. This is not my first purchase from them and it won’t be my last.

I got this in M81 and the color is spot on. I think it is a good value for the money. You can fit 6 standard GI or pmags in the three pouches in the middle of the rig. The side gp pouches are big enough to hold GI canteens or a nice ifak. I keep a canteen in one pouch and an ifak in the other. There are pouches on the back of the mag and gp pouches. They hold a beofang radio with ease. Overall it is a very functional piece of gear.

If you are strictly interested in high speed low drag this chest rig might not be your you. It is not clumsy or heavy it is just meant for carrying more magazines and other items then most people utilize when run & gun. It seems to be well built, I can't see stitching being an issue. It is comfortable and extremely suited for long patrols, hikes or tactical camping fun. Note that although I haven't tried 7.62x.39 mags in this rig I could see it being troublesome. I use ak mags in 5.56 and can't imagine a larger mag functioning well with this setup. For what I wanted this chest rig surely delivered. The main factor that attracted me to this item was that its offered in ATACS camouflage, I am a huge fan. Only thing I intend to alter on rig is removing molle webbing on front of pouches it seems useless and degrades the effectiveness of camo pattern. I would suggest this to my friends that run AR's as well as AK74's, would not recommend for an AK47.

Comfortable to wear. Double combat load of 556 mags. Durable made.