Chicom chestrig

[redmond]

Well, i was fooling around with my chestrig today and figured i'd see if anybody on asc made a review on it. I was disappointed when i found none, so i took it upon myself to write a brief one.

History:

The chicom (chicom stands for Chinese Communist, btw) chest rig is one of the best lightweight chest rig ever produced.
It's so good, that countless countries have been making knock-offs for decades. It has been extensively used by the
vietcong and NVA forces during vietnam, russian troops during a multitude of conflicts (afghanistan, chechnya conflicts,
georgia, etc, etc) and tons of para-military and guerrilla forces all around the globe.

Description:

The chicom is made of canvas-style material and is very durable. It has x3 cells in the middle for x3 ak47 mags or equivalent,
and x4 pouches for four grenades or similar sized gear. It has 3 straps, all of them adjustable so it can fit anybody. The proper
way to wear a chicom, is high up on your chest, as this will allow you to be more maneuverable, and, if the user chooses to,
can wear a belt & yoke style LBV as a second line gear.

Picture from flecktarn.co.uk



Modifications:

The most common modification of this vest is to soak it in gasoline (or, if you're like most of us, hot water) and fit 2 mags inside
each cell. I managed to be successful in this attempt, and have included pictures. As some of you will notice, my chicom
was actually serviced (i don't think that's tit sweat on the back).







I do not think users will be able to stretch this chicom using ak47 mags, as they are a little bit wider then the ak74 variety.
All in all, this vest can be found online or at surplus stores, priced anywhere from 10 to 30$, depending on the quality and
variation.

[cerealmaniac]

Originally Posted by redmond

I do not think users will be able to stretch this chicom using ak47 mags, as they are a little bit wider then the ak74 variety.

confirmed. nice review

[Forever_kaos]

Care to share the steps you did to stretch it?
I know you remove the rubber reinforcement piece and then cram 2 mag shells in each pouch and let it soak. But I had trouble with my last one and ended up selling it lol.

Also, did you use 47 or 74 mag shells?

Looks good I must say especially with that 'sweat', I'd love to have something like that.
Cool stuff!

[redmond]

Originally Posted by Forever_kaos

Care to share the steps you did to stretch it?
I know you remove the rubber reinforcement piece and then cram 2 mag shells in each pouch and let it soak. But I had trouble with my last one and ended up selling it lol.

Also, did you use 47 or 74 mag shells?

Looks good I must say especially with that 'sweat' hehe.
Cool stuff!

I did not remove anything from the chicom. All i did was soak it in hot water for 5 minutes, and while still wet, shoved a mag in all the way,
and the second one as far as it would go (half way down, roughly). The flaps won't close, obviously, but the mags are in tight enough that
they won't go anywhere, even if doing a handstand Don't take the mags out, i recommend to let them sit in there for a week at least.

As stated in the review, i used ak74 mags. They are made by MAG. I don't think you'll be able to fit ak47 mags like you could ak74 ones.

Thanks, i only noticed it while it was sitting in warm water, i did not notice that before.

[SuperCriollo]

is it possible to use G36 mags with one of those chest rigs?

[Desmodus]

Been hunting for one of these for a while... cheaperthandirt has them for like 10 bucks.. but they dont ship to Canada

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by Con3jo

Been hunting for one of these for a while... cheaperthandirt has them for like 10 bucks.. but they dont ship to Canada

Norseman is always selling these.

[Aegiis]

Originally Posted by Con3jo

Been hunting for one of these for a while... cheaperthandirt has them for like 10 bucks.. but they dont ship to Canada

Or watch the classifieds. Was lucky enough to get my hands on one last month.

[Desmodus]

Apologizes for Necro-ing, but I recently got one of these and I'm trying out the water soak trick.

Redmond, do your mags fit very tightly in the pouches? Or are you able to easily slide one out if they are both in the pouch? I'd like to have a little space so they come out effortlessly. I've tried stretching the chicom out the most I can without removing the rubber liners, but I cant move any of the mags without struggle. I just removed one of the top liners on one of the pouches to try stretching it without the liner now.

[shiftsup]

http://www.keepshooting.com/home.htm has them in stock every so often and they ship to Canada.

I purchased my SKS Bandloeer from them. Those hold M16VN style mags.

I have both the 4 cell and 3 cell Chicom chest rig. Great items.

[redmond]

Originally Posted by Con3jo

Apologizes for Necro-ing, but I recently got one of these and I'm trying out the water soak trick.

Redmond, do your mags fit very tightly in the pouches? Or are you able to easily slide one out if they are both in the pouch? I'd like to have a little space so they come out effortlessly. I've tried stretching the chicom out the most I can without removing the rubber liners, but I cant move any of the mags without struggle. I just removed one of the top liners on one of the pouches to try stretching it without the liner now.

Sorry i guess i missed this, but i suppose i should of clarified how you should reload. You always pull out the one nearest to your body first, and when comes the time to throw it back in, push the mag already in the cell away from you, and squeeze the empty behind it (near your chest). You should be able to do this fairly easy. I know with 74 mags it should be a cinch as they will slide, but with any ribbed mags, it may prove to be tricky.

Another thing that makes reloading easier is insuring that your magplate is on the TOP, and not the bottom, so there isn't as much friction between the two.