Helikon-Tex Chicom Chest Rig

I stumbled across these a few weeks ago and wanted to point them out for anyone who might be interested in them. I was initially looking for the Helikon-Tex Guardian rig that BePrepared wrote about, but found the “Chicom” rig and decided to give it a try instead. It is available directly from the Helikon-Tex online store, and can be purchased in several different colors, camo and solid. Interestingly enough, the only camo patterns available in the US store are Multicam and Polish Woodland, but if you order from the international store it can also be had in their version of Rhodesian Brushstroke and M81 Woodland. The downside of the international store is that it will cost you about an extra $50 in shipping compared to the US store, taking the delivered price from approximately $100 to approximately $150. At that point you are getting pretty close to the pricing territory of some of the higher end chest rigs. You may also be able to source it from ebay, as I did, from international sellers, and find it in the patterns not sold in the US store.

Lets talk about the rig itself- I opted for Polish Woodland, as I have a fondness for that pattern, not to mention it works pretty well in some of the creek bottoms around here that are thick with cedar trees and privet, even though it probably isn’t the absolute best choice for the the fall woods in NC.

I would also like to make the full disclaimer that I am not putting this up as a review of this rig, as I just recently bought it and haven’t had time to mess with it much. I wanted to put the word that there is what appears to be a decent rig out there from a company that usually makes serviceable gear, that is similar to the Chinese Type 56. It is a modernized takeoff of the old Chinese Type 56 chest rig, with three mag pouches, and PALS webbing in place of the grenade pockets that the Chinese had on their rigs. There is an admin pocket with a velcro closure on the back side of the mag pockets, as well as a velcro panel on the back side to attach a dangler to it, if that is your thing.

The mag pouch flaps have a velcro closure, which is one of the things that could be seen as a negative aspect, depending on your intended use. They do a very good job of completely covering an AR magazine as configured from the factory, but will not hold an AK mag. This is easy to solve, as they are held on internally by more velcro (very securely, I might add) and can be removed and lengthened very easily, as you can see in the pictures below.

The flaps can also be removed entirely and replaced with the included shock cord and tabs if you don’t want flapped mag pouches.

This rig weighs in at just under a pound, and is fairly compact. It has a simple harness, with functional velcro keepers for the straps and fastex style buckles so that the harness can be replaced if desired. The stitching seems to be well done and secure. It is a little smaller, lighter, and more compact than a Type 81 Chinese rig. The size difference is pretty easy to see when they are placed side by side.

While I am sure that this setup will probably not be as durable or quite as nice as offerings from UW Gear or Wendigo Works, for an outfit that is available for approximately $100 and that can be at your door in a couple of weeks or less, it may be a good option, particularly if you are looking for a bare-bones, lightweight, and compact chest rig to carry 3 mags.