Upon retiring from the military I decided I needed some form of LBE for the AK platform. At first I decided to add purpose-built AK shingles to my Hellcat MK III. Everything fit together fine but as the Hellcat is designed to hold M-4 mags internally the lack of the M-4 mags made the rig sag when I loaded it down with AK mags. I ended up going out in search of a dedicated rig for the AK platform.

My requirements were the following; MOLLE based chest rig, holding six 30 round magazines. Had to be able to hold magazines rounds-down in the pouches. Finally, it had to have a split front. My last assigned weapon was the M-4/203 with the '203 rounds being carried on the Hellcat. Going prone with a solid-front chest rig loaded down with only M-4 mags sucked. Try that with '203 rounds on the outside of the M-4 mags! Our SOP was to split the front when we went prone. Made life alot more comfortable physically and put you closer to terra firma when the shit hit the fan!

There are a lot of companies out there making MOLLE systems but none that met my personal criteria. There were suggestions that certain rigs were made for something else but worked OK in carrying AK mags. Some had problems with the mags being tight. Mags had to be carried rounds up. Nothing off the shelf met my needs.

Somehow I ended up at Beez Combat Systems http://www.beezcombatsystems.com/Chest-Rigs_c5.htm. On the shelf they had rigs available for the AKM, AK-74, Saiga-12 and the SVD. All the issues others have had with the AK platform these guys already had worked out and in a finished product. The only requirement I had left was the split front, which they didn't make. I fired off an e-mail asking if they would be willing to make such a rig and I got an enthusiastic response that they'd give it a try.



This is the final product. I'm going to be putting out a video review of it at some point but here's a first look. I've seen much more expensive rigs that weren't made half as well as this one! It's built like a tank!

The magazines fit easily rounds up or down. There are no issues with the magazine locking lugs interfering with each other. If you pull the center magazine out the other two magazines aren't going to trap it in place! Placing magazines into the rig will take a little getting used to but that's an issue with AK mags as a whole coupled with having a new rig to get used to.



I've tried European and Chinese steel magazines, Soviet bakelites and Bulgarian waffle magazines. All fit, retain and withdraw the same.

Beez uses oversized pull tabs with bungee retainers. The bungee retainers work well holding the curved AK magazines in place. I know some don't like bungee retainers but we used to jump our Hellcats fully loaded and we NEVER lost a magazine on a jump. The bungees are completely user replaceable should the need arise to replace one that wears out, a feature other manufacturers should add to their rigs.



Evidently there's some debate on whether split front rigs should have adjustable or fixed front closures. My preference is an adjustable closure as it allows me to quickly compensate for the addition of cold weather gear or body armor, keeping me from having to mess with the rear straps once I've got them where I need them.



Behind the magazine pouches are full length interior pockets, useful for maps, 9-line Medivac cards, emergency batteries, etc. Sewn at their bottom is a single row of PALS webbing which is a nice feature. Comes in handy when using something like the T-adapters I've got attached but are not included. Comes in handy for hanging gloves, hearing protection or whatever else you see fit.



I've attached a few pouches from different manufacturers to the rig to see how their MOLLE webbing works and I found no issues. Occasionally you'll get a piece of equipment where their spacing is off vertically or horizontally and theirs is on the money no matter which pouches I used.

Overall I'm quite impressed with what they made and for the prices they ask. I've used or issued gear from SoTech, TAG, Paraclete, HSGI, SOE, Tactical Tailor, Specialty Defense, Diamondback Tactical and many others and this is up there with the best of them at a very reasonable price. I will be adding the padded harness they make for chest rigs once I figure out what to order as this one is at the moment unique.

More to follow once I get the video made and I'm able to put it to good use.

how about a pic with you wearing it. Wouldn't mind seeing how it sits.



Nice write up!

Dave, not to stomp on your thread. I don't have a dedicated AK74 vest so I decided to see if my Tactical Assault Gear "Gladiator Vest" would work. So far so good but I live in the city and have not walked around the woods to see if the rig if comfortable. I took out the retention straps and the mags are secured via gravity, so far I haven't lost any mags while "dolphin diving" BF3 style in my living room.

I too was issued an M203 at one time, the front molle had 6 pouches for 40mm rounds. 1 red star para, 1 green star para, 2 white star para, and 2 HEDP. Granted I rode in a 40 foot river assault boat in the Euphrates, it made for a nice rig during my two deployments.

They just hit the website at $130