A piece of battle proven gear from a high quality American manufacturer
The MAV fight light one piece chest rig from Tactical Tailor is a very high quality piece of kit. Based on my experiences with this rig so far it will outlast most of the pouches that you attach to it.
The MAV is available in two configurations. A two piece setup with buckles in the middle of the molle webbing or a one piece setup. It also comes in a variety of colors including black, OD green, coyote brown, ranger green, or multicam.
This chest rig retails for around $80-$100 U.S. but I was able to pick up this used multicam version on Ebay for $50
The Fight Light MAV is the upgraded version of the standard MAV chest rig. The fight light uses a lighter 500 denier nylon instead of the 1000 denier nylon on the standard MAV. They also incorporate a mesh backing on the side against your body to promote heat dissipation which the standard rig doesn't utilize. Other than those two differences the standard and Fight Light MAV share the same specs. Including the 1.5 inch shoulder webbing with fastex buckles, the x shaped harness with plastic keeper, and the 1 inch bottom strap with dual fastex buckles and polymer keepers.
Durability:
The construction quality of this chest rig is about as good as it gets. All stress points and critical junctions are double bar stitched and cross tacked for durability. This includes areas such as the integrated map pocket, edge seams, and webbing attachment locations. The amount of stitching on the MAV is almost to the point of being ridiculous. There are sew lines all over this rig that add to this products battlefield proven durability. The 500 denier material used in the MAV's construction is very high quality and can withstand almost anything you can throw at it. I have by no means been "gentle" in my testing of this rig and was genuinely surprised when this piece of kit came out on the other side with absolutely no damage to it. No rips, no tears, no fraying, no splitting, no ruined molle attachments, nothing at all. Durability from this product is a solid 9 out of 10.
Modular Capabilities:
I have never been a fan of those "cookie cutter" rigs that come with sewn in pouches so this rig already started with a high opinion from me. The only thing built in on this chest rig is the integrated map pocket on top in between the two front buckles. While the opening for that pocket is small it is big enough to fit your whole hand in for easy access to the contents. The pocket runs the entire length of the chest rig so if you deem necessary you could fill the entire 29 internal inches of the rig with crap (though i dont recommend that). Other than the map pocket the whole front of the rig is bare molle webbing so you can customize it to your hearts desire. The molle webbing is three rows tall and 18 rows wide, with the middle row being 1/2 size in height to reduce weight. If you do require more molle webbing a bib can be purchased separately to add some more realestate to the center at chest level. The bib retails for around $50 and covers over the map pocket but does include an additional, yet smaller, map pocket to the top of it. I prefer to keep my chest rigs pretty light in terms of gear so I chose not to purchase the bib and utilize the map pocket to store a small blow out/survival kit. Then run only a medical kit, double pistol mag pouch, double rifle mag pouch, a radio pouch, and a general purpose pouch on the molle webbing. Modularity score is a perfect 10 out of 10 for this chest rig.
Fitment:
I am 6' 3" tall about 200 pounds and this rig has no problem fitting me and could definitely fit someone much larger or much smaller. There is plenty of adjustment in both the shoulder and waist straps to fit virtually any body type. Combine that along with the keepers to make sure any extra webbing is kept neat and out of the way and you get a very adjustable fitting chest rig. I'll keep it nice and short in this section, for fitment the Fight Light MAV gets a 10 out of 10 score.
Final thoughts:
Short answer, If you have the money for it and are in the market for a chest rig dont hesitate to pick up the Tactical Tailor Fight Light MAV one piece. Long answer, while this is a phenomenal piece of kit if this is going to be your first piece of gear I do not recommend going with a chest rig. I would push you more to look into a plate carrier for the armor bearing potential, even if you dont buy plates right away a carrier gives you that option in the future. With a chest rig you dont have the opportunity to run armor unless you purchase some kind of bare carrier to run underneath the chest rig. If you are just a range operator I would push you more towards a battle belt of some kind (i will be reviewing some good ones in the future). A battle belt will serve you much better if you dont have plans to run armor because of the location of equipment and bearing the load on your hips instead of your shoulders for weekend range trips or competitive shooting. With all of that being said, as long as you understand the draw backs of chest rigs, this rig will serve you very well whether you are deploying overseas or just a prepping civilian, as long as your mission parameters indicate a chest rig as a valid option. My overall score for the Tactical Tailor Fight Light MAV one piece chest rig is a 9/10 and a must buy!
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