UW Gear: Any Good?

  • Thread starter Titanium Nitride
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Titanium Nitride

Guest
Hello fellows.

New user here, if I am asking this question in the wrong place, please let me know.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the chest rigs from UW Gear.

I'm on a budget, and not really looking for anything too complicated, so their stuff seems appealing.

If they're not that great, or you know of something better for someone in my situation, I'd greatly appreciate you letting me know.
 

SmElly

Regular Member
Hello fellows.

New user here, if I am asking this question in the wrong place, please let me know.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the chest rigs from UW Gear.

I'm on a budget, and not really looking for anything too complicated, so their stuff seems appealing.

If they're not that great, or you know of something better for someone in my situation, I'd greatly appreciate you letting me know.
No experience with UW Gear, but the BFG 10 speed is well renowned and 90 bucks

https://www.blueforcegear.com/ten-speed-m4-chest-rig.html
 
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Titanium Nitride

Guest
No experience with UW Gear, but the BFG 10 speed is well renowned and 90 bucks

https://www.blueforcegear.com/ten-speed-m4-chest-rig.html

Thanks for the recommendation. This seems to be just about the same as the UW, but coming from a company I have heard of and know has a good track record. Only downside with the BF rig here seems to be that it has 2 less mag. capacity than the more expensive version of the UW. That probably isn't really a concern for me though, and the BF rig has more molle/pals space to make up for it.
 

ammomfg

Newbie
wtf? I looked at "UW Gear"s website, says it takes them 3-5 months to make up your rig. Yea, I'd go BFG, BDS, or Tac-Tailor. If you're looking for something that's more or less a stand-alone chest rig, you might look at the Warrior Assault Gear 901, you can upgrade it later with a front plate, and they also have a back-piece which can carry a plate as well.

If you really just wanna spend the minimum dollars... LAPG has a rig for $60 https://www.lapolicegear.com/bpg-55sf00-split-rig.html
 

patriot_man

Regular Member
Spiritus Systems also makes a good chest rig for comparable prices. Not only that but you can add on things down the road as time goes on.
 

krax

Regular Member
There's nothing inherently wrong with anything from UW, just nothing special. The closures on the mag pouches are nice if you're storing thing other than mags.

Yours is not an easy question to answer because it lacks context. We have no idea what you want a chest rig for, so it's hard to recommend the right one. Help us help you.

The BFG one SmElly recommended is good, unless you want to keep mags stored in it, in which case I'd go with something less reliant on elastic.

Spiritus is good, but their main rig expands outward to the front which is usually undesired, and the cost of putting one together adds up. Their Bank Robber is a nice minimal setup, but you'll probably want to use it more as an augment to some other load carriage "system".
 

GhostGK

Newbie
Hey bro..I personally have no experience with UW Gear. But the Tactical Response dudes seem to love their stuff. Gary Marr just posted a video review of a chest rig from them..
 

txstiguy

Newbie
I have the swamp fox for akm in 7.62 its nice quality. The shoot tabs are nice but if you use something other then the mag it's designed for the tabs will not stay unless you really stuff it in there i.e improvised ifak.I believe all the stitch work is done by Tactical Tailor "or used to be". Is it a great all around rig no. Hence I use it to store some Bakes in. The Haley rigs or BFG may be a good choice for you or put together your own my typical rig is either a eagle rrv or tac tailor panel rig with hsgi tacos. YMMV
 

Diz

Regular Member
I would like to weigh in here, FWIW. Full disclosure: I did the initial designs, gave him his first machine, and taught him to sew, using the materials and techniques learned in parachute rigging, and applied to tac gear. That being said, I am no longer associated with him in any way.

First of all, the mission statement for UW Gear is support gear for the prepared citizen. This is dismissed as derp by some, but I would argue merely because the gear is not designed for LE or military use (although it could be) does not mean it is inherently bullshit. It is distilled down to what is required, nothing more, nothing less. You can dismiss this as old-fashioned or basic-looking but that is missing the point.

It is semi-custom built gear, built one at a time, with std PR practices and techniques. This means it's gonna hold up to real use, but also takes a lot longer to make. The tuck tab closure system is still one of the best out there, IMHO, and has since been improved with additional velcro closure for when the pouch is not fully loaded.

So I would like to separate some issues if I may. It's not flashy or sexy with the Gucci brand name recognition. But it's not trying to be. It isn't instantly available like a lot of other stuff. But then neither is a lot of the other top brand gear.

But what it is, is solid kit that works, period. Specifically designed for the prepared citizen for come what may. Again, if you're a cop, or military, this sounds like bullshit. And I get that; the preparedness community is rife with examples of silliness which can and should be ridiculed. However, I would submit that in this case, this is a legit vendor making good support gear, for that mission set, and worth the wait.
 
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Diz

Regular Member
When I wrote this response, almost a year ago, I had no idea what the new year had in store for us. Well maybe I did, but not to this extent. To clarify, UW Gear is a one-man custom shop. As far as I know, he has no connection to the TR crowd, except for those that may have bought his kit. It's not fair to characterize him as associated with that bunch. Yes he has wait times, but welcome to the new world. His quality is excellent and prices are fair. As we sail into unchartered waters here I think it would be fair to say that home workshop weapons and equipment will become more prevalent as things become harder to come by.
 
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DavidMS

Amateur
Thank all of you for asking and answering questions about the UW gear items. The Bandolier seems to a viable choice for carying glock happy sticks. I am new enough to all this that I want to listen to experts before I start buying and trying as that gets expensive fast wtihout expert guidence. At least I can avoid most of the truely awful.
 

Boy Scout

Regular Member
Don't forget, there is a LOT of secondhand quality gear for sale on here and on other forums/markets. Look at your needs/wants for your gear and do some digging and you can buy from another patriot.


ETA: I had not heard of UW Gear do not mean to imply any negativity towards the company, just mentioning that other options are available. I do love cottage makers and try to support them when possible.
 

Diz

Regular Member
For sure they are many choices out there. Support gear is as varied as all the different AR vendors out there. Buying used and surplus gear is a valid choice. And just like weapons selection there is a wide price range to choose from. You can buy anything from a PSA kit special to a B&T.

The difference, for me, is when it comes to support gear, I want something that is optimized for my use. As I attended different training courses, I would observe different folks and the weapons and equipment they were using. Some times rifles would choke, but sometimes you would see their gear fighting them when they tried to do a fast re-load. Sometimes their mags would rain all over the deck. Sometimes they were difficult to extract from the pouch. Especially when doing SUT, and trying to fire and maneuver with a team. If you can't get a re-load done in a timely manner you are either falling behind, and/or not getting supporting fire out for your team mate.

So this is where the rubber meets the road. That bargain rifle you bought or that used surplus ammo pouch is now going to show you why it was so inexpensive. When you try and do a re-load, it takes forever to get the mag out, and then when you insert it, it falls back out because it wasn't fully seated. The rifle is a separate issue, and covered elsewhere. But the ammo pouch. Ah, yes, the ammo pouch. That fully enclosed GI 3-mag pouch is an institutional design, more concerned with protecting mags than getting one out quickly. Now don't get me wrong, I learned the trade with them; they worked for their time, but there is much better out there.

On the other end there is the open top mag. Probably with shock cord. Lots of those around. Real quick to get to, for sure. But don't always stay put when you are moving fast. Especially after the cord holding them together gets old. They worked real good on the square range when you were stationary, but when you were doing fire and maneuver, you left a trail a mags behind you. Full mags that is.

So whether you are running a chest rig/PC, belt kit, or bandoleer, what the guy at UW Gear is trying to do is balance quick access with good retention/protection. That's the idea behind a tuck tab ammo pouch. It is very fast to draw from, but also gives you good retention and pro from the elements.

This is A solution. There are many great designs out there. At all sorts of prices and availability. This gear was designed to fight with, after seeing what was needed in training classes. Something that stores your mag securely, but is quick to get at. I think it does this very well. If you were like me, and many others, you discovered many insufficiencies in your weapons and equipment once you attended formal training. This gear was a direct result of that.

As pertains to pricing and availability. What I have found, is that for every guy that gets out and trains, there are probably 99 others that don't. At least. So the demand for really good gear, that works, is small. People will either buy what is cheap and available, or what the big dogs use. Until they realize what they really need. So guys making really good kit, that is optimized for the intended purpose, are servicing a much smaller market. So it costs more and takes longer to get. It is up to you to determine that is worth it to you.
 
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