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Urban Tactical Gear
9 July 2009, 12:46
It doesn't seem to matter which manufacturer you get your chest rig from, be it Tactical Tailor (http://www.tacticaltailor.com), HSGI (http://www.highspeedgearinc.com), Eagle (http://www.eagleindustries.com/home.php), OSOE (http://www.originalsoegear.com) or countless others, The stock shoulder straps are pieces of 1-2 inch pieces of webbing that form an X on your back.
Tactical Tailor Mini-Mav
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/tt%20mini%20mav/DSCN1278.jpg
OSOE Micro Rig(s)
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/micro%20ak%20rig/DSCN1271.jpg
HSGI Warlord series
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/warlord/DSCN1283.jpg

That is to say that they criss cross each other to stabilize the chest rig. There are a few methods to correct this, but each piece of kit is designed for a specific chest rig. For example: Tactical Tailor has produced the "x-harness" which fits the one and two piece "MAVS", however it does not fit the mini-mav. HSGI has an entire back piece upgrade for their dach and warlord series chest rigs.

After finding this picture on GOTX, I emailed John Willis at OSOE for more information about it.
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d165/emagdnima/Gear/OSOE.jpg

This is the OSOE H-Harness..... and it can be made to fit ANY chest rig currently on the market. Just let John know what rig you have, what size buckles it has attached to it, and he can make it up for you. So as I have his Micro Ak chest rig and his Micro Rig Pals(which came stock with the criss crossing shoulder straps), I ordered one. Just to see how much more comfortable it was, and whether it worked well. within a couple of days I had it in.

If you will, please forgive my mannequin. i haven't had a chance to order a proper one yet.

The Front interfaces just like any other strap setup would. one buckle on each side at the top, and one buckle under each arm.
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/osoe%20h%20harness/DSCN1317.jpg

The Big Difference, however, is in the back. instead of the straps intersecting and forming an X, OSOE has bridged the two with a cross bar, thus forming an X. I have been asked already, and posed the question to john. The H-harness does not come with pals on it. the way it works is the h-bar is actually two pieces held together with hook and loop. You run the straps from your hydration carrier through that, and then attach it at the waist belt.
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/osoe%20h%20harness/DSCN1319.jpg

Should you so choose to add a hydration pouch, the rig comes standard with a tube retention loops
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/osoe%20h%20harness/DSCN1318.jpg

Another great feature, that i wasn't aware of prior to ordering it, is that the shoulder straps are padded. Personally I find this setup a great deal more comfortable than the criss crossed straps, as those tend to irritate my neck; the h bar sits a tad below the neck line.
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/osoe%20h%20harness/DSCN1316.jpg

so there it is. an easy, comfortable fix to anyone wanting to ditch the stock straps from their chest rigs.

anyways. you know the drill. i don't work for the man. i just love his stuff. by now you should know how to get in touch with him, he has several online vendors, and his own website.

Stickman
12 July 2009, 14:27
Improved straps are an obvious step up from basic webbing when carrying chest gear, nice writeup.

WileyCoyote
5 September 2009, 21:53
I was going to order an Eagle Universal Chest rig from SKD so this kit will work with that rig right? Can you order this set up in multicam? Or all the other colors that Eagle offers their chest rigs in? Plus can you provide me with the website, name an/or number of the gentleman I can get this set up from?

Thanks

bigcoastie
6 September 2009, 16:22
http://www.originalsoegear.com/hharness.html

TehLlama
7 September 2009, 19:24
The SKD/Eagle M4-MOLLE rigs run some padding - I like them for that (especially at that price)
The additional webbing and keepers are a tremendous addition - something I'm really looking into them for.

Urban Tactical Gear
7 September 2009, 19:39
hey just an update. john has added one more row of webbing on these in order to make his hydration carrier work a bit better with the harness.

Urban Tactical Gear
7 September 2009, 19:42
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/john/DSCF0266.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/john/DSCF0267.jpg

G19Man
11 September 2009, 21:11
Very cool. Any chance you could PM or post some pics of inside the hydration carrier and how the bladder mounts? Also any pics with the whole setup on someone/mannequin? I'm curious how low the hydration carrier sits among other things.

Uglyduck
11 September 2009, 22:31
Very cool. Any chance you could PM or post some pics of inside the hydration carrier and how the bladder mounts? Also any pics with the whole setup on someone/mannequin? I'm curious how low the hydration carrier sits among other things.

+1, I've been wanting something similar

Urban Tactical Gear
12 September 2009, 02:20
the hydration carrier is going to sit higher or lower depending on where you run your rig. i run mine high on my chest, not down around my belly, so it sits lower on me. but i'll see what i can do tonight to make that happen for you. depends on if my assistant is home when i get home tonight.

G19Man
12 September 2009, 10:30
the hydration carrier is going to sit higher or lower depending on where you run your rig. i run mine high on my chest, not down around my belly, so it sits lower on me. but i'll see what i can do tonight to make that happen for you. depends on if my assistant is home when i get home tonight.

I would appreciate it, if you can find the time and your assistant [:)]

I have OSOE's micro rig and wear it chest level too, so it will at least give me an idea of where it may sit. I also am hoping John will make a slight change to my OSOE convertible sling for me...

Urban Tactical Gear
12 September 2009, 14:09
so the assistant had to work tonight and i'm on daddy duty, so it might be tomorrow or REALLY late tonight. she gets home at 1030pm gmt-6

G19Man
12 September 2009, 19:45
so the assistant had to work tonight and i'm on daddy duty, so it might be tomorrow or REALLY late tonight. she gets home at 1030pm gmt-6

Sounds like you have an assistant. Until your normal assistant gets home and ...Honey, why is our child covered in multicam!? [:D]

Urban Tactical Gear
13 September 2009, 18:05
eh, he's five so everything kinda dwarfs him. this is the only picture that you are going to get in this thread. watch for a thread later tonight/tomorrow just on the pouch itself.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/arolfsen/reviews/osoe%20hydration/DSCF0281.jpg

G19Man
13 September 2009, 19:08
eh, he's five so everything kinda dwarfs him. this is the only picture that you are going to get in this thread. watch for a thread later tonight/tomorrow just on the pouch itself.

I guessed your child was younger, I was just trying to be funny.

Thank you for posting the pic. It definitely helped me. Looking forward to the pouch review.

Urban Tactical Gear
13 September 2009, 19:25
I guessed your child was younger, I was just trying to be funny.

Thank you for posting the pic. It definitely helped me. Looking forward to the pouch review.

i got the humor. probably came across to a little to strongly in my rebuttal. i have a tendency to do that [bash] don't take it personally. it's a character flaw

Custom-X_Sponjah
13 September 2009, 20:15
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/topher63/P9120004.jpg

CXS

G19Man
15 September 2009, 19:33
i got the humor. probably came across to a little to strongly in my rebuttal. i have a tendency to do that [bash] don't take it personally. it's a character flaw

No damage done here. I think it's difficult with email/posts/etc., especially when people don't know each other well.

I read the pouch review and combined with this one, they have really helped me a lot.

A couple questions. Have you done much adjustment with the length of the H-harness and its cross member? By that I mean did you try shortening it or lengthening to get a comfortable position for you? Or did you pretty much use it as is?

Urban Tactical Gear
16 September 2009, 06:58
you know, to be honest with you, i haven't played with it. being that i might actually have some free time today (my one day off work this week) i'm going to play with the micro rig a bit, so i'll do a little of that and get back to you

Venom
16 September 2009, 09:10
I'd rather have nothing ontop of the straps, since whatever is on there will be annoying really quick once you carry a ruck

Custom-X_Sponjah
16 September 2009, 11:43
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k160/topher63/P9120005.jpg

CXS

Custom-X_Sponjah
16 September 2009, 19:16
I was gonna post a video I shot of the thing we discussed via email LSHD.
But don't know if it would constitute a Hijack..
This thread seems to be about Chest Rig Improvements, but is mainly focused on a Certain company. Lemme know if its good to go..

CXS

Urban Tactical Gear
17 September 2009, 00:04
uh, yea. i'd check with the other party first. i got emails yesterday that spoke to the fact that we weren't doing that yet. that there was a certain phone call that needed to be recieved first.

pazzo
4 February 2010, 22:15
I ordered mine last Friday morning, and it was ready by the afternoon [:D]

It's super comfortable! And best of all, made locally.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb4/mezz0italiano/IMG_5221.jpg
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb4/mezz0italiano/IMG_5222.jpg