Direct Action Hurricane Chest Rig

Over the years, I’ve had numerous chest rigs, as I find them comfortable to wear, and very easy to work with if the design is right; all of mine have served me very well indeed. My first ARKTIS rig is now well beyond the point of saving, and I’ve had rigs to try from some of the best companies in Europe and the USA, but when I saw the initial design specs for Direct Action’s ‘Hurricane’ model a while back, I knew I’d have to lay my hands on one.

Initially partnering up with Helikon-Tex, the guys at Direct Action, they have now gone completely out on their own, although there is still some synergy between the two companies. Direct Action are now producing a range of packs, rigs, pouches and tactical gear that is the equal of any out there, and in fact I’ve been using one of their excellent ‘Mustang’ two-piece pistol belts for some time now.

Low profile

So, what makes the ‘Hurricane’ so desirable in my eyes? Simply put, it’s a low profile, adjustable rig made from laser-cut laminated 500D Cordura, making it tough enough to endure an awful lot of abuse. It has a softshell interior construction that makes it comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The harness is well constructed and feels sturdy, even when loaded up and it has a reinforced drag handle, along with the ability to be attached to one of the Direct Action Body Armour systems.

The ‘Hurricane’ has nine PALS slots on the sides, which are perfect for radio, medical, utility pockets and horizontal PALS slots under the ammo pouches for items such as tourniquets, pistol mag pouches and 40mm pouches. If you choose to run comms, the fixed pouches are a great size for most radio PRRs and there are routing channels to keep everything tidy and to prevent wires getting caught.

Not only is it comfortable and solidly put together, it also comes as standard with integrated, adjustable magazine pouches with paracord retention that adjust to fit a combination of eight AR, four AK, or even four 7.62mm magazines. It also features several fixed external pouches, including two adjustable pouches, a sealed zipper pouch and a Velcro flap pouch.

The harness is completely adjustable, thanks to a secure harness design, and to keep the excess material tidy it has Velcro wraparound ‘tidies’. It has a split front-zipper design as well, so you don’t need to adjust it every time you remove it, which is very neat indeed. This isn’t the cheapest model of chest rig on the market by a long shot, but if you’re after excellent design, along with superlative fabrics and workmanship, then it’s really a bit of kit that you should seriously consider parting with cash for!