REVIEW: Stronghold T.I. Zero Pals Chest Rig

What shimmers green on the stomach is PenCott GreenZone. And that is still rare in rigs. The Polish Stronghold Group has built one that we are taking a look at for you. The Stronghold T.I. Zero Pals Chest Rig is a raw framework that the user can configure according to their own needs. It follows the general trend towards minimalism. But what more does one need ...

This is how it looks on a person: the configuration is classic, clearly modeled after the RACKminus by Blue Force Gear: wide chest panel, two shoulder straps, and one around the waist. Here, an additional surface is added on the back. What stands out is that all of this has no weight - the whole T.I. Zero Pals Chest Rig weighs 250 grams, as much as a small chocolate bar. Stronghold, like Blue Force Gear, uses laser-cut plastic material: ultra-thin and lightweight.

The shoulder straps can be unclipped (left) and they have MOLLE sewn on and cable tunnels for hydration tubes or for radio cables. On the side (right), you can also see the route of the straps. The front panel can be completely detached from the harness.

Here it is in front of us and we have taken various pouches to test the system with common mounting methods (from right to left): normal MOLLE on a Pantac pouch in khaki, a MALICE clip on a knife sheath, and the Blue Force Gear system on a Helium Whisper pouch.

Backside of the rig: Everything works. Classic MOLLE (left) looks very stiff and retro, but has a good grip. The very thin, also laser-cut loops from BFG Helium Whisper are the best and fit perfectly with the rig. No wonder, it's the same system. MALICE holds, but in our opinion is not quite ideal. Here it also conflicts with the MOLLE strips of the knife sheath.

Here's another look from the front, which also confirms that only PenCott GreenZone really goes with PenCott GreenZone. We are waiting for pouches from Stronghold.

CONCLUSION: The Stronghold Group delivers a solid, minimalist rig, which is a basic framework to build according to one's needs. The workmanship is great, the material is tear-resistant, and it comes in the very good camouflage pattern of PenCott Greenzone. We are big fans of such lightweight chest rigs, because ultimately, every gram counts for the person carrying it.

Orders from the EU directly through [email protected] - The rig here costs 80 euros, the split front variant 85 euros.

Perhaps not entirely in line with the creator's intention, but the Stronghold T.I. Zero Pals Chest Rig is gray on the back. If you turn everything around, you have an almost entirely gray rig, although with buckles inside. We think that's pretty cool ... The straps would need to be replaced.

The Stronghold Group on the internet.

The Stronghold Group on Facebook.