REVIEW: Chris Costa Leg Rig

This is HIS hip. And yes, those are his magazines, his Leg Rig. And if you look closely: in the background you can see his targets. – And honestly: So what? We just wanted to emphasize that big names have a big allure and Chris Costa is currently the most famous shooting trainer in the world (although, it must be said, Rick Taylor is catching up fast). Anyway, we took a look at the Chris Costa Leg Rig that HSGI produces.

There it is on the table: Not much to it, but the solution is ingenious. The Chris Costa Leg Rig is produced by High Speed Gear, Inc. (HSGI). The magic of it all is that on a rectangular surface (classic Leg Panel) three pouches have been fixed in place: two Double Decker TACOs and in the middle a Pistol TACO. So, one can – and this is an equipment that is sufficient for the range or a small game, carry two rifle magazines and three pistol magazines. Or like here: two pistol magazines and a multitool. Or even a flashlight instead of the multitool...

The back is also simple: Mesh to prevent sweating, padding behind it so it doesn't press against the hip, and in front, the strap that loops around the leg to prevent slipping. Also rubberized (the two dark stripes), so that nothing slips. At the top, you can see the straps going through which the belt is fed. The Costa Leg Rig would even be a nice Micro Chest Rig if there were an H-harness that could be clipped on at the top and mounted at the bottom instead of the leg strap.

The body side of the rig is mesh, shown in detail here.

Here are a few close-up views: The TACOs (left) are magazine pouches from HSGI, which have a body made of 1000 denier Cordura and side walls made of rigid plastic. These are held together by looped Shock Cord. The advantage is that the magazine pouch, due to the stiff side walls, is always open. That means, you place the magazine, push it in, and it stays in place. And the pouches are also relatively flexible in terms of what magazines fit in, because they can be tightened or loosened using Shock Cord. With the Double Decker TACO, it's a bit like sex: the more you put in, the tighter it gets.

The Leg Rig hangs on loops that can be cinched. Contrary to first glance, they are not fixed, but clipped, and are threaded behind the magazines and Velcroed there too. So, the height can be adjusted.
In this image, you can see how it is worn: Chris Costa (left) wears the rig high on the belt, just like the man next to him (let's call him, because it would be simply nice, "Travis") does. It is secured at the bottom by the leg strap. No, it doesn't cut in. However, we suspect that Chris has packed a rolled sock in his pants here. Well, he's only human...

And that's what you see when you look down from the top at the rig.

CONCLUSION: The Costa Leg Rig is a small and extremely practical companion, with everything you need (oh yes, a Costa Ludus logo is also embroidered at the bottom center). Four magazines on the hip are sufficient for the range without having to load up with a huge vest. This Leg Rig also demonstrated the marketing power of the Costa name, when it was first offered for sale on the Ludus site with 100 pieces over a year ago, they sold out in an hour. After the sale through Costa Ludus seems to have exhausted itself, HSGI released the rig to the wider world. The beauty of it is: this rig is not good because it's from Chris Costa. It is simply practical, handy, minimal. It is what you really need...

The Chris Costa Leg Rig is available in Multicam and Coyote in Germany directly from SNIPER AS for 129.90 Euros (excluding shipping).

Logo with logo of Costas Ludus, the Leg Rig.