REVIEW: Spiritus Systems Micro Fight Chest Rig

Spiritus? Spirit with us! Micro Chest Rigs are actually nothing new. But what Spiritus Systems - HERE in our interview - has to offer is something that hasn't been seen before and in our opinion, a fantastic concept. We'll show you the details of the Spiritus Systems Micro Fight Chest Rigs.

Spiritus Systems has been around since 2013, but only really gained recognition last year. The founders have a military background and the ideas for Spiritus Systems were partly born in the Hindu Kush between deployments. The aim was to make the equipment more modular and lighter, based on their own experiences with existing equipment. Later on, the feedback from end users would also influence the products. The core product is the Micro Fight Chest Rig, which we will detail here for you.

Unlike the competition, Spiritus Systems offers only one Chest Rig. However, it is designed in a way that it can cover a wide range of users, but more on that later. You don't buy the Chest Rig complete (although some shops offer a set), but put it together from different individual components - just as you need it. Here are a few examples:

The heart of it is the platform - Spiritus calls it the Chassis. It is a module that is just under 23cm wide and 13cm high, divided into two compartments. It weighs 120 grams without straps, contents, and buckles.

The rear compartment, completely lined with Velcro, serves as an ammunition compartment for the long gun. Currently, three different inserts are available:

• 3x 5.56/.223 AR15 Magazines
• 2x 7.62/.308 AR10 Magazines
• 4x 9mm/.45 SMG Magazines

The inserts are elastic and are attached with Velcro in the Chassis. We particularly like that the magazines are not only easy to remove, but also very easy to put back in. The insert has a slight memory effect and does not completely collapse after removing the magazine.

The front compartment is not as high as the main compartment, but has the same depth. Here too, the interior is fully lined with Velcro, with additional Velcro on the front.

Now the fun really begins: You have to decide how to equip the rig. The following combinations are available:

• Use entire compartment with a flap
• Use half compartment with flap + insert for two pistol magazines
• Use half compartment with flap + insert for a rifle magazine
• Completely without flap with 2x insert for two pistol magazines (4 total)
• Completely without flap with 1x insert for two pistol magazines and 1x insert for rifle magazine
• Completely without flap with 1x insert for three AR15 magazines
• Completely without flap with 1x insert for two AR10 magazines

Additionally, there are various inserts available for division and loops - we didn't have these in the test, so we cannot comment on them accordingly.

The individual module weights are as follows:

• Full Flap 35 grams
• Half Flap 22 grams
• Pistol Insert 26 grams
• AR15 3x Insert 64 grams
• Straps (Skinny Strap + Backstrap with all buckles) 170 grams

We opted for the "Half compartment with two pistol magazines" variant - so you have the basic equipment on your chest: three AR magazines, two pistol magazines, some first aid stuff, and a multitool. This variant has an empty weight of 402 grams.

Here is the "Entire compartment with flap" variant:

If the entire base is chosen, there is still the dilemma of choice for the carriers: Skinny Straps and Fat Straps are available options - thin and wide straps. The Skinny Straps are worn as an X on the back, made of 25mm webbing. There is no padding here, but it also has the smallest profile - making it the first choice for concealed use if the rig is hidden.

The alternative is the Fat Straps, worn as an H-Harness. 50mm wide Cordura is used for these, with two horizontal MOLLE loops on each side and an elastic loop for attaching hydration tubes or radios. We also did not test the H-Harness.

Which carrying system should you choose? For a configuration with three AR15 magazines/two AR10 magazines + two pistol magazines and some small items, the Skinny Straps are sufficient. If you also use the S.A.C.K. or the Expander Wings (more on both later), you should consider the wider straps.

Of course, the Chest Rig wouldn't be perfect if it couldn't be integrated into the plate carrier. To do this, peel off the Velcro strip on the back that covers the hook Velcro.

If the buckles of the Chest Rig carriers bother you, you can also remove them.

Now all that's left to do is to attach the platform to the plate carrier, and you have a solid basic setup.

But that's not all. To increase the volume, Spiritus also offers the S.A.C.K. S.A.C.K. stands for Sub Abdominal Carrying Kit - in simple terms: "Underbelly carrying bag".

SPARTANAT is the online magazine for Military News, Tactical Life, Gear & Reviews.
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