Hi guys, I am still on the look out for a low profile vest.
I have read about a vest called the Alleycat made by a gentleman here on the forums.
I am looking for photos of the vest in use, or on a person.
Thanks.
Geoffrey.
Something looks very odd with that vest, just can’t place it----------
It’s not painted!
In all seriousness, source?
Where do you get this from? How much?
That rig is made by Mike D. He started me off sewing almost 15 years ago. He did prototype work for me off and on for years. I don’t know what Mikes up to lately. I heard from him a month or so ago but never heard back.
We make a rig similar to that called the MWRL. We have a few versions of it. The 1st is just pals so you can attach whatever you like to it., Then we make one with 4 mag pouches like the picture posted above in a 4 mag or 8 mag version. These rigs have adjustable removable lids so they can be used for both m4 and ak. We also make them with an integrated tear off med pouch on one side and pals on the other. Then the NSW version that has a tear off med pouch and an MBTR on the other side in place of where the pals is on the other versions. All of these chest rigs sit on a panell about 6.5" tall and about 24" wide. All of them have an internal Panel pocket with 2 12" strips of 1.5" elastic sewn with slots to carry and organize items inside the panel. The NSW version has the zipper terminated on one side for about 6 inches so you can slide pistol in there and has a bungee retention like what we use on our belt slide holster.
NSW version.
Pals on each side. This is a 4 mag version. The 8 mag version looks just like this.
Here is the modular version.
This is the version with the tear off med pouch. These are the same med pouches that we use for our tear off med pouch.
Here you can see the retention harness with the med pouch removed.
John that is a great looking vest. It is good to see that it can be configured in a few different ways. Do you have any different mag retention options? I like the idea of having an open top mag carrier that still has a retention method, but a flap isn’t a bad way to go. Good looking piece of kit. Thanks for sharing.
The pockets are lined with loop velcro so you can add a tab of self adhesive velcro to the mags like Diz liked to do.
We can also make them with bugee over the top.
We can also add tabs of webbing between the mags so bungee can be ran across the front of them like in this picture of one of our bags.
As Mr. Willis said, Diz made this. It was an idea I came up with based off of one of his other rigs. We I got with him and this is the result. The idea was for a lightweight low pro rig. It has velcro in the mag pouches and kydex inserts can be put in. I have some that Diz did for mine. Sometimes I run them, but have found most of the time I prefer it without the inserts. Diz makes good stuff. I have been VERY happy with this rig.
Mr. Willis… glad you showed up here, I may be getting in touch with you soon about a couple of things I want.
Mike D was out here a couple of months ago–he was working on an interesting project for a client and had some cool new designs.
Thanks Hawkeye.
It looks great, and I think I may just go this route for my chest rig.
Does anyone else have pictures of this rig in use?
Hey John, looking good. I really like that MWR Lite. This is an example of a very well executed chest rig design. If you guys aren’t familiar with the OSOE MWR Lite rig, check it out.
As far as pics in action, here’s the first prototype rigs of what became the “alleycat”.
It started out as a basic 6-mag rig. I wanted something similar to the “Hellcat” so that was the baseline. I was looking for a low profile rig, without pouch flaps, and non-padded shoulder straps. I quickly added a “X” panel and hydro pouch, which balances out the mag weight nicely.
Here’s another shot in action. The guy closest to the camera (my bud now with an ODA in Afghanistan) has the second prototype on. Works well in a kneeling position. The guy farthest from the cam (that would be me) is doing a re-load. That’s where this rig shines.
Another shot of us on the move. I am laying down fire while my bud covers our back. Under the watchful eye of the instructor.
Geoffery, its a very versital rig.
A few more pics. Here’s a 6-mag rig up close. You’ll notice I tacked the pouches down in between, as opposed to the solid front of the Hellcat. I did that because I found the solid front, with dividers in between, acted like a giant single pouch and sometimes would bind mags when you tried to take them out, especially on the ends. So I tacked each individual pouch down in between which I think works much better. The PALS grid is still totally usable. You can link between pouches without any problem.
Here’s the “X” panel and hydro pouch.
And then I experimented with kydex inserts. These give you great tension with the shock cord prepped to the side for some fast re-loads.
Then Hawkeye came to me with really good idea. He wanted this rig in a 4-mag format for low profile carry. So the “alleycat” was born.
Here’s an early prototype.
Here’s a couple of shots of the kydex inserts. Butt-simple but it works great.
I spent a couple of years working on it and think it’s a pretty good design at this point. In it’s simplest form with just cross straps it works well as a grab n go rig for home defense or truck carbine. With a “X” panel and hydro pouch it works very well for training classes. It is probably the fastest rig you can re-load from, due to the fact that there are no flaps to get in the way and the kydex inserts take all the pouch friction out of the equation for a smooth drawstroke.
There is one caveat however. If you want to use shock cord retention on your pouches like this, I advise you to keep all your rigs the same and train that way all the time, like Hawkeye does. If you have both shock cord and top flap retention pouches, there may be some confusion when re-loading. I have heard reports of guys who just keep tugging upward on a mag to get it out, forgetting about the shock cord there holding it in. In a life and death situation you may revert back to the muscle memory of all those drawstrokes to get a mag out of a conventional flap pouch and forget about moving the shock cord to the side.
very nice…how do someone get one ? do you still make them ?
D, regarding our phone conversation… exactly like that, split, MC, bungee cords. 
One question… I cant tell from the pic, but are there 3 or 4 columns of webbing after the mag pouches on the ends?
Just to reiterate this point… I am also a big advocate of keeping your rigs all the same in regards to how your mag pouches open if you use multiple rigs. Even among flaps, there are several differnt versions. Pick one, and then use the same setup on all your rigs. Either all bungee, all kydex only, all flap (and the same kind of flap).
Hey Diz,
I would like to purchase an Alley Cat. Are you selling them. Let me know thanks.
Hawkeye:
Yeah, that’s why I put those pics up. I figured that’s what you wanted. For yours, I wuz gonna update it with an additional row of PALS across the whole rig, for 4 total, and 3 slots after the mags on each side ( unless you want 4). In addition, yours will get the split front, which I think is another good idea, especially with the “X” panel, cuz now you can get in and out of it without undoing one of the rear shoulder straps.
DocGKR:
I sure appreciated your input last summer. Learn about two shitloads of info on gear. Good feedback. I will send you a couple of rigs out for testing most skosh.
For Street Survival and all other interested parties:
Yeah, I’m making them right now. I’m working off a pretty good back log so I ask for your patience. Each rig is custom made for you when you order it. I don’t keep any stock. E-mail or PM me to discuss details of exactly what you want. Each rig I build is pretty much unique to the specs of the owner so tell me what you need and we’ll discuss the possibilities.
Pricing for a basic 4-mag rig is gonna run $75.00 and for a 6-mag rig $85.00. That’s with kydex inserts. The “X” panel and hydro pouch are another $50.00 if you order it with the rig.
I’m working on another rig right now at the request of my buddy in Afghanistan. If anyone is interested in seeing it, let me know and I’ll post some more pics.
Diz,
I would be interested in pics of the new project you are working on.
I love the x-harness and hydro combo. Did the same thing several years ago with a Tactical Tailor 2 piece MAV with x-harness and hydro pouch. I really regret getting rid of that rig.
To take your 6 mag chest rig with x-harness and hydro, and make it into a split front rig with 2 fastex buckles (same idea as the 2 piece MAV) would be an awesome set up and would be extreemly easy to don and dof in a hurry. In fact it would make an awesome active shooter rig for a patrolman or a plain clothes detective.
Take care and stay safe
Semper Fi,
Jeff