Do I Need Mackerel or Tambor Class for this Op? Wendigo Works Low Profile Kit Bag / Chest Rig Review, by GuerrillaLogistician

By GLogistician @glogistician on X.com

Reference – 14

“Today’s op will be pretty easy, brothers, so pack light and remember, don’t get in a fight if at all possible,” the stout man said as he pointed to the wall where the projector showed a map. The man nodded, and the lights came on as folding chairs screeched on the concrete.

“Hey dude, I don’t want to carry all my kit on this if we aren’t going to be fighting, fighting, you know,” a young guy leaned in and half-whispered to a grizzled, older grey, bearded man standing there. “I mean, like, we don’t need all that weight, do we, and I don’t want to really screw up my battle kit,” he added in a California accent.

“Come on, son; I know someone who might have something that you can borrow,” the older man took his new protegee.  They walked into the makeshift barracks barn set up for all the displaced fighters of the conflict.  While not the nicest place, the place was clean and smelled like bleach, with little personal spaces made out of sheets, plywood, string, and cardboard.  The humming of homemade swamp coolers made the area tolerable, but whisps of the summer heat still reached out and licked at the pair. “DA, are you awake?” the old, gruff man asked in front of the sheet at the end of the building.

A bit of noise from a metal bed creaked through the sheet-covered entrance, and a moment later, slender fingers pulled it back. “Yep, what’s up, big guy?” in front of them was a skinny red-headed woman wearing a tan shirt and Rhodesian Brushstroke pants.  Her high, almost whispy voice caught many off guard, allowing people not to realize the intense eyes hid a sharp mind and capable shooter.  While she didn’t run front-line engagements, she and a few other women did everything from supporting overwatch to clandestine recon that most of the men couldn’t pull off as easily.

The old man asked, “Do you still have a spare one of those WendIgo Works chest rigs I could borrow for Edward?”

“Yep, sure do.” She pulled the sheet all the way back, revealing a slightly decorated small sleeping area with an abrupt clash of military gear.  While jarring, the touch of feminity was apparent, and the cleanliness was top-notch.  Pulling out an old military locker, she opened it up and rummaged through it. “Can’t take that one,” she said quietly as she tossed some small harness in Rhodesian brushstroke. “Ahhh, here it is!” she exclaimed, pulling out another small chest rig in Ranger Green.  “You better bring this back to me when you are done; gear is getting pretty thin around here with all the new recruits,” she added as she handed it to Edward.

“Thank you, Ma’am. I will bring it back when we are done with the recon”, Edward replied.

Just like the WWII submarines, not only do the operations dictate the boat that was deployed, but so do the requirements of operation.  You don’t send the big ship that could be sinking merchant vessels to do recon, nor would the smaller vessel necessarily have the legs to travel long distances.  As a logistics guy, I try to balance the benefits of redundancy with the ability to avoid overloading finances with worthless gear.  As any logistical guy will say, you almost always weigh out before you cube out (run out of space).  For most people, this is an issue with their kits, and many militaries and special operations have tried to fix this problem.  While you can carry 120 lbs of gear into a war zone, your body will take a beating.  Even if you are fit, healthy, and younger your joints will take a lot of force.  However, if you are on this site, you probably aren’t a big army guy or very young.  Not only are you a bit older, but you probably have already done some damage to your back and knees.  You are here to cut the fat and carry the least amount of stuff.  Like the submarine service, we only have so much space (cube) and the ability to carry weight.  That is true for our limited vehicle support, team capacity, and the individual.

So, I’m going to be reviewing another product by Wendigo Works.  Like Wendigo Works Ultralight Split Front Chest Rig, the Low Profile Kit Bag / Chest Rig has a specific application in mind. The split rig is designed to possibly go over body armor or be an effectively excellent and light piece of equipment. With a heavy carrying capacity, Wendigo Works has made this kit for multiple purposes. If anyone has seen a hill people’s chest rig, you’ll know where the concept came from. Wendigo Works took the small chest rig pouch system and added more magazine pouches for AR fifteens or AK mags. This isn’t a novel concept by any means. People like Haley Strategic have also put out these rigs, with a lot of appreciation for the compact size and versatility. When I originally got my hill people, I planned to go hiking with it and have a pistol on my chest wherever I went.  Over the years, I had pushed the hill people design to its maximum limit, including putting a hole for a hand Mike to come through one of the main pouches.

Wendigo Works took the basic concept and improved on it heavily. What they did with this is make a chest rig that you could use for hiking or as a throw-in-the-car chest-style setup. Like almost all products they have produced, this one is designed to be cool on the body. Not only is it comfortable in warmer weather, but it is also comfortable to shoot in. It has that low-profile strap system that allows the user to get a good position in the pocket of your shoulder with the stock. These things have a shallow profile and look like many hiking rigs sold today. As I write this, I am out in the mountains of Utah, and I’ve seen similar knockoff brands, most likely from China. While I don’t have a problem with economy equipment and gear and will never shame anyone who comes to a class with less expensive equipment, there is a point where you decide if it is worth me buying three or just one that will survive.

So why would I need another chest rig when I have a hill people rig? As you do more scouting and move over rugged terrain, you will see that sometimes your battle rattle options can be a little more cumbersome than you want. Regarding combat survivability and kit, two things have been notable that work: keeping people moving quickly with lighter gear and equipment that prevents you from taking damage. Mobility and Armor are the key ways to keep yourself alive since we were poking each other with sharp sticks.  Regardless of being behind a hard object or wearing level IV plates, being able to move quickly is very important.  The US military up-armored the personnel and relied on the vehicles for mobility.  You, as a partisan, may not have access to a fleet of Hummers, much less a Hilux, so your feet might be your prime mover. If you’re doing a scouting operation, you are not going to be hopefully stuck in an urban environment fighting off hundreds of Somali fighters after you left your backplates back at base. Likewise, if you have an excellent bullet-resistant cover and the ability to move swiftly and quietly, you also have a form of protection, which is what this chest rig is for.

The low-profile kit bag is set up so you can carry compasses, maps, signals intelligence gear, extra mags, and other materials. This system is a compact alternative to chest rigs and your main battle rattle. It holds enough stuff for you guys to be able to engage an attacking force and pull away from them while still maintaining the necessary equipment to do observation and reconnaissance of an area. Three mags plus one in the weapon is sufficient to get most people out of trouble, especially when hiking around uneven terrain. You have to remember that while the military used to carry 8, sometimes 12, magazines on them, most of their fighting was done from vehicles, and you may not have that option. Also, you might want to put something in your compact car and with the required gear to fight your way out of a bad situation with nothing more than a truck gun while not having a massive footprint that you must hide with some footlocker or evident container. This chest rig is so tiny you could fit it under a seat or even in a spare tire wheel well in the back of your car trunk.

As you can see, this rig is pretty comfortable regardless of whether you’re male or female. Twitter User @Rank1Apples was among the first people to get a hold of the Rhodesian brushstroke, so I had to post her photo here. Many different patterns will suit your environment, from M81 to MultiCam. So check out their site for the proper pattern for your working environment.

The first section is the three magazine holders, which can be removed for other things. I decided to run the magazine holder with two magazines and a radio for this, but any setup would work.  You have to remember with this pouch that the weather will get to it, so don’t put anything too fragile here.

The next zippered compartment is designed for you to carry your pistol. I think it’s a great setup for the low-profile hiker who wants a spicey friend with them. It has Velcro for a holster system if you would like. Still, I also found this very useful for carrying map overlays and, of course, essential information on scouting and patrolling. This section does have tie off points to dummy cord your weapon and space for magazines.

The next compartment is for various other items and doesn’t have the Velcro system, but it has adopted a four-pouch area for multiple things, such as compasses. I turned this pouch into my SIGINT pouch with various electronic adapters, cables, and a handy tablet connected to my radio, which I could leave on with a spare battery and tinySAultra.  A unique thing here is that there are six tie off points, but you could also take those tie-off points and put either bungee cord or paracord to prevent this from zipping all the way open. This would allow you to retain your tablet in this area and not worry about dropping it at night. As I work with this gear, I’m sure I will be dumby cording a lot of stuff off. Still, having a 45° opening makes it much more accessible to stand and not worry about my tablet falling out while communicating.

The last outer zipper section houses a water purification, tourniquet and my trusty compass. Even though I had a GPS attached to my shoulder harness, this compass generally resides in a pocket tethered off my belt. However, I just wanted to show you how much space was left after I packed everything else into this system. With a small pack, you can bring some food along, and this is not much more than you would need for a light scouting op.

As you can see from the images, this pack is compact and functional even in rough terrain up in the mountains or Appalachian hills. It keeps you in a minimalist-style mindset instead of carrying large quantities of nonsense. While the price of this pack may seem a little higher than other items, remember, American citizens made this in Utah and not something cobbled together in China. I will never knock anyone who goes and buys Chinese equipment to deal with the issues that they don’t have the money for, but if you have the spare coin, these guys are good dudes who are aligned morally and motivated to train. If you ever go to their shop and talk to them, ask them how they develop their equipment; it’s because they go and train. Realistically, I probably didn’t need this pack and could have made do with my hill people, but now I can give my hill people to somebody else, and while they won’t be carrying as much as I will, it’s still items to help my team. Likewise, I could sell it and start putting it toward the thermals I need. Regardless, I think you should look at this item more closely, especially if you’ve tried some other types of kit like this and weren’t as pleased as you thought you would be. If you’re in Utah, go by and say hello. If you see them at Shootah next year, try their stuff out and see if you like it. As most of you know, I’m a major fan of their split rig design, and that is my go-to, but now I have another piece of equipment that I can at least take hiking in areas, as well as having a good scouting kit or even just a daily throw in the back of the truck just in case kit. Regardless, I think you will find this item a lot more practical and built to be more functional for multiple tasks than many of the other products that fit the same profile.