AGC Ranger MOLLE Vest Review - Gear Week

Action Gear Canada has been flooding the paintball gear market with low-priced items lately, quickly making a name for themselves in the industry. A lot of their merchandise tends to be existing items on the market that are rebranded with their AGC logo, with a case in point being the rebranded TACAMO AK-47 paintball markers that can be found at various paintball shops in Canada.

The AGC Ranger MOLLE Vest is one of those items. AGC's vest is identical to the BT Merc vest, and the pouches that go with it are near replicas of the BT accessory pouches, right down to the AGC logo being in place of the BT logos. The quality of the stitching and materials leaves something to be desired, but given the price difference you're getting a fantastic deal for what you pay. During a recent special at AGC, I picked up the following kit:

-AGC Ranger MOLLE Vest
-2+3 Paintball Pod Carrier
-3+4 Paintball Pod Carrier
-Vertical HPA tank pouch
-T8 Holster
-Grenade pouch
-Web Belt

The grand total for all this swag? An amazing $60.00 CDN + taxes!!! That's about 3 to 4 times less than what you'd pay for the equivalent BT setup. Let's take a look at the vest, and see what features you get for that kind of money.

The AGC Ranger Vest is made of a light nylon mesh, to keep you cool in the heat. There are abundant MOLLE loops all over for attaching pouches and accessories, and an adjustable cummerbund inside by the waist to keep the vest from floating around your torso when you move. There's also a hydration sleeve built into the back that should accomodate most hydration bladders.

The pouches and holster use velcro closures, and the pod carriers fully enclose pods up to 140 rounds.

I have to say the vest is decently made, but there are a couple chinks in the armour. First, the zipper down the middle isn't of the greatest quality. I don't think it'll break under casual play, but it's definitely not heavy-duty. Secondly, the pouches feature some pretty weak MOLLE/MALICE straps on the sides facing the vest. The clasps at the ends don't seem very sturdy, and at the point where the straps insert into the pouches the stitching isn't too solid. Here's what happened the first time I went to rearrange one of the pouches on the vest:


One last thing I have to note, which may be a pro or a con depending on your size, is that this vest is HUGE. AGC only seems to sell the XL/XXL version nowadays, and this would be too large for most people. I'm 6 feet tall and weigh about 230lbs, with a 36 waist, and even with the side straps fully tightened this vest is a little loose on me. It also extends down just past the belt line, so I'm not able to use the belt keepers at the bottom of the vest to hook on my belt. If you're under 5'11", this vest will probably fit you like a dress, so choose something else if you're shorter than that.

So if you're a tall player, and you like the BT Merc Vest (but not the price tag that goes with it), then this might be an option for you! The AGC Ranger MOLLE vest is available in black, OD green, and Desert Tan. To see more AGC products, be sure to visit www.actiongearcanada.com.