Condor Jungle Battle Vest Review
Need to carry lots of ammo? Like lots of ammo? Then you may be interested in the Jungle Battle Vest (JBV) from Condor. Oh, and it will hold your water too!
Capacity
The first thing that caught my eye was the 6 massive main ammo pouches (you can only see 4 on the front side view.) positioned a full 180 degrees around the front side of the vest. I had read before that this vest was able to carry 3 AR-15 style mags in each pouch. Although I was surprised to be able to fit 4 mag in each pouch without a problem (although this does make the pouch get very bulky very quickly). So in total, if you wanted to, this vest could carry 24 AR-15 mags! The main mag pouches are secured with plastic snap buckles and also Velcro from the under side of the lid of the pouch. I personally never used the buckles and relied totally on the Velcro.
images from CondorOutdoor.com
The Condor JBV also has a hydration pocket on the back to store your bladder. It is very large in size but offers your bladder next to no insulation (your cool water will turn warm very quickly). On the left side above the main ammo pouches are two smaller (I assume for 203 grenades). I used one for my radio and the other for my compass. The upper right section has a sideways mounted snap pocket. I don’t really know what it is meant for but I used it to store 3 speed loaders. Just to the right and left of the main zipper are two more smaller zippers. Inside the left side zipper is an internal pistol holster. Inside of the right side zipper is simply a map pocket which comes in very handy for documents and such.
Strength
According to the manufacturer this vest is made of 1000 Denier Nylon. I have no reason to doubt this, it holds up wonderfully.
Size
The vest is adjustable from the shoulder straps (Velcro) along with the sides being able to move in closer to each other from the back of the vest (straps). The manufacturer’s website says the vest is adjustable from M - XL. I am 6 ft tall and about 145 lbs. It may be hard to not be swimming in it if the wearer were any smaller, however it did fit me just fine on that setting.
Other
This vest can hold so many mags that I decided to leave my dump pouch at home and start using the onboard mag pouches as dumps. I simply chose one side to draw mags for and the other to dump empty mags into. I really had no problem getting the spent mags into the pouch either due to the fact that the pouches are so large. I even still had enough pouches to use one of the rears as a place to keep my rations (for longer Ops), and the other to keep spare goggles and radio in.
Manufacturer Info
Condor’s website: www.CondorOutdoors.com
Product URL: link
Final Thoughts
No MOLLE. This vest completely lacks any MOLLE webbing what so ever. Want lots of ammo capacity? Then this could be the vest for you. Only available in OD. Can feel kind of bulk when loaded.
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