The 'Heat' Rig

A Cult Hit, Reimagined

Michael Mann's HEAT (1995) immediately gained a cult following on release. Its unique gritty and grounded approach bucked a decades-long trend of formulaic action films, exposing audiences to realistic military and police tactics. A combination of great direction, talented actors, and qualified technical advisors (ex-SAS) made the film's climactic bank heist one of the most memorable scenes of the 90s.

This nearly 15-minute-long sequence made HEAT a cinematic legend. Shot in downtown LA, an easy score quickly escalates into a claustrophobic mess of a shootout. Expert gun-handling, booming on-location audio, and a huge cast of supporting firearms all help to make an unforgettable impression. This short sequence would inspire popular culture and media for generations to come.

The Vest

One of the things that helped HEAT feel authentic were the props. The ex-SAS advisors employed by the production had quite literally been there and done that, and this prowess was reflected in the improvised equipment and tactics featured on screen.

This includes the single most iconic prop of the film, the 'Heat' rig; an improvised vest capable of hiding 8 STANAG magazines underneath a suit jacket. Being inconspicuous was important to the characters in HEAT — to pull off their plan, they needed to waltz into a busy, guarded bank with hundreds of rounds of ammunition and rifles without anyone batting an eye.

The vests were cool and certainly believable, but there's a big problem. You never quite see them get used as much as they're shown off. The Heat rigs magically pop on and off of the characters as convenient, the magazines are perfectly retained since they're stitched on, and many of the shots portray other glaring issues.

We can't blame them; every production has to make some concessions. But in a market ravenous for a working clone of the Heat rig, many copies of this prop fell flat. We wanted to fix that.

 

 The Heat Rig

Make no mistake - our rig is an homage to the movie HEAT. It's not meant to compete with other "bank robber" chest rigs on the market. What we set out to do was to make the vest from the movie real and useable. 

 

Magazine Compatibility  

Now for the first question most people are going to ask — what kind of magazines fit in the rig?

The movie depicts standard USGI STANAG magazines for the AR-15 platform, and we built our elastic retention system around that. Nearly all standard capacity AR-15 magazines should fit without issue, including popular polymer mags from leading brands.

 

However, we can't guarantee fit of magazines from other platforms. You're welcome to try of course, but we can't provide any guidance there.

Each mag cell features two thick straps of elastic for retention and nylon straps on either end to ensure magazines stay in place. On one end of each mag cell, there's a small hook & loop fastener to access magazines. Simply twist the magazine and pull out, and you're ready to reload.

 

Sizing & Fit 

Our heat rig uses a simple & effective adjustment system.

Large straps with hook and loop fields make it easy to adjust the vest to fit perfectly.

Our rig fits bodies big & small, and our sizing system is simple — either go with your US shirt size or measure your abdomen, that's it (for more specifics, see our sizing chart or feel free to email us at help@kommandostore.com and we'll get you fitted).

It may take some trial and error to refine your fit. If you have difficulties, we suggest different jackets & raising/lowering the rig. We cover this topic in our overview video, which we highly recommend watching for troubleshooting your rig.

Note: our overview video is outdated, from when we made the rig in the USA. it is now made in Vietnam, which we cover in the next section.

 

Quality

The last big issue we wanted to address with the rig was quality, especially now that we've moved manufacturing overseas to Vietnam.

Manufacturing in Vietnam has allowed us to obtain the proper mesh, keep the same excellent overall manufacturing quality, and make the rig much more affordable for you all at once.

We've seen the examples of both one-off 'bank robber rigs' and other HEAT-inspired equipment on the market. All are plagued by cheap hardware, even cheaper materials, or inconsistent quality resulting in a disappointing Chinese-made Halloween costume feel. All the specs, quality, and functionality that makes the HEAT rig great are there at just over half the price of our original. 

Specs:

• Custom, semi-stiff resin finished polyester mesh fabric
• Milspec elastic, webbing, and hook and loop
• Locking YKK Zipper
  
• Tear-away magazine action
• Elastic cummerbund with hook & loop attachment for wide range of adjustment 

 

We've got your back

By ordering the 'Heat' rig, you're placing a 100% refundable deposit on our incoming inventory. If you change your mind before it ships, just reach out to us and we'll cancel your order. And of course, once your rig is delivered it's covered by our standard 30 day return policy.

Pre Sale Information

If a product is marked as a "Pre Sale", it means that inventory is already in production, and you're reserving the item ahead of time.

"Pre Sales" also mean there is limited inventory available to reserve. If it's sold out, it's sold out, and you'll have to wait for the next restock or backorder to begin.

At any point in time before we ship it to you, the item is 100% refundable. After it ships to you, you're covered by our 30-day return policy.

In the case of some of our longer, more ambitious projects, we may post information on our project tracker for transparency.

For questions regarding address changes or more specific information about the project's progress, email our customer support line help@kommandostore.com and we'll be happy to answer.