Where We Began...

In 1983, the first well-known modern chest rig was made somewhere most people wouldn't expect — South Africa. The SADF's "Pattern 83" brought unparalleled versatility with multiple weapons platforms without the need for modification in the field.

In the age of proprietary inserts & awkward adjustments, we thought we should base a do-it-all design off of something that worked.

All Pattern 84 products are designed with this in mind. long lasting durability, tried-and-true 'flap' retention with the help of modern elastic, and no further purchases necessary to make it fit your favorite mags.

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P84 Placard, Feature-By-Feature

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Mag Compatibability Guide

If you're using a popular, semi automatic magazine-fed rifle, odds are P84 fits at least 6 of your mags. Want to know for sure? We've tested dozens of different platforms and detailed our results below.

You can help expand this 'verified compatible' list by submitting your results to help@kommandostore.com

AR-15 & Other .223/5.56 Platforms

In most cases we reccomend the standard 2 magazines per cell for a total of 6 mags. This will work with nearly all metal and polymer 'AR-15 type' mags on the market. However you can chose to 'overload' each mag cell with 3 standard capacity metal STANAGs for a total of 9 magazines.

Note: When overloading, we recommend inserting magazines in a front-to-back order, Not all polymer mags are 'overload' compatible.

AR-Adjacent platforms with similar magazines such as the 30/35 rd. 5.56 Galil, HK93, G36, and others will fit at least 6 mags, but due to the contours of some of the magazines, you might find trouble stacking more than 2 in a pouch.

Longer magazines like the 40 Round Magpul PMAG and the proprietary Steyr AUG 42-Rounders will fit with a total of 6 mags in the rig. If you're crazy and use the Surefire 60-round 'quad stack', we tested that too. each mag cell can fit 1x 60 rounder plus 1 standard capacity STANAG.

Kalashnikov Platforms & Similar

Each mag cell holds 2 magazines comfortably. Standard Capacity AKM, AK101, and AK-74 Magazines will fit just fine. Plastic, metal, and Bakelite all work, and P84 2.0 makes it much easier to re-index these mags than the previous version of this rig.

We also tested 40rd 7.62 and 45rd 5.45 RPK mags. While they physically fit inside the pouches, 7.62x39 40 rounders can't take advantage of the flap closure. Retention is acceptable thanks to the elastic, but it certainly isn't a "jumpable" configuration.

It's much the same story for 5.45 45 rounders — they fit side by side better than the x39 mags, but still can't take advantage of the flap closure.

7.62 NATO/.308/6.5c "Battle Rifles" & DMRs

P84 accommodates straight walled 20 round .308 mags for the AR-10, MR308, FN FAL, and SCAR-17 without issue. The rig will comfortably fit the standard 2 per cell for a total of 6 mags. For the HK G3, due to the contours of the magazine, we don't recommend double-stacking.

We've tested the much less common SCAR & FAL 30-round magazines, and they also fit without issue, even with baseplates attached.

Pistol Caliber Carbines/SMGs

Magazines such as those found in HK MP5s, B&T GHM/APC/TP Platforms, CZ Scorpions, Grand Power Stribogs, UZIs, Colt AR-9s, and Glock 'stick' type mags will fit, but with a catch: They must be placed side by side in order to maintain retention.

The best way to run PCC magazines for maximum retention is to place 4 in each main mag cell.

Results may vary with magazine extensions and different types of base plates. Compact pistol magazines, such as those used by the Glock 19, may be too short to use effectively in P84's main pouches, but will fit in the multitool pouches if you want to carry them on your rig.

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If It Ain't Broke..?

The process of modernizing a design like this is a balancing act. Change too little and there’s no benefit to the end user. Change too much and you might ruin what made the original good.


In our view, almost everything about the P83 rig was done right the first time. The philosophy of the SADF is clear, and we agree with their conclusions. We were careful not to reinvent the wheel with P84 — instead we focused on improving what was already there, and putting our customers first when considering any changes.

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