I got hold of The Thing 2 direct from Spiritus just before Xmas, but haven’t finished my detailed review just yet. With that said, I’m compelled to put something in writing right now because it’s surprisingly good.
First let me qualify my surprise. Spiritus Systems is one of the many high end nylon manufacturers that I trust implicitly, so quite why I second guessed The Thing before trying it out I really don’t know.
I suppose that in the packet, it looked cumbersome. It also looked uncomfortable.
It’s mainly composed of rivet-reinforced, Tegris-like plastic, with fully articulated harness and back strap attachment points. I could imagine the plastic digging in or the articulation pinching. Overall, it’s built like a brick shit house.
The reality? The Thing is extremely comfortable and, in fact, the Tegris-like plastic is its special sauce – crucial to the innovation it leverages in terms of fit and function.
Suffice to say, it evenly distributes weight (even asymmetric loads, as demonstrated by the use of the pouched Nalgene bottle in promo pics) and avoids sagging better than any chest rig I’ve ever had hands on with.
That translates into an ergonomic and usability dividend.
You don’t necessarily need a Spiritus Chassis, either, because The Thing is placard agnostic (provided the placard is to the industry standard). As such, I’ve also been using The Thing with the Haley Strategic D3CRM.
So, if you have a Swiftclip compatible micro chest rig or PC placard and you want the ability to scale it up to be a macro rig, The Thing currently cannot be beaten.
It’s not a new idea in principle, but it is by far the most different and best implementation of the concept that I’ve had hands on with.
As well as The Thing and my Spiritus Chassis, here I’m using a couple of AXL’s excellent products – the SLAP to mount the Crye Horizontal Mag Pouch and of course the Hi-Top Zip Insert, which no Chassis user should be without.
Note that’s there’s a slot at the back of the platform for sub loads, with Velcro up to a certain width. If the user wishes to add something wider, it’s just as easy to sandwich it between the placard and Thing, PC style.
Keep your eyes open for The Thing 2 at Tactical Kit.
Sadly, due to Brexit VAT complications, Spiritus recently announced they’d no longer ship to the U.K.; but, with that said, I buy 99% of my gear from Tactical Kit, so it’s not a huge issue for me.
The Reptile House 