Plate Carriers for Heavy Duty Use

[WobblyPossum]

Hey all,
I've been away for the last month or so doing Army things and have made an observation: I absolutely hate the IBA (body armor) I've been wearing. It is bulky, heavy, hot, and severely restricts the movement of my arms. My unit mobilizes for a tour in Afghanistan later this year. The IOTV ("improved" body armor) we will most likely be issued for the year will be even heavier than the IBA. We will be deployed to a very mountainous part of the country and most of the missions we will undertake will come in the form of dismounted operations. I found out that my commanders have authorized us to buy plate carriers for overseas use as long as they can hold the large hard plates. My team leader had been using a plate carrier from Phoenix-Tactical for a while now and after trying it out, the differences were immediately apparent. My arms had a much greater range of motion and the entire setup felt lighter and more breathable. I would happily sacrifice some of the protection of the IOTV for the weight reduction, movement and extra ventilation of a quality plate carrier.

I know this is a little off topic for a pistol forum so if the mods wish to lock this I'll understand, but the membership here has a lot of BTDT kind of people acting in a professional manner so I figured I'd ask here first. If anyone has experience with plate carriers overseas or through duty use stateside, please feel free to chime in. I'm looking for recommendations for something that will be worn almost daily for a year that I will be relying on to keep me alive so keep that in mind. There has been a rumor circulating that my unit will be issuing plate carriers for trigger pullers only but I'm not holding my breath. If we get them, I'll wear the issued gear but I want to be ready with something in case we don't.
Thanks in advance guys, I appreciate it a lot.

[ToddG]

Give Joe Seuk at SKD Tactical (skdtac.com) a call. They sell a number of brands (including one of Joe's own design). If none of them are the right fit for your needs, Joe will probably be able to offer you some alternatives as well as advice on where to pick them up.

[John Ralston]

You can also look at http://www.sordusa.com/contact.html Give them a call and see if they can help you out. The guy that owns SORD is a BTDT guy too :cool:

[WobblyPossum]

Thanks guys. I'll look into both. So far I'm intrigued by P.I.G Carrier (http://www.skdtac.com/PIG_Plate_Carrier_p/pig.502.htm). I like the fact that it holds the plate high enough to cover the thoracic triangle. The IBA and IOTV leave the plates too low for my liking.

[JHC]

I have no knowledge about plate carriers and such but if you have not had any dealings with SKD Tactical - I've found them to be an outstanding company regarding quality of other gear and service. And their Facebook page updates the night we learned OBL had been offed was pure Gold. ;)

[Kyle Reese]

I like the CIRAS (Land) alot. I wore it with soft armor coupled with SAPI plates.

What's your price range?

[WobblyPossum]

I'd prefer to keep the cost of the carrier around $300 plus the cost of mag pouches, IFAK pouch, etc, but I am willing to look into just about anything. The CIRAS (Land) looks good but what makes it worth the $490?

[Drew]

Save your money.

Practically everyone in my brigade was issued plate carriers on this last rotation to Afghanistan. I think replacements came up short. (A random PAO major will show up with his 9 mil and some lady from 60 minutes - that guy will definitely have an IOTV on.)

You will get them when you go through RFI. You will get your multi-cam issue there as well.

And yes, they are a hell-of-a-lot better than the IOTV or IBA. There is enough real-estate for your standard load of mags, IFAK, radio, etc.

In fact, they had specialty pouches for machine gunners and grenadiers. Don't get me wrong, guys will still carry a ton of extra stuff in assault packs. Poor machine gunners.

But cool kit makes you cool...

Drew

[DocGKR]

What is the best armor carrier is highly dependent on what you are going to use it for.

A simple plate carrier without cummerbund is definitely the way to go if you are already in uniform wearing soft armor (ie. CONUS uniformed LE officers).

Dedicated hard armor carriers are a different story. As I have stated previously, I was issued and used a MAR-CIRAS for about 5 years; I found it more comfortable than our previous old school RAV's--particularly since the MAR-CIRAS had no commerbund to sag or zipper to rip.

These days I much prefer a lower profile set-up, as typified by the Mayflower low profile carrier coupled with a rack type chest rig thrown over it. Compared to integrated armor carriers like the CIRAS or RAV, as well as plate carrier, a low profile armor carrier and chest rig has numerous benefits for me:

-- Greater range of motion
-- More comfortable riding in vehicles along with easier entrance and egress
-- Allows rapid change of load-out by quickly switching chest rigs (ex. assaulter, sniping, patrol, dedicated shotgun, etc...)
-- Chest rig can be dropped and armor worn discreetly under a jacket or indigenous clothing

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y253/SACompact/MDC2c.jpg

Currently, I am really digging the AMI low profile carrier: (http://www.armoredmobility.com/products_low_profile_carrier.php). It takes my soft armor (U.S. Armor Enforcer Classic IIIa size L) and eSAPI large plates, along with 6x8 side plates.

The AMI low-profile carrier is the most comfortable and versatile armor set-up I have ever used; there is NO way I ever want to go back to using my previous RAV/CIRAS or plate carriers...

[dickmadison]

where do you buy the stuff from AMI? I've looked all over. There website doesn't have prices either. Thanks.

[SLG]

Maybe a little old school by now, but I've never found a better set up than a Paraclete plate carrier (no cummerbund) over soft armor. It takes a little tweaking to optimize it, but it is the lightest, fastest, most versatile option I have found. As far as durability, I used mine for 6 months a year overseas for 5 years, and hard training stateside for the other 6 months. Still going strong. If you need info on tweaking it, shoot me a pm. Also, it's pretty inexpensive by today's standards.

[DocGKR]

http://www.armoredmobility.com/contact.php

Why not contact:

Ryan O'Neil
Director of Business Development
415-720-7966
ryan@armoredmobility.com

[SmokeJumper]

I have to put in a plug for Ryan O'Neil over at AMI as well. I bought my plates from him and his customer service was nothing short of awesome with accommodations when we had a shipping issue arise. DocGKR's recommendations were right on the money for my use and application.
As for the PC, I've been running a Paraclete SOHPC for the last year and it has held up quite well. I currently run it over soft armor most of the time due to assignment changes. I went with the SOHPC because I wanted the molle real estate for load carry/configurations as needed. And the armored cummerbund was a plus for certain applications. However, the carrier that DocKGR mentioned in the post with a chest rig may fit the bill, especially with extra soft armor hanging around. Let us know what you end up with.

[DRRCTraining]

What is the best armor carrier is highly dependent on what you are going to use it for.

A simple plate carrier without cummerbund is definitely the way to go if you are already in uniform wearing soft armor (ie. CONUS uniformed LE officers).

Dedicated hard armor carriers are a different story. As I have stated previously, I was issued and used a MAR-CIRAS for about 5 years; I found it more comfortable than our previous old school RAV's--particularly since the MAR-CIRAS had no commerbund to sag or zipper to rip.

These days I much prefer a lower profile set-up, as typified by the Mayflower low profile carrier coupled with a rack type chest rig thrown over it. Compared to integrated armor carriers like the CIRAS or RAV, as well as plate carrier, a low profile armor carrier and chest rig has numerous benefits for me:

-- Greater range of motion
-- More comfortable riding in vehicles along with easier entrance and egress
-- Allows rapid change of load-out by quickly switching chest rigs (ex. assaulter, sniping, patrol, dedicated shotgun, etc...)
-- Chest rig can be dropped and armor worn discreetly under a jacket or indigenous clothing

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y253/SACompact/MDC2c.jpg

Currently, I am really digging the AMI low profile carrier: (http://www.armoredmobility.com/products_low_profile_carrier.php). It takes my soft armor (U.S. Armor Enforcer Classic IIIa size L) and eSAPI large plates, along with 6x8 side plates.

The AMI low-profile carrier is the most comfortable and versatile armor set-up I have ever used; there is NO way I ever want to go back to using my previous RAV/CIRAS or plate carriers...

Doc,
I was about to get a Mayflower low profile carrier with their Velocity IIIA armor, and then I read your post. Have you had a chance to compare the Mayflower with the AMI low profile carrier?

[ADKilla]

I just returned from Afghanistan last month. Have your unit leadership double check the USFOR-A regs and policies regarding plate carriers. Only RFI-issued plate carriers are allowed in theater (unless you're certain SOF).

[WobblyPossum]

I just returned from Afghanistan last month. Have your unit leadership double check the USFOR-A regs and policies regarding plate carriers. Only RFI-issued plate carriers are allowed in theater (unless you're certain SOF).

I'll look into it and it does make sense. I was waiting until we were issued everything for deployment before i bought anything anyway, so no harm done.
How'd you like the issue carrier by the way?

[ADKilla]

I'll look into it and it does make sense. I was waiting until we were issued everything for deployment before i bought anything anyway, so no harm done.
How'd you like the issue carrier by the way?

We trained with the IOTV for pre-deployment. I wore an XL (improperly fitted at CIF), so it was 36lbs prior to hanging ammo, pistol, and IFAK off of. However, even had I been properly fitted with a medium it would have only dropped the empty weight to 32lbs. Total weight loaded up was about 55lbs. The plate carrier was a medium...about 15lbs less empty than IOTV. More mobility and lighter weight, although still not perfect, but certainly a move in the right direction. PEO Soldier is looking at a new variation in the future which is supposed to be even lighter.

The sacrifice is less coverage of armor. We had a Soldier injured when shrapnel from an RPG that burst immediately behind him found its way into the side of the plate carrier (where there is no armor) and impacted into the primer on the top round of the magazine which was in a mag carrier on the side of the plate carrier. The subsequent detonation of the primer in the magazine caused the mag to disintegrate, further introducing bigger shrapnel from the aluminum mag into his body causing a potential life-threatening injury when the mag aluminum shrapnel collapsed his lung. Same injury with IOTV would have been less threatening. Freak chain of events which I've not seen in over 15-yrs of service and four previous deployments, and probably one that would be extremely difficult to reproduce, but something to be aware of.

[DocGKR]

Mayflower and AMI are both good. Mayflower is a bit lighter, AMI is a bit more rugged--I am equally happy with either.

[TGS]

Freak chain of events which I've not seen in over 15-yrs of service and four previous deployments, and probably one that would be extremely difficult to reproduce, but something to be aware of.

I've got another one for you.....

A guy I went to school with deployed with his Nat'l Guard unit, I think this was 2005. He was wearing his M9 in the Bianchi M12 mounted on his OTV. It was hit by shrapnel while he was seated in a vehicle, and ended up sending a 9mm round into his thigh. It bounced around and went up into his abdomen. Thankfully he lived, though his tour was over at that point. Shit happens. We can never up-armor enough....something will always happen anyway.