THE PLATE CARRIER / CHEST RIG THREAD

[JET 5.45x39]

Very happy with my new setup so far. 2022 is the year of gear for me. Typically I buy 50-60K of guns a year, with one big ticket item being a 30-40K machinegun sprinkled with 20-30K of SBRs and title-1 guns & accessories. This year I decided to do 25-30K in gear and 30ish in SBRs and title-1 guns with no new machinegun. Big ticket item this year are ~17K NV goggle setup. The rest is a fresh new plate carrier setup, ballistic helmet, outfits, Com setup, various bags (1 & 3+ day packs), boots, knives, holsters etc, with about another 30K sprinkling of SBRs, title-1 guns, optics & suppressors.

That all being said, I getting things nearly daily so my plate carrier set-up is not finished. The core plate carrier setup came in last week and it is super comfortable and light. After researching for what seemed like months, I could not be happier with my selection for the core/base carrier. My core set up consists of:

• Crye JPC 2.0 (1lb in weight)
• 2X Level III+ RMA Multi-Curve Plates. (4.5lbs each. Model 1092 is the one you want. The high demand 1092 will go out of stock within 96hrs so buy quickly. See my thorough review from March 7th, they posted it so now I'm famous!)

Total weight of the core setup is exactly 10.0lbs (Thats the carrier and two 1092 plates). I have dozens of bags, pouches, mag holders etc, but I'm still debating on the accessories. I'll probably do a 4X AR mag holder up front with a small pouch, upfront for tech will be Kagwerks S20 operators kit. Out back will be the zip-up (for JPC-2.0) molle from Crye as standard, while wearing one of the 4 different sized Eberlestock packs that each have their own set-up and auxiliary molle mounted bags/pouches.


Stuff that came in so far this month vvvv

View attachment 4105013
View attachment 4105015 View attachment 4105021

View attachment 4105045

I gotta disagree with you on the Plates I like RMA as a company I think they offer an affordable every mans product. Better than giving ar500 money for sure. But level 3+ In the south where there is a bubba behind every pine tree with his rusty old mod 70 and 3x9 Tasco it’s a risk I don’t wanna take

 

[steviesterno]

I gotta disagree with you on the Plates I like RMA as a company I think they offer an affordable every mans product. Better than giving ar500 money for sure. But level 3+ In the south where there is a bubba behind every pine tree with his rusty old mod 70 and 3x9 Tasco it’s a risk I don’t wanna take

Eh I disagree. My choice was either some rifle protection and still being able to move some
Or level 4 and hurting my spine enough to spend a few nights in the hospital.

Besides neither protect anyone from a 22 to the dick and/or orbital socket

 

[FreedomUSMC]

bumping this thread. I'm trying to build up my gear from the competition spectrum to more along the lines of what garand thumb was talking about...

currently a slickster with one RMA 3a+ plate. I tried heavier stuff but messed up my back 2 years ago. Since then I've dropped 45 pounds, where my original goal was to lose enough weight to make up for the gear I wanted to carry. So needless to say I'm there and then some.

Currently shopping for a new belt, second plate, and maybe a chest rig. not sure if I want to have that separate than the PC or in addition to it. I've never served nor have I been shot at, so hard to know what to get for a need I've not officially had.

leaning towards another of the RMA plates and a Esstac belt. Thoughts?

Excellent work on exceeding your weight goals! It's definitely not getting easier the older we get.

Gear comes down to the mission, so think of the most likely scenarios you might encounter and plan for that. Nothing wrong with having different kits setup for different situations. Whatever you're comfortable with is up to you. Personally, I'm not a fan of chest rigs unless they are modular with a vest. Otherwise, a vest and battle belt with all my gear is sufficient.

Things every person should have, regardless of their mission:

A plan (who, what, where, when, how)
First aid
Firearms/ ammo
communications
Food/ water
Cash
Battle buddies (family, neighbors, ODT members, etc)

 

[Banthony718]

There have been other threads similar to this, but I’m making this with the intent of it becoming a long lasting thread people can reference. I’ve seen and talked to endless amounts of people who set up their gear based on another persons kit. This is to encourage everyone to set their gear up based on your own needs and comfort.

Please:
-Post pictures of your setup
-Ask questions
-Let people know why you set things up the way you have, or your theory behind the practical application of your gear.
-Do not outwardly flame people OR get defensive. Feel free to critique and help each other.

This is NOT the thread to post a picture of your gear and have everyone give you a thumbs up and move on. This is to open yourself up to questions, critiques, and theory behind using your equipment for its intended application.

Everyone has different needs and gear. Competition shooters, mil shooters, and armed citizens all have different needs but they can also influence and help each other.

This thread is intended to hopefully help you and others to get ideas, to trial and error, and to brainstorm how to set your gear up tailor made for YOU. It can also be a good place to find recommendations for any issues you run into or holes you would like to plug in your gear. I will most likely start more of these for other topics if people are interested, but this seemed like a good starting point.

POST AWAY

Here’s a picture of the setup I always use when I’m training with the guys. I meant to keep it pretty lightweight (a Trex arms AC1 with hesco L210s with esstac 4-magazine placard). I can run the plate carrier under a jacket without the placard, or under a jacket 1 size larger with the placard with some printing .

I tried to keep the majority of my **** on my belt to keep the weight on my hips to be faster and not be so sucky when it’s on me for long periods of time. It’s an esstac inner and outer belt with a spare rifle magazine pouch and a quad pistol pouch (I’m still trying that out to see how I like it). Y’all have any other questions, comments, or ****posts?

 

[Spas-12 Owner]

Shellback Banchee carrier, with added padding. ESAPI Medium plates. 6 mag carrier, IFAK and 2 M8/M18 carriers. Also has a Rat-3 for blade.

3A helmet with Comm's, light and mount for my PVS-7 (laugh, it's ok)

Battle belt with extra padding, Safarland Glock/TLR-1 Level 3 holster, 3 pistol mag carriers, 2 rifle mag carriers, bump pouch, Leatherman, Cat-6, and light holder.

 

[Burning Love]

Shellback Banchee carrier, with added padding. ESAPI Medium plates. 6 mag carrier, IFAK and 2 M8/M18 carriers. Also has a Rat-3 for blade.
View attachment 4235316

3A helmet with Comm's, light and mount for my PVS-7 (laugh, it's ok)

View attachment 4235329


Battle belt with extra padding, Safarland Glock/TLR-1 Level 3 holster, 3 pistol mag carriers, 2 rifle mag carriers, bump pouch, Leatherman, Cat-6, and light holder.
View attachment 4235341

Pvs 7 are still pretty cool. The warranty on mine expired in 98 and they’re still going strong

 

[Spas-12 Owner]

Pvs 7 are still pretty cool. The warranty on mine expired in 98 and they’re still going strong

Mine works too, just getting into so it's a start.

 

[Bypass]

TYR Tactical carrier with Protech plates.
Dump pouch
Safariland drop leg for the 19

 

[Bypass]

The thing I like about a dump pouch is they're great for a boat load of 00 buck shot shells as well. Dump was my primary ammunition holder when I had my Benelli M4 H2O. Still sad I sold it.

 

[Bypass]

I’m curious what y’all’s setups weigh. Side plates? 4 plates and mags can get upward of fitty pounds pretty quick.

My protech plates actually float and they weigh 3 pounds each. They're some kind of polyethylene or something.