Tactical Vest vs Plate Carrier
 

Hi everyone,

I've checking out the threads on gear and see many guys with plate carriers for their loadouts.

What are the benefits (to airsoft) for having a plate carrier vs a normal tactical vest? Went through the search but did not find anything meaningful.

I understand the differences in real-world usage, but not sure how much of a difference it makes in airsoft.

Thanks,
esca

Personally, I dig Plate carriers more simply for MOLLE. You can change around your setup to suit your needs and play style and swap through a variety of pouches and such. Tactical vests are fine too but you sometimes don't get the flexibility of plate carriers since most of their pouches are more "static" (ie. You cannot change them).

you can get full molle vests... not the preconfigured vests.


There's more MOLLE space on a plate carrier, but I find with a vest you can unzip it and just clip it on the front so it's not as tight when you need to cool down a bit.. a plate carrier can't be loosened in this way. It's all personal choice really.

I find the plate carrier to have a more rigid feel so the pouches are solid on the rig vs. a vest which has more give.

Plate carriers are very hot though, come summer time you're cooking with one on. I find vests are nice when it gets really warm.

Right now I'm running a soft plate carrier with a Ferro tactical rig on top of it. Or I can run the Ferro rig on it's own.

Tactical Vests VS PCs
 

Questions:

Impersonation?
Are you playing on a team?
Do you have an intended role?
What is your budget?
What is your fitness level?
Do you want to carry the kitchen sink on your back or go low drag?

First things first:

If you are playing on a team you will obviously want to "fit in" therefore that will determine what you run.

Your loadout will be different if you are running as a Rifleman/assault det to that which a recce guy or marksman would carry. ( LBE is better if you plan to lay down for awhile as there is nothing to apply pressure on your chest.)

Budgetary constraints will basically put you into one or the other catergory: Yes, you can get cheap, knock off PCs but they tend to fall apart due to having piss poor build quality. Buy real, buy once.

Fitness level is important and it directly impacts the last question:
If you carry a lot of gear (PC, 8 mags, IFAK, helmet, primary, secondary, secondary mags, food 24hrs, water, maps, compass, GPS, Go Bag, Multitool, Knife, IR marker, frags, smoke grenades, knee pads, elbow pads, Radio, spare batts, spare batts for GPS, Flashlight, spare batts for flashlight, spare batts for Primary, box mag for team SAW, electrolyte replacement pack, kill rag, wet weather gear and extra ammo) then you see the weight starts to add up. This will directly inhibit your ability to play the game over an extended period of time if you are initially unfit. You may well wish to think about what you need to FIGHT EFFECTIVELY.

My biggest biggest piece of advice here is strip it down to the bare bones. Keep your speed.

A PC has the ability to give you a modular load out, therefore allowing you to tailor your loadout to a specific situation quickly.

A tactical vest does not allow you to do that, sure, you can put less stuff in it, then you just have empty pockets flapping around.

Now which PC: Oh my god you have the world as your oyster; CIRAS, RAV RBAVS,EORS etc etc to name a few. Most offer solutions that are not neccessarily specific to Airsoft as their use within this sport is obviously secondary to why they were introduced in the first place, realistically for this sport, one is as good as the other. ( I say that as your life does NOT depend on your equipment)

Lastly your choice will, in some ways, be dictated for you by who you wanna look like. SEALS, ParaRescue, British Paratroopers, Spetsnaz to name a few.

Thorough research is key.

The above are just my personal opinion.

I have used PLCE and the osprey when I was serving, now I am no longer serving, I use a battered old eagle industries CIRAS that I have had to repair a couple of times just because of how I play. Has it failed me ? Never.

I will give you an indication of how I set mine up just so you can see what you can do if you choose:

6 Mags front (Shingles)
Training knife on the right upper plate threaded between the molle so the handle is easily accessible by my right hand when in tight spots)
Left Side I have my radio pouch which feeds my PTT mounted to the left upper shoulder support.
Left side 2 Cyalume sticks, 1 red, 1 yellow.
Right side: Multi tool, knife, Biner (Snapgate) roll of tape.
Rear right kidney: IFAK.
Hydration carrier on rear.
Left Kidney: Grenade pouch and smoke pouch.
No admin pouch (Think maps, compass, pencil, chinagraph,GPS,spare batts of all kinds) that goes in my BDUs.
Food (Mars bars, that kind of thing, goes in the left cargo pocket of my BDUs along with my personal FAK)

If the SAW gunner needs extra ammo I carry my share of the box mags by replacing the grenade pouches over my Left kidney with the ammo pouch for the 249.

I have beaten this equipment in the UK and now in Canada and I cannot kill it.

Personally I think a PC but do some more research ask guys when you see them for feed back. Most airsofters are really nice people and will let you try their gear on.

Good luck and may the Plate Carrier be with you!

Pete.

Black Patch's post is fantastic, that's pretty much the whole thread right there.

As a personal anecdote, I just moved over from vests/ recon rigs to a plate carrier and I am quite pleased by it.
I will, however still run recon rigs in the future depending on how I'm playing (the wide open breathability sure is nice) as the overall feeling of the two is quite different.
A properly sized and fitted PC is more of a 'rock solid on-your-feet running game' type feel, whereas a recon rig is more 'loosey-goosey laying here in the sun for a while' feel.

A recon-type rig or Ops Vest-ish setup is a good starting point in my mind, but buy a MOLLE system so you can move pouches over if you decide to make the switch after you get some more experience on which to base your decision.

Thanks guys. Realized that I should have been more clear. I am looking at full MOLLE vests vs PCs. Thanks Black Patch for that great write-up.

I'll go with a starter MOLLE vest and go from there. Just got into the sport and looking for a way to store everything during a game. No team or role yet.

I swear by this tac-vest. https://www.sealsactiongear.com/cata...?idProduct=278

excellent!

IMO, a good molle vest is better than a PC because they're lighter profile and the molle isn't interrupted by seams like in a PC. Look through the second line kit gallery for inspiration, that's what I always do :p

You are most welcome buddy.

Vests are Ugly, They are preconfigured, you have no creative way of setting it up, its Ugly as hell (yes i mentioned it twice because they really are ugly)

Plate Carriers give a person a great amount of creativity when configuring their own setup. also on that note, quite a few people like running chest rigs also, i personally love the Mayflower chest rigs :)

Tasmanian Tiger Chest Rig MkII
 

I have this rig, http://intranet.tatonka.com/infosys/...Chest_Rig_MKII it has static pouches and molle for anything else you may need. The main thing I like about it is that it's light and doesn't really hamper maneuverability much.

Being able to wear a Plate carrier without being looked at like I'm crazy is half the reason I play Airsoft. Plate Carriers are awesome!

Plate carriers give you rigidity. When you've got 10 steel G3 mags on your stomach, it helps that they're not winding you while you're trying to run.
It also add armor, for when you trip and fall chest first into the pointy end of a transmission in a junkyard.
And they're significantly warmer than vests for those 24 hour games in the rain

I would go for a MOLLE PC. Check out the Pantac 6094. Good price, unlimited options. I think it's one of the best bang for your buck!