THE CAGE
PLATE CARRIERS OPTICS with clear open sides that doesn ’ t obstruct access to my battle belt . The Condor Vanquish is one we use at Calibre Shooting and is highly recommend by all the instructors .”
Jimmy : “ Personally I do use plate carriers and I prefer them purely for the weight distribution factor , plus it makes it easier for carrying other things such as comms , and hydro packs - and they look tacticool imo ! I have several carriers , all setup very similarly purely for muscle memory and the fact that is what works best for me . I like to carry as many mags as I can on a plate carrier and try to keep my belt light , as I feel a lot of weight around my middle slows me down . I always run with my mags front and to the left , as I like to keep my right side clear so to keep my right arm tight to my body . Being a right-hander I load with my left , hence why I prefer mags round to my left side even on my belt which is common sense to me .
“ I don ’ t feel real plates are required , as they can be expensive and very weighty so I opt for a dummy training plate , usually EVA foam which is nice and solid but is easily formed to be comfortable and once formed generally keep that shape which is nice . A training plate gives the carrier a bit of bulk and feels better and requires less tension on any straps or point of adjustment . When I first started I never used any form of plate and I found when running the carrier would bounce up and down and become quite annoying , so naturally I would tighten it to combat the movement , which in turn had an effect on my breathing .
“ I have three favourites , one of which is a very new part of the collection , the cheapest being from 8FIELDS ; while it is the cheapest of my faves it is still a great setup . I recently purchased from smooth Jase a lovely TMC CPC in Multicam , which is my most expensive and it is very nice and looks very military . The third is the cracking ONETIGRIS ; it hasn ’ t seen a game yet but I ’ m confident it will perform as well as it looks !”
Bill W-R : “ I have never used plate carriers as I have never found one at a decent price to fit my pure specimen of a body ! However , if I found a reasonably priced one that fitted I would use it and use training plates to aid more weight loss and increase cardio ... Manufacturers please take note !”
Stewbacca : “ I used TMC 6094 PCs with my old team back in the UK just before leaving and in Taiwan have used the same Kryptek JPC style PC the whole time I ’ ve been here . I switched over from chest rigs or other custom loadouts as I rationalised most of my RIFs to common magazine sizes , or pouches and use EVA foam plates to maintain shape but minimise unnecessary weight . I find they help spread the load and keep my torso , especially my lower back , more supported , as I have issues with my back . I find lately though that mine has been shrinking in the wash a bit and is probably undersized to fully protect me now .”
Jon : “ I use my jean pockets now ! I ’ m real Op3r8or you see , you could even say “ proper8or ”! Ha Ha !” ( he ’ s lying , I have pictures of him in his Warrior Assault Systems rig – Bill )
Björn : “ Depending on mission / playstyle could be either Chestrig or PC . But yes , I usually use a PC . I have always liked the JPC style ( or similar ) and in the past I always used foam in mine because wearing one without is just a no ... floppy flop floperator ! But since Jut at Travail fitness asked me a couple years back if I wanted to try his plates out , I never went back . Now I have three different sets of plates , even one set for one of my Russian Cs that takes Granit plates . I gave Jut measurements to make them and they turned out so great out he sold some more right after ! I also have a real set of plates that I sometimes use . As for setting the vests up , I try to balance them up front and back as best possible and preferably add extra stuff to my weak shooting side to have better and freer movement on my strong one .”
Chris : “ The only plate carrier I own is an old gen Warrior DCS as a stand in for TBAS for when I ’ m in my Aussie Navy kit . This DCS came from an SFSG bloke , so it ’ s “ combat used ” and pre-fitted with Warrior mag pouches ( soon to be replaced by TBAS ones ), TBAS Flare pouch , Hydration pouch , Medium utility , FFD holder , Folding Dump pouch . I also have on it a SORD mini admin pouch , Platatac Strobe pouch , and Eylex ( Australia ) prc152 pouch . Rest of the time it ’ s a chest rig with a PACA for CQB !” AA www . airsoftaction . net 75