Lets see pics of your Rigs/Plate carriers...

[luckystrike]

Originally Posted by spinog

The Marine Corps allows you to personalize your issued weapon?

there are exceptions for deployment.

[pancake]

Here is some of my early work. I made this rig while I was on leave from afghanland. This is currently my airsoft stuff. I never really measured stuff back in the days. I did take this on one dismounted patrol, it held up just fine.


Rig I made for a buddy. Split front style chest rig


Prototype, I definitely cut corners but it was a design for a friend who's over in 3rd I.D.


I wished I made a couple of chest rigs for my buddies. Would have made life a little easier.

[Smokeybehr]

Originally Posted by Omega13device

I have heard of three, listed below. The first two included pictures so I consider them credible. It's worth noting however that none of them were struck in an area where armor or plates would have helped, which drives home the point that armor is not a 100% guarantee against getting killed or having a life-altering injury if you get shot.

- There's a guy here on calguns who was almost killed by a richochet fragment that hit him in the throat.

- On another forum, a member was accidentally shot in the arm at the end of a class. Another student in the class had brought a semi 1919 to demonstrate, did not follow the proper procedures for clearing the chamber afterwards, and had an ND when he was casing it. The injured student was hit in the upper arm but luckily it was a through and through and missed the bone completely.

- On yet a third forum, a member was shot in the leg at a square range. Someone was uncasing a rifle which was apparently loaded and had an ND. The gentleman on the receiving end was sitting in a chair behind the firing line, observing for another shooter, when he was shot.

In the classes I have taken the instructors have not worn armor or plates other than when they were doing a T&E. That should tell you that the risk is very low. Does that make it a bad idea? No. I have never had my house burn down but I still have insurance for it.

You can add me to the list. I've come back from the range more than once, especially when shooting IPSC/USPSA, with the "mystery slice" that's put a little gash in my arm (or leg if I'm wearing shorts and knee pads), or the "mystery hole" in my pants. I've taken a small piece of shrapnel across the side of my neck, putting an awfully bloody 1" long nick that wasn't very deep, but put the fear of G*d into me about ALWAYS wearing my eyes, and at least an extra layer of cordura (and stuff) on my body.

It's not if, but when, someone around you is going to have an ND, and hopefully it's in a safe direction. I've already had my ND, and it completely adjusted my head to COMPLETELY clearing any weapon that I'm working on or around, or touching for the first time. The only casualty was sheet rock, and that was easy to spackle over and touch up. People aren't, and I damned sure hate patching people up, and I hate pain even more.

[mceod]

Originally Posted by spinog

The Marine Corps allows you to personalize your issued weapon?

Retracted...

I was looking at the wrong picture.

[JPZ]

great looking stuff here

[nrvnqsrxk]

Originally Posted by nav195

Eagle pc
Blackhawk triple ar mag pouch
Blackhawk pistol mag pouches
Sog seal pup elite

a plate carrier without plates?

@Merc1500: haven't seen a RRV in a while, lol.

@Jeffu: I thought that was an SOHPC. Didn't know TAG made PC's. Looks like a quick rig!

@JohnnyRooks: Sick setup! Loving that JPC.

@patriot-man: OpsTactical

[jackass506]

Here's my rig

[Bizcuits]

Here's my rig.

It stopped being cool and fun to wear about 5 years ago.

[Bowser]

I just got my Pig-PC. Someone recommend me some standalone plates for it!

[tomd1584]

Originally Posted by Bowser

I just got my Pig-PC. Someone recommend me some standalone plates for it!

Velocity Systems makes a quality plate. SKDtac sells them, i believe they're around $250 each.

[nrakid88]

Jesus, you guys have some serious gear. Makes my 6 magazine bandoleer, steel bucket USGI helmet, and backpack for parts, food, first aid kit look like a joke. Oh well, some day I will have a nice set up. But I did this one for less than 100 bucks, probably around 300 including mags, field kits, etc...

[nav195]

Originally Posted by nrvnqsrxk

a plate carrier without plates?

@Merc1500: haven't seen a RRV in a while, lol.

@Jeffu: I thought that was an SOHPC. Didn't know TAG made PC's. Looks like a quick rig!

@JohnnyRooks: Sick setup! Loving that JPC.

@patriot-man: OpsTactical

I have plateS now.

[KCDS]

Hi guys, by seeing so many nice setup here I guess this is the best place for me to ask about plates. Does anyone here have experience with the Israeli SAPI plates in the link below?

http://www.emacstacticalshop.com/page/412567592

[C.W.M.V.]

I just got one of these

Great quality and setup. If the US army would issue gear this nice I wouldn't have dropped so much coin at Tactical Tailor!
I still need to pick up something thats AK specific, but this will do for everything else.

[mrvash]

Hey guys I'm looking for a good quality hydration bladder to attach to the back of by molle plate carrier, any recommendations? Something that is 2.5-3.0 L and in OD green.

[mceod]

Originally Posted by mrvash

Hey guys I'm looking for a good quality hydration bladder to attach to the back of by molle plate carrier, any recommendations? Something that is 2.5-3.0 L and in OD green.

Check with Eagle Ind. or Tactical Assault Gear (TAG). Then get a bladder from CamelBack.

[badicedog]

MRVash, PM me I might have what you need!

[nrvnqsrxk]

EMDOM makes a good hydration bladder, but might be a little pricey haha.

[badicedog]

Originally Posted by nrvnqsrxk

EMDOM makes a good hydration bladder, but might be a little pricey haha.

So does London Bridge Trading.

[docsmileyface]

My new setup for my SCAR 17S:

BAE Eclipse RBAV-SF in khaki w/ M97 soft armor package and E-SAPI plates


3x BAE Eclipse 7.62 magazine pouches for a total of 6 extra 20 round mags


Eagle Industries Medical and Canteen/General Purpose pouches

[ninjamaster]

Originally Posted by drider

I think that is always practical, with that strider knife next to that holster/pistol. Any of you guys know where you can still get strider knives.

Plaza Cutlery just became the premier dealer for Strider.

http://www.plazacutlery.com/Strider/Stridermainpage.htm

[whoreable]

hiking and shooting varmints of opportunity at 8,000feet

[mrblah]

As I was looking around my favorite gun store at lunch today, I found the chest rig that I always wanted, light weight, no frills, easily replaceable, and cheap, so I lipicked it up. Excuse the poor quality pics, as it was taken outside after making some necessary "modifications".

[mrvash]

Just out of curiosity, do some of you guys have more than one LBE set up?

[mrvash]

Just out of curiosity, do some of you guys have more than one LBE set up?

[rareair]

Originally Posted by mrvash

Just out of curiosity, do some of you guys have more than one LBE set up?

I've got 4 different ones due to color & mission specifics. Basically (2) plate carriers & (2) LBEs One each of Coyote Tan & Olive Drab.

[docsmileyface]

I've got a crap-ton of different vests and setups, pretty much for different guns. My 7.62 set up is currently based on an Eclipse RBAV (pics above). My 5.56 is setup on an Eagle MBAV. Pretty much all of them are set up the same, ammo on the left side, a GP and med pouch on the right.

[brando]

It's funny, when I started out in the Army in 1988 we all had one rig - an LBE. Naturally, we all modified them as needed (when we could). I ran mine pretty high, sort of like a chest rig and replaced the buckles with 550 chord. Then a little later I was introduced to a few other rigs in SF, namely a modified version of the LBV that was starting to get issued Army-wide at the time, and mesh-based vest. Neither were particularly good though. Towards the end of '95 I was running a lightweight chest rig that layed over RBA, but still something really simple.

Flashforward to 2000, I return to the Army and things hadn't changed a whole lot. For the most part the LBE was gone, but the LBV was still fairly common along with the mesh vest. The big addition was attachment systems (PALS/MOLLE). And the SPEARS setup seemed pretty revolutionary. Modularity was catching on.

Now in barely five years, by 2005 things had changed significantly. On the SOF side we deployed with several different rigs. I had a stripped down plate carrier, a low profile IIIa vest, a full sized RAV carrier and a lightweight chest rig. All of which I used based on mission requirements. For example, going up and down mountains or doing a lot of foot work in a more permissible environment called for the lightweight chest rig over the IIIa vest or the plate carrier. The streets of Mosul called for the RAV and any time where extra mobility was preferred over protection, the plate carrier would come out again.

Most importantly, all of this stuff trickles down from the SOF community to the conventional Army. From TTPs to equipment. This was most evident to me when I came across a 2nd ID gunner running a para-SAW or seeing a 24th Stryker BDE guy with a 203 on his M4. Both of those used to be the domain of SF/Ranger Regt, but they trickled down out of the proving grounds to Army wide fielding.

So I guess there's nothing like a war to cause our gear to evolve rapidly.

[mrvash]

What is the difference between a chest rig and a plate carrier? Anyone have any photos of either side by side?

[tomd1584]

Originally Posted by mrvash

What is the difference between a chest rig and a plate carrier? Anyone have any photos of either side by side?

A chestrig is a lightweight piece of gear that allows you to carry magazines & pouches. (Most) do not have plate or armor carrying abilities:






A plate carrier is just that; a carrier (some have molle to attach pouches, others do not) that can carry rifle plates and kevlar backers.

[Charles M. Failure]

Originally Posted by badicedog

I hear the 'swimmer's cut' plate bags are for mil/gov only.

What makes THEM so special?

[badicedog]

Originally Posted by Charles U. Farley

What makes THEM so special?

They're not special, just really really comfortable. I should correct my statement. The swimmer's cut plate bags are not "restricted" items per say but the swimmer's cut plates are. I'd be really surprised if a non mil/gov person can acquire them.

[brando]

You have to understand the evolution of body armor over the last 15 years to understand the rise of the plate carrier. When ceramic plates started hitting the scene in the mid-90s they provided a good, lighter weight alternative to steel. Ceramics were much thicker (fookin' RBA felt like wearing a phone book) and over time they thinned down and retained their lighter weight. We're talking initially the difference between 12lbs and 8lbs. Nowadays it's more like 12lbs vs 4lbs depending on the plate.

Regardless, the point of the plates was adding rifle protection. Prior to their introduction, the IIIa-type soft armor was only good for protection against shrapnel and pistol bullets. High velocity rifle bullets just ripped through them, so think steel "trauma" plates were added to cover vital areas. Initially these were small and most folks only ran them over their heart. Eventually they evolved to cover a larger area as the material lightened.

So ceramic plates evolved to a point where you could wear two 4-6lb plates, one front, one rear. There are different levels of protection on these plates - some can stop AP ammo, most require that they be worn in conjunction with IIIa soft armor while others are standalone.

Now, looking at warfighting, the level of protection desired for the average soldier was pretty high, so rather bulky IIIa vests with in-conjunction ceramic plates were issued. This would be items like the Interceptor body armor. On the SOF side, this was considered a bit too bulky, so we had the BALCS/SPEAR cut which sacrificed a bit of protection around the arm pit for added mobility. These vests generally were good for high threat environments, but they added significant weight and bulk to the individual, thereby reducing mobility. Believe me, it sucks having to climb over a wall or chase after someone on foot with 50lbs of gear on. Cutting that weight down even by 5-10lbs makes a difference, but the bulk is still there.

That led to the interest in plate carriers - essentially stripped down vests that allowed the individual to wear plates and IIIa soft armor, but sacrificing significant coverage for mobility and lightweight. Initially they were just plates with straps that you clamshelled onto you. Eventually they started showing up with side straps or cummerbunds to mount extra gear and armor, including small side plates for rifle protection on your side.

Nowadays plate carriers have trickled down out of the SOF community to conventional units, especially in Afghanistan where troops are doing lots of footwork at altitude. There are simple ones that can hardly carry half a basic load and others that are fully featured with everything that was available in the RAV and Interceptors.

[Bigbird19]

What do you guys put in your utility pouches on your rigs. Trying to figure out if I "need" one and if so what to put in it

[badicedog]

Originally Posted by Bigbird19

What do you guys put in your utility pouches on your rigs. Trying to figure out if I "need" one and if so what to put in it

I recommend the "Endom" Utility pouch. They're great for just about anything you can think of. Batteries, GPS, mini " blow-out kit, etc...

[707electrician]

Do any of you guys know where I can find some MOLLE mag pouches that will hold 20rnd pmags or am I going to have to buy some 10/30's?

[Bigbird19]

Hsgi tacos will

[Lagduf]

Originally Posted by Bigbird19

Hsgi tacos will

I just watched some videos on these. They look awesome.

[racky]

my .gov issue tactical tailor plate carrier with armor. i have no idea what model it is. i checked their website and it isn't identical to any listed. old version maybe? what i really like is that there are no stupid buckles in the shoulders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyiAFSIxhA0

[707electrician]

Originally Posted by Bigbird19

Hsgi tacos will

Thanks, Ill keep those in mind. Im more looking for something that isn't open top. Like something with a cover flap and a buckle