Chest Rig Opinions?

wyattratt

wyattratt

Active Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2022
Messages
50
Location
Jacksonville/ Raleigh NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just finished up my first AR build. Looking into getting together a dooms day loadout. What are some plate carriers and plate products that wont break the bank?
 
Last edited:
speaking as someone that recently dropped far too much money on a Haley Strategic chest rig...I'll say that the $50-70 Condor rigs found on Amazon are a tremendous value. I have some serious buyer's remorse on that purchase.
 
Tim said:
speaking as someone that recently dropped far too much money on a Haley Strategic chest rig...I'll say that the $50-70 Condor rigs found on Amazon are a tremendous value. I have some serious buyer's remorse on that purchase.
Click to expand...
Should have changed my wording, meant plate carrier not chest rig
 
Tim said:
speaking as someone that recently dropped far too much money on a Haley Strategic chest rig...I'll say that the $50-70 Condor rigs found on Amazon are a tremendous value. I have some serious buyer's remorse on that purchase.
Click to expand...

Tim,
The only push back I will give you on your statement is the idea of a $70 China rig. I get that chest rigs is a black hole of $$$.

When the best chest rig i think is a MOLLE base with the MOLLE pouches you need, you can build a real cool unique system.
 
wyattratt said:
But Im not sure if $200 even is a reasonable number for what I am looking for
Click to expand...

5.11 has PCs for that and under. Also Eagle Industries. Their old CIRAS has been updated, and you can get that plate carrier now on eBay for 100, 150 bucks. When those were issued and new on the market those were $500 carriers.

For not much more you can get a Mayflower APC.

$200 is around the point you go from "okay" to "good".

The carrier isn't as important as what you put in it. I'll let other people chime in about plates, others here are more knowledgeable about plates than I am.
 
Chuckman said:
5.11 has PCs for that and under. Also Eagle Industries. Their old CIRAS has been updated, and you can get that plate carrier now on eBay for 100, 150 bucks. When those were issued and new on the market those were $500 carriers.

For not much more you can get a Mayflower APC.

$200 is around the point you go from "okay" to "good".

The carrier isn't as important as what you put in it. I'll let other people chime in about plates, others here are more knowledgeable about plates than I am.
Click to expand...
Ive heard alot about 5.11 just wasnt sure if it was just over hyped or what
 
$200 will get you a basic PC with no plates. Something like a Ferro Concepts Slickster would get you into a great slick PC to then build out from. Plates are a whole extra bit of expense.

If you're not going to run plates, you're better off buying a chest rig that utilizes swift clips that you can later clip into a slick plate carrier.

I actually love my HSP chest rig. I shoot out of it all the time and have taken it through a few classes. It's been a fantastic way to hold magazines and some extras. I threw a dangler pouch on and stocked it full of medical so I have a handy little set up.
 
Just to toss out there…and I’m not really an armor guy…but is body armor >really< something you want to go cheap on? I mean, you don’t seek out the cheapest tires, the cheapest brakes, the cheapest fire extinguishers…so is it really smart to go cheap on something that’s intended purpose is to stop high velocity rounds from turning your innards into outtards?

That’s said, probably don’t have to spend thousands, but from what I’ve seen a decent rig will hover between 3-400 minimum.
 
B00ger said:
Just to toss out there…and I’m not really an armor guy…but is body armor >really< something you want to go cheap on? I mean, you don’t seek out the cheapest tires, the cheapest brakes, the cheapest fire extinguishers…so is it really smart to go cheap on something that’s intended purpose is to stop high velocity rounds from turning your innards into outtards?

That’s said, probably don’t have to spend thousands, but from what I’ve seen a decent rig will hover between 3-400 minimum.
Click to expand...
That makes some good sense
 
wyattratt said:
Ive heard alot about 5.11 just wasnt sure if it was just over hyped or what
Click to expand...

No, not overhyped. Just a lot of just-as-good or better options. Almost none of us wear them the way they are intended; that is,12-18 hours a day, every day, in austere environments. So you don't need the expensive carrier that will do little more than what a less expensive carrier will do. The plates, however, are a different story, and that's where you want to put your money. More money buys lighter, more options, etc.
 
The 5.11 TacTec is underrated, and can be had for under $200 on sale.

If you are trying to get plates AND carrier under $200, don't even bother.

If your budget is $200 for carrier only, then you can grab a TacTec and spend the couple bucks to becoming a paying member here at CFF, which then will immediately pay itself back and then save you a ton of money when buying a set of Hesco ceramics and molle pouches from Midwest Armory.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tim
Tim said:
@Midwest Armor
Click to expand...
Thanks for the ping @Tim

@wyattratt a lot of great feedback from folks here, I am going to add as much detail and info as I can on first go around and let me know where your head is at or more questions pop up and we can clarify from there

It sounds like you are looking for Plates AND a Plate Carrier, if you are not going to do plates as many have suggested you can do a Chest Rig, however I would argue what ballistic protection do you have? Unless you live in an area that is very forest dense then go with a Helmet at least and a Chest Rig.

As far as Plates go a good set of Level IV plates for WTSHTF is going to cost you around $400 give or take and the most affordable will be HighCom or RMA, you can also get a solid set of Hesco plates for near the same, and that is the baseline from here you go into Special Threat plates as the next step up and that will have varying of costs

Now lets talk about carriers, which you should start by first figuring out WHAT size plates you would wear THEN buy the carrier then the plates, just so that you make sure everything fits together.

Plates wise for around $200 there are many options around that range that are great quality and American Made, no reason to shop for anything that is not, in no particular order I would say look at the following:

Ferro Concepts Slickster
Spirtius Systems LV119
Crye JPC (1.0 or 2.0 depending on prices)
Midwest Armor Leap
Defense Mechanism MEPC

This is a good start to get going, the question is from here do some looking around and check to see what resonates, come back give us all some feedback and from there we can give you more guidance

Hope this helps!
 
You can get a Crye JPC for 200 bucks. Then save up and get some plates. which will run you another 300 or 400 for some not so bad hescos.
 
London Bridge Tactical is having a 50% off sale.
 
whatever you get i think the biggest thing you need to ask yourself is are you going to use it? is kit something you're going to train/ compete in or is it just going to sit in the closet for the what ifs in life? i started with really cheap kit condor plate carrier and belt militec ballistic helmet and im so glad i did. i did pay top dollar for my plates but everything else started budget. this allowed me to go to classes and competitions and figure out what worked for me and what didn't. so when i moved to higher end kit i was able to better purchase what would best fit my needs. if you have no interest in training in kit id suggest a condor mopc and some budget hescos
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom