Plate Carrier or Tactical Vest?

rosco290 said:
One thing nobody has mentioned but I used as a decision maker on the webbing v vest question when in the military was access. You can have all the pouches in the world but they're useless if you can't reach them easily when you need to.

Vest - Good for CQB, In vehicles (not really going to happen in airsoft), Any situation where you're standing most of the time.

Webbing - Best for normal field battles where you may be lying down or crouching in whatever cover is available.

Plate carrier - Good option if the budget allows as you can move your pouches to where they're going to best suit the situation. (This was always the option I used on ops, in fact I was issued an assault vest and literally never used it apart from on exercises.....lighter than body armour and pouches ;-) )

Hope that helps you Mr pond life and anyone else.
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Webbing comes in many varieties so it's possible to have pouches where you want them. The main difference is that you may have many mags in one pouch rather than individual pouches for each mag.

Vests are either molle front and back like plate carriers but larger or have fixed pouches.

There are also belt rigs, chest rigs (like a vest but front only) and drop leg pouches.

At the end of the day, like everything in airsoft, the important things are what you find comfortable and what you think looks cool.

For me, P37 webbing just does the job the way I want it. On a hot day P37 webbing with jungle greens keeps me cool and a slouch hat keeps the sun out of my eyes, on a cold wet day Aussie service dress is merino wool so it keeps me warm and dry and a slouch hat keeps the rain out of my eyes. Just because it works for me, I don't expect it to catch on. Incidentally the service dress has lots of big pockets, you cannot use pockets as easily with vests and plate carriers as you can with webbing.

 
ImTriggerHappy said:
As I said looking at the profile pic with him wearing it, it doesnt look too bad.

The pic of it on its own made it look like one of the big bulky ones. Some of the assault vests are getting worse than PC rigs. Saw one the other week that was all foam padded the guy couldnt feel it if you shot him from 4ft away, he removed it after a couple of games to be fair and said he wasnt planning on using it again.
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The other thing you need to consider is the chest is one of the least likely areas to get shot unless you are out in the open. I wonder if you are perhaps jaded by being exposed to bellends wearing plate carriers, some sites definitely attract people with the wrong attitude more than others. I've consistently had more issues with players at certain sites regardless of gear.

I had a chap wearing one of the viper looking ones the other week and first time I shot him I heard it hit the rig but he didn't take it. He took a follow up shot which suggested he neither heard nor felt it. This was at a range where 2 other players winced in pain when I shot them. The rest of the day I had no problems with him taking hits.

 
Esoterick said:
The other thing you need to consider is the chest is one of the least likely areas to get shot unless you are out in the open. I wonder if you are perhaps jaded by being exposed to bellends wearing plate carriers, some sites definitely attract people with the wrong attitude more than others. I've consistently had more issues with players at certain sites regardless of gear.

I had a chap wearing one of the viper looking ones the other week and first time I shot him I heard it hit the rig but he didn't take it. He took a follow up shot which suggested he neither heard nor felt it. This was at a range where 2 other players winced in pain when I shot them. The rest of the day I had no problems with him taking hits.
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I am just jaded in general.
 
MrPondlife said:
Once again gents all your advice is most welcome :)

In the mean time I picked this up for £4 just to get me started http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201416845984?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Still think pouches on my belt might be the best option but for £4 I couldn't resist :D
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That's a steal right there, even if it were pretty heavily used. I hope you're a fairly big lad though because those things never adjust very small, heh (not that it's the end of the world, especially for £4 as a first purchase).

 
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CKinnerley said:
That's a steal right there, even if it were pretty heavily used. I hope you're a fairly big lad though because those things never adjust very small, heh (not that it's the end of the world, especially for £4 as a first purchase).
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LOL, not that big unfortunately but as you say for £4 its a start :)

 
Most people I see starting out who've zero knowledge of military kit and don't seek advice from more knowledgeable folks end up with most awful looking chinese knock-offs imaginable, the types of vests and armour carriers that literally fall apart at the seams 2 games in and rub the wearer raw in all the wrong places through the absurdly cheap knock-off fabrics and poor workmanship. Generally they're meant to be multicam but just look like a mixture of barbie pink and phlegm. That classic old assault vest design has been around for donkeys but it's a brilliant option to this day if you just need load carriage without the armour; rugged as hell, water-proof materials (at least the issue ones built the same as PLCE should be), light, well ventilated and a plethora of well placed pockets. The only real down-sides are the old 'spanish fly' buckles not being ideal and the fact they're so damn big in order to go over some of the old issue body armour.

 
CKinnerley said:
Most people I see starting out who've zero knowledge of military kit and don't seek advice from more knowledgeable folks end up with most awful looking chinese knock-offs imaginable, the types of vests and armour carriers that literally fall apart at the seams 2 games in and rub the wearer raw in all the wrong places through the absurdly cheap knock-off fabrics and poor workmanship. Generally they're meant to be multicam but just look like a mixture of barbie pink and phlegm. That classic old assault vest design has been around for donkeys but it's a brilliant option to this day if you just need load carriage without the armour; rugged as hell, water-proof materials (at least the issue ones built the same as PLCE should be), light, well ventilated and a plethora of well placed pockets. The only real down-sides are the old 'spanish fly' buckles not being ideal and the fact they're so damn big in order to go over some of the old issue body armour.
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Thats why I like some of the viper vests.I know that they are not the best made but they are solid enough for airsoft. They are a pretty well thought out design have enough pockets for anything you need and dont cost the earth to replace if you do wreck it. The only bad parts are the plastic zips but I got a metal one put on for £8. Less money on my kit more money inside my gun.

 
Well the vest arrived yesterday and I can happily say, it fits and was a bargain :) Not Molle but Velcro and press stud fittings. Also came with 3 extra pouches tucked away in one of the static pouches 9which was a nice surprise).

Just need to buy 'stuff' to fill it up lol :D

 
Hi guys kinda hijacking this so SOS to the OP. I'm in cadets but wanna do airsoft too what wud u reccomend

 
Crye JPC in RG(plates not included)

Bought my own one for civilian contractor training when I worked for MoD. Lightweight and comfortable compared to the bulky issue kit they tried to fob us off with. G3 combat 'pants' are well worth the money too.

 
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