Plate Carrier or Tactical Vest?

[MrPondlife]

Once again I'm in a quandry 😁

I've seen a vest on Amazon with a few pouches but not sure if there are too many.

Plate carriers seem more expensive and you need to shell out for more pouches.

 

What are peoples thoughts and recommendations?

[Sitting Duck]

big drum mag - sod any pouches for mags

man up and run a naked loadout to always feel & call your hits

 

soz being silly - ignore this post as it may contain nuts

[ImTriggerHappy]

Either light weight tac vest or belt rig.

Plate carriers absorb the hits too much and can lead to people not feeling it more often than most other rigs.

[Russe11]

I like my webbing. It's considered a bit old fashioned these days but webbing is cooler in the summer and can carry just as much gear.

I tend to use P37 webbing as I have WW2 British and Australian loadouts but there are many other types available. PLCE is probably the most modern and should be quite cheap. I like the P37 as it has 2 big pouches on your chest and 1 pouch will hold 6 Sten mags. Most other webbing will have pouches on your belt and a yolk to hold it in place. A molle belt will work in the same way.

You don't have the problem of not feeling hits so much with any webbing or belt options. They also don't act as an additional layer of clothing that you don't want during the summer months.

[Adam3088]

If you want something extremely flexible and fairly lightweight, Warrior Assault Systems 901 chest rig. Also very well made.

[two_zero]

Either light weight tac vest or belt rig.

Plate carriers absorb the hits too much and can lead to people not feeling it more often than most other rigs.

Nearly lost my temperament the other day.. "ELITE" player walking slowly past a door way, while picking us off with a semi pistol, I alone must have hit him what 10 times and he claims hes not dead, and that the pc is fine as he hears the hits (so why dont he bloody take em??)

[two_zero]

big drum mag - sod any pouches for mags

man up and run a naked loadout to always feel & call your hits

 

soz being silly - ignore this post as it may contain nuts

nah seriously thou. been doing this for last month or so, except tshirt n shorts rather than naked. less junk to worry about and I know I will take my hits, even if other payers prefer not to know when they are hit.

[Jedi_Master]

Depends on what weapon and magazine(s) you are carrying, and how much other kit you need with you.

 

Using a hi-cap magazine fitted to your gun and just some spare BBs in a pocket you can just run around (or walk quickly in my case) very light. Or a belt rig (a pistol and mags if wanted) with mag pouch, admin and dump pouch. Keeps you much cooler compared to a vest or plate carrier, less dehydrating.

 

If you have lo-cap mags or use lots of mags then obviously you want something to carry them securely and with access. I do use a vest or chest rig, as appropriate to load and whether playing in the dark or daylight, although either work the other way around but to be honest the lighter load the better.

 

As most others have said, you want to feel any hits and be comfortable and manoeuvrable.

[MrPondlife]

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

[Qlimax]

Get a WAS DCS, you'll never need to buy a carrier again.

[rosco290]

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.

[Aunty Pasty]

I bought a vest at first but it doesn't fit very well (i'm quite short) and when carrying a full load of gas mags and metal pistol the weight wasn't distributed very well so I decided to invest in a molle chest rig with some pouches. Unfortunately they haven't arrived yet but my thoughts are that being more adjustable I should be able to get more comfortable with it.

[Qlimax]

This is why I mentioned the DCS. Load bearing wise it's excellent. I run HPA so carry a bottle on my back plus 7 full mid caps and a spare pistol mag and I don't feel any of the weight once it's on. All pouches are easily accessible. My personal opinion is the DCS is perfect for both woodland and CQB, I had two at one point their that good.

 

[ImTriggerHappy]

Dont feel any of the weight or a lot of the hits. Plate carriers are one of the biggest reasons behind none hit taking.

People chuck loads of pouches on and create an inch thick wall of plastic and material.

Each to their own but I hate them and think they are bad for airsoft.

[jcheeseright]

Yes, we get it. you'd rather everyone played airsoft in shorts and tee shirt so then everyone would always feel their hits.

 

The rest of us just aim for legs or head or arms instead when someone's 'not hearing' the BBs hitting their kit.

[Qlimax]

Dont feel any of the weight or a lot of the hits. Plate carriers are one of the biggest reasons behind none hit taking.

People chuck loads of pouches on and create an inch thick wall of plastic and material.

Each to their own but I hate them and think they are bad for airsoft.

The DCS comes with plates installed and the pouches are tiny. When wearing the DCS nearly all of my shoulders are out, side rib cage and stomach. These vest are small. When I get hit wearing it I know I've been hit thanks.

[ImTriggerHappy]

The DCS comes with plates installed and the pouches are tiny. When wearing the DCS nearly all of my shoulders are out, side rib cage and stomach. These vest are small. When I get hit wearing it I know I've been hit thanks.

To be fair looking at your profile pick it one of the better ones and there is a fair amount exposed. Most you come across are far worse though.

[ImTriggerHappy]

Yes, we get it. you'd rather everyone played airsoft in shorts and tee shirt so then everyone would always feel their hits.

 

The rest of us just aim for legs or head or arms instead when someone's 'not hearing' the BBs hitting their kit.

Nah should be mankinis versus budgie smugglers.

[Esoterick]

To be fair looking at your profile pick it one of the better ones and there is a fair amount exposed. Most you come across are far worse though.

 

They are about the same, if not better than a lot of assault vests.

[ImTriggerHappy]

 

They are about the same, if not better than a lot of assault vests.

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.

[Russe11]

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.

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.

[Esoterick]

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.

 

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.

[ImTriggerHappy]

 

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.

I am just jaded in general.

[Esoterick]

I am just jaded in general.

 

Stop being a grumpy bastard!

[ImTriggerHappy]

 

Stop being a grumpy bastard!

Midlife Pmt bullshit coming on I think.

And it feels like a Monday. 😠