I looked at the krydex danglers, but ended up finding a ferro mini for a bit more.

I have a krydex counterweight on my helmet that I'm pretty happy with, but their tubes upgrade for plate carriers were junk. They seem to be hit or miss.

Think I want one that has a pocket for soft armor.

I have one of these as well, the material is a perfect match for my legit spiritus gear. They’re very well made for being so cheap.

Ok this will be long. Jumping on the Esstac dick and going to try to help some of you figure out if the ASS or the regular is better for you.

First. Their customer service is second to none. I mean that. I have dealt with many companies like many have around here. Dan at Esstac helped me out a ton. I originally ordered a regular Daeodon for myself. I ordered L210's with it. He advised that I may not like how they fit and recommended the 4401's. I said ok. They still sent me the L210's. After showing the wife unit (no wife pics, had a YT channel and linked it in GD, you had your chance) she said that she wouldn't mind keeping the 210's and getting her own carrier since shit is a little crazy anymore. I emailed Dan and told him I would like to keep and pay for the 210's. Dan instantly replied back that he would drum up an invoice and told me that there was a Daeodon ASS that was unaccounted for, and asked if I would like it. YESSSSSSS (I assume someone cancelled an order, I would not expect that to happen any other time). Dan made an invoice and I gladly paid. Today I got the package after USPS delays. I am pretty sure I am more excited about the shit I got from them more than a kid is with their PS5 or XBOX X.

So here are the differences from my stand point. There is a size difference. The ASS is smaller than the regular. I hesitate to say significantly smaller, but it is in my eyes.
Here is my body dimensions for reference with the pictures. I am 6 foot 1 inch. 240 lbs (almost on the nose, maybe 242 after a Chipotle burrito). 49 inch chest. (Had a tumor removed in my right breast last year, so yes, my titties are weird). If I measure from the center of my shoulders (delts), one to the other, I am about 33 inches. So maybe 30 or so inches wide. The measurement at the bottom of my rib cage is just shy of 40 inches. A little bit of a gut, but not even close to what I would consider fat??
ETA: A XL shirt is tight on me, but a XXL is a touch big. Just to help give more reference.

The regular fits me wayyy better. The ASS would be awesome if you are a bit smaller. The cobra buckles are quite nice and I am a little jelly. The bags feel smaller as well. I put the 210's in the regular and while they work, Dan was right. They do not fill it out as well. They fit nicely into the ASS. ha. If I had to get a minimalist carrier, I would still choose the ASS and make it work for me. I do think the opening for the head is smaller and the distance between the shoulder straps are more narrow as well. The regular fits my traps much better. I don't have Batista traps, but I am not a shrimp with a 90 degree angle between my neck and shoulders. I wore the ASS with the 210's for about 20 minutes, and with my frame it seems to dig in a little more than the regular does with the 4401's. In fact, The regular with the 4401's barely dig in at all. The padding is awesome with both of them. I do not have experience with a slickster or 119, but I really can't imagine those being in the same ball park with comfort. The straps go all the way down behind the plates which give them extra padding. Some days I walk with it on (have not ran yet, as Ohio is cold as tits, and I don't know if I want that attention in my gym yet). I will wear it for a couple of hours around the apartment while I do chores. I am questioning others in this forum because I do not feel fatigued as much as others may claim. I know being in shape helps, and being bigger, but really, it is not bad at all.

Here are some picture for reference. The ASS is tight (ha) because it is fitted for my wife, but her boobs make up the difference for her smaller frame.
ASS front:
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ASS side:
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Daeodon front:
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Daeodon side:
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Hope this helps the bigger guys, and everyone else who needs a size reference. I am sure there is other brands out there that are great, but after my experience with Esstac... If they offer what I want, I will get it from them. I have their belts and more shit from them, but I won't do another write up. I just wanted to show the difference of the plate carriers since God has blessed me to get both.

Merry Christmas Eve yall, spend time with the family and LARP on!
PS... got a ton of swag, but this sticker is fucking awesome.
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#2ETA: I figured fuck it. Went to the gym with it on today. I smoked my legs yesterday, but I still managed to run an 11 minute mile fairly easy with the carrier and plates on. No mags. Man oh man this thing sits nicely on me. I know it is there, but even without the pontoon pads, I was not overheated at all.

Nice.  Thanks for the comparison.  

Arbor Arms Flex Assaulter with tubes and combat wombat.  Medium RMA 1092s with First Spear backers.

Nice piece of kit and fits the 1092s....after much cussing, pushing, and pulling.  I also like that the placard has tubes so you have the option of attaching the cummerbund to it.  The end result is it pulls the placard in tight and keeps the carrier very flat against your body even with mags.

(And no, I don't have the G clips fully set.  I was messing around with fit and snapped a quick pic for you knuckleheads.  )

I'll take more if anyone needs any.

Well now that my kit has kinda finalized, here it is:

Looks good!

I like the night desert patches--where'd you get them at?

PSA

I ordered a pair of RMA Defense1092s direct from the manufacturer on 12/21. Site said 10 week lead time. Just got a UPS shipping notification today. Hot dang!

Is your PC Grey or RG? Is that a Haley Micro rig attached?

Dang, that is a good surprise!
Im tempted now.

loos RG to me, and it also looks like a haley micro rig.

RG! And yes it's a Haley micro.

To the patch question, custom order through ThePatchPanel

For those of you adding swift clips to your PC to attach placards, what are you using/where are you getting them?

You have a couple different options. Spiritus sells a 4-pack of their Micro Fight Replacement Buckles in Coyote Brown or Black for $4.95. These are the same thing that AXL Advanced sells as a Female Field Repair Side Release Buckle (Pair) for $3.00, though their website lists only Tan and Black. There's definitely a color difference between Coyote Brown and Tan. Regardless, they're all 1", which is what you need to mate it to common chest rigs like Spiritus, Haley Strategic, etc.

Personally, I like the look of the 1" female ITW QASM Placard Attachment Buckles, which have a mounting interface (referred to as split-bar arms) on both ends--rather than just one. However, these seem to work best when there's both a top and bottom set of vertical webbing or laser-cut slots like on the Ferro Concepts Slickster as the buckle then stays flat against the surface of the plate carrier and cannot pivot 180-deg upward. AXL sells a Tan version, but again, these are a lighter shade than Coyote Brown. If you want Coyote Brown, Esstac sells them for $4.50/pair.

Hope this helps.

Anyone rocking a Ferro FCPCv5?

I’ve ran into a few issues with placard systems and these so called modular front flaps while serving and deployed. Rocked JPC 2.0 while on deployment in AFG. What I’ve found is two things with placard systems. Either they’re really finicky and don’t stick to the Velcro due to a lack of coverage, and lack of contact due to cummerbund material, or the weight of the placard itself causes the placard material to come off and not stick. Now, the best front flap I’ve found is the AVS system. Essentially full coverage from top to bottom and side to side isn’t sacrificed. There are no buckles to get in the way. I used a custom placard while having the JPC 2.0 due to being a SAW gunner back then.

So, I’m really back to the more simple you make something, the better. The gizmos, do dads, and so called modularity sometimes sacrifices the simple thing I need my gear to do...to be fully secured to me.

FCPCv5 seems to be a good front flap. Coverage is much wider and the full length and width of Velcro. Can anyone attest to this besides social media marketing and cool guy shit? If not, I’m just gonna go back to a JPC 2.0 and rock a AVS front flap lol.

I'm just going to go ahead and say that it really doesn't get much better than Crye. I have an AVS that I was authorized to wear at my previous duty station, and for a while I used an AXL chest rig adaptor and a Mayflower triple 5.56/7.62 placard, but it wasn't exactly even, didn't feel super secure, and it just looked kinda weird. Never actually gave me any issues at all, but I never treated it rough either. After I left and knew would no longer be using the AVS for duty, I switched back to the Crye Molle front flap with the three 5.56 smart pouches like I had in the desert and it feels a lot better.

3810 master race.

Much like optics, I wish more guys had the opportunity to try before buying.

Thank you

I just got my V5 put together and I plan to run it use it while I am teaching this year.  It will be interesting how i like it compared to my JPC 1.old.

Just a quick update on this. So I had gotten it in my head that I needed Medium plates and a Medium carrier, when in fact, I had never actually taken the time to measure myself. My first clue that I had order the wrong size was when my Crye AirLite SPC arrived and the Medium carrier looked abnormally small on me and even without plates in it, I could tell coverage was falling short. And yes, I know it's a minimalist plate carrier, but it was like I had a pie plate attached to my chest. I had ordered a Large cummerbund and was fully expecting it to be enormous and that I would need to send it out to MM Custom Gear to be shortened by a professional ($35 charge for this). But if you use it like it's designed and overlap the straps in the back of the carrier, it was fine and actually super stiff. For reference, I'm 6' 1", 220 lbs. Turns out my chest size is 44". Nipple to nipple is 10.75." When the carrier was on, both nipples were fully exposed with some gap on either side of the carrier. Top to bottom fitment was also off, too. Thankfully, the eBay seller (Norgestar, 100% positive feedback) I bought it from has a great return/exchange policy and has size L on-hand. So I was able to get that exchange in-motion today. Additionally, I called RMA Defense first thing this morning and caught the pre-shipment in time. They cancelled the shipment of the 1092s and swapped them out for 1093s and charged me the difference. Lo-and-behold, I got a shipment label created notification within about 20 minutes and delivery is scheduled for next Monday, 1/4! Amazing!

Lesson learned; I should've measured myself instead of making blanket comparisons to what others of similar height were getting. Measurements matter! Get the right size for YOU!

So I guess I'm patiently waiting for a Ferro slickster. What is the best/most secure way to mount a 3 mag holder to it? I don't really understand all the systems/terms yet.

This is the triple mag pouch Ferro made for that carrier.

Any initial first impressions comparing it to the JPC? That’s all I really know, besides a Gen 4 IOTV 😂

It went together easy, and seems pretty comfortable.

I have not completely set it up with all the pouches and gear in and on it.

I will take some pictures to compare.

It will be hard to beat the JPC.  I have one of the first made (thank you Pat!), and it is like putting on your favorite pair of green jungle boots.  Or at least as comfortable as armor can get.

I run two Slicksters. My work one has the triple
mag holder from Ferro where the velcro cummerbund goes over it. It works just fine and is less expensive, but my other Slickster is running a Esstac Triple Daeodon front panel (picture below). A lot of companies make these mag panels that use your Slickster's velcro but also mount to the attachment point. I find this method makes the cummerbund fit me better and I feel that it makes the magazine retention feel a little more solid.

Thanks that makes sense. It looks like the spiritus placard will work as well?

Looks like it will. Basically, if it has the two hooks and a velcro backing it should work. Even the Haley Strategic vests work, although it kind of defeats the purpose of a Slickster.

You may need to buy the female end of the hooks if your placard doesn't come with them. They're called QASM I'm pretty sure. You can get them from wherever but Milspec Monkey has them for cheap. They're only a couple dollars.

ETA: If the placard comes with the metal hooks those will work as well instead of the QASM.

G hooks will work but may slip off the cuts if not under load. Fine with velcro too, but something to watch out for.

Right on. So who makes the best one? Low profile is high on the list.

Spiritius low profile placard
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Can anyone help my smoothbrain attach this Haley flat pack to my Esstac carrier?

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All you gotta do is weave it through like regular molle.

Unweave the straps from the molle loops on the back of the flatpack, insert them into the molle loops at the top of the carrier, insert through the first row of molle on the flatpack, then through the next row of molle on the carrier, then the next row of molle on the flatpack, repeat until attached.

Good fucking grief. I deserve the roast. I pulled on those molle straps and they didn't budge at first. I just went and pulled them out. Sort of an Ah-Ha! moment. Thanks guys

What do I do with the large "backpack" straps? The buckles aren't split and they won't un-velcro and slide through the buckles

They should just unvelcro. I can look at mine later when I get home.

@Nutro

Raptor Tactical

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They might have Woodland.

This Haley flat pack doesn't have mounting zippers unfortunately

In for ideas.

the best one is the esstac kywi triple. this isnt even debatable. its what I and many here run.

Here's the LBX carrier in Inland Taipan camo (I tossed it into the brush in the undeveloped lot next to our house).

I think I'm gonna RIT dye it at some point.  I'm not sure if I want to go more gray or more tan (I'm open to suggestions).  @raf -- any ideas on this?

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LBT6094 multicam in XL (not mine) on EE for cheap!

From here, I'd say no more gray.  More OD green, like a dusting on the lighter areas.

That thing needs more tan like dark earth or field drab or coyote or something.

Definitely more tan. If it's possible to RIT dye stripes rather than just the whole thing all at once, try doing diagonal stripes of tan and green and maybe some black.

Everyone grab your favorite beverage and prepare to be entertained, for today was honestly the first day I wore my PC with plates and fully equipped out on the range.  I had it our before stuffed with 3A soft armor, and it was...hot. But today, in AZ on Jan 4th, we're talking 67 degrees there, so light jacket required, right? Yeah, NOT!
Let me start off with my hat's off to anyone who uses one of these day in day out with heavy plates installed. After two hours my lower back was telling me it wasn't having fun any more. The PC I wear at work for 12 hours has soft panels, Spike III, NOT the same, and the gear I use not nearly as heavy...with the exception of my key ring. I kept this one on from the time I got to the range to right before I left, about 2.5 hours, IIRC. Shirt was soaked. Still 67 degrees. Check the hat brim - soaked. Had to do the Lawrence of Arabia sun cover on the neck. PC is TacProGear with High Ground level 4 plates installed.
Positives - this rig seems very well balanced to me. It's HEAVY when held at arms length, but ON the body not so bad, well distributed. I discovered while the cheaper covered mag pouch technically holds more mags, it is harder to use. Oh, I wasn't standing still - I was moving back and forth, standing, kneeling, mag changes, all that schtuff fat old guys like me probably shouldn't do. But it's private range som nobody was there to laugh at how I fumbled things. Learned a few things, I did. I am glad I stripped off a bunch of stuff I thought I needed, but really don't. I could get rid of that dump pouch n the left - all it holds is some medical supplies, and a smaller pouch would do the same and leave room to switch to a three mag shingle, instead of this junky Condor quad pouch. Disregard what LOOKS like a dangler on the far right - that is actually a Condor Admin pouch I use as a cheap phone carrier on my belt with some medical supplies/emergency tools in there, too. I always have that with me. I noticed it seems that the velcro was letting go where the plate pouch is, so the plate might be sliding down? Hmm, any ideas?

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So, it was a real interesting experience, and the advice I got here was quite helpful. Of course, now is too late to try to acquire more pouches, except what I can find at the rip off surplus store. :) But I can run with what I brung, at least for a couple of hours. Just don't ask me to go prone - not sure that would be survivable right now... But home use - good.

Definitely needs more cowbell.

Nice puouch

@dy2shhoooez or anyone with an opinion.
Is it poor form to mix and match colors on the PC?

Like having a sand PC, black admin pouch, green pistol pouch, etc?

On my personal kit, I dont mix just because I can afford to wait and find the color I want. If I'm buying it for work I need it now so its what's in stock and authorized