I was thinking about going the JPC route,  I'm a civilian and it would just be used for carbine classes. I am not interested in a full battle rig cause I don't plan on going to battle I just want a slim line carrier,  I already have some a r500 10x12 plates would these work with the JPC or should I sell them and get SAPI plates? I would be ordering size large carrier.

I have a Mayflower APC and it's pretty awesome.  I don't have any experience from the JPC, but I've heard that it could potentially wear out faster than the APC due to the ultra light materials.

The APC is by no means heavy when compared to standard issue military armor, but I believe it is heavier than the JPC--still, it's built out of 500D cordura and has a few redundancies built into the design.

I'm sure you wouldn't go wrong with either, but I have no complaints with the APC.


As for the plates, ditch the AR500 armor.
XM193 5.56 out of a 20" barrel (AND a 16" IIRC) will punch through it at 10~15 yards.  Also, spalling can kill you just as quick as a gun shot wound; if you take a center mass hit with AR500, the spall (if deflected) could easily travel perpendicular to the armor and land in you femoral artery,  your jugular vein, or your bicep.  As far as I'm concerned,  AR500 is really only useful if you want to PT in your armor and not risk damaging your ceramic plates.

Ceramics such as SAPIs are designed not only to stop the bullet, but absorb any spall.

I was/am thinking about getting a JPC but I heard for some forum members that unless you have SAPI plates the JPC is going to take some modifications to get the plates to fight right. The APC however comes with the necessary straps to adjust it to accept many different sized plates.

I own a JPC and I love it.
Haven't worn it to the point where it would start to fail, but nice and light.
Yes, you do have to get some foam pads to make certain plates fit properly but I did just that and had no problems.
The sides are not the issue; it is more of the top and bottom.

I recommend getting actual ceramic plates and ditching steel.
Also look up Tyr Tactical they make some very good well made stuff and I don't see them around nearly as much as they deserve to be.
You might have to deal with a long wait time as some of their gear is made to order.

^^^ +1 on Tyr Tactical.  I still wish they made the LWAS.  I had a sized Medium but needed a size Large and unfortunately they no longer make them anymore.  I currently have the PICO but also have a JPC, Banshee, GPC and CAGE.  Tyr is quality for sure and I don't have any problems with using their gear over the JPC or CAGE to say the least.  For a budget, their GPC is good to go as well.