Can the IOTV vest still be used with just the armor plates and NOT the soft insert?  Wanted to know if this was possible before making a purchase.

Yes.

Thank you.

Yes but it flops around. Wouldn't recommend it for just plate use.

It can be tightened up.  It's adjustable.

Don't buy an IOTV. It is a complete and utter piece of shit.

Just get a PC.

I'm sure you have your reasons, but not sure why you would want to buy a vest intended to cover most of your upper body with soft armor if all you are wearing are plates.
It's just added weight, bulk and dead nylon coverage that will get in the way of your range of motion and comfort.

I have an OTV made from BulletProofMe.com, thinking I would need it for road/field missions.
I love the vest and it has great coverage, but after getting here I just couldn't find myself wearing it in any mission application.
And when I do, I wear them without the plates (dun dun dun)

If only carrying plates, just get a PC; I think it might actually be cheaper that way too.

Its your choice but honestly there are some great plate carriers out there for very reasonable prices, probably only slightly more than a used IOTV and probably cheaper than buying a new one. They will be lighter, more comfortable, breathe better and make much more sense if youre just planning to run plates.

Not to resurrect an old, dead thread - but back before the SPCS was fielded (and back before the days of "OCP"), I modified my IOTV to use as somewhat of a "plate carrier," and it worked reasonably well, considering.

I removed the soft inserts as well as the elastic cummerbund, and tucked the flaps of the armor carrier back around the plates - it could then be used with plate backers (or with standalone plates).  

Without the plates, of course, it was horribly floppy, nor was it the lightest plate carrier, but it worked at improving the level of mobility and comfort of the IOTV and cutting back some of the weight.

In the end, IMHO - if you already have, cannot afford anything else, or are otherwise "stuck" with the IOTV, it's not a bad option - however, if you at all have the option of purchasing and using a dedicated plate carrier, I would go ahead and do that, rather than trying to convert the IOTV into something that it's not.

The only real benefit, I suppose, of this, besides utilizing an existing IOTV is the fact that you can relatively quickly switch back and forth from a "PC-esque" setup to a full armor carrier as your needs/situation dictates.  

~Augee

It will look and feel like a bag of assholes. There are a lot better options out there.

It really does need the soft armor and plates to fit well.

That's pretty fucking silly. It's a full armor carrier and it stops bullets, and provides reasonable mobility when stripped of peripheral silly PPE.

The best part about an IOTV is that since you're usually buying stolen .mil shit you can get a full Kevlar carrier cheap.


If there's no Kevlar I wouldn't buy one.