How’s Velcro coverage on the front flap? Does it want to come off when you bend over or you’re moving around? Thats the issue I’ve always ran into with modular flaps

So did you go with the Small or Medium?

This is where I'm at...kinda in between S and M.

I went with the small SAPI plates. 8.75 x 11.75
Hesco 3810's L3+
DFNDR Armor L4

The downside is everyone everywhere stocks 10x12's. Which covers 80% of everyone. But very few stock the small plates.
I had to wait 60 days for the L4's because they are made to order. So I snagged a set of small 3810's from Trex Arms when they were in stock.
Edit: just checked Trex has small 3810's in stock. Hesco 3810 Level III+ Plate Set

The hardest part was finding a PC with small plate bags.
Crye and Javlin Concepts were the only two the "I" could find that make them.
I'm sure there are others I'm just not aware of them.

I went with Javlin. Couldn't be happier. I got them quicker than Crye.

Yeah I'm leaning towards Small. I've already got a medium Slickster - will small plates in it really be an issue? Seems once the plates are in and its strapped on tight with the cumberbund the plates wouldnt move around, am I wrong in that thinking?

As long as the plates ride at the correct position and don't move around you should be fine.

Probably will need some filler material depending on the bag construction.

I'm not familiar with that particular carrier. I would call the PC manufacturer and ask their recommendation.

ETA: that's a nice PC.

Sorry I haven’t experienced that with this setup yet.  Velcro is pretty solid so far.

Just got my Esstac Ass with free placard from the BF deal in, and first impressions are very positive. The only thing I have to compare it too is my Velocity LEPC that I've had for the last couple of months and some other rigs I've borrowed for an event in the past. As others have said its very low profile/trim and fits my 10x12 plates snugly unlike my LEPC which has extra space pretty much all around (which could be a good thing depending on plate dimensions).  Versus the LEPC you loose the kangaroo and admin pouches on the front and the half panel of molle on the back, Can't really say if this brings down the thickness/profile of the carrier by any appreciable margin.

The cobra buckle belt cummerbund also rocks, getting off and on is super easy especially with the well sized and shaped head space. The elastic part of it works as designed maybe not quite as well as a full elastic cumberbund but well enough that is serves it purpose. I know you can velcro any cumberbund you want on the ASS but an elastic cummerbund with divided cells and buckles or tubes that would work with the stock attachment system in the rear channel would be a pretty cool option and I was going pick up something along those lines from beezcombatsystems for my LEPC before I bought the ASS.

Which brings me to the shoulders, I can see why esstac's carriers are well known for these they are really well executed and secure, I didn't have a problem with the relatively narrow gap on the LEPC but I can see how some users have and while I don't doubt Velocity systems quality and durability, the small bar tacked tabs attaching the straps to the plate bags are definitely not as impressive as esstac's execution of having the straps be part of the actual plate bags.

Big thanks @esstac- , not for just the great carrier and being a great part of our community but also the guy threw in a free kwyi with my order , you're the best man.

Edit 1/12.  I've been getting the ass fitted and not sure if I just have small shoulders but I have the shoulder straps cinched all the way down to where the front part can't overlap anymore and I just barely got my front plate to sit at my collar bone and my rear plate sitting an inch or so lower. This is with front and back pontoons as well, I will play around with it some more.

Crye Precision AirLite SPC, Size L, with a Structural Cummerbund, Size L. Plates are RMA Defense 1094s, which are 10.25" X 13.25".

A couple of observations...

+ I went with a large cummerbund, initially by mistake. After ordering, I read all about how ridiculously long even the mediums and the smalls were. Even though the Crye user manual shows the ends of the cummerbund running tip-to-tip and secured with elastic cording, I had heard that the cummerbund works best and as intended when overlapped. When I took this approach, each side overlaps by about 7-8 inches or so and the whole thing feels nice and solid. So glad I stuck with the large. If by chance your only option is to order a large, you can reach out to MM Custom Gear (@addictsgear on IG) and he can professionally shorten your Structural Cummerbund for $35 and even add tubes for an additional fee).

+ Crye provides elastic cording to secure the cummerbund. It was a PITA and so ghetto. I ditched it and simply wove two WTFix straps (the short ones) in/out of the overlapping cummerbund ends and it works PERFECT and doesn't look like ass.

+ The graphics on the RMA Defense plates show through the AirLite SPC plate carrier. For the record, I did ask RMA if they could make me plates without the graphics or even a small one in the lower corner and no can do. That's okay because I actually like the graphics showing through. It reminds me of a heavy metal band concert T-shirt. I dig it!

+ The placement of the buckle attachment points to run a placard on the front are positioned way too high; it's a known problem. AXL Advance offers their Adaptive Vest Placard (AVP), which is essentially a $54 relocation kit for more optimal placement of the placard and alternatively, Hugo Industries offers their Plate Carrier Placard Mount Extenders for $10. I don't really like either option and with the bulk of the cummerbund grab handles/Velcro tabs, I'm not confident that the Velcro backing of a placard would get enough of a purchase to stay put (see next point which validated that).

+ I tried using the Crye AirLite Detachable Molle Flap paired with an Esstac Triple KYWI Midlength magazine pouch and it was too floppy and not even close to being acceptable. I think if you go this route, you'd want to stick with the Tall version only. Even still, the Crye Detachable Molle Flap didn't have a lot of surface area with Velcro on it and thus, its ability to stay planted up against the face of the front carrier was sub-par IMO. Thus, I've decided to get a Chase Tactical Velcro Triple 5.56 pouch as soon as they become available again. They have female Velcro on the front and will serve as a landing spot for the cummerbund grab handles/Velcro tabs.

+ I have a lot of excess shoulder strap hanging off the backside; so much so that I'm almost considering cutting it off and losing the quick doff capability of the shoulder straps. I'll probably leave it, but jimminy is there a lot of leftover. Each time I put on my PC, I have to be sure the leftover shoulder straps don't double over on themselves. Annoying.

+ Lastly, multi-curve for the win. Seriously! Was going to go with L210s and not only were they too small, but single curve? No thanks. Never going back. This combo of the PC and these plates is so comfortable and way better than anything I had bought and subsequently sold (because it sucked) years ago. So glad I gave PCs another shot and spent a little more money this time around.

WTF straps are a neat fix, do they offer any flex for layers/side plates or did you just size the bund a little loose?
I thought the same thing about the swiftclip loops but at least for me it keeps my dangler at the right height.
On shoulder straps, I z-folded the straps to keep em compact but still usable.

I switched out the structured bund and put on a 2-strap tuber for convenience during my larp sessions. The only reason I have to put the originals back on is to support side plates.

Great writeup!

Details and better pics of IFAK!!!

Your setup looks rad! Regarding the WTFix straps, they are tiny bit stretchy, but not comparable to elastic cording by any means. I played around with the sizing in terms of how far I overlapped the cummerbund ends and it's in a spot where the whole setup is comfortably snug. Great suggestion on the z-fold for the shoulder straps; I hadn't even thought of that. Will try it.



Thank you! I did post up several pics of the Coyote Tactical Solutions BURRITO in the War Belt/1st Line Picture Thread. LMK if you want any specific angles. I should've snapped a pic of the rear of the pouch showing the mounting slits, but I'm not taking it all apart now

Great job helping out, nice to see.

Unrelated, but I love your avatar.

New to the plate carrier thing.

I see lots of guys only have a 3 mag pouch on the carrier, along with a pistol mag or two and some admin pouches.

Are the 6 mag pouches just too heavy? Running more rifle mags on a battle belt?

Thanks for any input

Basically, yes. Ounces add up to pounds and pounds add up to pain, but loaded PMAGs generally weigh about a pound each, so we're not talking about ounces here. They also get in the way of laying prone.

Somewhere in this thread there's a guy who has an argument that it's your funeral if you are carrying less than 10 mags...and no doubt, there's a scenario where he's right. What's in question is how common is that scenario in an already unlikely SHTF scenario.

I'm on the other end of that. Stay light, stay mobile, stay alive.

I'm not a combat wizard but my experience has shaped my loadout. I've never fired more than 4 mags in one engagement. In the worst ambush I had enough time and cover to grab extras from my bag.

If you're in a situation where you'd need that, hopefully you'd know beforehand and reset your gear accordingly.

I do 4 rifle mags on the PC, and 3 on the belt. Pistol with 2 mags are on belt along with a knife, ifak, tourniquet, and dump pouch. Water goes on PC when needed.

I'm in this camp as well. I start with 120 rds. It's what I carried for 8 years straight. I can carry 5 mags on my person without adding to a pack. If I need more, that's what the vehicle and packs are for.

Exactly the same. Three mags on the carrier, one in the rifle.  I have a belt, but the only spare mags on that are for my pistol, and even then I don't carry many of those because the pistol is a secondary defensive piece.

I have a zip-on panel that allows internal carriage, but that's for a liter of water.  Or cola.  

My goal for what's on my person is to get me to safety...where hopefully there are more supplies, for increased safety.  

Thanks for the replies fellas!

So you sorta-want a dangler but you're not sure and you don't want to pay $60 just to wait for 8 weeks to end up finding out its not your thing.

Dig around in your web gear bins and find an old cummerbund quick release adapter like these from Ares Arms:

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You remember them from back in 2012, right?

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Now go find an old admin pouch like this Tactical Tailor:

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Take those items along with a beer down to your man cave and start craftin'...

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I know it looks a bit chintzy seeing how the MOLLE is weaved, but I've got a few Mystery Ranch pouches that do it the same way. If nothing else, you could load the pouch up, LARP around for a bit and decide if Dangler is a good fit for you.

EDIT:

Just noticed that my Velcro is backwards. Back to the man cave...

I used to have two carriers which could hold 6+ mags, but I got rid of them. Never found myself filling the pouches, so I went lighter. There's a few ways to do this that are less awful than others. Consider putting a 3-wide Kywi placard on the front and then putting a Blue Force Gear triple M4 ten speed on it. The ten speeds are almost free in terms of weight and bulk, and you have the option to put stuff in there if the need arises.

Boom!

Fixed it.

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@PatriotNC

Tell me what you think of this:

Using a single BFG M4 shingle over one of the PC's front three or on the cummerbund to use as smartphone storage.

I used to do this. So long as the width works, store it glass towards you and you will be fine. I can't do this anymore since my phone is wider than an M4 shingle

I'd measure the width to confirm, but I don't see why not. I love ten speeds for this kind of irregular utility use. I used to do that with my phone, as well as smaller Baofeng-sized radios:



This setup can be charitably described as a visit from the good idea fairy. Go out and use your gear, and you will be amazed at how stupid some of your brilliant plans can be.

Someday I will pay it forward.

I am old, fat and slow. Chances I will actually get to that third spare mag are low, and it will be spoils of war for someone, but I will make it the most expensive damn war trophy he ever heard of.

I just saw a review that says the SMC wouldn't work well for skinny guys because you can't take enough slack out of the shoulder straps to get the plate up.  No personal experience, just passing along the word.





@jonathon
Will the medium fit 10x12 plates?  It says it's for 9.5 x 12.5 plates.  I've seen that with other carriers, didn't know if there was some flex in the width to actually allow 10x12's though or if you need to step up to the large.  Right now the LBX is on my short list but I'm tall and skinny also and want to make sure I can get something that will actually work.  I'm about 6", 160lb.

This is pretty cool

I just went on Amazon and bought a Chinese/airsoft spiritus SACK knock off to try out. It was $10-$15 and I had it the next day. I eventually ordered the spiritus one to replace it and I gotta tell you, aside from the 550 cord on the zippers and shock cord on the bottom I can’t tell the difference between the two. Spiritus gear is legit gtg, but these damn chicom cloners are getting reallygood at stealing designs and replicating hi quality fabrics on the cheap.

The Chinese one lives on dangling from a chest rig in a go bag somewhere. I use them for medical

I've got the Amazon one as well. Good piece of kit. My earlier post was to encourage people to review their unused gear and look for ways of adapting it for other uses.

I have 10x12 L210s in my medium 0300. They’re a tad undersized, but once you get the bottom retention snugged up they’re not going anywhere. A thicker 10x12 will probably fit even better.

For those of you with the new AC1, what placards are you using? I'm leaning towards esstac but would like to know of more options I may not be aware of

I just want the AC1 to come back in stock.

Well, here we go.



Work-in-progress JPC 1.0 setup.

Looking good. Nice photo.

What plates are you running?

Are you planning on tubes for the cummerbund or running stock?

Stock on the cummerbund for now. I'll do some marches/hikes with it and see how it goes.

For the moment, it has LAPG Level III plates. Those were a stopgap as I couldn't find anything else decent in stock. Ultimately I'd like to have Hesco L210s in there. But, for those of you wondering if the LAPG plates fit in a Medium JPC 1.0 - the answer is yes, they do.

I've been signing up for notifications and they seem to be getting stocked fairly quickly and they dont sell out in 2 seconds

Cool

@superdrag67
I’m running a set of 10x12 Paraclete level IV plates in mine. They are pretty thick and they fit snug. The plate is held up by a flap underneath that allows you to push it all the way up.

I am very happy with my LBX 0300. I’ll post some updated pics later but it’s setup with 3 mags and an IFAK. With level IV plates that weigh 7.5lbs each it weighs a total of 22lbs. I’ve been running in it and walking the dog in it and find it very comfortable. I don’t notice the weight difference between it and my Grey Ghost Minimalist that weighs 16lbs with 2 mags, IFAK, and 5lb special threat plates. YMMV of course.

What shoulder pads are you working with there?

MOS Tactical.

Well it appears I'm shit outta luck.  I bought a JPC 2.0 Swimmers Cut a few months back just to have an extra setup that was different from my OCPC.  So I've been trying to research plates for it and turns out there's really nothing out there unless I spend $1500 a plate

Do you have a high hit criteria or something, Hoplite has LVL 4 10x12 swimmers available. first page on google.

Very nice, thank you!

I thought Hoplite was on the bad list?

No idea, but it didn't take much digging to find 10x12 swimmers in stock. Found some Level 3s in stock somewhere else. More expensive though.

Yeah the problem is 10x12s don't really fit well in an XL plate bag of the JPC according to a vendor who is on here.  Sounds like I may have no choice though

I like Hoplite. Never heard anything bad about them.

Hesco and Hoplite are my two preferred plate companies.