I see the 25 page thread, but lots of pics are dead, lots of little guys, and lots of guys running different gear requirements than me.

So.......

I am 6'1"-ish, 205-215lbs, wear a 46L jacket, and have a 34"-35" waist.  The plates are TAP III+ GAMMA, 10"x12"x1" - 5.2lbs each.

I want to accomodate at least four 30rd M16 mags on the primary row as well as five 1911 pistol mags on the weak side primary.

I want total load out to be at least eight to ten 30rd mags and 10 pistol mags.

I want a place for a small fixed blade & a small multi-tool.

I want it to be as comfortable as possible.

So vote in the poll and give me some specific feedback.

Thanks guys!!!!!!!!

Sometime (real soon now, they say) there will be available an Eagle double M4 with four 1911 pouches with kydex inserts across the front.  That could be attached to the support side of the EPC.  Standard M4 pouches could be put on the strong side to fulfill your requirements along with an extra 1911 pouch somewhere on the support side.  The new EPC in L/XL has a 3-inch longer cumberbund; the plate carriers themselves are  slightly bigger than your plates; however, I see that as no big deal in that mine seem to stay in place.  Eggrolly is making me a MultiCam CB cover.  I never considered the W's; the folks I respect at 10-8 favor Eagle.  I have always been a John Willis fan (SOE).

I just recieved my wasatch from Op Tac. For reference, I am 6'1, 285, 52 Chest, 46 waist. The Wassatch fits me with plenty, and i do mean plenty of room to spare. This thing is a tank and super well built. I dodnt think at this point that i will ever own a different piece of gear other than HSGI.

Just messing around with it today and loading it out, i think that i will pick up some ceramic plates. The rig tends to get front heavy (naturally) and i think that a 6 pound backplate will help with balance. This rig was made for modularoty and expansion to a degree i have never seen in other tactical rigs. If you do decide to go this route, make sure to get the shoulder pads. I wore my rig around the house fully loaded out for 3 hours yesterday and if i hadnt had the pads im sure i would have been cursing up a storm. Good Luck and let us know what you get!

Chris

Quoted: I have been happy with my Eagle PC so far. No first hand experience with the HSGI stuff. I know they make good stuff though.

Are you similar in body size to me??  How does it fit?

I have tried ALL of the rigs in your poll, so here's my two bits.

Wee/Wa:  Best option available if you want to carry a LOT of ammo, but I didn't like the built-in mag pouches.  Mags are tight when there's 2 in each pouch, but loose as a goose when you remove one.  Also didn't like the way the whole rig gets looser as you remove mags.

Eagle PC w/cummerbund:  By far the most comfortable of them all, but also the most trouble to get in and out of.  Offers a lot of real estate for attaching pouches.  One drawback for me is that if I use the Sm/Med, the plate carrier fits me and my 10x12 plates beautifully, but the cummerbund is way too short.  If I move up to the L/XL, the cummerbund is perfect, but then my plates have too much room to slide around inside the carrier.  Plates are pretty secure after everything is cinched up, but usually need to be manually recentered in the front plate carrier before securing the cummerbund.

Woo "A" and "E":  I like these the best because they are so FAST to get in and out of.  Use the "A" version if you need a lot of real estate.  I like the "E" version, as it's easier to reach the side buckle when putting it on, and there's just enough real estate for me to attach one Paraclete ATX triple mag pouch and one "double-double" M4 mag pouch.  Gives me 7 M4 mags and 3 pistol mags in a relatively compact, secure rig that's very fast and easy to put on.  (edit:  Just received another Woo.  Let's just say that quality on this one is not on a par with my older one... I'm swapping it for another Eagle.)

Another drawback to the Wee/Wa/Woo's is that they sag a lot with no plates in the rig.  The Eagle PC w/cummerbund can be worn just fine with or without armor.

eta:  One other thing that I've never seen anybody else mention - the shoulder strap location is a bit different between the HSGI rigs and the Eagle.  The Eagle put the straps closer to the centerline of your body, which I like.  May not matter to you, but it was something I noticed immediately when I put it on, after having tried all those HSGI carriers.

I have worn  the  wee and the new eagle PC with CB an it is 3 inches longer so it works out  best for me with and without armor.  The wee is bombproof but it does sag

Quoted: Eagle PC w/cummerbund:  By far the most comfortable of them all, but also the most trouble to get in and out of.  Offers a lot of real estate for attaching pouches.  One drawback for me is that if I use the Sm/Med, the plate carrier fits me and my 10x12 plates beautifully, but the cummerbund is way too short.  If I move up to the L/XL, the cummerbund is perfect, but then my plates have too much room to slide around inside the carrier.  Plates are pretty secure after everything is cinched up, but usually need to be manually recentered in the front plate carrier before securing the cummerbund.

I wonder what it would take to get Eagle to offer the longer cumberbund with the S/M PC designed for 10 X 12 plates?

Quoted: I wonder what it would take to get Eagle to offer the longer cumberbund with the S/M PC designed for 10 X 12 plates?

I dunno, but unless you are about 4 feet tall and have a 22" waist, I can't imagine the cummerbund that comes with the Lg/XL being too big to work for you, especially if you're actually using plates in the rig.

I love the Woosatch "A" version.  When I first loaded it out (8 M4 30 rounders, 1 Blackwater suppressor pouch, 2 .45 mags and a Blackhawk large utility pouch) it was front heavy.  

After I filled my Camelback full in my TT Hydro carrier it fit perfect and was comfortable as hell.  Don't judge any plate carrier until you put some water in your hydro carrier, it makes the weight distribution perfect!

I love my Wasatch.

I am very interested in the Eagle Carrier to.  Anyone own both?  If so do you prefer one over the other?

Also How does the Circus differ from the Eagle Mole Carrier?  Besides the obvious Price difference.

Quoted: 6'1" about 195 lbs. Fits me really good without any plates in. Plates will only make it better.

Hawkeye-
What size plate carrier, and which cummerbund do you have?  

Ya know I am going to wait for the Centurion by HSGI, it reminds me of the Callahan with more realestate for mags. In many ways an improvement over the Wa, instead of Double Mag pouches though, they will be singles. I will update all with pics and review once they arrive.

(Nice timing for me)


OK....next question - those that are running an Eagle - have you put a heavy ruck on with the PC on as well..... I keep looking at those fastex buckles (shoulders)  and calling BS on the idea....

and not to jack Shivan's thread but - why little mention of Parcelete carrier with cumberbund - is it worth a damm?

Paraclete Hard Armor Plate Carrier:

lightfighter.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=PAR-015!015&csurl=/istar.asp?a%3D3%26dept%3DARMOR%26manufacturer%3D015%26sortby%3D%26numperpage%3D28

Thoughts

SHIVAN,

I'm 6'3, 46L jacket size, about 215 lbs, and a 36" waist.  I own a weesatch and it fits great with and with out plates, but it requires a lot of adjusting if you add or remove plates so that it will properly fit.  The weesatch is very limited as far as real-estate goes.  Here go some pics without plates.





I'm planning on getting this, www.tacticalassaultshop.com/cgistore/store.cgi?page=/new/product.html&setup=1&ida=80&idp=16&his=0|16&cart_id=9880676.1456, if it is comfortable.

I'm leaning towards the Wee.  I like that it has mag pouches without putting any extra money out right away.

Is there anything about the Wee that should absolutely exclude it from consideration?

I tried out a Wa when the first came out, and more than anything else I didn't like the way it felt "boxy", like a bunch of cubes put together.  I thought the Callahan was better designed to fit a person rather than a box, and the Eagle PC more so.  The latter does not have the internal mag pouches, but I found that even with the single mag pouches on the Callahan and Hellcat, there isn't much you can put on the outside before you start feeling like it's a spare tire.  

I did like the way the Wxx series was attached to the plate pocket directly, instead of being QD, as it kept things slimmer. I personally would like to see a Wee with single mag pouches that wrapped around the body better.  

Well maybe a Woo "E"....but then the cost savings goes away.

Geez, I might have to buy an Eagle PC AND a Wee and see which I like better.

Quoted: Geez, I might have to buy an Eagle PC AND a Wee and see which I like better.

All of your choices are quality gear, and it should be easy to sell the one you don't want.  

I bucked the voting trend here and opted for the Weesatch.  I ordered three TT single M4 pouches and 3 DBT Single 1911 MOLLE mag pouches to mount on top of them, or maybe next to them.

I plan to keep the strong side "slick" as I can to keep it out of the way of the pistol draw.

I am also going to run an Eagle Duty Triple Mag Pouch on a Blackhawk Duty/Web belt.

I also have a provision to run an Eagle subload thigh rig that has four M4 mags, if needed.

I'll get pics up when I get it together.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

i'm 6'2" 195 and have a eagle PC w/cummberbund. i think you'll have a difficult time at 215 fitting into this thing with plates. i had a callahan and would recommend that over all other for someone your size and requirements.

To avoid the "spare tire" effect, does the vest adjust in such a way that you could just put the mags in the internal pouches but only one deep instead of two, then wrap the cummberbund tighter around the sides to snug it up and take out the extra slack?

Not to hijack too badly, as I'm looking at the same rig for a PC.  I am wanting to place some pistol mag pouches support side top, but oriented sideways (mags pulled outwards from centerline).  Any pouches that will let me do that?

Get MOLLE pistol pouches and some MALICE clips. You should be able to accomplish what you want.

i've had the Wee for about a year, and used it heavily in classes and 3gun matches.  i like everything about it except the lack of Molle real-estate.  i am pretty small (5'9", 160ish) and it does not wrap around enough to allow any mounting on the sides, even though i leave the end mag pouch (internal) on each end empty.  
i am considering a Woo (whichever version is widest) or an Eagle PC w/cumberbund so i can get some pouches on the sides.  right now, when i have double mags in the internal pouches, over a plate, and then add to the front (pistol mag pouches, etc) i end up with pouches 6 inches out from my body.  makes prone a real bitch.
the Wee is NOT a good choice if you don't have plates in it....and it does loosen a lot as you deploy its contents (H20 in the back, mags in the front , etc...).
whichever rig i end up with i'll do a layer of TT single mag pouches and build on top of those as necessary, with my pistol mag pouches and med pouch tucked away to the sides.