Originally Posted by
ihocky2
Thank you all again. After putting some time in looking for multi curve and eliminating the steel I wound up ordering a set of Level IV from Chase. I forget the model number, but it is ceramic and multi curve and I verified it on the NIJ certified list. They only ran about $15 or $20 more than the L210 and was not much heavier. For the extra protection a few dollars was not a hard decision.
Now I am on the hunt for a plate carrier. Trying not to break the bank but I don't want junk. Had a few early that looked promising but reviews on here pointed out a few things I would have missed that turned me off to them. The biggest challenge for me is that I am used to good hiking or day bags with good padding that helps with air flow. A lot of the mid-priced don't seem to have that. The ones that do I have to sacrifice other areas. Luckily this site has a lot of information already stored for searching and there are a ot of places out there selling carriers. I'll find the right one eventually.
Good to see some common sense won out. Triple curve is generally always a better choice than single, and if you can get more protection for a minimal extra outlay of cash and weight, it's worth it.
I know it's very tempting to look at it from the "budget" angle and then try to justify it by the old standby of "well, I won't be wearing it every day/all the time/very much/etc", but that's false economy. As the saying goes, any damn fool can be uncomfortable, and there is nothing more useless than gear you never intend to use.
Because the pernicious thought is already in your head that way, and then when you get out there to train, and you're sore and miserable after two hours, and it's impacting your ability to shoot/move effectively, you will go home, put it in the closet, and NEVER train with it again... justifying that apathy because "Well, I'll probably never need to wear it much anyway, and I'll be able to handle the excessive weight/discomfort/etc when the time comes."
You want to try to get to a place where the thought of putting all your extra gear on to go train is at least a little exciting to look forward to... not an "aw geez, I guess I'll throw it on for a couple drills" thing.
Now, on to your plate carrier;
It's frankly less about your plate cut (A carrier cut for standard SAPI will still fit Swimmer), and more about your plate size, and how overt you want to be.
If you have Med plates, get a Med carrier; don't try to oversize it. You want the closest fit to your plates as possible; the less "slosh" your plate has in the plate bags, the better your carrier will fit you, and the happier and more comfortable you'll be.
Then we come to profile, and this has to do directly with comfort.
Simply put; plate carriers aren't hiking packs. They have minimal padding, they fit close, they are uncomfortable, you WILL be hot and sweaty. That being said... you can minimize this, but at the cost of weight/profile and price.
More padding = more comfy = "fatter" profile + mo moneh + more weight
Less padding = lower profile/more concealable= usually less money - less breathability/comfort + less weight
Now on the flip side, sometimes the inverse is true, *based on weight*; sometimes a more "barebones" carrier, when paired with a light loadout can actually be more comfortable and "agile" than a fully padded carrier with the same loadout...
If you are going to stick a 'two-radio, 8 mag, 8lb-per-plate, maxxed out IFAK, zip-on back panel' sort of loadout on like, a JPC... just don't. Get a carrier made to handle more weight 
The "I can plus it up later" thing only goes so far with ultra-light carriers, so PLAN your intended loadout (and maybe even get a little feedback here or elsewhere on it) BEFORE you decide on the carrier type you need/want. IF you are not sure what to put on the carrier... again, ask away.
That being said, avoid like the plague any carrier that has a syl-nylon-ish (non cordura/non padded) backing; it will stick to you like a wet plastic bag, unless you add something like an Armorvent kit... which then will up your profile (IF that matters to you)
Per "thickness", the thickness of your plate + your plate bags + your front/rear loadout will determine this. TL/DR it's not just about conceal ability under clothing, it's also about going prone/crawling/using cover. Frankly, I think some people obsess over this a little to much. BUT, if you're going to have thick-ass plates + a lot of padding + triple-stacked mags up front... you'll probably 'get it' pretty quick. Or at least, most non-bubba people will.
ALSO- thicker shoulder pads are not the answer to all life's weight bearing questions when wearing a PC. The right *type* of pads + good carrier design is the solution. That being said, weight sitting on your shoulder is weight sitting on your shoulders, doesn't matter if you bought $100 shoulder pads, eventually that shit will just get heavy.
Even worse, sometimes fatter/'stiffer' pads just make things worse. So I guess what I'm saying is, don't let the shoulder pads that come with the carrier dictate how much comfort you think you'll get. You can swap them later.
ALSO 2.0 - Price isn't always everything; just because you have $500 to spend on a carrier doesn't mean you need to buy a $500 carrier when a $250 one will do everything you need.
Now, once you've got an intended loadout worked out and you've got an overall weight estimate + your plates... what sort of $$$ budget are we talking about for the PC?
Last edited by Jellybean; 06-09-20 at 12:17.
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