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Plate Carrier Sizing Large or Medium?


ShakingBanana

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Hi All,

 

Looking to get a new plate carrier in the next few days. I've decided on the make and model but I'm not sure which size to choose, medium or large? Can anyone offer any help on the situation, is one more advantageous than the other? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards

 

Jack

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Posting a link of what carrier will be handy. Typically medium or large refers to the size of SAPI plate that they will take. 
 

Measurements for each size of plate can be found here: http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?61350-SIZE-CHART-TO-CHOOSE-SIZE-OF-SAPI-PLATE 

 

It seems often people seem to suggest, if you wear Medium in BDU shirts, then go for a medium plate.

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The plate carrier I'm set on is a Blue Force Gear PLATEminus, (measurements can be found at the bottom of the page http://www.tactical-kit.co.uk/blue-force-gear-plateminus-mm-plate-1-12353-p.asp) I don't wear a BDU top but I'm usually an XL as I'm quite tall and have broad shoulders. I'm mostly concerned about a dummy plate being too big and restricting my movement.

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Large is for marines and very fat people.

 

Medium is for regular folk.

 

My mate bought a large Flyye PC and that is bloody enourmous on him and hes 6ft3 and broad but skinny.

 

Im 6ft4, broad and bigger but the large is still enourmous. Medium fits great but I think even a small may have been better

 

Why you wearing dummy plates?

 

 

on my phone, my spelling will suck

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I've got a plate minus in medium and its just wide enough to fit a BFG 10 speed triple M4 on the front so a DC3 may be a bit wide for the front of the plate minus, that's the only issue I could see https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152317702845872&set=t.100001814237444&type=3&theater im on the left but that shoul;d give you an idea of the size.

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I've got a plate minus in medium and its just wide enough to fit a BFG 10 speed triple M4 on the front so a DC3 may be a bit wide for the front of the plate minus, that's the only issue I could see https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152317702845872&set=t.100001814237444&type=3&theater im on the left but that shoul;d give you an idea of the size.

 

Thanks Pdubyuh, very helpful to see the realworld sizing. It's my main concern that the medium will be too small for the DC3. I spoke to a chap who runs both together and he has a large platminus so I'm a little confused. From what I can tell, the large size is only an inch or so bigger in width and height so it might be well suited to the DC3. Hmmm...

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Plate carriers are usually sized based on the plate that they accept.

 

A lot of companies make plate carriers in size S/M (accepts small and medium SAPIs) and L/XL (accepts large and extra large SAPIs). A few companies produce S, M, L, XL plate carriers to suit each SAPI size, but most combine (S/M, L/XL).

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I think thats the way to go the DC3 is at least 4 mags wide and i think that the medium would be too slim and you'd have quite a lot of the chest rig hanging over the sides.  Either way i'm sure you'll love it its so light and flexible but bombproof at the same time.

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Pretty much all high end companies size their PCs based on the plates that said PC takes, I've not run in to any that don't.  The difference between an M and an L is pretty minimal, with most modern designs you don't gain any PALS/MOLLE columns when going up a size, so at a glance the two sizes are rather hard to tell apart.  However in this instance to say you can make a Medium bigger but can't make a Large smaller is completely incorrect as the side straps on both sizes have a wide range of adjustment in both directions.

 

Seeing as you're looking at the version 1 PLATEminus (the version 2 has more of a cummerbund) you will have a fair amount of your D3CR hanging over either side of the front plate regardless of buying an M or an L (but that's not actually a problem, it's entirely expected).  Also since the PLATEminus has nothing but some thin straps on the sides (as opposed to the conventional PALS cummerbund) so you'd have to run the swift-clip straps from the D3CR all the way to your back and I'm not sure that commercial options would reach, especially if you wear an XL shirt.   IMHO, the version 1 BFG PC is neither designed nor particularly suited for mounting modular chest rigs/placards to the front of it.  The Mayflower APC (which is what you see on most pictures on the HSP website where they've mounted a D3CR to a PC) and various offerings from Velocity Systems are setup specifically for this sort of usage and all you'd need to buy is a Mayflower Swift-clip kit to get the chest rig solidly mounted.  Given that the PLATEminus has lots of holes in it, there's a good chance there'll end up being a gap where you'd want to attach the 2 vertical buckles for mounting the D3CR and it may not even be feasible at all.

 

I've no idea how the guy you spoke to has managed to mount the D3CR (you sure he doesn't just wear it over the top?) but even if it were possible and easy, I'd still not recommend it as my experience with hypalon (the material the PLATEminus is made of) on gear has shown it to be quite poor as far as resilience to tearing goes.  I think the clips mounting the chest rig would likely rip through the PC in a comparatively short time frame.

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I can understand your concerns CKinnerly, mounting a DC3 to a plateminus does present some issues. The way I have chosen to do it, is to use two QASM vertical connectors to secure the top of the DC3. Then, as you have rightly said, the commercial swift clips kit would be too short to reach around to the back, so I'm going to make my own. I'm going to make four adjustable straps to link the DC3 to the rear of the plateminus. I've had quite a bit of sewing experience with cordua so it shouldn't be too difficult. Then I'll put the detachable velcro backing from the DC3 behind the plateminus' "molle" and the big gaps should give a stronger bond between the two.

 

As for the concerns about the durability of the plateminus material, I've done quite a bit of research and this is the first I've heard of it. This guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvGp5d2Rnn4) did a short video testing how strong the material was and he didn't have any complaints. It's a composite material, made of a combination of cordua and hypalon and according to blue force gear's website (https://www.blueforcegear.com/ultracomp.html) is more abrasion resistant, tear resistant and has higher tensile strength than 1000D cordua. Now I know you shouldn't believe everything you read, especially from someone who is trying to sell you something but it genuinely appears to be true. Have you owned any BFG stuff that's failed on you?

 

I have looked at the rigs you've suggested but there's something about the plateminus I really like.

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I bought a Flyye pc in medium, fit fine. A mate bought one in large and it had an extra 2/3 molle either side. To the point that on its tighest selection it was bulging out at the sides. I had to had new eyelets into the back strap on each side.

 

on my phone, my spelling will suck

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I can understand your concerns CKinnerly, mounting a DC3 to a plateminus does present some issues. The way I have chosen to do it, is to use two QASM vertical connectors to secure the top of the DC3. Then, as you have rightly said, the commercial swift clips kit would be too short to reach around to the back, so I'm going to make my own. I'm going to make four adjustable straps to link the DC3 to the rear of the plateminus. I've had quite a bit of sewing experience with cordua so it shouldn't be too difficult. Then I'll put the detachable velcro backing from the DC3 behind the plateminus' "molle" and the big gaps should give a stronger bond between the two.

 

As for the concerns about the durability of the plateminus material, I've done quite a bit of research and this is the first I've heard of it. This guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvGp5d2Rnn4) did a short video testing how strong the material was and he didn't have any complaints. It's a composite material, made of a combination of cordua and hypalon and according to blue force gear's website (https://www.blueforcegear.com/ultracomp.html) is more abrasion resistant, tear resistant and has higher tensile strength than 1000D cordua. Now I know you shouldn't believe everything you read, especially from someone who is trying to sell you something but it genuinely appears to be true. Have you owned any BFG stuff that's failed on you?

 

I have looked at the rigs you've suggested but there's something about the plateminus I really like.

 

Not having a dig here, but there's a few flaws in your plan.

 

I can't be 100% as I don't own the gear in question, but based on simple calculations using the common dimensions of mag pouches and the PALS system, it seems quite highly likely that the vertical connecting buckles on the D3CR will sit right where there are gaps in the PLATEminus; the first set of vertical columns in the hypalon to which the QASM buckles could be mounted are quite far in from the edges of the carrier.  Have a look at the pictures on the Haley Strategic website and you'll see how close to the edge of the PC those clips end up being when mounted.  I think best case scenario the buckles will be bending inwards at quite an angle, but it's entirely possible it won't be feasible at all without you making custom mounting pieces for the QASMs.  On top of that, the vertical pieces in the hypalon grid are a fair bit narrower than the webbing that other companies use for buckle mounting, so even if this did work the buckles would be loose/generally not secure in their attachment.  Plus you'll be losing quite a substantial percentage of the velcro surface area.

 

If you've already got the equipment and know-how you'd be much better off sewing PALS attachment straps to the back of the supplied loop panel; that would provide more security.  Though I think given the bare-bones nature of the PLATEminus the whole setup could well be very saggy and unruly regardless of what you do in terms of mounting at the front.  It'll certainly slide down and cause your back panel to ride all the way up once the chest rig is full of gear unless you're only running electric gun mags and putting at least 2 litres of water on your back (or equivalent, plus more potentially) then not drinking that water.  The lack of a conventional cummerbund will exacerbate this.

 

Assuming you elect to delete the side straps on the PC itself, you'll still have 4 straps on your sides to buckle up overall (though obviously only two if you lift the rig off over your head and go to one side) which to me personally sounds like a fuss having used FirstSpear PCs for years, but obviously that's a personal preference if you don't mind doing that/don't take your rig on and off much.

 

As to the strength of the stuff, I've not been particularly impressed.  Over the past 3 years or so (or whenever it was they first released helium whisper) I've picked up a lot of BFG pouches that use the hypalon backers, along with having numerous other brands of pouches, chest rigs, PCs and other items that use the material.  My experience has been rather different to the claims manufacturers make and I know I'm not the only one in that boat.  I've found it to be a fair bit less resistant to tearing and abrasion than even 500D and most certainly when compared to any type of webbing.  BFG attachment straps when mounted on a FirstSpear PC exhibited cuts and wear points after maybe 7-8 average sunday skirmishes where the edges of the laser cut holes rubbed against them.  When you bear in mind the attachment straps are completely shielded from exterior abrasion by being sandwiched between the platform and the main body of the pouch, combined with the comparatively light usage, this isn't a good sign and if you buy a BFG pouch from a recent production batch you'll see they've now begun to laminate the hypalon with cordura on all their backers.

 

I bought a Flyye pc in medium, fit fine. A mate bought one in large and it had an extra 2/3 molle either side. To the point that on its tighest selection it was bulging out at the sides. I had to had new eyelets into the back strap on each side.

 

Not sure why that's relevant?  We're not discussing Flyye and as I've said, most modern, high-end manufacturers of real-world usage gear do not use the model of larger plate size = more PALS columns these days; quite the opposite.  Blue Force Gear included in that. I can list out a bunch of examples if you really wish; FirstSpear for one - S, M and L PCs are all the exact same in terms of PALS columns, only the numbers of rows increase in some instances (I've not seen an XL to my knowledge but I've never seen an 8 column PC from them in the past 2-3 years of buying their stuff and following all their media).  The fact is Flyye are a brand that, to a large extent, clones old and often comparatively obsolete designs and doesn't always copy things 100% either.

 

Even if the PLATEminus did have more columns with a Large plate (and I'm yet to see such a thing) the adjustment straps will remain the same and if the wearer buys an XL shirt they'll have no problem at all wearing a PC of those dimensions.

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I don't see you as having a dig CKinnerley, it sounds like you have a lot of expereince and I appreciate you sharing it with me. I worked hard to save up the money for this and I want to make sure I'm not wasting my money on something that won't last a year or be fit for purpose.

 

The project I had in mind is complicated and I'm not sure it will really pay off. The more I think about it, the more doubts I have.You talk a lot about First Spear PCs, would you recommend them over other brands?

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The problem with the PLATEminus is that it's really designed more as a purely low-pro carrier of armour that happens to also accept some modular pouches; in a sport where you don't need armour but will probably want a fair few pouches it isn't ideal.  It can still work and if you set it up within its' specific limiations it's a very nice, light and slim carrier; but it's not suited for carrying loads of kit.  Attachment of chest rigs and modular placards á la the PIG Brig PC, Mayflower/Velocity Systems options and LBX Armatus is best done with a more traditional style, all-cordura rig.

 

It's my opinion that in a money-no-object scenario the FirstSpear PCs are the 'best' all around options available without going down the custom route.  But unless you get really lucky on ebay or something (as I did once, so it is technically possible) you'll not get one for anything close to the £175 the PLATEminus costs; you're talking somewhere between double and triple that price.  Though you've not mentioned your budget so obviously I don't know what you want to spend.

 

What will be the 'best' option will depend on whether you really want to run a PC with the D3CR mounted on the front or not.  It's not something I've ever wanted to do as I don't like all my stuff being stacked up on my front like that, but if you do then that particular need would be best served by an APC or Vel Sys PC (I think the OPS 'EASY' PC is also compatible and they're comparatively cheap and easily obtainable).  I had an adapter kit custom made recently that when combined with a swift-clip kit would allow secure mounting of a D3CR to a FirstSpear plate carrier, but buying all that lot in one go would cost at least £700 (at my rough estimation) and take a long time to get together.  You can get the PIG STT from SKD Tac which is very similar though, or add a FirstSpear upgrade cummerbund to pretty much any standard PALS PC if you wanted the specific features and capabilities that FirstSpear carriers have.  However that's all expensive options and you'd want to take some time to research the FS gear for yourself.

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