Post by SWAT A4 on Aug 20, 2006 15:11:33 GMT -5
Condor Plate Carrier
Written by: SWATA4, Amplified Airsoft
www.AmpAir.net
Bought from: www.EmpireAirsoft.com
Price: $200 complete
Written by: SWATA4, Amplified Airsoft
www.AmpAir.net
Bought from: www.EmpireAirsoft.com
Price: $200 complete
Introduction:
Before you start reading this review, I want to make sure you realize that this is not your normal tactical vest. This is a plate carrier, and is not as mobile, nor comfortable as a regular tactical vest, however condor did make it as comfortable as it can be. I would not suggest this vest for any type of CQB that involves diving, rolling, or staying extremely low the the ground/crawling. My first time using it for outdoor CQB, AKA "Paintsoft" was a little rough when I had the plates in it.
General Overview:
Here is a picture of the front of the vest:
Obviously, you can see that it's a molle type vest, and is by all means modular. The front goes straight accross, and does not drop down near your neck area, which I like a lot. This gives you a lot more added space compared to other vests.
Here is a picture of the back of the vest:
Again, it's also very large, and the molle webbing goes accross the entire back of the vest, no space wasted, making it very modular. I went with the setup of a camelbak© and two modular dump pouches. This does not affect my mobility in any way, and it keeps my back pretty empty for leaning on walls in CQB, and trying to stay low to the ground in wooded areas.
Durability:
Durability problem will never be a concern of mine about this vest, it's constructed of heavy weight webbing, and this vest has a nice feel to it. The wright is perfect, you can tell it has some strenth to it.
One main thing I do like a lot about the vest is that you will hear your hits if your shot. It has a nice material to it, and when a bb impacts on it, you hear it the majority of the time. The entire vest is pretty thick, it's not a flimsy little tactical vest, this thing reminds me more of a thin life jacket.
Size:
The vest is a "one size fits all" and it's very adjustable. I'm 6'1, and about 145 pounds. It fits me heightwise, but I need to gain a little bit of weight. The ouside of the vest is pretty huge once you put all the pouches on and the plates in. It's very adjustable, almost the entire vest is velcro! Everything from them shoulder straps, the the waist, to the inside elastic strap.
The adjustable shoulder straps are made of a very nice non slip material. It almost feels like texturized rubber, but it's very comfortable because it's padded. On the other side, there is velcro, so it is very adjustable, and then there is a strap and buckle to lock it in place where you want, so you know it will not slip, or fall off of you.
What do you know? The inside elastic straps are all velcro too! This is a very good setup, because once you get it as tight as you can with the velcro, you can still move around fine, because of the fact that there is an elastic spacer that will expand and contract when you need it to.
Plate & Plate Pouch:
There is an internal pouch that you can nicely slide armor plates in. This gives the vest a nice added strength to it, A little less comfortable, but a nice smooth plate is better than magazines and other things jabbing in to you.
The plates I bought are a little too small, but not too bad. Even the large plates don't fit it perfectly, So I actually made my own out of cardboard, and black ducttape! A little ghetto, I know. This is airsoft, and not real combat, so I can get away with that.
Features:
What I really like about this vest, is that it has velcro strips on the front and back so that you can attach velcro nametags/tapes easily. Very convenient for medic roles, teams, or callsigns. Some of the molle gear also uses velcro, so it pretty much has to be on there for that reason too.
Something that I didn't even know existed in this vest until I got suspicious and checked on line was that it has 4 M4 mag pouches built in to it! It has a nice elastic strap to hold them in place, but at the same time, ery easy to take them out.
They give the vest a nice sturdy feel as well, it's both tactical, and practical.
I accidently found an internal pouch when I was adjusting the vest. It's meant for keys, a cellphone, money, what ever you want! It's in a VERY safe place, and is zipped up and sewn tightly. Not to mention it's under the elastic strap, between the velcro, and under the entire vest. It will stay dry, they won't fall out, impact shouldnt break anything, and best of all, you know where it's at, you don't have to spend 20 minutes trying to find out which pouch it is in...... However.... you will have to spend quiote some time ungearing to get to it, because it's in an awkward place if you need to get to it. It's handy if you don't need to get anything out during the game.
Pouches:
The molle pouches attach very nicely. They are very secure, and I trust them not to fall off as long as they are secured tightly. Being completely modular, you can put pouches anywhere, but I put one m4 mag pouch on, just to show how nice it attaches.
If you take the lazy way out and attach a pouch without weaving it through the pouch and the vest, your pouches can fall off, speaking from personal experience. Make sure you weave it through, it's very simple, and they attach nicely.
What I really like about condor and molle, is the wide variety of pouches there are out on the market. I bought this utility/dump pouch. It holds 6 M4 mags comfortably. It does not have to be used in this way though, it can be used for anything. I already have m4 mag pouches, so I do not use it in that way.
This pouch is quite neat, being that is has a snap in elastic top so that you can use it as a dump pouch or whatever you want, and don't have to worry about anything falling out, especially when you pull your hand back out. It hugs everything very nice and tight.
Not only does it have velcro to secure the flap closed, but it also has a button snap as well. There are two for different size adjustments. I don't find it very convenient to snap it, but that's ok because of the ammount of velcro securing it.
I bought a shotgun pouch, not because I use a shotgun, but because it makes for a nice little pouch for anything. You can hold maps, radios, keys, etc. It can easily hold an 8.4 large battery pack!
I also bought a dual pistol mag pouch, this is a must have item if you use a pistol. It's very large, so it should hold some pretty big mags, while still holding smaller mags securely. It has a unique setup, so you pull a strap, and it open from the back, this way it can't just open by itslef, and nothing can plop out.
A must have for all airsofters... A camelbak©. Well, now where do you put it? How do you keep it cold? Simple solution. Buy the molle hydration carrier, this comes in different sized to fit your needs perfectly. It will keep it off your back, keeping the temperature to remain a little more constant and being that it's in a sperate pack, it should remain cold/warm longer. It's also made of molle webbing, so you can attach more pouches to that if you need!
Pros and Cons:
PRO's:
- Very Comfortable
- Very convenient
- Adjustable
- Practical & Tactical
- Modular
- One Size Fits All
- Velcro everywhere
- Neat pockets internally
- Plate Carrier
- Looks awesome
- Extremely Durable
Con's:
- Mobile, but not flexible with plates in.
- Bulky, Not exactly a CQB vest.
- Size will fit very large people, but not very thin people.
Conclusion:
For the money, I actually would say it was worth it. It was $200 complete, but if you buy the platform, and then one pouch here or there, it won't seem bad. The platform is $80, expensive? You are getting what you pay for.
This is a quality vest, all the materials used are heavy duty. Using it as a plate carrier is not very comfortable at times, but if you take the plates out, it's extremely comfortable, Makes me want to sleep in it.
Now that, is one uncomfortable rig...
. I love these things. If your a small person I wouldnt recommend it. Ive tried on real and replica PCs and they're bulky and quite large. Definatly not made for skinny people.