School me on plate carriers

[Jedabug92]

taking a course in a few months, they recommend a way to carry extra mags, soooooo i figure time to get a rig together. I am stuck on the idea of a plate carrier so I can add plates later.

what i want, hold 6 ar mags, 6 pistol mags, and a water bladder on the back, im unsure if i want the pistol mounted on the vest or not
I like the Condor Operator 2

any help and or ideas?

 

[aestus]

If you have to go cheap, I would recommend AR500 carriers over anything made from Condor http://www.ar500armor.com/plate-carriers/plate-carriers-en.html

That will be a good starting off point with good quality carrier (for great price) for you to run with before you figure out what you really want and how you want to carry your system.

What you'll find in classes is setups you think you like end up sucking because mags are in the way, or pouches get in the way or get caught up with your sling, ect. Once you really figure out what you want, then you can save up for a better system from Eagle Industries, LBT, ect.

 

[Hump66]

Only thing I see about the AR500 ones is they don't specify what nylon they use. That's a no-go for me. Stay away from condor. Far away. I'd have to ask also, why do you want so many mags on it?

 

[Jedabug92]

Only thing I see about the AR500 ones is they don't specify what nylon they use. That's a no-go for me. Stay away from condor. Far away. I'd have to ask also, why do you want so many mags on it?

Why is condor so bad?
And who ever said that they had too much ammo on hand?

From my sniper hide

 

[aestus]

Why is condor so bad?
And who ever said that they had too much ammo on hand?

From my sniper hide

I thought I read from a review that they're atleast 500 count, but could be wrong. I know they get some very positive reviews by people who I typically would call very 'picky' gear heads who typically won't consider anything less than bombproof or doesn't have Eagle or similar in the name.

 

[aestus]

Why is condor so bad?
And who ever said that they had too much ammo on hand?

From my sniper hide

They're made cheaply in China and have QC issues. You might get something from Condor that is well built and will last a long time, or you may get something that just falls apart on you. Some of the stuff put out from Condor has very low thread count and are mainly gear for a static range. They do have some stuff I've seen in the 500 count + thread counts though. Their stuff comes from the same factory as NC Star stuff. A lot of the lower tier tactical equipment all look and operate the same because they are the same. Same Chinese factory just with a different logo and price based on what that brand name can demand.

Their designs are based on the 'lowest common denominator' that the factory producing them sells to everyone else in the lower tiers before those companies rebrands them. That means if a design is particularly weak on a specific seam that is prone to breaking or wearing, they won't update the designs to fix it unless they are ready to do it for all their OEM brands. This is opposite of what Eagle Industries and similar companies where they are constantly making tweaks and changes based on a history of usage and failure points. A particular model today could be different with different stitching compared to the same model bought 3 years ago.

With that said, if you don't really put more than 200 rounds in a range session and are lucky to put in 1 range time a month then Condor / NC Star might be good enough (QC issues aside.) If you're doing hardcore multi-day classes where you're rolling in the dirt and pumping out 2k rounds ,ect. then you'll find some of the Condor type gear being shredded up really fast.

 

[Permanent37]

Why is condor so bad?
And who ever said that they had too much ammo on hand?

From my sniper hide

Condor is airsoft stuff.

 

[Jedabug92]

They're made cheaply in China and have QC issues. You might get something from Condor that is well built and will last a long time, or you may get something that just falls apart on you. Some of the stuff put out from Condor has very low thread count and are mainly gear for a static range. They do have some stuff I've seen in the 500 count + thread counts though. Their stuff comes from the same factory as NC Star stuff. A lot of the lower tier tactical equipment all look and operate the same because they are the same. Same Chinese factory just with a different logo and price based on what that brand name can demand.

Their designs are based on the 'lowest common denominator' that the factory producing them sells to everyone else in the lower tiers before those companies rebrands them. That means if a design is particularly weak on a specific seam that is prone to breaking or wearing, they won't update the designs to fix it unless they are ready to do it for all their OEM brands. This is opposite of what Eagle Industries and similar companies where they are constantly making tweaks and changes based on a history of usage and failure points. A particular model today could be different with different stitching compared to the same model bought 3 years ago.

With that said, if you don't really put more than 200 rounds in a range session and are lucky to put in 1 range time a month then Condor / NC Star might be good enough (QC issues aside.) If you're doing hardcore multi-day classes where you're rolling in the dirt and pumping out 2k rounds ,ect. then you'll find some of the Condor type gear being shredded up really fast.

Yea the class is 2 days and almost 1k rounds.

From my sniper hide

 

[MrShooter]

You want a PIG plate carrier. http://www.skdtac.com/PIG-Plate-Carrier-p/pig.502.htm

If you get plates later get the AR500 stuff. They're 10% off right now.

 

[aestus]

Yea the class is 2 days and almost 1k rounds.

From my sniper hide

Again, your budget and immediacy of need determines what you should buy. If you can get the Condor now and it's all you can afford, then be sure to research on which model to buy with a high thread count and use it in training. You'll learn a lot about the gear and what works or what you hate about the Condor and you'll know better what you want later when you upgrade. Unless you really just got a lemon, the Condor should last you through the class (maybe even a few more after this too). Just understand that there's a reason why Condors are $100 and Eagle Industries and other top tiers are almost 3 times + that in cost, heh.