So whilst billed by Emerson Gear as a vest this is technically a plate carrier, albeit a cut down one & a first for me. No stranger to procrastination when it comes to loadouts I’ve tried a fair few plate-carrier types over the years, being put off by the extra constraint & bulk that goes with them. Trying to balance the dichotomy of carrying everything needed for a day’s play with still being able to move quickly through any terrain has in many ways been the most challenging aspect of choosing a P.L.C.E. over the years.
I’ll be looking at capacity, build quality & how successfully the rig works “out of the bag”. I also go into some detail about how I’ve gone about customising it to work with my particular play style as well.
I fully intend to revisit this several months down the line to see how it has held up to punishment in the field.
Huge thanks to Stuart from our sponsors Fuji Airsoft for his patience while helping me to acquire this – please note – this in no way affects my review.
So what were my requirements when I decided to (yet again) revisit my rig?
I already have a comprehensive system built for the odd time I play CQB so first off, this has to fit my needs for long woodland games meaning 3-4 hours without returning to base. For me this is in the region of 1200 rounds in M4 platform midcaps; 6 PTS EPM1 250 round midcaps more than cover this with a lot of wriggle room.
It doesn’t take much of an excuse to switch to a sidearm – so on a separate belt I like to have whichever revolver suits that day & a 1911. Due to the comparatively low mag capacity I need a couple o spare 1911’s and the same in 6 shell speedloaders. On top of this I pack two blank firing grenades, some mark 5 thunderflashes, high energy snacks & water.
The whole think needs to be relatively low profile – anything too bulky will likely get tangled or worse, ripped off. Having managed to take the left hand side off a SAAV vest while crawling through brambles & vines the retention of anything in it also needs to be good.
Being able to silently & quickly change mags is also important. Velcro always seems to be deafeningly loud & I’ve left mags behind, returning to get them in the past rather than risk it. If I have to struggle getting an empty back in then … yep. I’ll just leave it rather than miss an opportunity.
..: Top to Bottom Overview :..
Rather than a full plate carrier the vest is basically a cut down version – removing the wrap around style molle which extends to above the hips and covering the back. This results in a much lighter rig which allows more freedom of movement & exposing more of your body to the outside world. In practical terms this affords less of physical barrier to heat exchange & obviously, to those painful shots to the side. For someone who prefers a much more mobile style anything which helps to keep your temperature down is a real boon. As with the rest of the vest each molle section is also covered in velcro so there’s more options for patches or attaching even more stuff.
On the front of the rig is a quick detach panel which is attached by two buckle harnesses. These are built with what seems to be a durable ABS which flexes where it needs to. On this panel are two pouches & these come with 3 stitched, velcro inserts. The first two are for 3 x 5.56mm magazines whilst the second is for 2 x 7.62. Whilst Emerson state that you can fit both the 5.56 inserts into the first pouch to hold 6 magazines I’m not entirely sure what they’re referring to here. I tried with metal style M4 midcaps & 4 different polymer M4 midcap variations. Its simply not possible.
You can however if you carefully place the inserts fit 3 in the first pouch & 3 in the second, so good for 6 magazines. I would also remove the attached velcro front flap on the left (it has been taken off in my photos) as its a fraction too tight with it.
Its a disappointing claim on Emerson’s part so be aware that you can’t squeeze any more in there. Six, without the flap however feels really good. The mags are a tight fit but I had no problems pulling out a full one & pushing in an empty during a firefight in a tangle of bracken. I’ve had no issues relating to retention or mags falling out in game either.
This initially led to me wondering how I would store my radio (the ubiquitous Baofeng uv-5r III) as obviously, pouch number 2 is now occupied. There’s 3 options here. There’s room for molle fastened storage on the top of the chest but its a really right fit in terms of space and for me at least it gets in the way.
The velcro panels on the front also allow you to attach extra pouches or a molle adapter, so this is an option. I found the profile on the chest was just right however for crawling or being led prone. This leads you to a third possibility – the cummerbund.
This replaces the traditional molle side panels with a strip of dual layer elasticated strap with pouch space sewn in. In the bottom centre of each of these “pockets” is an elastic loop to prevent items from slipping out. I keep the Baofeng in the rearmost & cable tie the wires to the earpiece & P.T.T. mic out of the way onto the back of the vest. The front most pocket on each side nicely fit a dynatex style blank firing grenade with the middle holding another M4 magazine. Everything is tucked nicely out of the way when you’re moving but close at hand so you can deploy them easily.
The pockets work really well in terms of keeping my items securely with the elastic pocket giving a strong enough grip to retain them firmly. They are not suitable for smaller items – such as pistol mags or mark 5 thunderflashes. I’ve attached a simple loop of paracord to the front two, with a split ring to ensure the pins don’t get lost after deploying an explosive.
Permanently attached to the panel underneath is the wonderfully termed “drop dangler”. It comes with a velcro attached insert shotgun shell holder which I’ve removed to maximise the space. This has two two zip closed compartments – one of which holds my 4 spare 1911 mags, the other speedloaders with shells for whichever revolver I’ve decided to carry that day.
I wear my holsters on a separate belt to my trousers just above my hips. This helps keep them out of the way better for crawling & running. The position of the vest with its cummerbund means I can access these easily without getting tangled & seat them exactly where is most comfortable to enable me to move quickly. I’ve found that plate carriers or vests which site pouches around your hips take away this choice meaning they end up digging in to you. There’s also room for me to run an additional dump pouch to the rear of one of the holsters to carry some food & potentially some ammo if I know I’ll be out for a full day.
The other advantage this has, aside from being considerably lighter & light is that it doesn’t compress or put weight onto my stomach. I suffer from extremely sensitive & painful insides thanks to colitis so this is fantastic.
Moving round to the back, we’ve got the same mix of velcro/molle. In this case, being again a cut down vest there are 4 molle slits plus another patch of velcro where the back straps of the cummerbund attach.
I really like the grab loop on the back which, especially with my post sepsis syndrome co-ordination/balance issues makes it much easier to get everything off. Staying upright whilst twisting or looking down is enough of a challenge as it is!
The last addition I’ve made is on this panel – an OPS hydration pack. It threads sturdily with no movement via molle and contains a generic 2.5 liter bladder. The OPS pack is rated compatible for 1.5 litre hydration bladders but if you fill the bladder in the pack it holds just under 2. This is about right for me if I’m playing a half day in 20°c or more. I normally fill it at the start of the day with water straight from the fridge and ice.
There’s a huge range of molle compatible packs & bladders available. The OPS pack is really well made, has a velcro patch space on it (perfect for “I’m your Huckleberry”) & offers a decent level of thermal insulation. Even playing for a full morning where the temperature hit 24°c the water was still pleasantly cold.
I really can’t overstate just how important having water on you is – you’ll be doing strenuous activity carrying more weight than you’re normally used to. Especially if you’re a particularly mobile player dehydration can & does kick in very quickly. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve witnessed players either flaking or desperately asking around to see if anyone has a water bottle they can blag a gulp from. Having water in a pack in your bag that you can just help yourself to at any point is both a brilliant performance enhancer & helps balance out the otherwise front heavy load.
If there’s just one piece of advice I’d give to anyone starting out in airsoft its that. Even in winter. Carry some fluids with you!
..: Build Quality & Conclusions :..
The overall construction is very high quality. I’ve not seen any of the loose stitching or poorly finished seams that are present in many other brands. The vest as a whole is constructed out of official MultiCam pattern ripstop/water resistant Cordura. The zips are YKK and as mentioned earlier, the buckles seem to be very well made. I haven’t as of yet identified any weak points or possible areas that seem prone to failure. The vest came out looking good as new after a very intense bramble/gorse crawl followed by rolling around in bracken.
In terms of the dummy plates, I’ve not had them out yet. They’re made of light PVC and give a good rigidity to the Emerson rig whilst still having enough give to adapt to your body shape. The lining is made of a soft, breathable polyester which is comfortable and much less of a sweat bucket as a result.
I don’t know if any rig will ever be perfect – i.e. weigh next to nothing, have a very low profile & able to carry the moon on a stick – but right now this feels as close to getting there as I’m going to get.
Speed of access to magazines is absolutely superb – so much better than ammo pouches/pockets & being able to put my holsters where I want them is a real treat. Playing with sidearms is a big part of my playstyle & enjoyment so its great that this doesn’t get in the way.
Despite the carrying capacity being less than Emerson clearly think, you can still fit a lot of stuff in this. My full loadout, sat in the vest without any additions is as follows :
- 6 x M4 midcaps (space for a further 3 in cummerbund)
- 2 x CO₂ 1911 mags
- 6 x Wingun 6mm speedloaders or 8mm Marushin loaders
- 2 x 9mm/12 gauge blank firing grenades, priming rod, spare blanks
- Baofeng uv-5r III (attached to molle holder on back
- 5 mark 5 thunderflashes
- 2 lkitres water (in molle camelbak clone on back)
Normally, I only carry the 6 mags upfront as with approximately 1500 rounds plus sidearms I’m easily covered for a morning or afternoon’s play. Its nice to have the option to take off and nuke the site from orbit though!
Adding a dump pouch lets me carry a full Odin speedloader & food. Given the lack of restriction at waist height, there is also should you need it, the option of employing a belt rig as well.
In conclusion then, this is an exceptionally well made & comfortable solution to the age old airsoft problem of carrying all the gubbins you need. At least in my case, it has replaced a bulky & cumbersome SAAV vest. Its a relatively compact, snag free way of keeping my stuff with me without it getting tangled up in the stupid situations I find myself in.
If you don’t need the extra protection of a full plate system or the extra carrying capacity (GBB rifles & support types here’s looking at you) then it’s highly recommended.
A caveat should be added here that it is highly recommended for bosomless airsofters. The presence of bosoms means that the location of the chest area & cummerbund may become problematic. I’d suggest that you should consult your bosoms first before committing to it.
Fraggle, June 2024 🐾
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