Best lightweight Plate Carriers 2022 – Complete Buyer guide

Just like an outbreak, trends change our lifestyle entirely and in the modern world, trends change every day and we can easily follow them through the internet. Plate carriers have become a trend these days. They help you with a lot of different functions. Such as exercise, hunting, deployment, and whatnot.

Wearing a tactical plate carrier is not just a trend, it can even save your life at so many points. When you are on a battlefield, in a jungle hunting an animal or any such task, they come in handy and help you with everything by carrying all that extra weight for you and if not that, simply carrying all your basics.

They are always multipurpose, you can use plate carriers to shed some extra calories by using them with daily exercise and chores. For that particular function, lightweight plate carriers are the best among all. So we decided to gather some data on lightweight plate carriers and put them in one place.

Following are our findings for the best lightweight plate carriers that will help you find the perfect suit for you. 

Best lightweight Plate Carrier  Reviews

1. Rothco Lightweight Plate Carrier Vest

The Rothco lightweight utility vest is MOLLE which means that it can carry a lot of weight even though it is very light in weight it can still hold a lot of plates.

This particular system makes it easy for you to carry the vest. This lightweight plate carrier usually comes in one size that can be easily adjusted. 

The lightweights of the best provide maximum mobility and outcome of a task which provides you with enough confidence to perform and action for a longer period of time.

The Rothco vest has four pockets on the inside so you can put even more stuff in the vest. Another good thing is, more pouches can be added to it. 

The best vest CrossFit also comes with a zipper so it is easy to wear and take off enhancing the quality of the vest. The standing out feature of this lightweight plate carrier is that it comes with a hydration pack on the back where you can store a hydration bladder easily. Helping you stay on the battlefield without having to worry about water or supplies. 

2. GFIRE Tactical Vest

The GFIRE tactical modular vest is one of the lightweight vests. This vest has padded shoulders making it easy for you to perform in the field and also comes with loops and hooks so that you can adjust it snugly around your body.

The highly adjustable vest also comes with heavyweight molle webbing so that you can easily add extra material to it. Being light in weight and having the capacity of adding extra pouches and equipment makes this vest one of the best to have out there. The MOLLE setting provides more solidity and strength to the vest.  

There is a pocket in the front of the vest for putting maps and other accessories such as a cell phone. On the inner side of the vest, there is a waist strap. There is the internal lining on the vest with meshwork which enhances the feature of being light in weight making the vest highly breathable and comfortable to be in. 

3. WarTechGears Tactical Vest

The WarTechGears Tactical vest is yet another lightweight vest that is available in multiple colors. The vest comes with a buckle that can make it fit around your body according to your build making it highly adjustable. 

You can add bulletproof plates to this vest in order to make it bulletproof and the good thing about this vest is that it is very budget-friendly. This tactical vest can fit most of the magazine and pouches in. You can fit plates of different sizes in this tactical vest. The vest can easily hold many other things other than magazine pouches, such as knives, pistols, etc. 

This multifunctional WarTechGears tactical vest can also be used for simple exercising functions and you can wear it while doing different chores. As the vest is lightweight, the features make it easy for you to wear it around throughout the day. 

The vest also provides maximum mobility and can tolerate a very high weight as the stitching is really good which prevents the vest from wear and tear. The shoulder also comes already padded with the vest 

Things to Consider Before Buying Lightweight Plate Carrier:

In order to buy a vest that would suit well and serve your purpose in a battlefield and promise a maximum outcome, there are a few things that you have to consider. We have specifically searched and come up with a proper buying guide that would help you choose the vest you should buy for yourself.

Following are the things you need to consider:

• Weight
• Size
• Color
• Material
• Adjustability
• Shoulder pads
• Accessories
• Comfortability

Weight:

The first and foremost thing that you need to consider is the weight of the vest. Although, in this particular scenario you already know that you have to buy a lightweight vest so you just have to look for the lightweight vest and not the heavyweight ones.

We ensured that you won’t have to look around much through the internet and so for that, we accumulated the data and put it in one place.

Size:

The size of the plate carrier is very important as the size affects your performance. If the size is too small it won’t even fit you to start with but if the size is larger, you would continuously feel uncomfortable and won’t even be able to perform out in the field.

Usually, most of the vests come only in one size but there are a few that come in different sizes which is more convenient as you can see your size and go for that one. 

Color:

This actually entirely depends on you and the kind of work you have to perform. Normally there is a color code with the task forces that you work with and other than that there is a uniform specified color.

If not then the best color for you would be coyote tan as it blends in with the natural color of earth and helps you camouflage.

Exactly like that most of the hunting vests also come in camouflage colors that easily help you blend in with your environment preventing your enemy from seeing you coming, boosting your confidence in return, and helping you perform really good in the field. 

Material:

Material is one of the most important features of the plate carrier that you need to look for because if the material is not right then the plate carrier vest would tear really easily.

Especially in the case of a lightweight plate carrier looking out for material is really necessary it could be Cardura, oxford, or polyester, depending upon the brand that is making it and all these materials are really good preventing wear and tear and lasting longer no matter the use.

Also, you have to look at the material depending upon what you are planning on using the vest for because for daily chores and losing some extra pounds you do not need to spend all that money for good material.

Although in deployment you must not only look for the material but also look for the stitching. Nylon stitching is always preferable and makes sure the stitching doesn’t come out easily as the lightweight plate carrier vest has to hold a lot of weight. 

Adjustability:

This is yet another important feature to look for in a plate carrier vest because mainly everything depends upon adjustability, If the lightweight plate carrier is not adjusted properly then you won’t even be able to move properly.

The resistance in your movement would hinder your performance making you fail the task. So for that matter, you need to ensure that the vest comes with hooks, straps, and velcro so that you can adjust it easily and fit it snugly around your body. It’s a plus if a vest is easy to wear and take off. 

Shoulder pads:

Although it is an accessory and sometimes you have to buy them separately because they don’t come with a vest but they are highly necessary to have and mostly the vest comes with padding automatically. Having shoulder pads in your vest prevents you from starting your shoulders and unnecessary rashes. Making you perform for a longer time. 

Accessories:

A lightweight plate carrier vest with heavyweight webbing is just the perfect thing to have. You are working as a profession that is a law enforcement officer or a hunter because that would help you add a lot of extra accessories to your vest. If you want to maximize your performance, accessories are the way to go.

You can add a lot of accessories to your plate carrier vest, the accessories being extra pouches such as magazine pouches, and dump pouches if you are working in deployment.

Hydration Pouch if you are a hunter or someone who stays on the battlefield a lot. Shoulder pads have already been mentioned. Other accessories are cumberbund etc.

Comfortability:

For maximum functionality, compatibility is one of the most important features to have in a plate carrier vest. You can ensure that by the cloth material your vest is made of, webbing, and the adjustability. Usually, lightweight plate carrier vests are highly comfortable.

Webbing also makes a vest very comfortable. But looking for those extra features that make the plate carrier comfortable is necessary. Comoftaility also makes it breathable. 

FAQs:

1. How tight should a plate carrier be?

As it has already been mentioned in the buying guide that a plate carrier vest should fit you snugly in order to ensure maximum mobility and performance. If the fitting is even a little bit misplaced, that would cause hindrance in your performance. 

2. What color is coyote tan?

Coyote tan is a khaki color that is really good for a plate carrier vest as it helps you blend in with your environment. The color resembles the earth and catalogs you against your enemy which gives you a lot of edge over your enemy as the enemy would have a difficult time locating you and that would help you with your task such as during hunting if you blend in with the environment your prey won’t see you coming and you would be able to get your kill easily. 

3. Where should your plate carrier sit?

Normally, there is a rule for the position of the plate carrier and that rule says that the plate carrier should sit two fingers underneath your clavicle (collar bone) but it entirely depends on you where you want your plate carrier to be as some of the settings might hinder in your mobility so whatever position you are comfortable with should be the place you should adjust your lightweight plate carrier to be. 

4. How long do plate carriers last?

As we have already mentioned in our buying guide that the expiry of a plate carrier entirely depends on the cloth material and for what purpose you are using your plate carrier for. If the cloth material is good there is an already guarantee of 5-6 years depending on the use you can increase the expiry if you are wearing it on battlefields or for tasks that require you to carry more stuff then they might expire sooner than later. If not then using them for exercise or once in a while can increase their life for up to 7 years.

5. Are plate carriers bulletproof?

No, usually a plate carrier is not bulletproof. Although some have the feature of being converted into a bulletproof plate carrier vest and that depends on adding some bulletproof armor and bulletproof plates to the vest. But the vest also has to be able to bear the weight of the plates so it has to be specially made for that function. 

Conclusion: 

A plate carrier vest comes in two different weight qualities. One of them being lightweight and the other being heavyweight. Both are used to perform different functions. The lightweight ones are mainly used to perform tasks that do not require much danger. 

It is very difficult to figure out which plate carrier is lightweight and which is heavyweight so for that we decided to do that for you and add all the lightweight plate carries in one place. 

We have also added a buying guide so you won’t have difficulty figuring out what other features you need to look for other than the weight of the vest and so that you would be able to get what suits you the best. 

We hope you find what you are looking for and the vest suits you according to your build and the functions that you need it for. Please take a look at the guide before going for the vests. You never know you might find something very helpful.