Before we get into how a plate carrier should fit we need to talk about a plate carrier. Since you are visiting this page, that means you definitely know what a plate carrier is but maybe you are new to using a plate carrier or yours simply doesn’t fit so in order to wear it properly you need to consider a few things before actually buying a plate carrier for yourself.
Things to Consider Before Buying Plate Carrier
- Size.
- Price.
- Weight.
- Cloth material.
- Accessories.
- Shoulderpads.
- Extra straps, zipper, and velcro.
As this is not a buying guide, we won’t be elaborating on what to look for in these things. All you need to know is, you should have an adjustable plate carrier with all the things mentioned above according to what suits you best.
Once you have looked for all these things, you also need to check if it provides maximum mobility because some plate carrier that does not fit you properly can cause hindrance in your mobility so you need to check that beforehand and finally you need to see if it is worth the price that you are about to invest it.
Now that we have all that out of the way, we will be talking about how to fit a plate carrier around your body once you have successfully bought it.
Table of Contents
1. Fitting:
As we have already mentioned that you need to look for the size that fits you best and then you have to look for straps and zippers. These are the things that are absolutely necessary for perfect fitting.
A strap is usually located on the shoulder that can adjust the shoulder according to your needs and one is also located on your torso which helps the vest fit snugly around your body.
You can also adjust the zipper to make your vest light to wear and breathable. Velcro plays the best role as it is super easy to adjust and helps you close your vest as tight as you want.
Fitting is important for a lot of reasons, it provides you protection from the outer environment and helps you be mobile. It helps you stay focused on your mission.
2. What are you going to carry on your vest:
We mentioned buying accessories in the plate carrier, which are good for you because they not only enhance your chances of safety they also help you perform well.
For the fitting, you need to adjust your accessories according to your body stature and build. You need to ensure equal weight distribution overall so that gravity does not hinder your performance and other than that you need to ensure you are putting the right thing in the right place so you can grab whatever you want in a time of crisis.
You can add a lot of things such as dump pouch, hydration packs, etc. All depending on what kind of task you need these for.
3. Use of pouches:
You need to study your mission and see how you are going to perform in it and according to that, you need to adjust your plate carrier vest. You need to practice, which part is easy to access and which part is difficult.
Figure out if there are any hidden compartments in your plate carrier vest and what you need to do with them. You would also need to figure out where to put what. You also need to ensure that the cloth material is strong enough to carry the extra weight that you add to it.
The magazines usually go on the front and dump pouches are on your back. Some of the vests come with pistol pouches on the front. There are some extra pockets as well which you need to see what to put in them or what is the most important thing that you would need for your mission such as maps and scales.
4. Keep it clean:
One of the most important things is to keep your vest clean and make sure that the items you have put in are also clean. As sweating is common in a plate carrier vet so cleaning from time to time is highly important or it would mess up your mission. Cleaning items such as flashlights is also necessary as it would ensure that all your items are ready and won’t bail out on you during your mission.
5. Keeping things balanced:
As we have already mentioned, equilibrium is a very important thing in a vest because if it is not equal on both sides, the gravity pull can make it difficult to walk straight or perform your task properly. So, you need to ensure that the weight distribution is equal and most of the plates that you add should preferably be in the middle.
Conclusion:
Buying a plate carrier is a difficult task but an even more difficult task is maintaining your plate carrier. You need to take a few necessary steps to ensure that it lasts long.
Other than maintaining, you have to know how to function best in your plate carrier and maximize your performance. For that, you need to understand the basic principles to adjust the plate carrier. We have mentioned all that we thought was necessary for you to maintain and wear your plate carrier vest with the assurance of enchants outcome.
Now all you need to do is follow the basic rules and see what suits you the best along the way. Because no matter the task that you are performing even if it is as simple as exercising or as big of a task as fighting in a battlefield as a law enforcement officer you would need to know how to fit your vest and how to maintain it.
This might differ according to your stature, built and size but you can still adjust it with the basic instructions that we have provided for you in the above article.