Proper Wear of Armor (with anatomical diagrams)

[asianhulk]

Very cool illustration, I would rather have smaller plates and more mobility. But that is my personal preference.

[Iraq Ninja]

Very cool illustration, I would rather have smaller plates and more mobility. But that is my personal preference.

Please explain based on your experience. Large plates do not drastically decrease mobility.

[docsherm]

I do not think that there is a trend towards smaller plates. It is more like people are finally getting smart on them and getting the correct size. The trend for Big Army was to get the largest plate that they could fit on a person. Even though I have never worn it my unit had to get the IOTV issue (still not sure about that one). I almost got in a fight with the retard CIVs that were working the issue point. I had to sand there to make sure that they were not issuing the wrong size to everyone. They were giving out the largest size that could to all of the people that came through. They gave one of my guys an XL plate and carrier. I had him sit down with it on and show the people there that he could not even move his head because the vest was on his legs and moved up past his chin. I got him a Medium. A good rule of thumb is that the plate (and the vest/carrier) should not be above the sternal notch and you should be able to put your finger in your navel when standing. The with should be about nipple line to nipple line. That is the proper fit for the plates. As far as people using smaller plate I have not seen it. I have seen people using the correct size more often now.

[Iraq Ninja]

Doc, let me clarify.

The trend towards smaller plates is with the civilians who have little or no experience with such things, like many folks here. They want plates for what ever personal reason, and think smaller will be better.

[Spurholder]

Panzerr, thanks. Great post!

[QuietShootr]

Thanks for posting this.

I have several armor setups, but my grab and go light carrier is a simple Paraclete carrier with a tear-away IFAK, a mag shingle, and a few pistol mags. I just put it on and it appears by this I had it a couple of inches too low for summer wear (less clothing.) Thanks!

[docsherm]

Doc, let me clarify.

The trend towards smaller plates is with the civilians who have little or no experience with such things, like many folks here. They want plates for what ever personal reason, and think smaller will be better.

In that case I have not seen anything like that... My bad, I thought we were talking about MIL use.

[sgtjosh]

Thanks for the diagrams. I have heard this discussed, but never seen it illustrated. I wear my plates high like shown. I have had people ask "Why are your plates so high?"

[variablebinary]

In that case I have not seen anything like that... My bad, I thought we were talking about MIL use.

Yeah, it's the opposite. You'll get some 5'5" 120lbs PFC being swallowed by an XL IOTV

On a serious note, take a look at the stateside "tactical circuit" and people are sporting smaller and smaller plates under the guise of weight savings, comfort, and mobility. You'll easily see 25-30% of the torso unprotected in some cases due to inadequate protection.

[QuietShootr]

Yeah, it's the opposite. You'll get some 5'5" 120lbs PFC being swallowed by an XL IOTV

On a serious note, take a look at the stateside "tactical circuit" and people are sporting smaller and smaller plates under the guise of weight savings, comfort, and mobility. You'll easily see 25-30% of the torso unprotected in some cases due to inadequate protection.

part of it is that nobody makes 24"x30" plates.