Mayflower R&C Low-Profile Armor Carrier & HSP D3 Chest Rig-Quick Review-LOTS O PICS

Tactical Gear Tactical Gear
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Reposting from LEO forum for LEOs who do not visit that section often or do not have access. This part written 26APR2013

First time writing one of these things…

I bought the Mayflower R&C LPAC to replace my issued concealable and outer IIIA armor carrier.

I needed something that could do both of the above for me depending on what I was doing that day and which uniform I was wearing, i.e. Patrol Uniform, PSD, side jobs, SWAT, etc.).

My normal daily uniform are OD Green BDUs. Our Entry vests are Coyote Tan Paraclete RMVs with front, rear, and side plates. When I did not need rifle protection, I would wear my concealable cut armor in the issued outer IIIA carrier. Switching one set of armor between the two carriers was becoming a hassle so I would just leave the IIIA armor/carrier at home and just run my heavy vest. Not only was I tired of switching between the two carriers, the outer carrier was WAY too big for my concealable cut. The IIIA armor would move around in the carrier. This made for an extremely uncomfortable outer carrier. I was more comfortable in my heavy vest, as it actually fit my body correctly.

Concealable armor carrier.

Outer armor carrier with built in pockets. I keep medical equipment in the top pouch, and extra magazines (AR/Pistol) and a TASER in the other pockets. It also has a built in radio pouch.

The difference between the two…

I read a review on www.itstactical.com about the Mayflower LPAC which had a lot of detail. However the article was written in 2009 and Mayflower made some small changes to the vest. http://www.itstactical.com/gearcom/body-armor/mayflower-rc-low-profile-armor-carrier-and-uw-chest-rig/

They reviewed a MEDIUM carrier and stated their armor measured:
Front: 14.75 tall x 18.125 wide
Back: 15.25 tall x 18.25 wide

My Armor measured in at:
Front: 14.75 tall x 18.5 wide
Back: 14 tall x 18.5 wide

So I figured my concealable armor and Medium SAPIs would fit perfectly in a Medium Carrier.
Mayflower’s website also stated their medium carrier is sized for persons with a 38"-40" chest. I’m 5’9" 170lbs with a 38.5" chest.
Things are looking pretty good for me at this moment.

So I ordered a Medium Carrier from www.us-elitegear.com on the 19APR2013 and received it 25APR2013 . Not bad for free UPS Ground Shipping.

I took it out of the box and took a quick look over the LPAC.

FRONT

BACK

REAR ADJUSTMENTS made by lifting rear flap and moving cummerbund

First difference I noticed from ITS’ review and the model I received, was the elastic cummerbund was now removable instead of fixed.

I’m glad this happened as Mayflower offers a molle version cummerbund that I wanted to buy so I could use the SWIFTCLIPS to connect chest rig of my liking when I figure out which I wanted. The HSP one looks promising as it has the hook backing on it and seems decently priced at $170. This also allowed for more adjustments in the waist area. The single rear Molle row does look like it may be an attachment point for the SWIFTCLIPS, but I won’t be able to figure that out until I acquire a chest rig.

The front of the vest measures in at about 15" x 22.5" My front armor is 14.75" x 18.5"

The back of the vest measures in at about 16" x 22.75" My rear armor is 14" x 18.5"

The minor sizing difference bothered me a little at first, as my armor was almost identical to the one tested in the ITS article that came with the LPAC. Almost thought I would be running into the same problem of the armor moving around on me.

Here you can see the difference in sizes between the armor and vest. Not too much.
FRONT

BACK

Slid the armor in and made the adjustments to make this thing fit me the way I wanted. The shoulder straps seemed a bit long. I had to adjust it almost all the way leaving an approximately inch of connection between the hook and loop on the shoulder straps. I expected the vest to be a little bigger than what I wanted as I was at the small edge of the chest range for the MEDIUM carrier but having six extra inches of shoulder strap seemed a bit much.

It’s way more comfortable than the outer carrier I had. The buckles located on the inside of the front portion of the vest didn’t bother me at first while standing. After sitting in a vehicle for the first 2 hours of my shift last night, I noticed them. So out they came!

Next I decided to throw on my uniform shirt. It’s a little bit bulkier under the shirt and with the NEXUS clips installed it pushed against my name tag/badges causing them to sit funny.

I removed the NEXUS clips and my badges/tags laid normal. :smiley:

You can barely see any of the Multicam carrier showing from the top of my shirt. So it works as a CONCEALED IIIA carrier.

My medium SAPI plate fit in there perfect. I then tried to put my uniform shirt on again…it was WAY tighter with just the front plate in, and you could definitely see the outline of the SAPI Plate. Would I wear the SAPI plate under my Patrol uniform? More than likely not.

Next I threw it on over my green BDU shirt. Comfortable, scalable to the mission in regards to how much equipment I needed and which level of protection I wanted.

Did I accomplish what I set out to do? I think so.

Last Nights Findings
After wearing it on duty last night, I noticed the extra material created a crease/knot in the back of the carrier. As I sat in my vehicle it bothered me like having a small rock getting between your foot and shoe. I’ll have to try to find a way to fix this later.

I left the NEXUS clips installed last night to see if they would undo my backers on my name tags/badges. No problems.

I was able to still keep my issued trauma plate in the carrier. There’s enough of the retaining strap for the SAPI plate to keep it in place.

Folding over the excess shoulder straps had a cleaner look. I’ll have to find some brown duct tape and tape it down.

Flipping the cummerbund around allows for more LOOP material up front for when I get that HSP rig to allow the HOOK to mate up.

The elasticity of the cummerbund is ridiculously stiff. I’m sure it’ll loosen up after a while but there wasn’t much flex in the carrier last night as I tried to bend over. This is probably due to it also having to carry SAPI plates. I’m guessing I’ll just get used to it, or it’ll break in.

Questions and comments are welcome.

I hope this helps anyone who is also looking into this carrier.

*I do not work for Mayflower R&C, Velocity Systems, us-elitegear.com, HSP, ITS, or ABA, nor am I in any way affiliated with any of them. These are my thoughts and views after long nights and hours of research.

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This part written 27APR2013

Protech Trauma plate inserted

Crease from excess material. :angry:

FIXED!!! Placing velcro strips in strategic places kept the crease away.

Wore it for about an hour and did not notice the bunching anymore.

I’m very happy with this. Now to place my order for my chest rig.

This part written 01MAY2013
HSP D3 Chest Rig

Ordered 28APR2013. Received 01MAY2013.

Came in this surprisingly small white box.

Contents sealed in a clear plastic bag-I ordered an extra patch with it.

Pulled it out of the box and bag and this is what you get

The H-harness was stuffed in the “STUFFIT” pouch and the waist strap was stuffed in one of the GP pouches.

Lines up pretty close to my Mayflower R&C LPAC

Removing the “loop panel” from the back of the HSP D3 Chest Rig allowed for the HOOK to mate up with my Mayflower LPAC. Flipping the supplied cummerbund of my Mayflower R&C LPAC around allowed for more HOOK up front. I love the idea of the removal “loop panel”. This also helps sandwich the cummerbund into place like a traditional armor carrier.



Just trying to figure out what fits. From LEFT to RIGHT- USGI Mag, GEN1 PMAG, GEN2 PMAG, GEN3 PMAG. The Hypalon magazine retention tabs fit over all magazines fine. Including my extended M&P magazine. The STUFFIT pouch was stuff with a roll of gauze and some Quick Clot. I placed a SOF-T Tourniquet in the adjacent GP Pouch. I did notice that my GEN3 PMAG’s over-travel stop did catch on the retention tabs every now and then when I pulled it out of the pouch. It wasn’t enough to break it free from my grasp but enough for me to feel it drag for a moment. However, it is not as bad as my Tactical Tailor shingle pouches.

On my old outer carrier, I was able to place my TASER in one of the pouches. So after messing around with the D3 Chest Rig for a little, I decided to place my medical equipment in both of the GP Pouches and use my STUFFIT pouch as my TASER Holster. There was enough retention cord left that I could pull it all the way over the top of the TASER to use it as retention. Yes I was still able to get to the medical equipment in the GP pouch under the TASER.

With just the front SAPI plate installed or no plates installed I was able to connect the SWIFTCLIPS to the rear of the Mayflower R&C LPAC and still reach the HSP D3 Chest Rig.

This is what it looks like from my view

I was never a fan of Double Stacked Magazine Pouches or Double Stacked anything. Also I felt I did not need four AR Mags strapped to my chest or having bungie retention cords on my pistol mags as the rare earth magnets kept it in place. I flipped the carrier upside down and tried to shake the mags out but failed. I moved the TASER to a rifle mag pouch and removed the bungie cords from the Multi-Mission Pouches.

This is what I’ve decided on. With one Mag in the rifle, one on my belt, and two on the vest; I think that’s enough. This is not a zombie warfare setup. My purpose is LE.

Slimmer Profile with TASER moved

Next thing to order will probably be the First Spear IR Cell Tags from TNVC. Just waiting on Clasky to respond to me emails. :cool:

Hopefully I’ll be on the range Friday to see how I like everything.

AGAIN:*I do not work for Mayflower R&C, Velocity Systems, us-elitegear.com, HSP, ITS, or ABA, nor am I in any way affiliated with any of them. These are my thoughts and views after long nights and hours of research.

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Great review. Looks like a well thought out rig, especially how the rig integrates to the carrier. Looking forward to a range report.

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Saw your previous post in the LE thread. I like the update with the chest rig! Looks good man!

I’m actually doing something similar, albeit I think I’ll have to go custom to fit my panels. I’m doing a clip-style chest rig, DIY’ed from an Eagle AK rig. Im with you on slimming down the chest rig and getting it sleek and not over loaded. With my modded AK rig, the pickets are deep and lay flat without rifle mags. My primary use is more general warrant service without having a rifle all the time, so I wanted to have a slot for rifle mags, without the bulk. I also hadn’t really considered wearing my new carrier under my uniform, more as just a jump-out or plain clothes rig.

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Thank you

Thanks again. I choose this so it can be dual purpose. Although I’m sure some of the three letter agency guys I work with probably wouldn’t mind having this when they do surveillance. I’ll more than likely loan this set up to one of them, like I do with most of my gear, so they can T&E it to see if it fits their needs. I seem to be doing a lot more T&Eing/loaning for other task forces and units in the department than usual lately…

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Awesome review, this is exactly what I needed to see as far as the HSP Rig is concerned. I wonder if the velcro chest section could accept a Ares 5rd Shotgun Card…

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Excellent review and pictures. Thank you for taking the time to post all of that.

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Juicebox

Thanks for the writeup, the D3CR and progenitor rigs were designed from the outset for AR15 and AK74 sized mags. There have been 762x51 mag versions made as well.

All

there are new items on the horizon for the D3CR for expansion of capabilities, stay tuned

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Rock solid review and pictures. Thanks for posting and best of luck with it.

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I didn’t get the chance to hit the range Friday with Call-outs and other meetings I was involved in.

We’ve got a couple days of training this coming week where I should do some running and gunning. :smiley:

Eggroll: You’re welcome. If you’re on the design team, please send me a PM. Our Tac Med program is in love with the idea, but would like it geared more toward the medical side. Our K9 unit has been bugging me for something scalable, and I think I may have sold them on this idea.

More photos in use to follow hopefully later this week.

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Juicebox, pm sent right back, med stuff is an interest area of mine :slight_smile:

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Got rid of the C clips on the SWIFTCLIPS

The SWIFTCLIPS were maxed out so I lost the elasticity of the cummerbund and they were too short for my application when I put front and rear SAPI plates in. So I used the spare bungie cords I had from the D3CR.

Tied them off to the back of the LPAC and this is what I ended up with

Now I have some flexibility.

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Good review, nice kit.

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Juice, I’ve done the same thing with the chest strap of just about every chest rig I’ve ever used, though mostly just to be able to keep the thing tight and still be able to breathe.

Works great, but a single pass of the shock cord can wear on the webbing loop like that on the SwiftClip strap. Being a SwiftClip, you can either get more of them if/when that happens, or change the way you’ve got the cord passed through to extend the life of the ones you have

You’ve got enough extra shock cord hanging off of the knot I see you have, that you could consider makeing a double-loop of cord, which seems to wear better. Just do what you did, only pass it through each twice instead of once, and finish it off with a fisherman’s knot. Max use of usable length, smaller knot, self-tightens.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18525/18525-h/images/illus_p241fisherman.png

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Id replace the webbing on the male SRBs on the hips and use G Hooks or at least double up on the shock cord. It wears quick. Should be fine without them altogether, though, what with the hook and loop on your belly.

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Have you practiced any ground work, ie: wrestling with it on? Make sure it’s not too limiting.

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Thanks for the illustration. I was never good with knots. Hope I tied it correctly. I also have a spare set of SWIFTCLIPS

I have not. I can’t imagine it being too limiting as this set up is slimmer than the PC I used during a SPEAR/Blauer CQB course. I’ll try it out tomorrow and spar with some of my coworkers.

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Sure did. Does that still give you enough slack to clip in and still snug up as you like?

More food for thought, if you end up needing more slack, or replace what you have, or go nuts modding other stuff – some of the best $7 I ever spent was on 50’ of desert shock cord. Been about 4yrs, use it for a lot of stuff, still have at least half of it left.

http://www.supplycaptain.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=835&ParentCat=59

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I had to loosen the swiftclips all the way again so they wouldn’t be too tight and allow me some breathing room. Shock cord looks like a good idea for random fixes. THANKS!

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Haven’t had the chance to hit the range with this set up last week. Was raining like crazy and decided to use my regular kit to keep my concealable kit dry. Used it during some building clearing drills and was surprised by how strong those magnets were. Lets just say, the magnets kept my S&W M&P, loaded with 19+1, attached to the outside of my HSP D3CR…