The excellent Arc’teryx Military Knee Caps are now available in Crocodile and Coyote (besides Black and Foliage Green). Besides the new colour offerings, they now have easier to use and adjust T-lock quick release triglide buckles.
The Crye Precision JPC (Jumpable Plate Carrier) caused quite a buzz when it was unveiled at the 2010 SHOT Show. Some changes have been made since then, and the updated production version was shown at the 2011 SHOT Show. The JPC is an extremely light weight, packable, minimalist plate carrier that weighs just over one pound. Even so, Crye has been able to incorporate features into its design that many more complex plate carriers don’t have.
The Crye Precision AirFrame Helmet made its public debut at the 2010 SHOT Show in Las Vegas. It was back this year at the 2011 SHOT Show; available for purchase but not heavily advertised to the public. In typical Crye fashion, Crye took a different approach when designing the AirFrame from the ground up, with its separate front and rear ballistic shells.
The APC (Assault Plate Carrier) from Mayflower R&C (Research & Consulting LLC) is a molle-compatible, modular plate carrier that is somehow able to pack a lot of features into a low profile, lightweight package. It has no padding or anything that adds extra bulk, but is surprsingly comfortable to wear. SKD Tactical will be the first dealer to carry it, and will be offering a discount for the first two weeks.
Over two years in the making, the much anticipated PIG-PC (Patrol Incident Gear) Plate Carrier is finally out; available exclusively from SKD Tactical. The PIG-PC is versatile and modular design with some unique, innovative features not not offered on other plate carriers. It’s obvious a lot of thought and attention to detail went into the design of the PIG-PC.
The Crye Precision CAGE (Crye Assault GEar) Plate Carrier (CPC) is an alternative to the CAGE Armour Chassis for the user that may not need the amount of ballistic coverage that the CAGE Chassis provides, and can sacrifice some coverage for weight savings. One of the differences between the Armour Chassis and the CPC is that the CPC utilizes unarmoured flanks and an external cummerbund system, and is made from 500D Cordura instead of 1000D. Besides a host of new features, the CPC also incorporates Crye’s new Structural Kinetic Support System (StKSS) that transfers the weight of the CPC from the shoulders to the hips when worn with their new low profile belt.
My goal at the range was to get an initial/general feel for the CAGE Chassis, overall comfort, mobility, etc and see what changes, if any, I had to make to my shooting style. I’m obviously not someone who uses this gear for a living, but I write from my limited point of view and experience in order to (hopefully) provide useful information to those who might. For this first range session with the CAGE Chassis, I also had the CAGE Shoulder Plates on hand, and the Ops-Core Bump Helmet.
Back at the 2008 SHOT Show (I missed the 2009 one), prototypes of Ops-Core’s new helmets were on display, along with their Head-Loc Retention System. The FAST (Future Assault Shell Technology) helmet prototypes caught everyone’s attention, as they incorporated a lot of new features and modularity no other helmet offered. Well, the FAST Helmets are finally available, and if I had to pick one word to describe them, it’d be ‘WOW!’. The FAST Helmets take helmet technology to whole different level and have set the bar at a new high.
