Eagle MOLLE Plate Carrier
 

Well, I have some interesting shooting schools coming up this summer, so it was time for a new rig. :lifter
My criteria were:

- Must fit two 8x10 ESAPI plates

- Must accomodate six magazines, a small med kit, digital camera, pen and notebook, hydration bladder, etc., without the setup becoming too bulky

- Must ride high enough to allow easy access to belt-mounted pistol mag pouches and dump pouch

- Good shoulder mobilty for handgun shooting

My solution was the following:

- Eagle MOLLE PC w/o cummerbund

- TAG MOLLE Shingle x 6

- TAG MOLLE Hydration Carrier

- Emdom Baby Utili-Shingle Pockets & SAF Admin Panel

I love it! It is very comfy and carries everything I need for a full day of training without the temptation to overload it. Definitely much cooler in hot weather than the CIRAS or IBA.

The PC is Eagle's S/M size, and holds the medium ESAPIs very snugly. I am getting the IIIA inserts from PACA, but they are backordered for now. The small "wings" on the front of the carrier afforded three columns of PALS after the mag shingle was in place, allowing me to mount the small Emdom utility pockets without resorting to a cummerbund.

The TAG shingle is my favorite mag pouch so far. Each magazine has its own elastic retention, so they remain secure and quiet after others are withdrawn.

Everything seems bombproof, but we'll see how it's doing in a year or so.

Is this a "just for class" setup, or is this how you intend to/currently kit up for work?

I never used to worry too much, but I had a close call last month during training. Because I'll be doing some shoothouse and "shooting while moving" type courses this summer, I decided that I wanted the hard plates for protection. My unit issues the CIRAS, though, so I expect that some of the pouches will eventually transfer over. In the meantime, I wanted to keep it simple given the intended usage.

Can you get your hands on a CIRAS from your unit? I'd think it'd be better to train in the equipment you'll be wearing (sooner or later) when you're running and gunning for real.