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This thing is tits.
Yeah, turns out the PIG PC is awesome. It protects your high center mass (a really vital area) and you can actually move and shoot while wearing it; two things that most other plate carriers suck at big time. I've been wearing body armor for a long weekend now and the PIG PC is by far the most comfortable and adaptable piece of plate-toting personal protection equipment I’ve ever worn. I've used Point Blank, Blackhawk, Diamondback, etc. and none compare to this piece of tactical nylon. Less is more and it's one of those "Duh!" things that makes you wonder why you have to wear the silly shit you do at work when this thing is cheaper, simpler and way more comfortable.
Pros:
- You can actually move in it. The PIG has a super low profile, body-hugging precision fit. This thing is the Ferrari of armor carriers. The PIG is so light and tight that I hardly notice it when I’m running; there is barely any vertical bounce and it doesn’t feel like a midget is standing on my shoulders after wearing it for a few hours, even when loaded with mags and a water bladder carrier I still didn’t find myself doing the usual “shrug and lift” routine to relieve pressure points. This cannot be stressed enough. The PIG is comfortable and won’t wear you out the way other carriers do. The always-outta-my-way contoured shoulder straps, the rib-wrapping adjustable cummerbund, interior padding (especially the back channel) are amazing. The abbreviated shape and padded back channel also reduce the suck as far as heat retention, especially when compared to the encumbering “combat sweaters” produced by some companies today. The corner snaps on the cummerbund are a nice touch and keep the flaps anchored. The wearing-a-firm-pillow feeling stays with you in vehicles and while wearing an assault pack, something that I've never felt before with any armor carrier, even when said carriers include gimmicks like 3D mesh and more padding than one of those ridiculous power suits from the 1980s.
- You can actually shoot in it. The contoured shoulder straps don’t interfere with the natural buttplate pocket but stay off your neck. There is only minimal interference from the plate pocket when shouldering a rifle; worlds better than 90% of the armor on the market that forces you to balance the buttplate on an unnecessarily bulky shoulder strap or the awkward too-far-out armor panel that messes up your cheek weld and shooting posture. The high-riding design allows you to put plenty of primary weapon mags on your chest while giving you ample clearance to run your 1st line gear (battle belt) underneath. The abbreviated shape (it sits above your navel, plenty of room to curl up) and padded back channel allow you to get into (and stay in) modern tactical shooting positions that are incredibly awkward in other armor carriers (fetal prone, Brokeback prone, SEAL nap prone, etc.)
- One piece of kit, many missions. You can make this whatever kind of creature you want, from super slick to wear under your man dress while you play daddy daycare to those CA weenies to Godzilla mode with 12 AR mags hanging off the front. The modular design allows you to trade cummerbunds and shoulder strap attachments, add-on g-hooks for an assault pack or water bladder carrier, side plate carriers—you name it.
Cons:
- The two front flap Kangaroo pockets are completely unnecessary and add bulk / weaken the cummerbund flaps. I mean, unless you’ve got the hands of a 9 year old Vietnamese boy that learned the hard way not to play with M80s, you’re not getting much in there and all they do is create another layer of annoying velour crochet to tug at when you’re trying to don/doff your PIG. These pointless pockets also mess around around with the stability and flatness of the pouches on your center line, typically holding rifle magazines. SKD would do well to just ditch that feature in the future and keep the dual cummerbund flaps as flat and stiff as possible. If I want a place to store my tactical lip balm and hide the keys to the Hi-Lux, I’ve got some DCU pants pockets that work just fine and don't interfere with what I need an armor carrier for: stopping bullets destined for my sternum and holding ammo.
- Cummerbund elastic replacement. I use the kinda saggy MOLLE cummerbund and I noticed that the 3.5” V-shaped brown elastic stretch panels in the back are connected to the spine-centered nylon 3-grommet girth adjustments. I feel it would have been better to create a field-replaceable girth adjustment by having the grommets on the two nylon MOLLE panels themselves and creating a semi-disposable elastic portion as the center. Not a huge issue, but elastic items always have a limited shelf life, especially in extreme temps (as I've learned the hard way). I wouldn’t want to have the cummerbund fail on me and have to MacGyver myself something with 550 and zip ties unnecessarily. Now, it is no secret that I have a 550 cord and zip tie fetish (my precious!) and love using them on everything—but just not on a brand new $300 plate carrier. As with many guys my size (albino Ethiopian), I removed the bungee cord girth adjustment (another superfluous item) and used some gutted 550 cord to sew the grommets together.
- Cummerbund pull cords are totally overkill. Instead of a simple 1x2” flat nylon grab tab to pull on when doffing (like on the Diamondback Predator II plate carrier), I have two huge grommets with an ungutted piece of 550 cord. Unnecessarily bulky. Feels sloppy. What the fuck, over? I removed both; replaced the left side with gutted 550 cord until I figure out how I want to modify it further. The stock setup certainly makes it easy to ditch the vest, but I figure there is a better way to go about this that doesn’t look like Joe rigged it up in the field while hanging upside down in the dark.
Overall?
5 out of 5. This is the plate carrier to own. If you're worried about cost or comfort, know that you will not find a better product for any amount of money.
Last edited by Plan9; 06-29-2011 at 04:23 PM..
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