Gone are the days when soldiers or police officers had no choice but to wear big, bulky, and heavy bulletproof vests for patrol- either in some distant foreign land or on the beat in some urban or rural area where wearing body armor was a part of your job description and a piece of mission essential tactical gear.  Both soldiers and cops are now able to do their jobs with lighter, compact, and functional body armor thanks to the modern-day Plate Carrier. 

There are wide selections of plate carriers for sale to choose from available online and from tactical equipment stores.   Companies such as Condor, 5.11, VooDoo, or Eagle mass produce their plate carriers for both military/law enforcement and civilian customers alike.  Each and every plate carrier is universal in form, function, and fit to be able to cater to a very wide array of body types and user requirements- 5.11 tactical offers their Tactic Plate carriers in one universal size able to hold either standard 10×12” or larger 11×14” armor plates.  The Condor plate carrier is cut in the modern BALCS/SPEAR profile to fit panels with side protection for ultimate lateral protection.  It is important to note that when looking for plate carriers, to take note of the size it is designed for. Certain companies only make them in size 10×12 or 11×14, in addition to this, sometimes the carriers themselves may be out of spec and unable to fit the plates of another company. however, if you search around, you are bound to find something you are looking for.

With the options available for body armor wearers of going with concealable, external (overt) bulletproof vests, or tactical vests and plate carriers, people can now choose to wear body armor with all the above qualities.  Tactical Vests originally were designed for entry type operations- with modular placed ammo and equipment pouches- where the officer or soldier required both handgun caliber and rifle round protection- these vests had Level IIIA panels inside the vest, as well as pockets to hold hard armor rifle plates front and back.  A wearer can still choose to just wear the tactical vest with minimal ballistic or with upgraded tactical plate carrier rifle protection- if the wearer had an option when it comes to gear of keeping the vest lightweight or as a fully protected armor plate carrier.

In terms of the companies that are out there for you to search through and choose the gear that would best fit your needs, Ace Link Armor should be at the top of your list. With unparalleled customer service, Ace Link Armor manufacturers a number of different tactical vests, plate carriers, and armor plates at incredibly low prices, without sacrificing on quality. Their products are featured and reviewed by organizations such as the NTOA and NIJ board. Their key plate carrier, the Quad-release, makes use of Italian crafted quick release buckles, that allow the user to quickly to get int out of their vest as the situation calls for it. In addition to this, it also comes with accessories such as ammo pouches and is available in a number of styles such as with MOLLE or laser-cut. All this capability at a price low enough, that it competes with (price wise) much less capable plate carries from rival companies.