Video Transcript
Introduction (00:00):
This is the T.REX ARMS AC1, you've got pockets for plates, an elastic cummerbund that fits some things. You've got shoulder pads that come with the carrier. It's made in America. Affordable price. Comes as a full kit. You're not having to buy all sorts of accessories to try to build it out. This is what it looks like. So why are we even making a plate carrier? Well, in the recent years, T.REX ARMS has become a pretty prominent armor provider. As some of you guys know, and as some of you all may have purchased HESCOs from us. And what we wanna do is be able to offer armor carriers to obviously complement that armor. But the problem has been finding companies that can make the quantities that we need, or even make us a plate carrier that we really like. So we decided "let's go make our own".
Product Overview (01:11):
So what we got here is the T.REX AC1 armor carrier, and I'm just gonna go over some of the technical specs. How it's gonna arrive and kind of a sizing and what plates it'll fit. So your AC1 is gonna show up something like this. The shoulder straps are gonna be fully extended that's to kinda just protect the pad so that the pad forms to you and doesn't get messed up in shipping. So we'll go over just a quick setup and inserting your plates and all that. So on this, the cummerbunds pretty self-explanatory on the rear. We have this cover flap, not a lot of manufacturers do that. That's to protect from anything catching and pulling your cummerbund off. But we'll just, you just lift this up And you can kind of roll this, keep it outta your way while you're sizing. So all your sizing for your cummerbund will be done back here. You have about 12" total… 10" to 12" total. The nice thing about this is that we try to keep it simple and to work with other people's velcro on cummerbunds. So any of those companies that use anywhere from a 2" up to a 6" hook and loop cummerbund system, will attach to our plate carrier.
Sizing your AC1 (02:37):
Once you have your sizing here for your waist, you just pull this down… Like so. You use the front to get in and out of your plate carrier. And then up here is where we have our shoulder adjustments. So A quick tip on this… Or a note is take your plate out, and then you're gonna go ahead and take these sleeves, because there's no… They don't velcro over each other. They're just a sleeve. So we're gonna go ahead and pull these down onto the plate carrier itself over the shoulder and just pull it all the way down. You can scrunch it up. You're not gonna hurt anything. And just do that. That's why I recommend taking your plate out so that you can just scrunch all this up, get it outta your way. Right here is our strap for our height adjustment And this with a buddy or something, or might take a couple tries. So you could just take these off, completely, get it all sized up, you know, where you want and then kind of mark that with a pen or a pencil or something. And then you can take this apart, put your pad back on And size it accordingly. So we'll just size this one for me. I kind of know about where I am on a medium carrier. So for me about an inch 1 1/5" overlap about there. And then one nice thing on this is that it has a pass-through. So you could put your push to talk through here, cables, water from the back or something, but you can also tuck these away. And the best way to do that is to just pinch it, put it down into this sleeve of the plate carrier itself, and then just kind of flatten it out.
Sizing Your AC1 - Continued (04:39):
Now this excess here is gonna be held in place by the padded sleeve. So that's about right for me. We'll go ahead and do the other side. Once again. Just quick tip. Leave your plate out for now, Scrunch all this down onto the plate carrier. Okay. And then we're gonna pinch this together And just slide it inside the plate carrier. You can flatten it out once it's in there. Bring the sleeve over and just… Get all the bunching out. All right here, you can see, I didn't get quite as flat. There's kind of a bulge there before you put your plate in or put the carrier on. We can just go inside the main sleeve, reach up inside… And kind of work it flat. So we don't have like a bulge there on our shoulder. Just gonna hit both sides real quick. And now it's nice and flat. Okay. So now that my shoulder straps are adjusted, we'll go ahead and put the plates in. I got some… Looks like a medium level IV HESCO right here.
Fitting Your Plates in the Carrier (06:14):
When you slide your plates in, they're gonna be kind of snug depending on the plate manufacturer. We did size these all for SAPI cut. So military SAPI cut. I'll go over that in a little bit though, a little more in detail, but it's gonna be a snug fit. We don't have side seams on this plate carrier. It's a tubular design, all the seams go to the inside. So when we insert our plate, we will need to adjust the velcro to where it's center. Our loop field here, we'll want it center on the plate. That's not a problem. Once we lock it in here, it's not gonna shift while you're moving, but we do wanna center it up first. We're gonna open this up. We gave you a 4" hook field with a 6" loop field inside. This is allowed for maybe a shorter plate. You can pull the carrier tight onto it. I like mine really snug. So I actually grab back here. I push down on the flap, pull up on the spacer mesh and now my plate is nice and secure. It's not gonna rotate in there not coming loose. So put our rear plate in. Rear plate goes in the same way. Just have this drop-down flap.
(07:38):
Like I said, it might be pretty snug. Just slowly work it in. We didn't want any slop when we're running around and running gear. Okay. All right. So we have our front and rear plates in. We have our shoulder straps adjusted and the cummerbunds probably about right for me out of the package. Go ahead and open this up. And now we're ready to don the plate carrier. Another tip real quick. Before we put this on is I'll show you a little trick we can do on the cummerbund, the height of it in the back. We did a 4" cummerbund for simplicity, but also to give you a little bit of adjustment once you have the carrier on. So we're gonna go ahead and drop this All the way down. So I like to take my, the rear part of my cummerbund and put it all the way down the bottom of the loop field On the rear plate bag, Close my flap. And then go ahead and put this on. Okay. And you want your front plate to be just below this notch, just above your sternum. There there's a soft notch that goes into your neck. That's where you want the front plate to sit. The side of the plates. You want to be about the middle of your chest line. Go ahead and put this on.
Judging the Height of Your Carrier (09:31):
Now, the back of the plate, this is where a mirror or a buddy will come in handy is you want it to be level with the front because you're trying to protect your vitals. So this right now feels about right? And that's because I've been wearing plate carriers. I know where I like to set it. So with having my cummerbund all the way at the bottom here, what I can do is on the front. If I start running around and noticing that this wants to ride up or it's sagging down in the front, I can adjust this down to the bottom on the front and now it'll shift my plate up more and my back lower. So it gives you a little bit of… Probably about 1" or 2" of adjustment on cant to level your plates, where you like them for my body type. The way my back is, If I run the cummerbund all the way at the bottom, I run the front all the way at the top. So posing for me, this stays level when I'm running around doing drills or running the plate here in general, as the weight settles the plate, doesn't move from unlevel and protects my vitals front and back.
Techincal Features - Slick Design (10:48):
All right. So now that I've kinda showed you where it needs to sit how to quickly just adjust the shoulder straps cummerbund when it gets out of the package, I'm gonna go over some of the technical features and what we packed into this slick plate carrier. All right, I'm gonna set this one to the side and use an emptied one. Okay. So the AC1 plate carrier, nothing real innovative here. There's just a couple features that we wanted to hit on, for our own plate carrier. We kinda like this slick design being able to go you know, more low vis or we can kind of build it up to what I would consider maybe a light patrol vest meaning we're not doing long ruck marches or long, long distance patrolling in this. It's not gonna be able to sustain that much equipment or that type of equipment needed. This is very much for the civilian population urban or maybe with a support pack, like a rucksack that you have for outdoor use. So we tried to keep it very minimal. One of the, one of the main features that not a lot of companies are doing, or at least we haven't seen is we don't have a side seam, meaning there's no hard sewn seam right here where the edge of the plate is, and it might seem insignificant, but it does create a tighter, more low profile wear on the body with the plate. So we got a small vest here. And so now you can see
Technical Features - No Side Seam (12:53):
That there's no side seam, it's very streamlined and just flows with the plate itself. And we're just trying to keep down any harsh edges, anything like that that just kind of stick out more than other plate carriers.
Technical Features - Spacer Mesh and Fastener Options (13:10):
The next feature we tried to include, or we did include was spacer mesh here. So we have this spacer mesh right here. This allows for a little give for slightly different or of out spec plates from other manufacturers. It also puts just a little bit of padding on your sternum with multi curve plates, especially depending on your body type, you might get a pressure point right here on your sternum or your chest. This just kind of helps with that without having to add a pad, a pad will still do the best. But this space or mesh does a pretty good job. Next we'll move on to the front here. So we do have The swift clip attachments or QASM clips. This will take most of your industry standard, 1" buckle, placards, chest rigs that convert to placards, things like that. We did use removable ones. So if you wanna run it completely slick or G-hooks, something like that, you can do that. While we're there, I'll just show you how to take 'em off real quick. They are 3/4 cut. So you just gotta find which side here has the short side.
(14:34):
So you can see like that there's a quarter cut and then a longer leg.
Removing the QASM Buckles (14:43):
So it just unhooks like, so, and you do that to the bottom. It is a lot easier to do these with the plate out. So if you are gonna remove these I suggest just pulling your plate real quick and just adjust those on or off. Getting 'em back on. We tried to make the webbing very tight that holds these because we didn't want anything to sag. Sometimes you'll notice on some plate carriers when you clip your placard in and then you pull it down tight, it actually pulls the material and you got kind of like saggy chest area. We wanted to keep everything very tight and moves with your body, not against your body.
Technical Features - Shoulder Straps (15:24):
Next we'll go over the shoulder straps here. So shoulder straps, we are using a laminate material. It's Cordura base, but it holds up really well. Doesn't need to have edges sewn over. It's just a really nice laminate fabric. And then the pads themselves are made out of a stretch material. This will allow comms, cables, water cables or hoses, anything you would like to go under them. You can completely remove 'em if you want run someone else's won't hurt our feelings. They're 2" wide, so pretty compatible with most aftermarket pads.
Technical Features - Rear Flap (16:07):
Let's see the back. So the back key feature on the back plate bag is that we have this cover flap. Like I mentioned earlier some manufacturers do this. You don't see it too often with a slick carrier though. This protects your cummerbund from snagging on something. It's kind of just a secondary lock down for how you have it set. If your equipment starts to get a little heavy, it's not gonna want to, it's not gonna peel away for you. That's the main key feature on the back. Front and back (front, back) have a pass through shoulder system. The front it's mostly for your shoulder strap going over the top, but you could also run wires, cables and antennas. If you wanted to with your plates up through that and pass it over, just keeping everything really clean, everything clean and tidy. All right.
Technical Features - Cummerbunds (17:06):
And the last main feature we tried to pack in here was the cummerbund. A lot of cummerbunds run the same size pouches down the side. A lot of us can't don't run three AR mags, especially all the way to the back where I can't really reach it. I feel like it's just kind of a default people just do 3" spacing all the way around and most of the time people aren't even using the back too. So we tried to make our cummerbund, have a little more functionality in it. We changed the spacing per pouch. So up front here, we have a 2 1/2" spacing. 1/4" to 1/2"… 1/4" to 1/2" of that is because of the plate. So it's gonna go around the plate like, so when you're wearing it, and now that tightens, that pouch up to about 2"-2 1/4" that works for most Leatherman, pistol mags, flashlights, flex cuffs.
Cummerbunds - Continued (18:01):
If you have the trifolds, it works with a lot of quick access things that you might need. The next pouch is a 3" spacing. This will work with 5.56 mags, some 5.45 mags. It works with smaller radios, really good. And then the back is a 4" spacing. So this could be more like your E & E stuff or your… Like, your med kits, things like that, a little harder to reach. This would be kind of like my secondary go to medical, but you know, or you can just leave it empty and then you have a nice, smooth surface going across your back. That's kind of the key features that we tried to pack into this AC1.
Cummerbunds - Continued (18:44):
One thing we did not include on the cummerbund, and this was mostly to keep cost down for you guys was a tie down section. We were just trying to keep it very slick, very minimal and price. We just gave these drop loops to catch anything you're putting in the pouches. The drop loops… The tie down loops may come later on another cummerbund or something we develop. But so for right now you might have to use some shock cord or tape if you want to. I haven't really had any issues with things falling out. As long as I size my cummerbund correctly, and it's snug against my body, not overly tight, but snug. I haven't had any issues with equipment falling out.
Plate Carrier Sizing Compatibility (19:25):
Lastly, we'll go over what each size fits, what plates and I'm sure we'll have some kind of thing on the screen or on the product page. That'll kind of show you know, the sizing of plates per plate bag. So we are gonna do small, medium, large, your small plate carrier will fit level three and four MIL-SPEC SAPI cut plates. These are HESCO, but they do they do the correct measurements for a military specific SAPI cut plate. So as long as whatever manufacturer plate you're using is MIL-SPEC SAPI cut, it should fit fine. It'll fit level IIIs, IVs size small. It'll also fit the small 210s. The HESCO 210s they're thin special threat plates. The size small will fit the 210 smalls, the small level three and four SAPI cup plates. Your medium's gonna be the same thing. So it will fit the large 210s that HESCO sells. And the reason it gets away with that is because of how thin the HESCO… the 210 HESCO plate is. The fabric is allowed to roll over it and kind of stretch, even though this is wider than a normal medium sized plate or SAPI medium because it's so thin, it pulls the fabric tight and you can get away with 210s and a medium. So here's your mediums. You have a level III or a level IV SAPI cut, or the L210 special threat cut.
Sizing Compatibility - Continued (21:10):
And then large is gonna be your level III and four IV SAPI cut larges. Also, it'll be all your generic like single curve, 10" by 12", 10" by 13" plates. You're gonna want to use the large carrier. We did make these very snug to the plates. You may be able to fit a 10" by 12" into your medium but it's gonna be very tight and you'll probably get a little angry. So we suggest just going up to the large, and if you got a little slop in there, maybe add a plate backer or something like that, soft armor behind it. So if you're running generic 10" by 12", 10" by 13"s or level III, level IV, SAPI cut larges get the large plate carrier.
(21:54):
All right. So we got our sizing for plate bags. We got how to adjust it. We got how it comes outta the package, our key features and you know, how to… Where the plate should be. There's more in-depth videos and stuff that you could dive into. We're just trying to give a quick reference guide for when you're on the product page. And then Lucas will probably go over like… The way he sets his up or ways to run it. And maybe some features that he likes about it too.
Product Compatibility (22:44):
AC1 is obviously compatible with the swift clip buckles for all of your favorite placards out there, whether it be from Haley, Velocity, an Old Mayflower, Spiritus or other companies like that. But there's also a number of other types of placards and shingles on the market that you can use with the carrier, just relying on the velcro. And what we actually have is this one right here, the T.REX ARMS 5.56 shingle will also make these in other calibers as well.
Shingles and Placards (23:09):
But the cool thing with this is I can literally slap this to the front of my carrier, just like this one right here. And even with the cummerbund dropped off the entire thing isn't falling off. But what this allows me to do is when I throw my carrier on, I'm not having to lift an entire placard out of the way I can literally just slap my cummerbund on top. So I can put on my carrier a little bit faster. It also keeps the entire setup a little more slick. Now, the downside to running a shingle style setup, which could be, you know, our shingle right here, or it could be the SKD PIG style set up, or even a ESSTAC. The issue is as the cummerbund is pulling on the carrier itself on the front of the magazines, you're gonna get more retention on the magazines which is why I use steel mags and not polymer mags, if I can help it running a setup like this. Placards also, they work a little better for, you know, things like that, but what's cool about this is it's very inexpensive, allows you to carry some ammo, obviously on your rig. Also have two extra accessory pockets for multi tools, flashlights, tourniquets, whatever you want to carry. And that's how I have mine set up on this carrier right here. Just like that.
Comms and Radio Setup (24:22):
Let's go over how I have my cummerbund set up. So we'll actually move all of these, Kind of get this out here. So what I have going on is I have a Hytera radio with a PTT that I'm running along the bottom of this cell right here, cable then runs all the way up through runs underneath my shoulder pad setup and then attaches here to the front. The radio is then inside the 5.56 pouch which makes the it's a very tight fit, which is great. If I had a larger radio, I might, you know, run that in the back pocket if need be. I have just a little shock cord loop that is literally looped around the cummerbund to hold the radio down. There's some little DIY things that you guys can do to your carrier. You could even use tape if you really wanted to. Although obviously it's gonna be a little harder to get the radio out because the carrier does not have the pull tab loops depending on what you're trying to do, you may need to DIY some stuff, but in the future, we are planning on selling a cummerbund that has a few more features on it, not just the pull tabs on the front, but some other things that gives you a little more capability.
Uses for Velcro Spaces on AC1 (25:31):
But in order to keep this rig, you know inexpensive and be able to produce good quantity for you guys, there were a few features we dropped off of it. And so there's a few things you can do if you absolutely need it, or you can run it the way it is. I also have a Crye back pocket here, velcroed to the inside that gives me two horizontal magazines, something that I really like doing to have one spare. If I'm on the range and I've shot all my ammo, I still have one mag on me in case, you know, something weird happens. HEL-STAR strobe. There's a lot of velcro space here on the rear. So you can have your flags, your ID patches, or whatever, and/or strobes at the same time on this other side, I've got a, multi-tool, a Leatherman, headlamp, and my gloves.
Benefits for Different Spacing on Cummerbunds (26:10):
Having three sizes of pouch has been really, I've really liked having that. You know, most of the cummerbunds on the market are all like 5.56, or they're all, you know, large. But having some different sizes allows you to fit. Obviously some other accessories you wouldn't normally be able to carry on your cummerbund. So that's something I really liked about you know, having this cummerbund, you know, designed and built the way that it is. It just makes carrying certain things a lot easier. And I'm not usually needing to carry three 5.56 mags on the side because I'm doing that on the front of the carrier. So I've obviously got my shingle. I'm gonna go ahead and add the swift clip buckles to my carrier and then gonna run through a few different placards on the market.
Compatibility with Velocity 7.62 Placard (26:49):
All right. So I've got the buckles on, we're just gonna shove this over here. So I've got this Velocity 7.62 placard. I'll actually move the tourniquet to this side. One of our tourniquet holders And that buckles in just like that. There's a little overhang. This is obviously a 7.62 placard on a medium plate carrier. And it'll overhang on pretty much all of 'em out there, but works… Gets the job done. So pop this off. Usually use this with my SCAR.
(27:24):
We've got Spiritus obviously nice and small. So it will conform to the width of this carrier. Just fine and obviously buckles right in. There we go. We've got this one. We've got the ESSTAC. These are actually pretty cool. They have their standard, you know, kydex retention. And then this one actually has MOLLE on the front. You can also get 'em slick, have some over there. It's usually easier to buckle this before you velcro it, but there you go. Just like that. Pretty cool.
Conclusion (27:58):
So this will take all of the standard, and then I surely have one—Oh yeah, these are actually super cool. I'll use the green one—So SKD has this—normally it's a chest rig chassis but—this is actually a… They have G-hooks here to attach into obviously where you would have slots for your swift clip buckle, but you can also just rely on the velcro to attach this to your carrier. There's not a lot of velcro on the back, but I literally could just slap this to the front and then take my cummerbund and run that over the top. And it kind of acts as our 5.56 shingle, this guy right here, but it's actually has kydex reinforcement on the inside. So that is, it's a pretty cool little setup because it uses G-hooks. If you don't wanna run, you know, your big fat swift clip buckle, you can just tie these G-hooks right into the slot. And then you've got this guy on the front. Obviously you have the chest rig harness assembly hanging off the side, over your tourniquets or underneath your, you know, your cummerbund coming over the top. But this actually gives you some good capability. The mags do sit pretty deep though. You know, it is what it is. But this is definitely an option. You can pick these up and they're actually, they're actually pretty cool.