I love plate carriers; they’re a great way to comfortably carry a lot of kit for an extended periods of time and can be an all in one system. You can fit everything you need on a plate carrier like magazines, grenades, water and whatever your heart desires. As the name implies, they are meant to hold ballistic plates, but those are heavy, expensive, and illegal to own in some parts of the world.
I’ve seen players try to make their own plates out of cardboard or Styrofoam but these often aren’t the right shape or are too rigid and don’t fit right in the plate pocket. While I was searching for the best solution for my JPC 2.0 I stumbled upon the PTS Dummy Plates and decided to give them a shot.
I was a bit skeptical at first because when I think of PTS the first thing that comes to my mind is airsoft gun attachments. I’ve been using their EPM midcaps for years and have loved them, and I have many items from their Enhanced Polymer (EP) line of products on my airsoft guns. I’ve never seen them as a “gear” company, which is probably why I so rarely see these Dummy Plates mentioned but for their reasonable price (under $30) I figured it was worth the risk.
What made me really like these plates instantly was their sizing. A lot of overseas companies do not make their plate carriers to the sizing of real body armor. Often times it is shorter, and to accommodate this, the plates that would go in those plate carriers are not the correct size. When you put those plates into a plate carrier designed for the correct sized plates they bounce around, shift, and do not “fill” the plate pocket in the way you’d want. Many weighted plates used for exercise are not shaped correctly either, or are for specific plate carrier designs.
The PTS Dummy Plates are the correct sizing for small, medium or large plate carriers. They come as a set of two in whatever size you choose, and they’re a good thickness where they provide structure to the plate carrier but not too large to have an improper fit. To give you an idea, they’re a little wider than a M4 magazine.
These Dummy Plates are made out of foam with a nylon wrapping which means they’re incredibly lightweight. According to the PTS Syndicate website the medium set is only 160g. The low weight combined with the foam construction makes it very easy to maneuver when these are in your plate carrier. They have a subtle curve to the plate which makes them wrap around your body better than if they were straight walled, and when pressed or crushed the foam will return to its original shape.
My favorite thing about the PTS Dummy Plates is the foam construction. When I have a backpack or a Camelbak of water on my plate carrier they provide a huge boost to comfort for my back. They’re also great at keeping BBs from stinging in close quarters situations. It may just be me, but I think they also make them louder when they hit which is a plus. My only warning to players considering purchasing these is to balance your weight distribution. Because these plates are so lightweight, if you have a lot on your back it may shift your plate carrier and push your front plate bag higher than intended. This happened to me when I had a large HPA tank and water on my back plate, but not much on my front one to balance the weight.
Overall, the PTS Dummy Plates are a wonderful addition for anyone looking to add structure to their plate carrier without weighing themselves down. They’re a high quality product like you’d expect from any PTS product, and I cannot recommend them enough.
You can find the PTS Dummy Plates at your favorite local PTS dealer or online at Evike.com!
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