Blackhawk Heli Vest Plate Carrier, Green, Surplus

I missed out during the first “wave” of these being offered, and snagged one quickly on the second. First round, they sold out in < 24 hours it seemed. I got the Blackhawk carrying bag too, but that’s out of stock now. Condition appears unissued; only the tiniest little scuffs on the buckles. No other damage or signs of wear. I’d be interested in the history of this particular piece, but in my specimen it had no soldier’s names or marks of any kind (as did my Osprey kit). Construction seems very durable. Plates, when installed, don’t jiggle or flop around when moving. Fits compactly to the body. A bit fussy to get buckled in by oneself, though with contortion I’ve figured out how to do it: adjust the straps once it’s in place. I’m 5’10” tall and it fits okay; with AR500 10x12” plates inside, it seems to ride a very bit too low and the shoulder strap adjustments are already adjusted to the maximum extent. My sternal notch is a bit above the top of the front plate. For a straight shot, it’ll do just dandy. Unless the squirrels on my land are secretly expert marksman, this discrepancy in plate positioning probably won’t matter. In the LARPing or mission-critical world, this would surely matter, and a better fitted product would be a better choice. It does have a bit of rigidity that I suspect will improve with frequent wear. On the front, I mounted a 3x1 STANAG mag holder and an admin pouch, and the whole thing still feels compact and maneuverable. Doesn’t get in the way much of shouldering a rifle, but I’ve not extensively done any shooting drills wearing it yet. When comparying to a Crye JPC or even the Sarma offering on this site, it seemed a no-brainer to try this one first and see if I even like the idea of wearing a carrier. It probably would perform admirably if equipped with the proper loadout and plates, but this was my “cheap” entry into such things and I am thoroughly impressed. For the money, it’s a really high quality piece of gear. Doubt you’d find something of comparable provenance for the equal price.