5.11 TacTec Plate Carrier – 10 Year Review
Vladimir Onokoy 02.07.24
I got my 5.11 TacTec carrier in 2013, over 10 years ago. At the time, I needed a plate carrier for maritime security work. After my first contract, I realized that separating your “web gear” that carries ammo and your body armor is not a good idea. Because of the hot climate in the sea, we ended up just wearing our vests with mags, often leaving bulky body armor on the ship’s bridge, agreeing that “we would put it on when things get tough”. But when things actually got tough, we always forgot about body armor.
It got even worse when we started doing drills in the middle of the night. You jump off your bed, put on your pants, slide into boots, grab a rifle in one hand and vest in the other, and run upstairs. If you want to also grab your body armor, you need a third hand. The body armor we had was heavy and uncomfortable. The only good thing about it was – nothing compares to the feeling of taking off your armor after a long shift.
So I was looking for something comfortable that could carry hard plates and the full kit that I used in maritime: 4 mags, a large medical pouch, an admin pouch, and a drop pouch. Ten years ago the market wasn’t that big, and I didn’t need to do tons of research to realize I wanted to get a grey 5.11 TacTec. It looked cool, among other things, and as a young guy who didn’t know much about the security industry I always remembered advice from an older colleague: “If you don’t know what you’re doing at least try to look cool doing it”.
The first feature I had to keep in mind was a quick-release system in case I fell overboard. Tactec has a cable system with a strap on the chest, so you can pull it one-handed and the carrier will just slide off. I never tested it in water, but on land, it worked well. Just make sure you take your time to reassemble your plate carrier after you test this system.
Another feature that I like on Tactec is the evacuation strap on the back of the carrier. Once you grab and pull it, it extends and you can drag someone with relative comfort, cause the handle ends up on your waist level. Evacuation of the wounded soldiers using this strap is an SOP in many units, and having the extending drag handle just makes it so much easier.
I remember we were training at some army range, and an officer came in to criticize all our fancy gear and equipment. Among other things, he said, pointing at the drag handle on my TacTec: “This stuff doesn’t work”. I dared him to test it. He dragged me across the field for the next 20 minutes, like a dog dragging its favorite toy all over the backyard. The drag handle didn’t rip, and that day I left the range with a smug smirk on my face.
As time went by, I bought new pouches and got side panels for my 5.11 TacTec. Depending on the mission, you might skip side panels, but it is better to have and not need than need and not have.
A few years later, I got an unexpected offer to play act in the movie. I had to play a CIA GRS operator in Syria around the year 2015. Initially, I wanted to turn the offer down, but the second unit director convinced me we would be able to show GRS operators properly, without good idea fairies getting in the way. Needless to say, this turned out to be a big fat lie.
First, I had to contact the wardrobe department to see what they had prepared for me. I called them, and apparently, the only direction about uniform and gear they got for our team was: “Make CIA guys wear some light colors”. Costume designers also never even watched “13 Hours”, the movie about GRS in Libya that depicted the costumes and gear pretty well. So instead of getting dressed by them, I ended up consulting them.
I had a couple of plate carriers, but only TacTec was right for the year 2015. I am very particular about historical accuracy, so I decided to wear it and give the second carrier to another actor. Once we got on a film set, there was another surprise. Prop guys had only one set of plates, which I gave to another actor. For me, they offered to make some plates out of polyurethane foam. I thought that movie people knew what they were doing, and that was my fatal mistake.
Once the movie came out, every other friend asked me: “why you’re not wearing plates in the movie”? Apparently, the foam quickly deformed and lost its shape, so I looked like an idiot. Lesson learned – never trust movie people.
During the filming, I appreciated another feature of TacTec, the large pocket on the chest right under MOLLE laser cuts loops. When you have a speaking role, it is always a struggle to hide the microphone, and in this case, the mic fits into this pocket perfectly. I also carried a pack of spare batteries for mics of my team in the same pocket and still had some space left.
Overall, even after all those years, for me, the 5.11 TacTec remains to be a perfect “high profile” plate carrier. Different missions might require concealed armor or maximum frag protection, but as a “general purpose” plate carrier, TacTec remains a good choice for everyone who wants durable and comfortable body armor.
