Who Makes The Best Plate Carrier [Buyers Guide]

Plate carriers are a life-saving piece of gear for anyone operating in a hazardous environment.

Whether you’re working in the private military contracting industry, law enforcement, or serving in the Military, you will need a plate carrier for your specific mission set.

Choosing the best plate carrier, however, can be difficult due to the sheer number of available options.

No matter the price range, they all do the same thing: hold armor plates that will, hopefully, stop bullets. You do, however, get what you pay for. This buyer’s guide is going to help you navigate all those options and figure out the right one for you and your mission.

Our military ground forces dream of having effective body armor that is as light as the uniform they are wearing. Every ounce (ounces equal pounds) lifted off the body of a soldier increases their ability to operate longer and faster.

A lot has changed in the evolution of body armor and plate carrier setup, especially in the last 50 years or so, and development is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Best Plate Carriers

We’re going to get into specific plate carriers throughout this article, but to give you a quick rundown of the best plate carriers, here you go. Keep reading to find out why we picked them.

• Crye Precision JPC 2.0 | Best of the Best
• Ferro Concepts Slickster | Best for Low Profile Setups
• Blue Force Gear PLATE-6 MOLLEminus Plate Carrier | When You Need To Go Full Battle Rattle
• Ferro Concepts FCPC V5 Plate Carrier | Great for Simple Setups
• West Coast Armor LVAK | Best Concealable Plate Carrier (Plates Included!)
• LBT 6094 Plate Carrier | Preferred Plate Carrier by DEVGRU
• Velocity Systems Law Enforcement Plate Carrier | Best Law Enforcement Plate Carrier

For details on each of these plate carriers and why they made the cut, keep reading this over on RE Factor Tactical