Amongst all the ultra-light carriers these days, there still is a need for full armor carriers and the BAE Eclipse RBAV-AF is one of the best current specimens. Many modern plate carriers offer a soft armor slot, however these are sized similar to the hard armor leaving the sides unarmored. The RBAV-AF accepts SPEAR/BALCS soft armor to offer more complete wrap around soft armor side coverage. Highly based on the RBAV-SF, the AF version has many small improvements and rather than going into super detail let's just say the vast majority of users will prefer the new AF version. For those familiar with the older and popular CIRAS armor, the RBAV series was made by the same folks with the intent to streamline the overall carrier design without losing functionality. On that subject, the RBAV keeps the integrated quick release system, another large design feature setting itself apart from other carriers. For those not in the know, a quick release is not for lazy folks at the end of the day, but for escaping life threatening situations such as accidents in water or quick medical access capability.
SKD has been working on thier PIG plate carrier for quite some time so it is great to see all the work and wait paid off. The project started as mostly modifying the Eagle plate carrier with improvements and when it ended up not quite good enough, SKD wasn't satisfied with half-ass and thus the PIG carrier became its own monster. As a pre-warning, most of the issues I had was due to my small size since the PIG PC only comes in one size. Those of a more "normal" stature or larger will likely have even better accommodation.
I saved this larger item to give a quick break down on the Toy Soldier Workshop. I know many people see the name and just think, you can't be fucking serious why are you giving these commies a chance monkey!? For starters, good things can come out of China and a good example of that is Emdom gear. The other factors are that they are using good genuine materials and putting forth effort into making their own unique designs. When places send me stuff I give it a fair assessment no matter the origin.
Moving onto the actual kit, this chest rig stands out as combat photography stuff tends to be harder to come by.
More treats from ze Germans offer up another variant of the popular modular chest rig design. PALS sizing is a solid 18 channels x 3 rows, but it should be noted the channel spacing is out of spec and closer to 1.25" wide rather than 1.5". I'll guess this is due to SIERRA 313 using MALICE clips for all PALS attaching so less room is needed. For those with tradition Natick snap pouches you likely will need to use tools to mount as the snaps are bulkier.
Need a barebones chest rig? Then look no further than the Micro Rig series. They fill a dual role purpose as a light patrol load or to be an easy grab and go rig. Starting with the AK/M4 variant, this one has 2 rifle mag pouches and a utility pouch built in.
