Surplus Irish Body Armour?

I got my Condor Quick Release plate carrier a couple days ago and finally transfered the plate and armour to the new vest. It was a #####! The plates were not a problem but the soft armour was a little too big for the slots in the vest. Had to do some trimming of the kevlar which was not that easy even with snips and a grinder lol. At the front, almost 2 inches of soft armour (which is a combo of kevalr and what looks like tightly packed waxed paper) needs to be trimmed off at the bottom to be able to shut the pocket properly.

Here's what the armour looks like out of the vest. ( the back section) Seems like the shape was designed to offer extra coverage around the heart area and less on the other side. Meh, it's just a lung. lol





And here the vest with the new plates. Notice how to bottom front section isn't buttoned up properly. Took the picture before I was finished cutting away the kevlar etc.




The vest itself feels like a well constructed item. My only complaint is the up/down adjustments at the shoulders. I had to rig something so it would rest a little lower since I'm kinda tall, other than that it's a good value purchase IMO.

Another thing to keep in mind. The armour is in a waterproof 'sheath' which has to be removed if you want to trim the kevlar. On the inside tag it is clearly stated that the vest should not get wet. I assume something should be done to protect the parts that are now exposed.

To anyone thinking about doing this with a Condor vest, I would recommend either another plate carrier with slightly bigger pockets or perhaps get the small Irish surplus vest instead(?) Mine was medium.

cheers
 
DirtyCZ said:
I got my Condor Quick Release plate carrier a couple days ago and finally transfered the plate and armour to the new vest. It was a #####! The plates were not a problem but the soft armour was a little too big for the slots in the vest. Had to do some trimming of the kevlar which was not that easy even with snips and a grinder lol. At the front, almost 2 inches of soft armour (which is a combo of kevalr and what looks like tightly packed waxed paper) needs to be trimmed off at the bottom to be able to shut the pocket properly.

Here's what the armour looks like out of the vest. ( the back section) Seems like the shape was designed to offer extra coverage around the heart area and less on the other side. Meh, it's just a lung. lol





And here the vest with the new plates. Notice how to bottom front section isn't buttoned up properly. Took the picture before I was finished cutting away the kevlar etc.




The vest itself feels like a well constructed item. My only complaint is the up/down adjustments at the shoulders. I had to rig something so it would rest a little lower since I'm kinda tall, other than that it's a good value purchase IMO.

Another thing to keep in mind. The armour is in a waterproof 'sheath' which has to be removed if you want to trim the kevlar. On the inside tag it is clearly stated that the vest should not get wet. I assume something should be done to protect the parts that are now exposed.

To anyone thinking about doing this with a Condor vest, I would recommend either another plate carrier with slightly bigger pockets or perhaps get the small Irish surplus vest instead(?) Mine was medium.

cheers
Click to expand...

Condor makes some good value products, I don't know why people rip on them so much. Looks like you got a nice rig built. I gotta get my hands on one
 
Got my vest in today. I'm pretty happy with it. mine was considered "good" shape. It's a medium, and it fits me and im a pretty large guy. The vest looks like its seen some sun, as it is turned a purple/black, nothing to serious. The lady at the post office wieghed itat 7.8 kgs. I put it on and it doesnt seem as heavy as some have mentioned. That being said i probably woudlnt wanna go run a 5km in it any time soon. Also the vest smells fine. all in all an awesome purchase, if you have been considering it id grab one sooner than later.

heres my vest:

Front:


Front:


Rear:



The vests are the same used as the northern irish police. heres a picture:
 
took my vest appart today.. mine is alot different than the others posted. others had teardrop shaped plates, where mine are more traditional shaped plates. not quite sure what meterial they are made from but they are labeled Bristol Armour Grade 55c. anyone know what that means? Apparently bristol armour doesnt exist anymore but they were aquired by AML UK.

are the plates standalone level 4 or do they need to be pared up with the kevlar?

also noticed that the kevlar seemed thin. cant believe that stop spistol rounds. pretty cool. heres some more pictures.







any one know why my plates are different?? any info would be great.
 
Got mine today. Size medium just barely fits (I'm 5'8", 175 lb). Kinda surprised, but I can still breathe and move so it's not too bad. Also, having never worn the stuff before maybe this is how it's supposed to fit...

Teardrop plates. Doesn't smell or look beat up, although you can tell it's been used. Great deal for the price, and I only ordered it maybe two days ago so certainly can't complain about the delivery time. :cheers:

Now all I need is a Halloween costume idea that involves body armor :D I've got it, and when else am I going to wear it in public before SHTF? :p
 
DirtyCZ said:
I got my Condor Quick Release plate carrier a couple days ago and finally transfered the plate and armour to the new vest. It was a #####! The plates were not a problem but the soft armour was a little too big for the slots in the vest. Had to do some trimming of the kevlar which was not that easy even with snips and a grinder lol. At the front, almost 2 inches of soft armour (which is a combo of kevalr and what looks like tightly packed waxed paper) needs to be trimmed off at the bottom to be able to shut the pocket properly.

Here's what the armour looks like out of the vest. ( the back section) Seems like the shape was designed to offer extra coverage around the heart area and less on the other side. Meh, it's just a lung. lol





And here the vest with the new plates. Notice how to bottom front section isn't buttoned up properly. Took the picture before I was finished cutting away the kevlar etc.




The vest itself feels like a well constructed item. My only complaint is the up/down adjustments at the shoulders. I had to rig something so it would rest a little lower since I'm kinda tall, other than that it's a good value purchase IMO.

Another thing to keep in mind. The armour is in a waterproof 'sheath' which has to be removed if you want to trim the kevlar. On the inside tag it is clearly stated that the vest should not get wet. I assume something should be done to protect the parts that are now exposed.

To anyone thinking about doing this with a Condor vest, I would recommend either another plate carrier with slightly bigger pockets or perhaps get the small Irish surplus vest instead(?) Mine was medium.

cheers
Click to expand...

Crap, you need a grinder to make these fit in a Condor carrier? I can get snips, and I suppose I could invest in a grinder but I have absolutely no other need for it so it would suck to have to buy one just for this.
 
jjr said:
Crap, you need a grinder to make these fit in a Condor carrier? I can get snips, and I suppose I could invest in a grinder but I have absolutely no other need for it so it would suck to have to buy one just for this.
Click to expand...

You don't NEED a grinder. My hands were getting tired and/or the snips were losing the edge so I used the grinder to "feather up" the material to make it a bit easier to trim.
 
I suppose I have a Dremel, so I could use that. Would the cutting wheel on that work to cut the material?
 
Hard to say, kevlar is tougher than I expected. TBH, I never even finished removing the 2 inches from the front bottom. I temporarily Gorilla taped up the bottom part of the vest since it wouldn't close becuase of the soft armour. In my case this vest is just a novelty so I don't really care. But I still wish I had found a bigger plate carrier or smaller armour.

Did you buy both products already?
 
Yup. E-bayed the plate carrier, and bought the armour from FF. I suppose I can try the cutting wheel on the Dremel. Worst case scenario I screw up a 5 cent cutting wheel, haha.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom