TMC "CPC" CAGE Plate Carrier (Cherry Plate Carrier)
Sept 22, 2016 15:57:26 GMT -5
Post by triggs (SABR) on Sept 22, 2016 15:57:26 GMT -5
Full Album Review – TMC “Cherry Plate Carrier”
TMC “Cherry Plate Carrier” Crye CAGE Plate Carrier (CPC) 2016 ver.
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
The CAGE Plate Carrier™ (CPC™) offers unsurpassed comfort and load support in a low profile plate carrier configuration. It is releasable and accepts soft and hard armor inserts (sold separately). When paired with the Low Profile BLAST Belt™, it becomes an extremely efficient and versatile armor and load carriage system. Designed from the ground up to take full advantage of our revolutionary StKSS™ system that transfers the vest weight to the wearer's hips. The CPC™ built-in cummerbund is designed to accept our soft armor panels and 6”x6” plates. CPC™ plate bags (sold separately) stretch to accommodate different plate thicknesses and have integrated magazine and admin pouches. (taken from www.cryeprecision.com )
Overview
I’m starting to wonder if I’m turning into a Crye or Die player, but I do have to admit they make a nice system. Which is also what I said when I swapped out my Eagle Industries CIRAS for an Eagle EPC 6 years ago. The CIRAS was overly large and heavy, which, when moving to the EPC it was substantially lighter and more mobile, but now 6 years later it’s still 1000D Cordura and over built.
Since I’ve had great success with my 2014 version of the TMC AVS, when I started searching out a replacement for the heavy EPC of course TMC came to mind. A few friends that bought the first gen CPC’s when they came out had nicer things to say about it (the CPC) than I did about my AVS so I figured I’d give it a shot. I had to wait a few weeks but eventually I was able to get a 2016 TMC Cherry Plate Carrier (CPC) in stock and shipped to my door.
I really can’t say this enough, this is a China made copy, so going into the review I was not expecting CP level stitching, CP level quality, or military grade manufacturing, and neither should you. Having owned the AVS for two years I was expecting a lot more than I was when I reviewed the AVS. It’s roughly $140-$200 from Hong Kong, so that should be a dead giveaway of the quality to expect. There are plenty of TMC haters out there, which I can understand, and is well deserved given their past history. With that said, since 2014 their quality has only continued to improve (and the price tag with it). By no means do they manufacture something I would consider a military grade product, but for some things they will work. If it falls apart beyond repair, well, at least you’re not out too much money, or you might get lucky and it lasts a good long while.
Accessories
Unlike the AVS, the CPC is less modular, but you can see when looking at it, this is where the AVS technologies came from, it was clearly built upon R&D from the CPC.
The TMC vest includes 8 (4x large and 4x small) Crye style hard foam spacing pads. The idea with these is to allow for maximum airflow throughout the vest while keeping the weight as low as possible. I was so impressed with the pads that I bought a set for my AVS soon after writing this review.
It also comes with two quick release cables. They are nicely coated in rubber to keep from rubbing and making noise, as well as adding a protective coating to keep the user from getting cut on the steel cable. They even have Velcro on them to keep them tucked into the shoulder straps.
Also stuffed inside of the admin pouch I found two straps. These are used to mount custom quick buckles on the shoulders. A common modification for CPC owners is to replace them with a Cobra Quick Release Buckle or similar. These straps make it easier so there’s no need to take the vest apart and re-sewing it with the new buckles of choice.
Crye (and thus TMC) include 3 sticky back circular Velcro ‘coins’ that come on the front of the vest at shipping. Supposedly these are to be used on magazines designated for the front kangaroo pouch for retention purposes, but I don’t see this being useful or reliable since eventually the adhesive will wear off.
The kit also includes two (front and back) EVA hard foam plates. No listing on any website for the vest mentions it, but plates are included.
Externals Review
The vest is very similar to the AVS in its design. Or one should say the AVS is similar to the CPC, but that aside, taking the vest down for review was very simple. Pulling out both of the release cables instantly means everything falls off of you (don’t run up to someone on a field and yank their cables, they won’t like it).
The front and back panels have standard medium plate size pockets. TMC even included the pull straps that allow the user to quickly dump their plates from the pocket if needed. I tucked them inside of the plate pocket to keep them from getting in my way, since I’m not planning on using that feature.
The rear plate bag features a pair of side zippers that, according to TMC are compatible with real Crye Zip-On panels. The 2014-2015 CPC and AVS vests are not compatible with real or TMC Zip-On panels. I don’t have one to test with, but it’s one of the major changes to consider if you’re looking at a new or used TMC AVS/JPC (JPC 2.0)/CPC.
The front plate bag features a built in admin pouch with small elastic bands. The pouch is just big enough for a cell phone, though I’m not sure I’d want to store one in it on the field. It also comes with an integrated kangaroo pouch that holds the standard 3x 5.56 mags with tie downs and elastic dividers inside the pouch.
The CPC system also includes the Crye Harness system which unlike the plate bags appears to be slightly larger than Medium. Crye designed the harness as a weight bearing yoke as well as adding in a cummerbund for side plates. The CPC’s harness differs from the AVS, in that it has an internal hard shell frame that helps support the wearer. I’m almost certain the real CPC uses carbon fiber, but I highly doubt the TMC uses more than a plastic frame, I wasn’t about to cut the harness open to find out, since the weight difference is negligible in this case. That said, the internal frame on the replica TMC is very nice and noticeably affects the weight distribution with a heavily loaded carrier.
The harness also has the slots for the patented Crye StKSS system which links the completed vest to their belt system via a pair of carbon fiber rods that transfer weight from the user’s shoulders to their hips. Again I don’t have any to test, but they are more than likely to Crye spec, or close enough to work.
Unlike the AVS which has a modular cummerbund, the CPC has a permanent cummerbund. Crye interestingly designed the CPC with dual internal radio pouches, though they also work as M4 magazine pouches. I did try setting up the vest with that in mind and it is a very awkward draw from where they are positioned.
The shoulders of the Harness have a set of integrated shoulder pads that both add cushioning, and create a middle ground for the front plate bag to attach to.
Performance
While there isn’t a true performance test, I think this section is a great opportunity to talk about build quality.
Fabric – TMC claims the vest is made from 500D Cordura. It certainly feels light enough, and is a welcome change from the heavier 1000D Cordura that made up my old EPC. After using the AVS for a couple years and having no problems, I’m certainly more confident in the fabric and webbing quality than I was. However, this is TMC, so there’s no telling if it really is MILSPEC 500D or how long it will hold up under use. I don’t feel like the carrier would rip at any time, but experience with older TMC products says time could take its toll.
Stitching – This is a replica vest, so I wouldn’t expect anything great, though the AVS has certainly changed that view. This vest is still a far cry from the MILSPEC gear, but I think TMC is making a solid effort to step up quality as it had no lose stitching like the AVS came to me with only a couple years ago.
Bungee cords – One of the smaller details, but it’s worth mentioning. Like the AVS, the CPC uses a bungee to tie the back of the harness together. It is made from elastic “shock cord”. This is great as it helps the vest move and adjusts easily to different body types. But, the ends are unsealed, if left unsealed they will quickly unravel. A couple seconds with a lighter will melt the outer nylon covering and fuse everything together so this doesn’t happen. I really wish this was done at the factory, but it’s a small detail and not hard to do at home. The same problem can be found with the shock cord on the radio and kangaroo pouches.
Color – When I reviewed the Multicam AVS I knew I was in for an uphill battle, but now in 2016 and with a different color vest I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Ranger Green (RG) has a very unique and distinguished coloring. Unlike Olive Drab (OD), RG is a grayish green. It’s also been called Foliage Green (FG) which, while similar, isn’t correct.
The back panel is TMC RG/FG. Depending on the website, the CPC, might be listed under FG or RG.
The magazine pouch on the bottom left is Paraclete Smoke Green which has more gray in it than RG.
The smoke grenade pouch at bottom middle is Flyye RG and is very similar to TMC RG.
The hydration pouch on the right is Eagle Industries RG. It is definitely more gray than the TMC and Flyye RG.
While it’s not quite comparable to the real thing, the TMC RG is still close, and unless you’re looking for it, it isn’t noticeable. I’m sure once the sun and dirt hit the vest it will become even less distinguishable.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
My goal with the CPC was to maintain the capacity of my EPC, but the 1000D was starting to become a problem in weight alone. As you can see it is easy to load down the large CPC. But even with all of that stuff, it’s still a few pounds lighters than the EPC thanks to the 500D base carrier.
I am quite a fan of Crye vests, not for the fact that they are the latest and greatest, and everyone else is wearing them, but because they are comfortable, allow me to move as I want, and breathe well. That said, the TMC CPC is a pretty good copy of those features. The Harness is very comfortable, and allows me to move like my EPC, and carry everything I normally would with a heavy assault type setup.
At the end of the day it’s no Crye Precision vest (obviously), but I have confidence in it and hope it can rival my Flyye EPC.
External Score: 10/10
Seriously guys, I do these reviews to give people insight, I’m not paid to say nice things. But I cannot for the life of me find anything to nitpick on the vest itself.
Performance Score: 9/10
Besides the coloring of the fabric and webbing being slightly off, and the shock cord I couldn’t find anything to dock points from.
Overall score: 10/10
For any of the true Crye or Die fans I’m sure the TMC CPC doesn’t live up, but I just don’t fancy spending the kind of cash on a real one, especially considering how much I will probably use it. So the cheap option is the best option for now, and I’m looking forward to using it on the field. Compared to my AVS, the 2016 CPC is leaps and bounds ahead, but I certainly have no problem with either, and hopefully they will both hold up.
© Copyright triggs 2016
TMC “Cherry Plate Carrier” Crye CAGE Plate Carrier (CPC) 2016 ver.
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
The CAGE Plate Carrier™ (CPC™) offers unsurpassed comfort and load support in a low profile plate carrier configuration. It is releasable and accepts soft and hard armor inserts (sold separately). When paired with the Low Profile BLAST Belt™, it becomes an extremely efficient and versatile armor and load carriage system. Designed from the ground up to take full advantage of our revolutionary StKSS™ system that transfers the vest weight to the wearer's hips. The CPC™ built-in cummerbund is designed to accept our soft armor panels and 6”x6” plates. CPC™ plate bags (sold separately) stretch to accommodate different plate thicknesses and have integrated magazine and admin pouches. (taken from www.cryeprecision.com )
Overview
I’m starting to wonder if I’m turning into a Crye or Die player, but I do have to admit they make a nice system. Which is also what I said when I swapped out my Eagle Industries CIRAS for an Eagle EPC 6 years ago. The CIRAS was overly large and heavy, which, when moving to the EPC it was substantially lighter and more mobile, but now 6 years later it’s still 1000D Cordura and over built.
Since I’ve had great success with my 2014 version of the TMC AVS, when I started searching out a replacement for the heavy EPC of course TMC came to mind. A few friends that bought the first gen CPC’s when they came out had nicer things to say about it (the CPC) than I did about my AVS so I figured I’d give it a shot. I had to wait a few weeks but eventually I was able to get a 2016 TMC Cherry Plate Carrier (CPC) in stock and shipped to my door.
I really can’t say this enough, this is a China made copy, so going into the review I was not expecting CP level stitching, CP level quality, or military grade manufacturing, and neither should you. Having owned the AVS for two years I was expecting a lot more than I was when I reviewed the AVS. It’s roughly $140-$200 from Hong Kong, so that should be a dead giveaway of the quality to expect. There are plenty of TMC haters out there, which I can understand, and is well deserved given their past history. With that said, since 2014 their quality has only continued to improve (and the price tag with it). By no means do they manufacture something I would consider a military grade product, but for some things they will work. If it falls apart beyond repair, well, at least you’re not out too much money, or you might get lucky and it lasts a good long while.
Accessories
Unlike the AVS, the CPC is less modular, but you can see when looking at it, this is where the AVS technologies came from, it was clearly built upon R&D from the CPC.
The TMC vest includes 8 (4x large and 4x small) Crye style hard foam spacing pads. The idea with these is to allow for maximum airflow throughout the vest while keeping the weight as low as possible. I was so impressed with the pads that I bought a set for my AVS soon after writing this review.
It also comes with two quick release cables. They are nicely coated in rubber to keep from rubbing and making noise, as well as adding a protective coating to keep the user from getting cut on the steel cable. They even have Velcro on them to keep them tucked into the shoulder straps.
Also stuffed inside of the admin pouch I found two straps. These are used to mount custom quick buckles on the shoulders. A common modification for CPC owners is to replace them with a Cobra Quick Release Buckle or similar. These straps make it easier so there’s no need to take the vest apart and re-sewing it with the new buckles of choice.
Crye (and thus TMC) include 3 sticky back circular Velcro ‘coins’ that come on the front of the vest at shipping. Supposedly these are to be used on magazines designated for the front kangaroo pouch for retention purposes, but I don’t see this being useful or reliable since eventually the adhesive will wear off.
The kit also includes two (front and back) EVA hard foam plates. No listing on any website for the vest mentions it, but plates are included.
Externals Review
The vest is very similar to the AVS in its design. Or one should say the AVS is similar to the CPC, but that aside, taking the vest down for review was very simple. Pulling out both of the release cables instantly means everything falls off of you (don’t run up to someone on a field and yank their cables, they won’t like it).
The front and back panels have standard medium plate size pockets. TMC even included the pull straps that allow the user to quickly dump their plates from the pocket if needed. I tucked them inside of the plate pocket to keep them from getting in my way, since I’m not planning on using that feature.
The rear plate bag features a pair of side zippers that, according to TMC are compatible with real Crye Zip-On panels. The 2014-2015 CPC and AVS vests are not compatible with real or TMC Zip-On panels. I don’t have one to test with, but it’s one of the major changes to consider if you’re looking at a new or used TMC AVS/JPC (JPC 2.0)/CPC.
The front plate bag features a built in admin pouch with small elastic bands. The pouch is just big enough for a cell phone, though I’m not sure I’d want to store one in it on the field. It also comes with an integrated kangaroo pouch that holds the standard 3x 5.56 mags with tie downs and elastic dividers inside the pouch.
The CPC system also includes the Crye Harness system which unlike the plate bags appears to be slightly larger than Medium. Crye designed the harness as a weight bearing yoke as well as adding in a cummerbund for side plates. The CPC’s harness differs from the AVS, in that it has an internal hard shell frame that helps support the wearer. I’m almost certain the real CPC uses carbon fiber, but I highly doubt the TMC uses more than a plastic frame, I wasn’t about to cut the harness open to find out, since the weight difference is negligible in this case. That said, the internal frame on the replica TMC is very nice and noticeably affects the weight distribution with a heavily loaded carrier.
The harness also has the slots for the patented Crye StKSS system which links the completed vest to their belt system via a pair of carbon fiber rods that transfer weight from the user’s shoulders to their hips. Again I don’t have any to test, but they are more than likely to Crye spec, or close enough to work.
Unlike the AVS which has a modular cummerbund, the CPC has a permanent cummerbund. Crye interestingly designed the CPC with dual internal radio pouches, though they also work as M4 magazine pouches. I did try setting up the vest with that in mind and it is a very awkward draw from where they are positioned.
The shoulders of the Harness have a set of integrated shoulder pads that both add cushioning, and create a middle ground for the front plate bag to attach to.
Performance
While there isn’t a true performance test, I think this section is a great opportunity to talk about build quality.
Fabric – TMC claims the vest is made from 500D Cordura. It certainly feels light enough, and is a welcome change from the heavier 1000D Cordura that made up my old EPC. After using the AVS for a couple years and having no problems, I’m certainly more confident in the fabric and webbing quality than I was. However, this is TMC, so there’s no telling if it really is MILSPEC 500D or how long it will hold up under use. I don’t feel like the carrier would rip at any time, but experience with older TMC products says time could take its toll.
Stitching – This is a replica vest, so I wouldn’t expect anything great, though the AVS has certainly changed that view. This vest is still a far cry from the MILSPEC gear, but I think TMC is making a solid effort to step up quality as it had no lose stitching like the AVS came to me with only a couple years ago.
Bungee cords – One of the smaller details, but it’s worth mentioning. Like the AVS, the CPC uses a bungee to tie the back of the harness together. It is made from elastic “shock cord”. This is great as it helps the vest move and adjusts easily to different body types. But, the ends are unsealed, if left unsealed they will quickly unravel. A couple seconds with a lighter will melt the outer nylon covering and fuse everything together so this doesn’t happen. I really wish this was done at the factory, but it’s a small detail and not hard to do at home. The same problem can be found with the shock cord on the radio and kangaroo pouches.
Color – When I reviewed the Multicam AVS I knew I was in for an uphill battle, but now in 2016 and with a different color vest I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Ranger Green (RG) has a very unique and distinguished coloring. Unlike Olive Drab (OD), RG is a grayish green. It’s also been called Foliage Green (FG) which, while similar, isn’t correct.
The back panel is TMC RG/FG. Depending on the website, the CPC, might be listed under FG or RG.
The magazine pouch on the bottom left is Paraclete Smoke Green which has more gray in it than RG.
The smoke grenade pouch at bottom middle is Flyye RG and is very similar to TMC RG.
The hydration pouch on the right is Eagle Industries RG. It is definitely more gray than the TMC and Flyye RG.
While it’s not quite comparable to the real thing, the TMC RG is still close, and unless you’re looking for it, it isn’t noticeable. I’m sure once the sun and dirt hit the vest it will become even less distinguishable.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
My goal with the CPC was to maintain the capacity of my EPC, but the 1000D was starting to become a problem in weight alone. As you can see it is easy to load down the large CPC. But even with all of that stuff, it’s still a few pounds lighters than the EPC thanks to the 500D base carrier.
I am quite a fan of Crye vests, not for the fact that they are the latest and greatest, and everyone else is wearing them, but because they are comfortable, allow me to move as I want, and breathe well. That said, the TMC CPC is a pretty good copy of those features. The Harness is very comfortable, and allows me to move like my EPC, and carry everything I normally would with a heavy assault type setup.
At the end of the day it’s no Crye Precision vest (obviously), but I have confidence in it and hope it can rival my Flyye EPC.
External Score: 10/10
Seriously guys, I do these reviews to give people insight, I’m not paid to say nice things. But I cannot for the life of me find anything to nitpick on the vest itself.
Performance Score: 9/10
Besides the coloring of the fabric and webbing being slightly off, and the shock cord I couldn’t find anything to dock points from.
Overall score: 10/10
For any of the true Crye or Die fans I’m sure the TMC CPC doesn’t live up, but I just don’t fancy spending the kind of cash on a real one, especially considering how much I will probably use it. So the cheap option is the best option for now, and I’m looking forward to using it on the field. Compared to my AVS, the 2016 CPC is leaps and bounds ahead, but I certainly have no problem with either, and hopefully they will both hold up.
© Copyright triggs 2016