Gear Tips: Banshee Plate Carrier – Ultra Low Profile Set Up

If you have followed my blog regularly, you would know that I like to run the Banshee Plate Carrier because it is very low profile. Although the Banshee Plate Carrier is low profile enough, did you know that the it can even be lower profile than it seems? That’s right, from the above picture; an operator can simply remove the cummerbund and run the banshee. So why one would remove the cummerbund and run the Banshee plate carrier in this fashion?Answer is simple. With less material, the plate carrier is lighter. By removing the cummerbund, obviously the carrier will be much lighter. The operator can be much faster, have more mobility, more agile, and the plate carrier is much easier to be put on. Since the cummerbund is remove, both sides of the plate carrier will be cleared and have no obstruction for handguns. The operator have more side clearance for holsters that are lower profile, sit closer to the body, or even concealment holsters.

The Banshee with the cummerbund removed is perfect for police officers. As I have mentioned before, The Banshee Plate Carrier in the color black, is approved for duty use by the Los Angeles Police Department. Since police officers have soft body armor underneath their uniforms already, running the Banshee Plate Carrier is perfect for them. You may wonder why police officers need a plate carrier on top of their body armor let me explain it.

Soft body armor, generally speaking is about 4 pounds (using my own level 3A armor from US Armor as a reference). Soft armors are usually made with Kevlar, a bullet resistant material (NOT BULLET PROOF). Level 3A is the highest protection they offer in the soft armor form. Police officers do not usually use anything above level 3A because of the bulkiness and weight. Anything above level 3A is hard plates. Level 3A can only stop most non armor piercing handgun bullets, up to a .44 Magnum. When an officer is dealing with a suspect with a rifle or armor piercing capability, the officer’s Level 3A is pretty much obsolete. The rifle rounds will pretty much go through their soft armors like hot knife through butter. The officers on the street need something more to protect themselves with rifle threats.

By having a Banshee Plate Carrier, Officers can put rifle plates (hard plates) inside the Banshee plate carrier, the officer now have protection against rifle rounds. In an active shooter scenario, officers can easily go to the trunk in the patrol car, throw on the Banshee Plate Carrier, and grab their rifle and response to the call. Without the cummerbund attached, the Banshee Plate Carrier is easier to be put on, especially with their soft armor underneath their uniform. The officers can also access their equipment on their duty belt easier, such as handcuffs, pistol, pepper spray and tasers.

The Banshee plate carrier also provides additional support equipment to the officers. To set up an active shooter plate carrier, all the officers need are rifle magazine pouches, additional handgun magazine pouches, and a medical pouch. Without the cummerbund, I would recommend setting up with the Double Decker Taco Pouch from HSGI. The Double Decker pouch holds 1 rifle magazine and 1 pistol magazine. For the medical pouch, I would recommend the Blue Force Gear Trauma Now! Pouch. This pouch has a removable inner compartment, so the officer can pull it out from his back if needed.

For Airsoft, The Banshee Plate Carrier without the cummerbund for people who would like to be fast, agile and light weight. I would recommend setting up the same, however, with the difference of a hydration carrier instead of the medical pouch. That is for now for Gear Tip, I am Andrew, Stay safe, and get out and play airsoft.