We take a look today at the Defense Mechanisms MEPC (Mission Essential Plate Carrier) to show off one of the best minimalistic plate carriers currently on the market.
| Get the gear in this review |
Defense Mechanisms MEPC & Modular Placard System
*new* Discount Code: TLDco
| Training |
| Discounts |
Wilder Tactical Battle Belts
Discount Code: TLDco
Olight Weapon lights
Discount Code: TLDco
| TLD Merch |
Here are the items I ordered
MEPC
Medium (get the large so it fits larger plates)
Molle backing
Multicam Tropic (to match our placard)
5 Inch hybrid Cummebund
QD
Multicam Tropic
Padded cable management sleeve
Ranger green
Taking a look at the front of the plate bag on the MEPC we see a series of smart decisions that take it above its peers. The front of the carrier has 3 loopback molle rows to attach in any personal devices or any patches and indicators you want to affix to the front.
Also on the front is a row of three molle loops placed vertically on either side. This allows you a place to connect in your placards at three different heights. I used the ITW QASM clips at the low attachment point so I have the top section free to connect into a PTT easily for a clean setup.
The top portion of the molle also has a large zippered pocket area that was easy to access even with plates installed. You could easily place maps or documents in this pocket for easy reading.
Moving down the front carrier, we see a large loop back portion to hold your front placards. Now folks with molle pouches may be discouraged but you can easily grab the kangaroo placard and connect your molle pouches to that. It makes for a fantastic setup and shows the versatility of the Defense Mechanisms Modular placards.
Continuing down the bag, we reach the plate bag pocket. The opening is nice and large and allows you easily insert your plates. There is also a retention strap to keep the plates held in place. As we’ve seen with some other carriers, this also allows the weight of the plates to move upward on the carrier and be better distributed around the entirety of the body. The enclosure flap also closes on the inside of the plate bag to allow for any odd side plates without issue.
Flipping the front bag over, we see the entire backside is lined with a breathable 3d mesh material that is extremely comfortable. It’s rare to see this on other minimalistic carriers as you usually only get whatever the back of the fabric is and you just suffer through it.
Moving to the rear of the plate bag, we see the top of the molle section has an integrated drag handle that comes standard with the carrier. The rear of the carrier is full molle as we selected with three of the molle rows in loop back to affix any identifiers. The fully molle backing would allow you to easily integrate into the Defense Mechanisms recondite bag to give you some rear expansion.
The plate bag opening mimics the front with the large mount and plate retention strap but the rear flap also covers the smart cummerbund attachment area. Also similar to the front, the opposite side of the front bag includes the same 3d mesh that covers all contact points of the body.
Looking next at the shoulder pads, these pads connect the front and rear bags together and allow for easy sizing adjustment. I used the padded cable management sleeves and slid these over to allow for some really nice organization of antennas and whatnots.
The cummerbund uses a QD connection that affixes to the front of the placard area, allowing for micro-adjustments in size if required. Behind the QD section is the 3 rows of molle with a mesh center. These three rows can be used on both the outside and inside to allow for gear on either side of the cummerbund. The final rear section includes an elastic portion for expansion that then connects into the rear bag via hook and loop.
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Music by: @Barren Gates