Which ones work for you, which don't? Why?
Was working a range on Fort Campbell yesterday and a lieutenant had an Ares Armor Derma carrier with the Cobra buckles on the side. Anyone ever try one of these?
I think it would be tough to beat this:
http://www.skdtac.com/FirstSpear-STT-Plate-Carrier-SKD-Exclusive-p/fsr.550.htm
This is basically the same as FS's amphibian or AAC carriers. The SKD offering appears to incorporate all of the advantages of the FS design at a fraction of the cost. It is manufactured by FS for SKD.
I have the Amphibian and truly couldn't be happier. I am very familiar with the JPC as well as the TAG banshee. In my opinion the FS blows them out of the water. The quality is top notch and the design is very well thought out. It can be run completely slick and is just as low-pro as the dedicated slick offerings on th market.
The "Tubes" attachment system is slick and fit my rapid donning requirements better than a velcro front flap. It is extremely secure and is very intuitive to operate.
I recommend some shoulder pads as there isn't any built into the design but this is the only addition you will have to make right out of the box. There isn't any padding inside of the carrier so if that's your bag look elsewhere or plan on adding SKD's pontoons.
Again I don't have the SKD carrier So I can't give a review of that specific model but if it's even 1/2 the carrier the Amphibian is its worth the squeeze. On my less than stellar cop pay the SKD is the route I'd take if I were doing it all over again.