Ranger_Captain
Pissin' people off one post at a time
Registered: July 2005
Location: West Point, New York
Posts: 1,229
|
|
Review Date: 12/7/09
|
Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £50.00
| Rating: 8
|
|
Positive aspects of the product (pros):
|
Cheap, Adjustable, Fairly Realistic, Similar features to real version, Correct Colors of MOLLE strips, Comes with accessories such as arm and groin protectors
|
|
Cons:
|
Sweaty, Cheap Material, Pattern not exact match, The straps are not sewn on well
|
|
Condor Interceptor Body Armor Replica
Introduction
I hate the Interceptor. I know that’s a TERRIBLE way to start a review but I figure I might as well get that out while I can. Before joining the US Army I was a seasoned geardo and having owned a CIRAS, RACK, RAV, and half a dozen other plate carriers/assault vests and to be honest the thought of getting an Interceptor was a bit of a letdown compared to even just my own kit. Turns out in the end I was to be even MORE disappointed at first but that’s a story for another day (and maybe another review).
Be that as it may I will attempt to be impartial to the IBA and not consider it against its obvious superiors in the world of plate carriers but as a vest on its own.
Real Steel History
The IBA or Interceptor Body Armor is a combination soft and hard plate piece of body armor that traces its lineage all the way back to flack vests worn by American and British bomber crews during WWII. IBA is a bit of a misnomer as IBA refers to the entire armor system. In reality what most users refer to the IBA is actually the OTV or outer tactical vest. The other part of the system are the two SAPI or Small Arms Protective Inserts.
The vest was largely developed by DARPA and contracted out to Point Blank Body Armor for manufacture and distribution. Issued to replace the aging PASGT system or Personal Armor System for Ground Troops, the IBA was quite an advancement over this previous system, actually offering true protection against ballistic threats and making use of newly developed hard armor ceramic plates.
There have been two generations of the IBA, the original being in woodland and desert camo, and Tan with a limited number of PALS straps for pouches on the lower portion of the vest. Over the years with the rise of new MOLLE options, a change in camo patterns for both the US Army and Marine Corps and the slow but eventual phasing out of the LBE, the Army came out with a second version of the IBA, in the new UCP pattern of the ACU uniform, more PALS straps for MOLLE pouches and additional Velcro areas for rank and name tapes.
In the past few months however the IBA has begun being phased out in favor of the IOTV or Improved Outer Tactical Vest for the Army and the Modular Tactical Vest for the Marine Corps. The reasons for the switch are numerous but primarily it was the lack of effective side and shoulder armor that didn’t cause distinct discomfort for the wearer as well as limiting range of motion.
First Impressions
Well I had owned an old Point Blank OTV in Woodland Camo about three years ago and I disliked it then mainly because I was switching all my loadouts to ACU and the Woodland vest, in my opinion, looked horrible with ACU’s. When the version two came out I was tempted to buy another real OTV (them being so common on Ebay) but I sided for a replica due to fact I had various other plate carriers I knew I would prefer over it and buying a $200 real Point Blank just couldn’t be justified. Thus when Condor came out with their IBA II I figured why not?
Thus I ordered it and upon arrival I was met with an interesting sight. The Condor IBA in ACU Version II comes as a full IBA kit, minus plates of course, but does come with deltoid proctors, groin protectors, and throat yoke.
This was the first time I had seen an IBA II, or even just a replica, in person, and I can say that right away I could tell it was a definite improvement. Far from perfect but a definite step in the right direction.
Appearance
Notwithstanding my personal distaste for the IBA, I think the Condor replica looks quite nice. It replicates the overall appearance from the real IBA II. Unlike some other replicas the Condor actually uses the correct foliage green PALS strips as opposed to the strangely colored Coyote Brown ones on other Chinese replicas.
Additionally the Condor IBA has correct sized plate pouches that also feature the retention clips inside the pouches that are present in the real one.
As far as the visual pattern on the IBA goes it’s okay. Not great, but okay. The real IBA’s UCP pattern is much closer in look to the one printed on our uniforms and the material closer resembles that of Cordura (might be, I’m not sure). The Condor’s material is clearly a cheaper synthetic, probably nylon. As such it has a “cheap” look to it.
The inside of the vest has a distinct cheap plastic material look to it. It’s very shinny and has a “swish” feel to it.
Look Grade: 8/10
The Condor has a very good look to it compared to the real IBA II and should serve one well as far as recreating the right look.
Feel/Aesthetic
Be warned, while this is one of the better IBA II’s on the market, when you use it, you will sweat. The nylon-ish material it is made out of will definitely keep you sweating the whole day, no matter what the temperature.
Other than that no real complaints. The IBA is fairly easy to put on and off and while there are several push buttons on it for a more secure fitting, I never really use them as it takes a lot of effort to get all three lined up and it really doesn’t add anything to wear.
A nice aesthetic touch was that this vest, when bought new, comes with a groin protector, shoulder protectors, and neck guards. Personally I got rid of all of these as I dislike the look and feel of wearing all of them but for some this is a nice touch that many of the other IBA II kits out there lack.
The one downside is that inside the vest there are tons of attachment points all over the inside which wouldn’t be a problem but the stitching on them is very poor. As soon as I got the vest the attachment points for one of the shoulders came right off due to the very poor stitching.
I had to use some industrial staples to keep them in place.
Another item of note on the vest is the Velcro sections for patch and name tape display. There’s one on the front which is quite nice and almost dead on right except the center portion where the rank insignia goes isn’t double width.
A minor issue at best but something that the replica clearly differs in.
On the rear of the vest there’s a Velcro section above the rear plate pouch. I find this good for displaying both an additional name tape as well as morale patches (which I’m known to be a collector of  ). However I should note that this is not present on the real version of the interceptor… although it should be.
Another nice feature on this vest is the drag handle. While much of the stitching on this vest is a bit subpar the stitching on the drag handle is very good. During an Infantry Tactics training event I was the “drag dummy” meaning I got to be dragged on my ass by everyone in the platoon for about 20 feet each, so that’s more than a collectively 600 feet (38 person’s in an infantry platoon) and after which there was no sign of wear on the handle at all.
This is something I can’t say of other vests out there of any type. I’ve had the drag handles, just using them as carry handles to move the vest around, rip off of vests such as the UTG cross draw, Guarder MOD II, and almost tore one off of my Black Hawk Phalanx Tactical Vest. It’s not really something that an airsofter might put THAT much stock into but it’s definitely not something that should be overlooked by the gear company and is a nice touch on the Condor.
Other than that there’s little else to mention. The vest keeps its shape with foam inserts which I suppose could be replaced with real soft armor but that would seem a little much. I would highly advise getting a fake plate set however as it allows the vest to keep a better, more realistic feeling shape when worn on the body.
Feel Grade: 8/10
Aesthetics: 8/10
Feel wise it loses a point for being so sweaty to wear and a point for the somewhat subpar materials used on the externals. As far as aesthetics goes I’d say that it’s a very nice repo of the real IBA II and about the only down points are things that a stickler for detail would notice.
Use
Using this vest is okay. It has the same limitations that the real version of the IBA II suffers from so in fairness it works very well for a reproduction but the base design is by its nature, flawed.
As far as MOLLE pouches go you can pretty much put them anywhere on the vest and it doesn’t really restrict movement. I usually mount a SAW pouch under my arm with no issues.
Adjustability is good and it can be made to fit any body type but the natural problems with the IBA can prevent good “tactical” movement from this. For instance the vest extends fairly far down the body, on me coming to around the pelvis area which has the obvious problem of reducing my ability to crouch, crawl, and climb.
I wouldn’t call this my favorite plate carrier but it’s definitely a good repo and if one is looking for an IBA II for creating a specific loadout, this is a good alternative to shelling out a few hundred dollars for a real one.
Use Grade: 8/10
Conclusion
Pros:
Cheap
Adjustable
Fairly Realistic
Similar features to real version
Correct Colors
Comes with accessories such as arm and groin protectors
Cons:
Sweaty
Cheap Material
Pattern not exact match
The straps are not sewn on well
Overall Grade: 8/10
This vest gets a solid eight in my book as it’s much better than most of the IBA replicas out there and recreates the look of an IBA II very well. Although it has some issues with it, most of these are minor and easily overlooked or easily rectified.
So I would say I would recommend this product for anyone seeking a cheap way to getting that IBA II look without shelling out the price on a real one. However if one were to ask me what plate carrier to buy… well that’s a different review…
Credits:
http://www.hotspotairsoft.com/catalog/
------------------------------
Never argue with a gun, it may argue back...
United States Corps of Cadets, USMA
Cadet, United States Army
2012 "For More Than Ourselves"
|
|
|
|
| Users |
61,273 |
| Products |
953 |
| Reviews |
1,879 |
| Views |
12,667,335 |
| Sun | Mon |
Tue | Wed |
Thu | Fri |
Sat | | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | | | |
|
Registered: July 2005
Location: West Point, New York