Testudo Gen 2 Plate Carrier! Bells & Whistles on a Budget

hey thanks for tuning in at swingin bang testudo is Latin for tortoise though it's not the animal that this plate carrier is named after testudo is also the name given that interlocking shield formation that was popularized by the Romans centuries ago which is why it's a great name for body armor this is the Gentoo testudo which is a completely different carrier than the Gen 1 one that incorporates improvements in construction and design while still maintaining a budget-friendly price at an MSRP of only a hundred and fifty nine dollars the Gentoo testudo allows you to wear plates up to eleven by fourteen it's got a heavy-duty cummerbund with side pocket standard and yet it still has the flexibility to allow you to wear just a strap like this on the side when you can forgo coverage for convenience in short the Gentoo testudo is designed to give you all the bells and whistles that you ordinarily only find in carriers costing twice as much which is why it's what's coming up next on swaggin bang [Music] the second-generation testudo is a complete redesign of the first generation sharing only a few features with the Gen 1 it's constructed of 500d Cordura with double back stitching and bar tagging reinforcement around the plate pockets and on all webbing the front has vertical loops for attaching chest rigs if you're someone who needs to swap out your loadout frequently hybl on pull tabs are more flexible and less likely to snag on other gear or poke the wearer than tabs made of nylon webbing also because they're much flatter than nylon webbing tabs they avoid weird stitching and gapping where the tabs are stitched between the layers of fabric i'll weight bearing surfaces that touch the where are faced with 3d mesh and generous padding this helps not only reduce pressure points during extended wear but also allows sweat to evaporate out the size of the carrier instead of pulling between the wear and the fabric side and shoulder buckles are shatter resistant ITW nexus buckles made in the US the rear the shoulder straps are uniquely placed on a test to toe low and inside the carrier this reduces the sag common rear plates and helps the armor ride higher for better protection the rear panel has a generous drag handle and anchor points for a backpack as with the front all webbing is faced with velcro loop fabric for versatility and mounting accessories the testudo includes a wide 500d Cordura cummerbund with built in side pockets outer webbing runs the full length of each side to allow the secure attachment of mag pouches eye facts and other accessories the front has an upper adnan pocket that's relatively easy to open inside is a ladder of elastic loops to hold the content still or for attaching lanyards the lower admin pocket is a bit more challenging open but it has substantial volume even with a plate in the carrier hybl on pull tabs make opening the front cummerbund flap easy enough revealing genuine velcro hook and loop covering the flap front and back once sealed the flap ensures the cummerbund won't work its way loose so keep that in mind when adjusting the belts tension the testudo also includes quick detach side straps that can work with the cummerbund or alone velcro tail keepers dress the ends of the straps to keep them from snagging on gear or working their way loose without requiring you to trim their length the straps also easily remove for wearing the cummerbund by itself which is my preferred way of setting up this carrier the comer montes bungee loop through hypalon that allows you to adjust tension to fit your size and mobility needs this also shows how easy the cumberbund can be removed if you just want to run the quick release side straps the large side pockets can be used to store administrative items with easier access than that provided by the front pockets they're also designed to accept six by six and six by eight armor plates and pads while covering the armor completely to reduce poking and rubbing between the plates and the wearer the pocket isn't padded however so I recommend using an internal pad fit to the size of your side plate the shoulder pads have loops of webbing to dress hydration tubes mount microphones or even a place a body camera away from your other gear their interior is lined with rubberized corduroy to keep the pads from sliding on the straps once in place the 3d mesh padding is extra thick matching that on the interior of the plate carrier the ITW nexus buckles are attached low and inside the rear of the plate carrier allowing the rear plate to ride about an inch higher than if the straps were attached to the top like on most carriers both plate pockets have strong velcro bottom closures which when open revealed to internal plate stabilizing straps this allows the testudo to accommodate plates from 8 by 10 all the way to 11 by 14 while keeping the top of the armor at the top of the wear sternum regardless of the plates length the plate pockets can also accommodate thick plates and pads like this new UHMWPE lightweight level-3 armor the interior has full velcro loop on the body side and a patch of loop fabric on the front side for use in positioning micro plates using an optional internal plate pocket most weres will likely just use a conventional plate and pad however which I saw by sliding them as far as you can jam them into the pocket then snugging the stabilizing straps along the bottom and backside of the armor flattening the carrier engages the velcro and at that point the armor won't be sliding around in the pocket every time you move the testudo is available as a plate carrier alone or as part of a complete armor and loadout kit with several options for armor type the armor packages include a double rifle mag pouch which can accommodate up to four standard rifle mags elastic sides meaning your mags will be snug whether you're loading 1 or 2 per pouch they also come with a double pistol mag pouch designed to hold two single or double stack pistol mags the top flap has enough adjustment to retain everything from short mags all the way to some extended mags depending on capacity and caliber the armor packages also include a truly Universal pistol holster which comes setup from the factory right or left-handed per your preference however it's fully adjustable not only for retention but you can also switch everything around from right-handed to left-handed if your needs change in the future I think the second generation testitude is a big step up from the gen one it's simply built better it doesn't have all those extraneous straps and loops all over it it's got a lot of design improvements like how the rear of the straps plug into the back of the carrier you can see it does lift the rear plate and give me better protection back there though that might be a bit of a double-edged sword because when you combine where those straps are attached with the extra padding that this Gen 2 testudo has in the shoulder pads I do get a little bit of pressure on the side of my neck I've been wearing us a lot and I don't I'm not bothered by this I just fuel it as pressure that I don't notice with other plate carriers I have but if you've got a really thick neck this might be something that you find distracting or even uncomfortable there's no way for me to tell but in general the gen 2 testudo will adjust to fit medium to large-sized shooters when i put it on my 5 foot to 115 pound was a bit chunky on her which I think maybe the Veritas is a better choice for smaller shooters who want a full feature plate carrier because not only does it have a little bit more adjustability in the shoulder straps without having to remove the pads but it has availability of a much lighter weight cummerbund if you want to use a cover mine of course both of these can be worn with just the side straps but because this can hold up to 11 by 14 plates it's just going to be larger if that's what you're looking for if you're looking for all the bells and whistles in a plate carrier that would ordinarily cost twice as much that's what the gen 2 testudo is for be sure to use code twanging and banging and the links in the video description to save up to 10% on this or anything you buy at ar500 armour be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram you can see the links right here and be sure to click right here to subscribe so you can catch my next videos on Beau's guns and other cool stuff I really appreciate you watching twanging a bang and I hope to see you next time

Channel: TWANGnBANG

Views: 256,520

Keywords: ar500, armor, body armor, kevlar, aramid, level iii, level iiia, level iii+, level iv, plate carrier, uhmwpe, bulletproof, best plate carrier, best body armor, best bulletproof vest, best 2018

Id: aDVmL5OpBdw

Length: 7min 44sec (464 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 07 2017