Page 36 - Airsoft Action Issue 126 June 2021

I
T & G
KIT & GEAR
K
E
A
R
A
L
PLATE CARRIERS
P
A
R
R
C
T
E
IERS
TE
PL A
PLATE
C ARRIE RS...
CARRIERS...

WHA OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IT SEEMS THAT THE
WHAT
T

PLATE CARRIER HAS BECOME THE CHOSEN METHOD
OF LOAD BEARING AND MAGAZINE CARRIAGE FOR
AIRSOFTERS WORLDWIDE - BUT DO WE REALLY NEED
ARE
ARE THEM AND WHY ARE THEY NOW SO POPULAR IN

AIRSOFT? BILL TAKES A LOOK BACK OVER HIS LAST 26
YEARS OF PLAYING TO TRY AND FIND AN ANSWER…

hen I picked up my first AEG way back in
1994 (and yes, it was a TM FAMAS!), the
THEY
THE Y Wthought of wearing (what is in essence)
a fancy, fussified “bulletproof vest” was a million
miles away from my first choice of load-bearing gear
and the fact that one day we would all have one (or
more) in our kit collection didn’t even factor in my
thinking! Yes, a good chest rig was the very thing I
needed and to this day I am still a huge fan of this
GOOD If someone had mentioned “armour” to me at
GOOD
type of “load lugger”.
that point in my “airsoft career”, my first thought
would probably have been to King Arthur and his
Knights and indeed, if you look at the history books
then “armour” has been with us in one shape or
FOR?
F OR? form for almost as long as humans have gone to
war with one another. Initially, cured hides and
leather armour provided protection for the warrior,
as did layers of silk in Eastern cultures, but as the
understanding of metals and of metalworking grew,
so did armour protection really start to blossom, first
in the form of “chainmail” and later in the form of
the plate armour we associate with those Knights of
yore.

“WHEN I PICKED UP MY FIRST AEG WAY BACK IN 1994 (AND YES, IT WAS A TM FAMAS!), THE
THOUGHT OF WEARING (WHAT IS IN ESSENCE) A FANCY, FUSSIFIED “BULLETPROOF VEST”
WAS A MILLION MILES AWAY FROM MY FIRST CHOICE OF LOAD-BEARING GEAR…”

36 JUNE 2021