Best Plate Carriers 2026 - Technical Review

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Dry Weight

Few things affect human performance more directly than weight. Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain. Over distance, even small differences in weight compound into significant energy costs.

Let's toss each of these plate carriers on the scale and look at their dry weights with plate bags and cummerbund configured as tested.

• Lightest: Tracer Tactical E-MBAV
  • Dry Weight: 1.35 pounds (21.6 ounces)
    The E-MBAV leads this category, delivering the lowest dry weight in the lineup while still providing modularity, armor compatibility, and accessory support.
• Heaviest: S&S Precision PlateFrame-Modular (PF-M)
  • Dry Weight: 2.55 pounds (40.8 ounces)
    The PF-M is the heaviest carrier in this comparison. Its semi-rigid composite frame architecture and integrated wings add mass up front, trading weight for structure, load distribution, and frame stability. 

Wet Weight

Does wet weight matter more than dry weight? It depends on your mission. In maritime, jungle, rain-soaked, or sweat-drenched operations, how much water your carrier absorbs—and how quickly it sheds that water—can significantly impact endurance and comfort. Let's find out how successful this year's plate carrier lineup can be in maritime conditions.

Let's who's got the lightest and heaviest carrier in this lineup after we dunk them:

• Lightest Wet Weight: Dynamic Principles SLPC 2.0
  • Dry Weight: 1.45 lbs (23.2 oz)
  • Wet Weight: 2.0 lbs (32 oz)
    The SLPC 2.0 posts the best wet-weight drag performance in this group, gaining just 8.8 ounces of water.
• Heaviest Wet Weight: S&S Precision PlateFrame-Modular (PF-M)
  • Dry Weight: 2.55 lbs (40.8 oz)
  • Wet Weight: 3.0 lbs (48 oz)
    The PF-M ends up with the highest wet weight in absolute terms, but as we'll see in the Materials section, its percentage weight gain tells a more nuanced story.

Weight Comparison Chart

Thermal Transmittance

Thermal transmittance describes how effectively heat moves through the body-facing side of the plate carrier. High thermal transmittance allows your body to dump heat more efficiently, which is essential for preventing heat injuries and preserving performance under sustained load.

Here are the plate carriers in this lineup with the highest and lowest thermal shift.

Highest Thermal Transmittance: S&S Precision PlateFrame-Modular (PF-M)

With a thermal shift up to 64°F, the PF-M delivers the highest maximum thermal transmittance in this lineup, especially where the plate, ICEPLATE®, and frame geometry align to give optimal conduction and minimal insulation.

Lowest Thermal Transmittance: Tracer Tactical E-MBAV

At just 7°F of thermal shift, the E-MBAV shows the lowest thermal transmittance in this group, indicating greater insulation and more heat retention against the body.

What do these numbers mean?
To interpret the thermal transmittance data correctly, it's important to understand what we're measuring. The smaller the spread between the Initial or Baseline Surface Temperature and the post-test surface reading, the lower the thermal transmittance of that plate bag. Lower thermal transmittance means more heat is being trapped against the body.

Plate carriers with low thermal transmittance readings trap and retain more heat, increasing the likelihood of overheating and heat stress. Plate carriers with a larger thermal shift, meaning a greater spread between baseline and tested temperatures, exhibit higher thermal transmittance. These systems more effectively move heat away from the body, allowing natural thermoregulation to function as intended.

In this year's lineup, we see a wide spectrum of thermal behavior. Carriers with minimalist construction and laminate-heavy designs—such as the Dynamic Principles SLPC 2.0—demonstrate strong thermal transmittance by minimizing insulation and allowing heat to escape efficiently.

At the opposite end, traditionally constructed carriers like the T.REX Arms AC1.5 show lower thermal transmittance due to conventional textiles that insulate and retain heat.

The Tracer Tactical E-MBAV highlights a different tradeoff: compatibility with soft armor and legacy MBAV geometry improves ballistic flexibility but comes at the cost of reduced thermal efficiency when compared to ultra-low-profile designs.

Finally, the S&S Precision PlateFrame-Modular stands apart as an outlier. Its hybrid semi-rigid frame architecture produces an unusually wide thermal shift range depending on measurement location.

Across all configurations, one takeaway remains consistent: the environment is always present. While threat profiles vary in frequency and intensity, heat exposure is constant. Plate carriers that facilitate greater thermal transmittance reduce physiological burden, improve endurance, and decrease the risk of heat injury—making thermal performance a critical, often overlooked metric in overall system selection.

It's worth noting that despite falling below the mean and median thermal shift for this test group, the AC1.5 actually performed well compared to all of the other plate carriers we've ever tested in this series as a whole. This is evident as the data shows a massive gap between the thermal shift of the AC1.5 and the E-MBAV. To see how all four of these carriers stack up against every plate carrier we've ever tested, check out the Best Plate Carriers 2026 Blog article, linked in the description below.

The tables below represent the thermal shift data from the plate carriers we featured in Best Plate Carriers 2026:

Thermal Performance Comparison

Price Comparison

Price is the least important factor when choosing a plate carrier because this is life-preserving equipment. That said, budgets are real, and understanding cost relative to performance helps frame your decision. So let's find out what the most expensive and least expensive carriers are on this list.

• Lowest Priced Option: Dynamic Principles SLPC 2.0
  • Price: $155 USD across all colorways—no upcharge for Multicam, M81, or other patterns
• Highest Priced Option: S&S Precision PlateFrame-Modular
  • PlateFrame-Modular system, including plate bags and cummerbund, starts at $828.15 USD
  • Optional SOC (Stretchy Outer Concealment) System adds $75 USD

Price Comparison Chart

Conclusion

That wraps up our data-driven review of the best plate carriers for 2026 in this lineup, which includes the: Dynamic Principles SLPC 2.0, T.REX Arms AC1.5, Tracer Tactical E-MBAV, and S&S Precision PlateFrame-Modular.

From thermoregulation integration and wet-weight performance to thermal transmittance, materials, and modularity, our goal is to give you objective, instrument-backed data—not opinions—so you can make the best choice for your mission, environment, and physiology.

Let us know in the comments which plate carrier you'd pick from this lineup—and which carriers you want to see tested in the future.