Technical Plate Carrier Review: ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 Ultralight Minimalist Plate Carrier

In 2019, Qore Performance launched ICEPLATE EXO®, a new type of ultralight, minimalist plate carrier designed from the ground up to include the company’s patented thermoregulation ICEPLATE® and ICEVENTS® technology. Built from a proprietary ICEPLATE EXO® laminate and laser cut for maximum weight savings, ICEPLATE EXO® introduced the concept of thermoregulation being as integral a component to the armed professional’s safety as ballistic protection.

Five years later, ICEPLATE EXO® has evolved thanks to invaluable end-user feedback, passionate team members pushing the limit and ever improving manufacturing technologies. Now in its third generation, ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 following a meticulous ground-up redesign intended to make the most functional and feature rich plate carrier on the market, and after many requests from our viewers and customers, we’re here to ask: how does ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 stack up against the competition? Is ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 a one trick pony or the real deal?  Watch above or read on in this installment of Qore Performance INSIGHTS to find out.

Click here for The Best Plate Carriers of 2024

Format

For newcomers to this series, our videos aren't standard "reviews." We developed them to answer frequent customer questions about integrating our IceAge Ecosystem's thermoregulation and hydration tools with various plate carriers available today. Our approach is strictly empirical: we present objective, quantifiable data supported by instruments and documentation whenever possible. We strive to avoid any subjective or qualitative information. We don't share conjectures or opinions. Our goal is to provide you with the data necessary to make informed decisions, empowering you to reach your highest potential. That is what Building A Superhuman Future® is all about.

Relationship Disclosures

Despite the fact that ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is one of our products, we still strive to give purely empirical and data-driven insights no matter what, which is why you won’t find any subjective or qualitative information in this or any insights video for that matter. Our goal is to remain neutral and unbiased in order to provide you with information to make the best purchase decision possible and set you up for success.

IceAge Ecosystem Integration

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is designed to be seamlessly compatible with our IceAge Ecosystem. Everything from ICEVENTS® ventilation pontoons, ICEVENTS® Classic and Aero shoulder pads and IMS Pro will work with ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3. The internal Velcro loop fields on the body facing sides of both plate bags are engineered to accept both IMS Pro Combo and ICEVENTS® Plate Carrier Ventilation pontoons. Furthermore, the AXL Equinox Cummerbund variant also readily accepts cummerbund mounted ICEVENTS® Plate Carrier Ventilation pontoons.

IceAge Ecosystem Integration Comparison Chart

Materials

Changing up slightly from our usual format, we will cover materials before dry and wet weight. This is due to our newly introduced laminate material options, Berry Compliant ICEPLATE EXO® laminate and USMCA compliant Endurance laminate being relevant to point out prior to our weight testing. Here are the differences:

Berry Compliant materials are entirely sourced and manufactured in the U.S., essential for military and government contracts to ensure quality and origin standards. Our ICEPLATE EXO® laminate, made in the U.S., includes Spectra Fiber for exceptional strength, durability, and traceability.

USMCA compliant materials on the other hand can be sourced within the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Our ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 uses a high-quality laminate made in Mexico called Endurance, with a HiVis laminate unique to our Safety collection already being in use. This initiative caters to private citizens, recreational enthusiasts, agencies, non-profits, and small businesses, offering increased capability and accessibility without requiring Berry Compliance. Endurance does not include Spectra Fibre.

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is primarily made from one of these laminates depending on which the customer chooses, alongside name brand Velcro®, Shock Cord, and 500D Nylon outer (IRR compliant).

Weight

Dry Weight

Few things impact human performance more than weight. Ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain. We've all heard it. We all know it.

In this video we will be weighing four different variations of ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 for maximum transparency and education. These will be ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 constructed from Berry compliant ICEPLATE EXO® laminate with both the side strap and AXL Equinox Cummerbund, followed by ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 built with USMCA compliant Endurance laminate with side strap and AXL Equinox Cummerbund.

Dry, the Berry compliant variant with just the front and rear platebags and side strap, ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 comes in at 15.2 ounces or .95 pounds. With the AXL Equinox cummerbund, that weight comes to 23.2 ounces or 1.45 pounds.

Dry, the USMCA compliant variant with just the front and rear platebags and side strap, ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 comes in at 15.2 ounces or .95 pounds. With the AXL Equinox cummerbund, that weight comes to 22.4 ounces or 1.40 pounds.

To find out how this weight compares to other carriers like the Crye Precision JPC 2.0, Crye Precision AVS, Shaw Concepts ARC V3 and many more, click on the link in the show notes below to check out our Best Plate Carriers 2024 article and video. This is super interesting stuff, and the guys did a great job putting together the most comprehensive database of plate carrier data we are aware of.

Wet Weight

Does wet weight matter more than dry weight? It depends on your mission. Whether salt water or sweat, the ability of a plate carrier to repel and shed water weight quickly can dramatically impact operator performance. 

If you have watched any of the many videos in our Technical Plate Carrier Overview series, you’ll know that our experimental design is simple and is the same for all plate carriers we test in this series: submerge the carrier in water for 60 minutes, remove and hang dry for 60 seconds, and then record the weight. We conduct all of these tests inside our brand-new HQ2 facility in Knoxville, TN, to ensure external variables, like sunlight, wind, etc., are absent.

Wet, the Berry compliant variant with just the front and rear platebags and side strap, ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 comes in at 21.6 ounces or 1.35 pounds. With the AXL Equinox cummerbund, that weight comes to 32 ounces or 2 pounds.

Wet, the USMCA compliant variant with just the front and rear platebags and side strap, ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 comes in at 21.6 ounces or 1.35 pounds. With the AXL Equinox cummerbund, that weight comes to 30.4 ounces or 1.9 pounds.

Thermal Transmittance

What is Thermal Transmittance, and why does it matter for plate carriers?

Thermal transmittance refers to the rate at which heat moves through a material. In the context of plate carriers, it specifically pertains to the body-facing side of the plate carrier plate bag. When a material, such as a wall or a plate bag, is well-insulated, it has low thermal transmittance, making it effective at protecting against external temperature changes—ideal for homes, vehicles, or cold-weather gear. Conversely, poorly insulated materials have high thermal transmittance, which is beneficial for active or athletic apparel like running gear, PT outfits, combat uniforms, or plate carriers. High thermal transmittance allows the body to release excess heat generated during intense physical activity.

Given that tactical gear inherently provides some level of insulation, it's crucial to choose equipment, particularly plate carriers and body armor, with the highest possible thermal transmittance. Essentially, you need gear with minimal insulation to enable your body's natural cooling processes to function optimally, helping you manage body temperature independently of your gear. This is critical to prevent heat-related issues, ensuring you remain effective and increasing your survival chances in the field. Some plate carriers, such as our ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3, enhance your body’s natural thermoregulation, boosting your performance. For carriers lacking this feature, you can integrate items from our IceAge Ecosystem, like the IMS Pro, IMS Versa, ICEVENTS®, and CATAMARAN, to improve their thermal efficiency.

For a detailed understanding of heat transfer methods and their relevance to your gear, check out the infographics in our INSIGHTS blog article titled "The Methods of Heat Transfer".

For all of the super nerds out there who want to know the Experimental Design for our Thermal Transmittance testing, here it is:

1. FLIR camera surface reading of the body facing side of the plate bags at room temperature
2. Place a single ICEPLATE® Curve, fresh out of the freezer, into the same plate bag
3. Close the plate bag and place a hard armor plate on top of the plate bag for 30 seconds to simulate the effect of putting on the plate carrier. Use short exposure time to test efficiency, not capacity. 
4. Remove the hard armor plate from the surface of the subject plate bag
5. Take a new FLIR surface temperature reading

The Berry compliant ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 recorded a baseline surface temperature of 82 degrees fahrenheit and an Iceplate inside temperature of 67 degrees fahrenheit, which yields a thermal shift of 15 degrees fahrenheit. 

The USMCA compliant ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 recorded a baseline surface temperature of 82 degrees fahrenheit and an Iceplate inside temperature of 67 degrees fahrenheit, which also yields a thermal shift of 15 degrees fahrenheit. 

What do these numbers mean? The smaller the spread between the Initial or Baseline Surface Temperature and the surface reading at room temperature, the lower the Thermal Transmittance of that plate bag. Plate carriers with these readings will trap and retain more heat, making you hotter. The larger the spread between the Initial or Baseline Surface Temperature and the surface reading at room temperature, the higher the Thermal Transmittance of that plate carrier. Plate bags with these larger spreads are better at removing heat to let your body's thermoregulation mechanisms work as naturally as possible. 

The tables below shows how both the Berry Compliant and USMCA compliant ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3’s compare to the other plate carriers tested. We've provided two tables for unbiased analytical context, mean on the left and median on the right: 

 
Below is a comparison of plate carrier's Thermal Shift that we have tested. Let’s talk about what Thermal Transmittance actually is and why it matters.

Thermal Transmittance is the transfer of heat through matter. In our case, that matter is the body-facing section of a plate carrier plate bag. Plate carriers are insulating by nature, so finding plate carriers with the highest possible Thermal Transmittance will help maximize your performance in the field. In other words, you want to find plate carriers and body armor with minimal insulation.

Learn more about Methods of Heat Transfer here.

In the data we are about to present, the smaller the Thermal Transmittance number, the worse the carrier is at expelling heat from the interface between your body and the plate carrier. The larger the Thermal Transmittance number, the more efficient the plate carrier is at expelling heat from your body/carrier interface. In other words, smaller numbers mean you run hotter; bigger numbers mean you run cooler. When it comes to Thermal Transmittance, big numbers are good.

Unique Features

ICEPLATE EXO Gen 3 uses Velcro®, MOLLE, Swift Clip, G Hook, MOLLE, and can utilize Zip-on Panels via adapters.

Variety

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is available in MultiCam, ranger green, coyote, black and our newly released HiVis colorway. Yes, you heard that last one correctly.

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is also available with a side strap or cummerbund variant as well as the previously covered Berry compliant or USMCA compliant material variants.  

Sizing Adjustability

The shoulder straps have 4 inches of adjustability and the cummerbund has 14 inches of adjustability.

Plate Bags

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is optimized for Medium ESAPI plates. Armor plates with the following dimensions will fit:

• 9.5" x 12.5" up to 1.1" for Medium ESAPI armor plate profiles.
• 10" x 12" up to 0.75" thick for Medium SAPI plate profiles.
• Shooter/Swimmer, ESAPI, and SAPI footprints

Country of Origin

Country of origin is a critical consideration when selecting a plate carrier. COO is a dependable but not absolute indicator of innovation, quality, and craftsmanship. 

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 is 100% designed and manufactured in Knoxville, Tennessee. Both the Berry Compliant and USMCA Compliant variants are built in the same building, by the same hands on the same machines. The only difference being that USMCA compliant material is made in Mexico whilst Berry compliant material is made in the US, both are then shipped to our Knoxville, Tennessee HQ to be turned into plate carriers.

Country of Origin Comparison Chart

Price

Price is the least important consideration when selecting your plate carrier because we are discussing life-preserving equipment here.

ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 starts at $245 for the USMCA side strap variant, going to $475 for the USMCA AXL Equinox cummerbund variant.

The Berry Compliant ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 starts at $475 for the side strap version, with the AXL Equinox cummerbund bringing it to $695.

Conclusion

That concludes our technical overview of ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3. We hope you found it both informative and enjoyable. This technical overview has been long overdue, however, this delay primarily comes from the fact that conducting a ‘review’ of any description of our own product will always risk bias. Whilst we have gone to great lengths to maintain an empirical approach, we encourage anyone willing to conduct the same tests on ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 3 or any of the other plate carriers we have reviewed in this series. All information on how we conduct these tests is readily available in both the video itself and its twin blog article on qoreperformance.com, and ready to be replicated.

Are you an ICEPLATE EXO® user? Where has your EXO® taken you? Share your stories and insights in the comments below!

If you're looking to see the latest in All-Aspect Thermoregulation, don't forget to follow us on Instagram at @qoreperformance and subscribe to our LaunchPad email list to join us in Building A Superhuman Future.

Thanks for watching and until next time: #StayFrosty 

About Qore Performance

For those of you who are new to Qore Performance, we live for Building A Superhuman Future. It is why we exist. We help customers be the greatest version of themselves, to create competitive advantages where none previously existed. We design, build, and manufacture thermoregulation and hydration solutions that weaponize temperature to improve performance and survivability for military, law enforcement, prepared citizens, pilots, outdoor enthusiasts, and industrial professionals at America’s greatest companies. If you’ve purchased chicken or coffee from a drive thru in the United States, there is a high probability you’ve seen our ICEVEST HiVis Safety Vests, our ICECASE iPad Cooling cases or both in use while rolling through one of these corporate powerhouses.

Check out our SAFETY + DEVICES Collection.