Best Plate Carrier Padding: ICEVENTS® vs. Foam vs. Spacer Mesh (Plate Carrier Secrets Companies Don't Want You To Know)

These FLIR images show the Conductive thermal transfer properties of different materials used to build plate carriers, vests, body armor and other PPE. When viewing these images, it is important to remember that these readings were taken immediately after removing the IcePlate Curve from the freezer and placing it inside the various plate bags shown (Velocity Systems SCARAB LT, IcePlate EXO-SLK, IcePlate EXO-XFT). The surface temperatures will get warmer quickly and by a significant margin. Generally speaking, in our testing, we see surface temperatures rise by 20-40º F in a matter of minutes when worn, depending on the material and conditions. In other words, IcePlate Curve is cold enough to provide instant relief and confidence, but warms up sufficiently and quickly to be extremely comfortable

We do not use spacermesh on any of our products because it has poor thermal transmission/exchange properties. In other words, it is an insulator. It is the same reason we don’t use foam in any of our IceVents line of padding (or anywhere for that matter): think Koozie for an ice cold soda or beer (beverage stays cold, but your hand doesn’t).