Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier Review: Stand In The Gap

The Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is a lightweight, rugged, affordable, and versatile plate carrier for every day citizens who believe in freedom, and are willing to stand in the gap for their families. It’s made in the USA using durable 500D Cordura fabric and features heavyweight MOLLE webbing for front and back attachments. Hard armour inserts on the front and back along with the soft armour inserts on the side allow you to have the most protection possible while protecting those around you.

More and more we’re seeing horrific scenes of individuals or groups enter small towns, cities, or nations, and wreaking havoc on the civilian population. These attacks are being committed indiscriminately. No one is safe.

You should never rely on Law Enforcement to protect you and your family in your home. The responsibility is yours. Everything from making sure the doors and windows are locked at night, having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, or keeping a firearm in your bedroom for when bump goes in the night, the safety and security of your family rests upon your shoulders.

In order to be able to fight well, you need to have a reliable firearm and a solid plate carrier system. If you are the only thing standing in the gap between an attacker and your family, you need to be able to take a few rounds to the chest and keep fighting!

Specs

Colours: Black, Coyote Brown, MultiCam
Material: Mil-Spec 500 Denier Cordura Fabric
Size: Adjustable 30″ – 45″ around navel
Features: Heavyweight MOLLE System
Quick Release: Shoulder Pad Buckles
Hard Armour Capability: 10.25″ x 13.25″
Soft Armour Capability: 6″ x 10″

Cost of the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier

At the time of this article, the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier costs between $185 – $210, depending on whether you purchase the Black or Coyote Brown colour, or the Genuine Crye-Precision MultiCam pattern.

Check Condor Outdoors for the latest pricing. Be sure to use my discount code ‘TGG15’ and get 15% off your order.

I personally went with the Genuine Crye-Precision MultiCam. It’s a great pattern that can be used in a plethora of environments or terrains.

First Impression

I was very excited to get my hands on the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier. From what I’ve seen and read online, it looked to be a well-built system.

I was surprised just how lightweight it was! This concerned me at first because I thought that maybe it was cheaply made, but that’s not the case at all. The Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is extremely well-built and it’s made in the USA.

There is a ton of MOLLE on the front and back panels, as well as the cummerbund, giving you numerous options for setting up your plate carrier the way you want. There’s also a large area of loop Velcro on the front and back so that you can personalize your plate carrier with a flag, name, or morale patches.

The Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier was very easy to set up and size. I tightened the shoulder straps so that the front of the carrier was at my sternum, and tightened the cummerbund so that it wrapped snug around my torso. The Cyclone Plate Carrier has Velcro tabs so that you can roll up the excess webbing straps.

Walkaround

Quality & Workmanship

The quality of the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is exceptional, as well as all the stitching. You definitely want to have confidence in your gear knowing it’ll hold together for years to come. The Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is built in the USA, which gives me peace-of-mind.

I was surprised with how strong the Velcro was around the plate carrier for the plate inserts as well as the admin pouch and cummerbund. Each pocket also has pull-tabs which are very strong so there is no worry about things falling apart.

The stitching around the Condor plate carrier is very well done, with the majority being double stitching. With the Condor Cyclone plate carrier being made in the USA, I’m very confident that it will last for years to come and take whatever I throw at it.

ID Panel

There’s a good amount of hook-Velcro on the top of the front panel, as well as the back panel, allowing you to identify yourself to friendly forces from the front and the back.

I’m using patches from a company called Patch Panel on my plate carrier. They make the best patches you can buy. The quality is incredible, and I’ve even gone through them when designing and purchasing patches for my unit in the military. Embroidered, PVC rubber, laser cut, they have it all.

Even the Velcro for the ID panel used the MOLLE system, in case you prefer to attach an accessory on your upper chest.

Armour Plate Capabilities

The Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is capable of carrying hard armour plates up to 10.25″ x 13.25″ on the front and back, as well as soft armour plates up to 6″x10″ on the sides, giving you the most protection possible in a plate carrier.

Hard armour is what you need in order to stop both pistol and rifle ammunition. Hard armour can be constructed from different materials such as steel, ceramic, or polyethylene. Make sure you read up on the different levels of hard armour. The higher the level doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better. Recently the levels have changed, so it’s good to do your research before purchasing armour.

Soft armour is capable of stopping pistol and shotgun rounds. Having the option to store soft armour in the cummerbund allows you to add the most protection possible in a plate carrier.

MOLLE System

When it comes to running your plate carrier, you’re gonna want to add accessories that will help you live, fight, and move both effectively and efficiently. Condor has a ton of magazine and MOLLE pouches that can be attached on the Cyclone Plate Carrier.

Right now I have the Triple Stacker M4 Mag Pouch, which has the ability to hold 6 magazines. That may seem like a lot, but here in Canada we’re only allowed to have 5 rounds of ammunition in each magazine. So if I ever have the Triple Stacker completely full with 6 mags, I’ll have a total of 30 rounds of ammo on my chest.

Condor offers a bunch of magazine pouches and utility pouches in green, black, coyote, and multi-cam, at an affordable price, so you can build a plate carrier that fits your requirement for whatever the mission is.

If you’re using a sidearm as well, I recommend keeping that side of your plate carrier cleared up mostly so that your range of motion isn’t obstructed.

Shoulder Straps

One of the reasons I went with the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is the thicker shoulder straps. When you have a plate carrier fully loaded with hard armour, ammunition, medical supplies, and comms, the weight begins to add up. Having the thicker padding on the shoulders adds comfort even with a heavy loadout.

It was very easy to adjust the shoulder straps, and there’s a Velcro tab so that you can roll up the extra webbing. There’s a buckle on the front of each shoulder strap, which can be used in an emergency situation, if someone else had to take off your plate carrier and your arms were immovable.

More MOLLE along the shoulder straps allows you to attach more accessories. There’s also a Velcro tab on each shoulder for the ability to run a hydration hose or communication cables through.

Drawbacks

There’s only a couple of things that I’m not the most pleased about with this particular plate carrier.

First is the hook and pile loops on the shoulder straps for the hydration hose to run through. I think there could have been some webbing used here. Is it functional? Yes. But it just doesn’t look the best and somewhat cheap to be honest.

Second, the buckles used on the shoulder straps don’t feel like a heavy gauge buckle. Yes, they’re plastic like most buckles, and they’re not complete trash at all. But there are nicer buckles out there for sure that could have been used.

Other than these two minor preferences of mine, which don’t affect the functionality of the plate carrier or its longevity, the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is an incredible piece of kit for the affordable price.

Conclusion

I’ve always seen Condor as the cost-effective option in the tactical community. And while that is true to an extent, they absolutely did not cheap out on the Cyclone Plate Carrier. I’m someone who loves gear. I like having gear that looks good, functions well, is durable, and comfortable. All without breaking the bank! And the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier is all of it.

If you’re looking for your first plate carrier because you know the world is only getting darker and darker, and the only person you can rely on to protect your family is yourself, then the Condor Plate Carrier is everything you need at an affordable price. It’s rugged and durable, built in the USA with exceptional materials, fits very well, and has a ton of MOLLE for anything you want to attach to it.

I don’t have a video review of the Condor Cyclone Plate Carrier yet, but Canadian Firearms Review does a good job at going over it, which I’ll attach below.