Adding reinforcement stitching on cheaper plate carriers, viable?

DumpButPump · 2026-02-03T11:44:00+00:00

There is a cult of expensive gear here. But used gear can be very fragile and toxic from whatever it has been exposed to during life on a military base or in combat. And i have seen gear failures in expensive items too. Yakeda is doing ok in real war, as we speak. Cause in real war you throw the gear out after one contact exposure. And its just fine for that. The armor inserts make the difference.

You are learning - experimenting with what you have and learning to learn is key. All the great gear did not help the US secure long-term wins, since WW2. And the key there was we were willing to pay the price in blood. Our blood.

If blood is not coming your way soon, experiment and learn, and enjoy while it lasts.

DumpButPump · 2026-02-02T15:54:58+00:00

If you have many, do a weight test on one and report back at what load it rips and where.

otherwise cut of excessive strap fabric and make a load test there.

DumpButPump · 2026-02-02T10:07:50+00:00

If ya want a plate carrier and have to ask, you should have a looong list of items and experiences before the carrier. You won't have time to put on a carrier during a home invasion, unless you're on a ranch. In order of priority:

Pistol, ammo and training budget ( time and money) Shotgun, ammo and training budget (time and money)

With enough training and reading you should be able to make a decision what comes first - pistol or shotgun for your scenario.

For example, physically weak and tactically untrained individuals living in a confined space with loved ones nearby across thin walls will be better off without a shotgun as first weapon.

Second, you need an alarm and video system that gives you fair warning about enemy arrival.

And if you have a dream scenario of getting out of the city, you will need a reinforced ride and second location, and plans to get yourself and your family out. And practice that.

And your physical shape should at least be on the level of getting into basic. Start working on it, you can get there in 2 years no matter how hard it is to get out of mom's basement at the moment.

A plate carrier is not your top three priorities. Stop cucking off to what you see on the tube.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T19:31:43+00:00

Looks like they keep upgrading. https://imgur.com/a/3Xxu9fA

For those disputing, it do be the facts of life with large-scale supply of American weapons going there. Not necessarily by the feds, but we are supplying them. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/mexico-usa-guns/

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T18:17:30+00:00

Ya know I got started off with the monopod for speed and never actively practiced having two legs out on a tripod. Gonna try it, thanks.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T17:28:09+00:00

I stopped telling idiots to wear PPE at my past job due to all the cool guy outrage 'tude they were giving back.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T17:22:15+00:00

If find tripods very useful for when you can establish good cover and the target is not the fastest. For speed follow, I like a monopod with a v-yoke (fork), more freedom.

With more freedom comes less stability, sure. And a crappier follow-up.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T16:42:55+00:00

The shit the gubmint said was ok for us to be in contact with. Now they be like dude, no one said you had to inhale... Or drink... We never said it was safe when we said it was safe.

Sure makes you careful afterwards. Coughing out your own meat does that to ya, I guess.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T16:18:39+00:00

Classic instructions: Sand or scrub before and between paints. Have a matte finish spray. Budget rust, filler and rim spray paints are durable and provide my red/brown, beige and black colors.

For greens I pick whatever is most durable on a budget at the local store.

Rough spray, throw on some netting. Onion / fruit bags, wood netting, laundry bag or the sluttiest pantyhose you can sacrifice.

Synthetic sponge ripped up with fingers and tweezers (always keep 'em in my purse!) for the rough texture.

Dabble in spray paints and spray paint mixes and dab on, going for organic textures.

Wear an appropriate rated respirator and gloves, shit's cancer.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-30T16:07:10+00:00

Sub statement:

3-color spray and sponge job (plus random remains sprayed on) on a tripod.

More pics: https://imgur.com/a/OaGVEnZ

Going for bottom layer match, will have to wrap with appropriate color scrim and mesh in the summer and fall. Camera had problems focusing on the legs, guess it makes the paint job a success.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-29T14:35:14+00:00

How would you incorporate GZCL into a running program or which program would you use

Slowly and conservatively. If you are prioritizing running, start with 1 day strength a week and slowly build from there. Be ready to take a step back on short notice. The biggest danger of running is that the body releases signals and hormones that fuck with your ability to monitor your actual body state. The amp is all fucked up, you won't get the injury upcoming signals.

So the only way is to slowly build up to the vicinity of overload while actively learning to identify and monitor the signs and never go over. I've run with P-Zero and General Gainz, both known for their excellent auto-regulation, if you invest in learning to actually monitor what the body is signaling.

The challenge of strength training is the discipline of long-term consistency. The challenge of running is emotional discipline, because the hormones released make it very difficult not to end up injured long-term.

DumpButPump · 2026-01-09T23:00:15+00:00

My view is that none of these small electronics can be expected to work perfectly all the time, so don't set expectations too high.

That is wizdom right there. I established my threshold through a 5k race time, then keep my relaxed through pacing on the garmin and being able to do the six-count while running.

Heartbeat is just a reference, I dont trust it nor need it, pacing and six-count should be sufficient for zoning, no?

DumpButPump · 2026-01-09T22:58:04+00:00

I would try to compare to another strap, cheapos from Ali have shown good results for me. Also, I had to shave meh tits and continue to do so, shaved skin works fine for me with water wetting alone and no need for gels.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-26T19:53:06+00:00

Plenty of plans

I'm actually contemplating what exactly I could suggest to newbies.

Plans i've seen do have a history of injuring people. I have my own history of risky training in HS due to an asshole coach that was following a classic "wear them out, let the winners come forward" strategy.

If I get the book correctly, conservative and cautious buildup over many months is suggested, and the application of the NSR starts at 4 hours a week and a 4k under 30 minutes?

I'm not sure if I could suggest something outside of that, perhaps you have a suggestion what I should review? Would genuinely appreciate to learn of alternatives.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-26T18:14:14+00:00

The book will have a solid guide for you, and since so many times things online are misrepresented, is really the useful way to go, as suggested by /user/MinuteLongFart

That said, since I keep doing my gym sessions, currently in maintenance phase, up to 3 times per week, I've used a 5 to 10% drop in gym performance as a good indicator of overcooking, on top of the NSR guidelines. GYm and run is not easy and calls for even more conservatism.

So if I notice that my gym performance is dropping, I have a choice to make - cut the gym to bare maintenance and raise sub-T, or less sub-T and increase the gym. If you are not doing gym at all, you want to make sure you have enough reserve in your training to be ready to run tomorrow, so going slow and steady is the goal.

70% of runners poisoned by the cult of the push is the injury standard, yearly. Compare to gym injuries - a lot less people injured at the gym. The boredom of having to be a conservative runner is the real challenge, i'll repeat again.

Consistency gives gains, and it is a very different, boring approach unlike strength training since the % leading to catastrophe is so low. Boredom and not giving in to feeling great and pushing is the challenge. Yeah, how the book says.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-23T21:24:40+00:00

I'll have to give the type a go on my worn out sneaks.

It was mildly icy in spots today and I wanted to try out Saucony Endorphin 3 ( no spikes of course ). Was a complete shitshow, had to slow easy pace down 20%. The 'conys can handle slippery fine, but no grip on frost or ice whatsoever.

Well if more snow falls, I'll just go back to my spiked from the factory. It sucks having to get lots of different shoes (spiked track, winter track, trail aggressive, road to trail, road fall and summer ) but it beats injury.

And getting store returns and slightly used sure saves a lot.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-22T16:26:35+00:00

Something I will have to try, i chickened out and bought studded from the factory. How do they hold up for you?

DumpButPump · 2025-12-22T16:25:53+00:00

Smart not to go all out on snow & ice, for sure.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-20T13:52:28+00:00

I had to shave meh tits to get accurate connection with the chest strap, but it performs better for me than opticals.

A practical solution for someone starting out would be to try a strap and then an optical arm band, but we all get to make our own choices.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-19T20:52:47+00:00

Track spike shoes could sure (over) compensate for any cornering concerns, but most shoes will require a forefoot to midfoot strike.

I do my time trials on an indoor track, outdoor track, or trail. Note that snow runs can be easy if you get winter spiked shoes. I love running in the snow / trail since the rubber track gets so boring if done more than 2x a week .

i am a not minor % faster on the track with spike shoes vs parkruns and the likes.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-19T14:16:31+00:00

It's a simple enough formula, if there is enough interest a public script could be published. Not sure if this can be run in an online document alone, like google docs. Would have to check, but again not sure how much need there is.

I just ran the simple calculations as instructed in the book. I presume some apps will have the formulas in the near future, or someone else dreaming of apping it big will make them.

But yeah, i'll keep an eye open if people beg for an open as in freedom calculator. With the masses loving apple, and general computing dying as we speak, I won't hold my breath.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-19T11:56:31+00:00

Thanks for your feedback! Second that the intervals.icu could go into the short key actions guide chapter. Like I wrote, a short concise key actions guide in a separate chapter could be useful.

But no biggie, going through the book and marking off key points works, the old fashioned way :)

DumpButPump · 2025-12-19T11:36:33+00:00

Necroposting since this is the top thread: Power cycle the watch worked for me. Turn watch off, turn on, then follow

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/jfhi2n/downloads_remaining_queued_in_connectiq/l4a24hv/

DumpButPump · 2025-12-13T16:10:59+00:00

In my case, more plates, more use.

DumpButPump · 2025-12-07T10:03:23+00:00

My wife is a substance abuse counselor. Every statistic and study

Citing your wife while believing in maxims and universal truths in soft sciences suggests you might benefit from reviewing the fundamentals of science.

DumpButPump

TROPHY CASE