Designed as a minimalist plate carrier, the Rogue by Tactical Tailor gives the wearer a lightweight, base setup that can be easily customized to meet a variety of missions.
Introduced in 2017, the Rogue offers a number of advantages as the market for ballistic plate carriers has shifted over the years, to more minimalist designs that hold the plate and carriage tighter into the body.
The front and rear plate carriers feature a split tweave and rubberized nylon design that offer enough flexibility to accommodate standard SAPI/AR500 plates, odd-sized plates, or allow the wearer to size up one plate size. The interior of the front and back carrier also have dual padded bars to help improve airflow and comfort.
Each carrier also has a (female) hook-and-loop panel for identification or morale patches, and the rear carrier has an associated drag handle with its own hook-and-loop to secure it when not in use.
The shoulder straps are secured via hook-and-loop fields that allow for height adjustment using pull tabs. Each side includes webbing to pass either a hydration tube through or communication wiring.
In addition, the rubberized nylon has laser-cut MOLLE channels for added strength and two chest loops to hang pouches or accessories from. The Rogue is compatible to other Tactical Tailor accessories, such as the Rogue Adaptable Chest Rig, RRPS pouches, or other MOLLE-compatible attachments from the Tactical Tailor line.
The cummerbund is made from milspec-grade elastic with eight slots (four per side) for rifle magazines (up to 7.62/.308) or accessories. They join the front and rear carriers by associated hook-and-loop fields and are fully adjustable. The rear carrier has the hardware for the elastic cummerbund to be replaced and exchanged for the Rogue Skeletonized cummerbund (sold separately).
The Rogue plate carrier is available in Ranger Green (featured), Black, Multicam, and Coyote. Also in this evaluation were a set of Spartan™ Omega™ AR500 and UHMWPE Level III ballistic plates. These items were included to assist in evaluating the plate carrier’s functionality, comfort, and durability. The plates themselves are not included as part of this review.
Product Evaluation Scores:
- Cost – Average (3/5): At an MSRP between $204 and $271 (color dependent) the Rogue is moderately priced as a minimalist plate carrier and amid the market for similar setups. The Rothco Lightweight ($88), the Crye Jumpable Plate Carrier ($245), and the Scarab LE by Velocity Systems ($329) all demonstrate the depth of cost for minimalist plate carriers and the differences, just as with the Rogue Plate Carrier, comes down to included features, materials, and design.
- Comfort – Average (3/5): Initially used with a set of UHMWPE plates, they proved perhaps too light to adequately keep the Rogue in place. During shooting evolutions, the front of the carrier would creep up and end up in the throat, either due to the elastic or movement of the carrier. However, when the plates were swapped out with more traditional AR500 plates that weigh significantly more, the Rogue held its position regardless of body movement and the issue of “creep” by the carrier was resolved. Otherwise, with adjustable shoulder straps and cummerbund the Rogue was just as easy to attain proper fit and comfort as any competitor. The padding and tweave on the interior added to the comfort vale and kept the Rogue at a solid average scoring.
- Durability – Average (3/5): Given the majority of the Rogue is a split rubberized nylon and tweave material, the overall durability of the plate carriers with added ballistic plates was good during evaluation. They held up during drills that would have otherwise stressed the material to gauge its ability to avoid becoming compromised. That said, the weaker elements of the Rogue were in its elastic cummerbund. The constant action of donning/removing the cummerbund caused some edge separation between the hook-and-loop fields, though did not compromise the stitching, and is common for such designs. This could be alleviated by adding a pull tab or loop to the corners or ends, similar to Blue Force Tactical’s BLIP tab, that would transfer a lot of the “tearing” motion/stress to a dedicated, hardened point rather than grabbing at the edges. Tactical Tailor appears to have addressed this issue by adding the Rogue Skeletonized Cummerbund (sold separately) to its product line that can be added to the Rogue Plate Carrier in lieu of the elastic cummerbund that comes with it.
- Functionality – Good (4/5): As a minimalist plate carrier, the Rogue did as needed. It bore both UHMWPE and AR500 plates acceptably and still left extensive room for additional features to include pouches, modified chest carriers, and other hook-and-loop accessories. Meanwhile, the carrier itself did not detract from usage by either weight nor flexibility. Because of the ability to improve on the Rogue Plate Carrier with other Rogue-line accessories (such as the skeletonized cummerbund mentioned above) by Tactical Tailor, the carrier offers a good base from which to build a customized kit.
- Weight – Excellent (5/5): Weighing in at 1.05 pounds, the Rogue Plate Carrier lends a lot of its lightweight design to the split rubberized nylon and tweave of the front and back carriers. The Rothco (1.5 pounds), Crye (1.4 pounds) and Scarab (2.2 pounds) minimalist plate carriers detailed above, all came in over the weight of the Rogue despite sharing many of the same features. This ranking places Tactical Tailor’s plate carrier as one of the lighter on the available market and perfect for those looking to keep weight to a minimum.
Overall Rating – Above Average (18/25)
Product Link: https://www.tacticaltailor.com/rogueplatecarrier.aspx
I am reviewing this product as a courtesy to the manufacturer and via STL Shooting Enthusiasts, so that I can evaluate it and provide my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give positive reviews. All views are my own, and based off my personal experience with the product.
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