Inquiry: Small-sized Gear
 

Alright so, I've spent the good part of two or three months now looking for gear that'll fit.

I'm female, and 5'3". Now, you see. I've read the post about finding gear for someone's girlfriend, and its mass amount of pages, and while that's all fine and dandy; none of it would fit.

I'm 5'3" and roughly 100-105lbs.

You can imagine that my torso and waist are very tiny as are my shoulders.

Currently, as is, I'm sporting my boyfriends vest, which is too wide in the shoulders, and therefore doesn't allow me to shoulder my weapon properly.

Required Qualities:
- Woodland
- Vest has to be plated where possible, and has to cover the chest (QQ no tactical corsets please :P)
- Torso (girth) able to be tightened.
- Shirt and/or vest needs room for name tag (preferably velcro) :)

I was looking at something more like this:
http://shop.ehobbyasia.com/combat-ge...land-camo.html
Although not plated, it seems to have the adjustments required and would seem to fit a smaller size. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Check for asian sizing. They run smaller than American sizes.

I have been, and what happens is usually you end up with huge shipping costs. :(

When you say it needs to be plated, do you mean it should be able to take ballistic plate inserts? Because the vest you linked can't do that. Tactical Tailor MAV's and Mini MAV's are adjustable down to 5 year old sizes, but they also can't take a plate.

This is a good compromise, it will adjust down to a very small size and can hold a plate.
http://www.tacticaltailor.com/modularplatecarrier.aspx

Plate inserts would be preferred, but I can also handle them not being plated (Don't need plating if its got enough pouches and shit on it that it won't hit you anyway :P). I know the vest I linked doesn't have the plating (it says so just under the link in my post).

The vest you linked seemed too basic for what I'd like, although if the retailer's MAVs fit like you say they do, I appreciate the link anyway, and I'll definitely take a look.


Has anyone seen any small-fitted pants or shirts? Currently that's my priority over vests.

Although the TT Mav is adjustable to a fairly small size I dont think its going to fit your frame properly. It has 18 pals channels , with the buckle it will be sinched all the way down its still around 30".
The mini mav would be a better choice as it still gives you 8 channels (4 double mag pouches) and around half the size of a regular mav.
TT's plate carrier adjusted down all the way should be around 22" around , height may be a bigger issue with plate carriers.
Some other options would be some of the mayflower hybrid chestrigs.
Clothing wise , looks like your in the xss (extra small short) category of sizing. Check out some of your local surplus or tac gear stores to see if they have any. If not you could order from some of the tac gear places across canada.

Lol..... There's a saying. There's only 2 sizes in the military too big or too small. In your case I'd try finding something that the military has thats in the "too small" category.

Also why does it have to be plated? Are you planning on putting real plates in there? I've carried a vest with real plates in it and I'll tell you it's not that cool to carry for even 20 feet so I assume it wouldn't be cool to carry it for a few hours. But it's probably a good workout though. Or are you planning on putting "foam plates" into it?

Also +1 for asian sizing and I'm actually surprised you haven't found a place that offers free shipping. I mean at $60 USD for a set of BDU's from China that seems pretty reasonable for me considering shipping, and it also being new (quality on the other hand is a bit meh....).

I'll vouch for AirsoftPark being an awesome place to get stuff (service and support wise, quality wise it's standard china clone stuff (in this case "Singapore clone" stuff)): http://www.airsoftpark.com/product_i...oducts_id=1876 Obviously from the provided measurements waist size will be a problem (32") but hopefully if you're a 29" waist or so then it's probably fine. In fact when I was "in between" waist sizes when I was younger (I was 29.5" at the time IIRC) I had to buy 32" jeans and just wear a belt.

As for the velcro patch, if you're skilled in sewing at all (or know someone that is) then it's just a matter of getting a nametape locally with the velcro backing. Although you may want to use a "size 16" needle (or possibly a "leather needle") if you're planning on doing this on a vest depending on the material of the vest.

PS: If you're scared of getting hit (which it seems why you want plates and to be as covered as possible) then don't. The BB will lose a lot of velocity from initially hitting the fabric of your BDU's and as such doesn't actually hurt that much. Uncovered areas on the other hand (ie. if you're wearing just a t-shirt or tight fitting polypropylene shirt) will hurt more.

IF you have trouble finding a vest that you like and that will fit, another option is to purchase a PACA Lowvis and a vest instead of a plate carrier...

It will be much lighter on your shoulders, and paca's are made to quite small sizes and will go under your vest offsetting a too largely sized vest while giving you some comfort from hits still!

I hate to say it but your last resort may just be to rely on wallyworld wanna be woodland printed products to fit you properly. I'm 5'7 and wear smalls (US/Canadian) - Try a few surpluss stores, or try kid sections. Another female on our teams (colin_s wife, maggie) is super teeny tiny, I think thats where she ended up finding her bdu's at. Otherwise get smalls, roll or tuck the cuffs, wear a belt or have them altered. It's pretty easy to take the seams in on jackets, I did that to my multicam set - good luck!

Keep in mind that plate carriers and plates cause an issue which is much more painful then getting hit with a BB:
Chafe
Its a major problem. I wear soft armor with work and even that does damage on the chest area, the women I work with report it as being worse for them. I started using a compression shirt and that helped significantly. Plates are worse then soft armor.

A soft armor carrier with foam inserts and then some sort of Molle rig over that would probably work well. Add a little bulk and protection.

-Grant

A PACA could be an idea, but you'd need to get the smaller "real" PACA and cut now fake soft armor from a foam mattress... I'm about 5'5'' and my repro PACA (I believe it would be a M) is pretty much the smaller I could make it. I'm ok with it, but anyone shorter than me wouldn't be comfortable with it.

Wearing a PACA with one of the micro rigs on the market could probably do it.

i would say a small chest rig mabey or a battle belt/suspenders.

A shameless plug, but I do have a size small replica CIRAS for sale in the classifieds/ :D

I am 5'5 and am skinny :p I suggest you go with a Condor Chest Panel (http://www.surpluspontrouge.com/en/h...t-panel/black/) if you are looking at a chest rig.

I myself am looking at getting one as my current vest is getting quite heavy to carry around and I want something light and more maneuverable.

My current vest is a Condor Compact Plate Carrier which had to be modded alittle in order to fit my skinny stature :p Even then though it is a pain to carry around.

I did however use this following vest (http://albertaairsoft.com/store/prod...id_product=568) for my first game and with alittle adjustment to the vest it fit like a charm. If you want a vest over a chest rig I suggest this. This vest I used was actually a friend's of mine who let his GF use. She is pretty much the same build as you, maybe smaller, so I know forsure it will fit you with the propper adjustments.

Might I suggest you get in contact with the user Barbie. She is probably a wiz when it comes to tac gear for women, and could recommend the best option to you.

I have yet to find a XSS. In fact, so far the smallest I've found in woodland is S which is huge. And those measurements would still be too big. :(

I haven't had the chance to fully look through this, but it seems that you've had the same problems :P. Damn us Leprechauns. We don't even have GOLD D: :(

I'm not particularly scared of being hit, but being so thin, being shot at 300 even in the arms I welt like someone beat me up. My waist is sitting somewhere between 28-30" and I can sew :P I only mentioned plating as being preferred, not necessary. If I can't fit it, I can't fit it. So be it.

I'm not too sure how that combination would work out. =\ I'll look into it a bit more, in the meantime, know anyone who has had the experience with it?

Currently I am relying on terrible wannabe printed stuff. My boyfriend (IceTray) has mediums I believe, and the rolled cuffs come to my wrists. So you can imagine how big even a small would be. =\


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...4_536947_n.jpg and http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs968.snc4/76114_10150334935845585_705010584_15913624_6863796 _n.jpg<- are pics of my frame (No crude jokes please, unfortunately these are the pictures that shows it best ><) that IceTray took last week. That sweater is a bit baggy around my stomach, and the pants are baggy around the ankle.


Also, anyone know about decent womens boots in a size like.. 6? 6.5? Haha.

I was looking at a soft carrier over a metal one. :P The foam was enough protection for me. :P

I am shorter than you though, you know what the small PACA would be?

That was my initial search.

What's the torso width in it? Anything bigger than like 34" in the chest is too big.

I will definitely see if I can get a hold of her, and which did you prefer? (Could you describe your pros and cons of each, or is that asking too much? XD)

It has 6 channels of webbing across the front chest, so 9" across the front. About 7 channels across the back so about 10.5". The width is also adjustable. For some pics check out my thread, it is the first vest, the black one. http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=95442

Opportunistic yes, but it might be what you're looking for. PM me anytime!

btw, people keep mentioning 'PACA'. This vest is cut to roughly the same dimensions as these PACAs, they are both designed to hold the same style of armour (BALCS) in the real world.

Maggie will be happy to hear that C.G. ;) DarkDream my wife is a bit taller than you at 5'6" and she weighs in at 110 lbs, a boys large Woodland BDU (found at a surplus store) fit her perfectly and she also has a set of small Daves Surplus Multicam (custom build but same as North American sizes) and that's a bit big on her. She has to tuck in the pants into her boots and roll up the sleeves but chest and waist size was good.

I couldn't find any vests that fit her comfortably and eventually we gave up and decided to run a belt/drop leg loadout. As suggested earlier a small PACA which is adjustable should fit you but it's just body armour, no pouches for stuff (I carried all her stuff before lol). She wore something similar so it didn't "hurt" as much.

Ha sorry, kind of forgot about the conclusion, um I'd go for a Condor Chest Panel if you want a chest rig. If you want a vest go for the Condor Modular Chest Set

Condor Chest Panel (http://www.surpluspontrouge.com/en/h...t-panel/black/)

Condor Modular Chest Set (http://albertaairsoft.com/store/prod...id_product=568)

Soft refers to having Kevlar fabric ballistic protection, hard means ceramic plates.
Different carriers carry different kinds of protection. Both can be used with soft armor (or fakes of such, like foam), but the soft carriers usually cannot carry a plate in the real world.

Unfortunately welts are the name of the game. Women usually bruise-up worse then men because of how little fat they carry just under the skin, not really possible to avoid.
Fortunately baggy clothes take almost all of the energy out of a BB before it makes contact.

In terms of carrying mags and such, generally vests have the least adjustment built into them while chest-rigs have the most. Putting either one over a soft armor carrier would probably work as it does for several of my co-workers.

-Grant

Hello DarkDream,
I have ACU, and Woodland in XShort /XSmall, I also carry a butt load of Condor. Also have boots, Fleece and a whack load of other cool shit that fit, almost fit and are jut too damn small. If you have a wish list send it to me and I'll let you know a) what I have in stock and b) what I can get for you in short time c) whats a few weeks out ( Like what he's getting you for x-mas) and d) how much it all costs.
If you like I can ship you some stuff or if you want to do the drive up I can have a bunch of goodies waiting for you.
www.armyissue.com
http://www.armyissue.com/cube/images...GP0453_(2).JPG
http://www.armyissue.com/cube/images...s/ls-01685.jpg
http://www.armyissue.com/cube/images...st_Rig_ACU.jpg
http://www.armyissue.com/cube/images...Blk_condor.JPG

really guys, you know I support these boards, eh, little help. Alberta sheesh!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5481175_n.jpg
yes 4 Gurls and on the extreme left an 8 year old, I'll dress you up no problem.

I think I bought a ranger blanket, kfs and some mre stuff from one of those girls a week before Deadfall 2010, I always leave that place broke and wishing I was rich :)

Sorry :p Ya I would definitely suggest you and your male companion go see the Dude That Sells Pants. It might be a long drive BUT, most likely you will be able to tryout almost everything that was suggested by everyone if you visited Army Issue.

Wanna be trendy and wear all those cool hip camos? Screw Old Navy, Screw Bluenotes, Checkout Army Issue! They sell the real shit!

Hah! Right out side my grandparent's building!

Both of these don't seem to cover as much as I can currently manage or the vest I linked. :( Boob-welting is not on my list of things to do. xD

Sounds extraordinary, and the drive wouldn't be that bad, but if you could let me know the sizes (I'll toss you a PM when I look into it a bit more), then I could probably just order it out.

I'm also talking like female size 6 (its a bitch to find PERIOD) in boots. If you've got it, you've more than likely got a sale.

Female size 6 boots - Original Swat makes them that size and smaller, and they're great boots!

+1 to this.

I have two pairs of Original Swat's, and my wife has a pair. We absolutely swear by them.

(Oops, found this thread on search, didn't mean to resurrect a dead thread, my bad...)

I'm cool with that actually, I'm looking at a men's 4 though, anyone got a link?

I'm anywhere between a 5.5 and a 6.5 ladies.

+1 I've been trying to kill my SWATS all bloody year and so far, no dice "(