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Posted: 3/21/2009 12:39:22 PM EDT
| I bought a used CIRAS Mar used in a size medium and am wondering how it should fit. I am 6'2" and 210lbs without much of a stomach. It has alot of adjustment room to make it wider but how should it fit in terms of length? I have 4 notches left to adjust and think it fits pretty good as is. I dont know what size plates/soft armor I plan on getting yet so I cant say how that will fir that way. Any guideline to how it should it. |
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The bottom of the vest should be right at belly button level.
Once you put the armor and plates in you are going to have to let it out more since they will add to the bulk of the vest. Honestly you probably should have gotten a large. I am 5'9" about 180 and I wear a medium and I feel that I am right on the verge of being a large. |
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I take an XL Interceptor, therefore I am guessing I'll take an XL CIRAS or RBAV when I finally can afford one. Having a little extra room in there to breathe and wear some snivel gear is always a good thing. Trust me on that.
OIF1 in the winter when it rained up North I'd usually wear my GoreTex over my IBA then throw my LBV over the top of it. But when your pouches are all on your armor, you need the room inside the armor. |
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I take an XL Interceptor, therefore I am guessing I'll take an XL CIRAS or RBAV when I finally can afford one. Having a little extra room in there to breathe and wear some snivel gear is always a good thing. Trust me on that. OIF1 in the winter when it rained up North I'd usually wear my GoreTex over my IBA then throw my LBV over the top of it. But when your pouches are all on your armor, you need the room inside the armor. Consider going DOWN a size in those vests. I used to wear a Large Interceptor so I figured that was a large CIRAS but turns out the Medium fits better. I dont think that I lost a whole lot of coverage by going down a size, I am issued a Paraclete RAV for work and I wear a Medium in that as well. I actually prefer the RAV cut better and the RAV seems to fit and ride better than the CIRAS too. |
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Typically guys like wearing the CIRAS a size smaller because they like the mobility (it is, after all, non-breathing Kevlar).
The sizing concern with the CIRAS is plate size. SAPI plates come in different sizes and heights. At 6'2" you should be wearing a large (13 inches high) or extra large SAPI or E-SAPI plate (14 inches high) * Extra Small - 11.5 x 7.25 in * Small - 11.75 in x 8.75 in * Medium - 12.5 in x 9.5 in * Large - 13.25 in x 10.12 in * Extra Large - 14 x 11 in |
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Quoted:
I bought a used CIRAS Mar used in a size medium and am wondering how it should fit. I am 6'2" and 210lbs without much of a stomach. It has alot of adjustment room to make it wider but how should it fit in terms of length? I have 4 notches left to adjust and think it fits pretty good as is. I dont know what size plates/soft armor I plan on getting yet so I cant say how that will fir that way. Any guideline to how it should it. The sizing of the CRAS is based on the size of the BALCS you put in it. IIRC, most of the carriers through medium will accept 10x12 and smaller plates. The large and above will accept larger plates. I'm 6', 215# and found a medium was too large for my tastes. A small would have been much better for me. |
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I'm 6', 215# and found a medium was too large for my tastes. A small would have been much better for me. You're a braver man than I am. The few times I got shot at, I found I really liked the idea of at least a large SAPI plate to hide behind. I prefer manuverability and the ability to have the stock pushing against my skin over being a walking tank 
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A general rule-of-thumb for the CIRAS, etc., is one size smaller than the t-shirt you wear. I wear an XL, and a L CIRAS would fit me fine...except that a large is 15" tall, which hits my belt when I sit down, jamming the vest/armor up into my neck. If I were walking around all day, this wouldn't be an issue. Riding in a vehicle or sitting, it is. So I went with a Medium CIRAS (14" tall), and it stops just above my belly button.
the CIRAS and similar vests are sized according to the BALCS armor you put in it and, to a much lesser degree the size of the plates. Trying to shove XL SAPI plates into a small or medium CIRAS will be an exercise in frustration, just as trying to get small plates to work correctly in an XL CIRAS would be. Generally speaking, the plates that fit these vests are as follows: S- 8x10 plates M- 8x10 or 10x12 L- 10x12 or 11x13 XL- 11x13 or 11x14 I believe some guys have rigged theirs to use different sized plates, but have no first-hand knowledge of it. |
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I also had the radio, one of the aid bags, 100 rounds of belted 7.62 for the attached gun team, a variety of pyro, and a basic load plus for a M4/203 combo. The larger plate helped spread the load front and back. Plus I figured I might as well have as much coverage as possible. I'm a big target.
That would go double for my personal SHTF armor. I don't move as well as I used to. 
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Quoted:
A general rule-of-thumb for the CIRAS, etc., is one size smaller than the t-shirt you wear. I wear an XL, and a L CIRAS would fit me fine...except that a large is 15" tall, which hits my belt when I sit down, jamming the vest/armor up into my neck. If I were walking around all day, this wouldn't be an issue. Riding in a vehicle or sitting, it is. So I went with a Medium CIRAS (14" tall), and it stops just above my belly button. the CIRAS and similar vests are sized according to the BALCS armor you put in it and, to a much lesser degree the size of the plates. Trying to shove XL SAPI plates into a small or medium CIRAS will be an exercise in frustration, just as trying to get small plates to work correctly in an XL CIRAS would be. Generally speaking, the plates that fit these vests are as follows: S- 8x10 plates M- 8x10 or 10x12 L- 10x12 or 11x13 XL- 11x13 or 11x14 I believe some guys have rigged theirs to use different sized plates, but have no first-hand knowledge of it. So then I am ok since I wear a large size tshirt. I would prefer the mobility in it also vs larger plates. |
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Quoted:
Generally speaking, the plates that fit these vests are as follows: S- 8x10 plates M- 8x10 or 10x12 L- 10x12 or 11x13 XL- 11x13 or 11x14 I believe some guys have rigged theirs to use different sized plates, but have no first-hand knowledge of it. Generally speaking, that may be the case. However, I've been told (and found through personal experience) that the CIRAS line was designed to carry a SAPI plate one size larger than the tag. Supposedly, the Eclipse RBAV is the same way, but I have no personal experience with them. Example: My small MAR-CIRAS holds medium SAPIs (9.5"x12.5") perfectly, as designed. A medium CIRAS will hold large SAPIs. It was my understanding the CIRAS line was designed around SAPI sizes because the military was the target end user. Whether the CIRAS holds any other the non-SAPI sized plates is a function of coincidence because they are smaller than the plates it was designed to hold. So a medium CIRAS will hold a 10x12 because it is smaller than a large SAPI, but was not designed to do so. If you want a carrier that holds 10x12 plates by design, Paraclete makes a line of RAVs with that size plate pocket. However, their standard RAV line is designed like the CIRAS to hold SAPIs, but will only hold a SAPI up to the labeled size (medium RAV only holds a medium SAPI). I hate my issued RAV-05 for this and other reasons... viva la CIRAS! Anyways, just trying to get people the full picture if they get a CIRAS and wonder why their 8x10 or 10x12 plates may not seem to fit perfectly in the plate pockets. They were just not designed around those specified sizes. Good luck! -Randy |
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I wore a medium carrier in Afghanistan in '02. It worked but was a little big for me when moving so under the advice of a 5th group member I switched over to a small when going to Iraq. It was much better even though there wasn't as much coverage.
I have a large MAR-CIRAS only because I got a good deal and they didn't have any mediums. The length isn't too bad but the sides overlap. It's hard for guys to really give advice since everyone has a different body and preference on how they wear their gear. Two of my drill sergeants were perfect examples where one had his LBE loose and hanging under his belt where the other turned it into a chest rig. |
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