TYR Tactical Women’s Plate Carrier: A Deep Dive

wearing tyr tactical epic plate carrier
June 8, 2023  
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Categories: Gear Curious

We all hear about body armor saving police officers’ lives, but very rarely do we hear about a plate carrier saving an officer’s life solely due to the shape that it is cut. Well, a life was saved due to the Tyr Tactical Womens EPIC plate carrier. A female officer from Arizona was shot on duty while wearing this armor. The bullet impacted the side of her breast area and due to the carrier’s specific female cuts, it stopped the round from getting past the armor. This is all thanks to Jane Beck Co-Owner of Tyr Tactical and her team. This company changed the game when it comes from female body armor and not enough people know about it. Not enough female Officers and Service women especially.

First developed for Army Standards, this plate carrier started being developed in 2012 and has since undergone rigorous testing with cross fitters and military alike. Fast forward to 2023, it is now being issued in Denmark and Sweden. In the states women are wearing it across major Federal Agencies (that won’t be named here) and the military alike. There are many different options for the type of EPIC plate carrier that is needed such as over or under the uniform. It is the one plate carrier on the market fitted solely to allow women to be protected around their chest area without being uncomfortable and still feeling attractive and able to do their job confidently.

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On a personal note. I understand just how miserable women’s body armor can be to wear. It cuts into your hip bones, it’s clunky and heavy, and doesn’t allow you to feel mobile let alone attractive. It is made for a mans body. Square and large. Not a woman’s body with shape, curves, and a smaller frame. The women from Tyr get it too which is why this armor enhances comfort and coverage both in the breast and hip area.

Worth it to note, this is the Only Patented Female Shaped Body Armor on the market.

So let’s dive in.

The Tyr Tactical Female EPIC Plate Carrier Main Features

There are three main things that make the EPIC plate carrier unique to other “female” specific plate carriers.

  1. The Butterfly and Princess Cut
  2. Gusseted Front Plate Pocket
  3. Female Shaped Shoulders, Yoke, Collar, and Belt
female epic plate carrier on a mannequin

Tyr Tactical is truly changing womens lives with their EPIC plate carrier shaped just for women. Their added coverage on the side of the breast and front facing plate gusset will allow women users to feel comfortable and have added protection on the job.

Butterfly and Princess Cuts for Coverage around the Breast

The Butterfly and Princess Cuts are two cuts around the breast area that allow ballistic protection to fully cover the side of the chest area. With all other plate carriers that don’t have these cuts there will virtually be no coverage to the side of the breast due to the breast pressing the plate carrier out from the body. To get around this women will either size down, which makes breathing and movement virtually impossible. Or, they will size up to have the comfort around their chest, but will then lose coverage to that area which as most know, covers vital organs as well as breast tissue. This will also add additional unneeded weight to the overall system.

To fix this Tyr Tactical came up with two lateral darts. These lateral darts do two things.

One, they free movement of the shoulder and arm. Imagine wearing body armor in which the ballistic material comes right up into the front of your arm pocket not allowing any free arm movement. This would be the case for the side of womens breasts without those detailed princess and butterfly cuts. Due to those cuts, instead of having bulky material to cover the breasts, or in most cases no material at all, there is well thought out cuts of material that still protect and allow a woman to shoulder a weapon and move comfortably.

Two, these cuts allow for additional material to be placed on the side of the breast, but not hinder movement. Now instead of an opening and zero coverage to the side of the breast and place of vital organs, there is soft ballistic armor covering it. No other body armor has these two cuts that provide such movement and protection.

These two cuts allow women to size to their entire chest and back size, not their breast. This sizing allows for a comfortable vest but still coverage of the side of their body.

Gusseted Front Plate Pocket for a Flat Plate on the Front of the Torso

The Gusseted front plate pocket is a pocket that lies flat on the front of the plate carrier which helps with reducing fragmentation to other extremities and comfort for women. Other plate carriers that only have a plate pocket on the inside of the vest drastically effects how the plate is laying and the comfort for the woman user.

For instance, if a woman has large breasts and a small stomach or waist a plate that is slid in on the inside of the carrier will be angled from top to bottom. It will not lie flat. That does two negative things. One, a bullet that hits an angled surface can now cause an indirect injury such as deflecting onto the face or other extremities. Two, an angled plate can severely cut into the stomach when wearing it or moving/bending over. The front gusseted plate allows for a flat service on the outer and front of the plate carrier to ensure that the plate is not impeding movement and is flat/front facing.

 

showing two different cuts between the male and female version on the breast area and the hips

This is a comparison between both the Female and Male Versions of the EPIC-DSX Assaulters plate carrier. Notice the two things circled. The first red circle shows the butterfly and princess cuts, notice that the males version is lacking it. The second circle shows a higher and deeper cut on the hip bones to ensure that the carrier doesn’t dig into your hips. Notice the different cut on the males version.

Female Shaped Accessories for Comfort On the Shoulders and Hips

Also made for women’s bodies, the Female Shaped Shoulders, Yoke, Collar, and Belt. Not only is the carrier shape important for females but also other parts of the carrier system including the shoulder panels and the belt. The shoulders on the Epic are made as low profile shoulder panels. Which just makes sense doesn’t it? Our shoulders are generally much smaller than mens so why are we wearing their should panels?

Also the belt will have different adjustment features on the female carriers. Women are not a box, they’re hips press out and we should not have to size up for this. Instead, Tyr gave us more adjustment in the hip area on the belt. Speaking of hips, ensure that you notice the carrier hip cut as well. The place on the carrier that wraps around the hips on the EPIC version has a wider amount of soft armor but is cut in a way that doesn’t dig into females sides.

tyr tactical epic carrier with added accessories such as butt coverage

The EPIC plate carrier is compatabile with all TYR Tactical accessories including zip on back panels.

Non-Gender Specific Features to Notice

Cummerbund Buckles

The two QASM buckles on Tyr Tactical plate carriers allows for easy on and off of a plate carrier with one hand. Simply grab the cord with your hand and slip it up and over the buckle. It will then snap into place. Do the same to unbuckle the cummerbund.

Air-Flow Internal Mesh

The internal mesh system on these plate carrier is antimicrobial treated but more importantly, it breathes! The pads allow for the carrier to be off of the body just enough to allow airflow and be comfortable. It is also made of mesh allowing for more ventilation.

Specific Specifications

While there are a few different versions of the EPIC plate carrier, the most updated and most improved is the TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE EPIC-DSX ASSAULTER’S PLATE CARRIER. Below will be the specifications and features of for the DSX Assaulters carrier specifically.

Weight: 6.3 lbs
Dimensions: 21.5 × 20 × 3 in
Soft-armor-carrier: NFA2/10F, NFA3/10F, TXP3A
Size: XSmall, Small, Medium, Large, XLarge, 2XLarge
Gusset-size: Profile 1, Profile 6
Color: Black, Coyote Brown, Gray, MultiCam, Ranger Green

QUICK RELEASE: Taktic buckle system provides a quick connect for users to don & doff the plate carrier utilizing one hand in less than two seconds
BREATHABILITY & MOISTURE PROTECTION: Antimicrobial/FR treated padded spacer mesh system
Slotted poly mesh base cummerbund for increased ventilation
SCALABLE SYSTEM: Compatible with our complete line of armored accessories
-QASM buckle system
-Zippers for Assaulter’s Zip-On Back Panels
-Flush admin chest pocket with internal elastic keepers
-MOLLE Assaulter’s Zip-On Back Panel
PATENTED INTEGRATED BALLISTIC FRAMEWORK: Increases structural integrity & reduces back face deformation
PLATE POCKET STYLE: Incorporates a Gusseted Plate Pocket which relieves tension and pressure normally placed on the body from hard plates in classic plate pocket configuration( Available in several different shapes depending on the profile (thickness) of your plate)

ADDITIONAL FEATURES
-Patented female shape
-Repair buckle kit
-THOR shoulders
-Patented Ballistic Vein® (Pg. 34)
-Hydration/Communication tabs for routing
-Reinforced drag handle
-Two side mag insert adapter

front of epic carrier

Notice the front gusset for a external plate. This allows the plate to stay flat and not dig into the body due to breasts pushing it out. It also allows for fragmentation to be pushed away from the body, not up into the face or into the arm.

Sizing

So, how do women properly size themselves for this plate carrier?

Most universal plate carrier manufacturers will tell women to go by their breast size. Which again, will create that gap of protection that Tyr Tactical has now gotten rid of. Instead of going by cup size, Tyr wants females to go by chest width. This means around the back and across the nipples on the front of the chest. For instance, I have a 36″ chest width. This means that I am a Small in the EPIC carrier size and will take a X-Small Plate as the plate sizes correspond with the carrier sizes.

Tyr Tactical used these overall sizes and designed their vests to ensure that the plate will be covering nipple to nipple. The added protection will then be the soft armor and princess/butterfly cuts to ensure all coverage needed is met.

For more information on sizing click here.

tyr sizing chart

The sizing for the female style plate carriers from Tyr goes by chest width, not your breast size. This increases the ability to have the plate carrier be properly sized to your entire torso, not just your breasts. Photo: Tyr Tactical

 

Options to Purchase and Pricing

Below are options that allow different styles of plate carriers with different features but still have the female cuts. Some options are cutaway vs non cutaway. Some are concealable vs outer carriers. Some also have different cummerbund styles. Notice that there is the PICO style which has the same cuts as the EPIC plate carriers but a little bit of different features when it comes to plate placements.

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE PICO-MVW-DSX ASSAULTER’S PLATE CARRIER
$1,395.95 – $1,595.95

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE EPIC-DSX ASSAULTER’S PLATE CARRIER
$1,595.95 – $1,795.95

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE EPIC ASSAULTER’S PLATE CARRIER
$1,595.95 – $1,795.95

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE EPIC-LOC MOLLE ASSAULTER’S PLATE CARRIER
$1,195.95 – $1,395.95

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE EPIC® FEDERAL OUTER CARRIER
$1,495.95 – $1,695.95

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE EPIC NON-CUTAWAY ASSAULTER’S PLATE CARRIER
$1,595.95 – $1,795.95

TYR TACTICAL® FEMALE ULTRA CONCEALABLE BODY ARMOR – ULVCT
$745.95

If your department is looking to purchase body armor from Tyr Tactical be sure to reach out to your local sales rep first for information and pricing.

 

Read more here about Tyr Tactical and their process of making the very first and only patented Female Body Armor. Now being worn and accepted by both Military and Law Enforcement personnel. 

See more plate carrier reviews on the Breach Bang Clear catalog:

 

Saami Spec

Saami Spec

About the Author

Saami is a veteran of a full-time Army National Guard unit where she served as a Small Arms Repairer and worked to bolster their marksmanship team. Now a gunsmith and technical writer in the Federal LE world, she writes with a background of many armorer classes and numerous competitions under her belt: the former include KAC, Glock, every FN weapon in the book, and several others – including Small Arms Weapons Expert (SAWE). She makes no apologies for boring you with the knowledge of how guns actually work. An avid reloader who builds the bullets she competes with, she is currently heavily involved in the long-range world and competes in the National Rifle League Hunter, various Gas Gun Precision Series, PSCL, and assorted other kinds of competitive shooting. She’s a Minnesota Vikings fan who understands good whiskey. Well, stouts, ciders, and mulled wines, too, but especially whiskey…including Elijah Craig Toasted. Saami has a bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security and is one of those aggravating studious types who graduate with some of the highest grades in her class. From Minnesota to Virginia, from serving in the military to working for the U.S. Dept. of State and other entities beyond, Saami has been in the service of her country since the age of 17. We’re pretty chuffed that she writes for Breach-Bang-Clear. “Saami Spec” is a nom-de-plume as required by her current employer.

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