Anyone bought/used Invader Gear QRB Reaper Vest?

[Asomodai]

Hello all. 

I have never owned a truly quality Combat vest. Best I have is a GF Laser cut special. Part of my massive airsoft clearout is to consolidate my "crap" into "quality"

I have been looking at the Invader QRB range. Mostly because I have some of their combat uniform stuff and quite like the quality of that. This vest looks to be fully featured and nicely priced considering said features. 

Has anyone here used them? How hot do they get whilst wearing? Any weak points?

Invader Gear QRB Reaper Molle Plate Carrier Vest Lazer Cut QR Airsoft (bullseyecountrysport.co.uk)

Cheers!

 

[Lozart]

I have never owned a truly quality Combat vest.

I have been looking at the Invader QRB range. Mostly because I have some of their combat uniform stuff and quite like the quality of that. This vest looks to be fully featured and nicely priced considering said features. 

With the best will in the world, that's not exactly a "truly quality" plate carrier

What's your budget? What do you want out of it?

 

[Druid799]

Can’t speak for their full rigs but I can say their battle belts and pouches are really well made and from my limited experience of using it only real difference I’d say for our level of use(not as if we’re taking part in REAL op’s are we ??) compared to the likes of my Blackhawk! Or 5.11 kit is the weight , it’s a bit heavier as they’ve used single layer PU vinyl instead of multi-layer 1000D cordura to achieve stiffness to the gear .

 

[Lozart]

Can’t speak for their full rigs but I can say their battle belts and pouches are really well made and from my limited experience of using it only real difference I’d say for our level of use(not as if we’re taking part in REAL op’s are we ??) compared to the likes of my Blackhawk! Or 5.11 kit is the weight , it’s a bit heavier as they’ve used single layer PU vinyl instead of multi-layer 1000D cordura to achieve stiffness to the gear .

Is it actually any better than the likes of TMC or Emerson though? They're in a similar ball park cost wise and as far as airsoft goes, they're fine but they're not "truly quality" either!

 

[Druid799]

Is it actually any better than the likes of TMC or Emerson though? They're in a similar ball park cost wise and as far as airsoft goes, they're fine but they're not "truly quality" either!

Better ? nope wouldn’t say so from my limited experience of it but is it ‘truly quality’ ? Now that’s a question for debate !?

think it’s like everything else you buy you get what you pay for(but I’d also add the caveat that once you pass a certain price fresh hold I do believe your paying for the name as much as the quality) there are price bands that the products sit in , you’ve got kit that’s cheap shit and it looks it , then you’ve got the stuff that ‘looks’ ok but you know even in a Chinese sweatshop full of 9yr olds you just couldn’t make it at that price for it to be any good so they must have cut corners on it .

Then you’ve got the biggest band the “looks ok , feels ok” kit and that’s where I think the likes of TMC/8Fields/1tigris/Nuprol/etc etc live , and from my limited experience I’d say Invader Gear is definitely in that band of kit quality . The next is a bit of an odd one where you’ve got the brands that are still Chinese knock off’s but your paying a lot more for it that the last lot , Flye/Emerson/Condor/etc live here , me personally I’m in the quandary over these brands as I do wonder do I buy these or do I pay that bit extra and move up to the next price range ?
then you hit the ‘real’ kit when prices start getting(to me anyway)from “bit expensive but worth it I’ll treat my self !” to “nope sorry that’s a very silly price for Airsofting !” , you’d be a bit of a pillock not to realise this is the best kit you can have but if just a belt from a particular brand costs as much as a new pistol then I’ll stick with my knock offs thank you very much ! ?

ultimately once you reach a price bracket it comes down to personal preference , you want to spend that much on a what ever ? Go for it but don’t make out you ‘had to buy it” no you WANTED to buy it just admit it , it’s your money you spend it on what ever you want .?

 

[Lozart]

Better ? nope wouldn’t say so from my limited experience of it but is it ‘truly quality’ ? Now that’s a question for debate !?

think it’s like everything else you buy you get what you pay for(but I’d also add the caveat that once you pass a certain price fresh hold I do believe your paying for the name as much as the quality) there are price bands that the products sit in , you’ve got kit that’s cheap shit and it looks it , then you’ve got the stuff that ‘looks’ ok but you know even in a Chinese sweatshop full of 9yr olds you just couldn’t make it at that price for it to be any good so they must have cut corners on it .

Then you’ve got the biggest band the “looks ok , feels ok” kit and that’s where I think the likes of TMC/8Fields/1tigris/Nuprol/etc etc live , and from my limited experience I’d say Invader Gear is definitely in that band of kit quality . The next is a bit of an odd one where you’ve got the brands that are still Chinese knock off’s but your paying a lot more for it that the last lot , Flye/Emerson/Condor/etc live here , me personally I’m in the quandary over these brands as I do wonder do I buy these or do I pay that bit extra and move up to the next price range ?
then you hit the ‘real’ kit when prices start getting(to me anyway)from “bit expensive but worth it I’ll treat my self !” to “nope sorry that’s a very silly price for Airsofting !” , you’d be a bit of a pillock not to realise this is the best kit you can have but if just a belt from a particular brand costs as much as a new pistol then I’ll stick with my knock offs thank you very much ! ?

ultimately once you reach a price bracket it comes down to personal preference , you want to spend that much on a what ever ? Go for it but don’t make out you ‘had to buy it” no you WANTED to buy it just admit it , it’s your money you spend it on what ever you want .?

I very much agree with this, there is metrics by which you can measure the quality of gear like this (weight, durability, fitness for purpose etc) but I do think there's an amount of subjective judgement to be made as to whether something is "good enough" for you. I'm not entirely sure that brand plays a huge part in the cost of tactical nylon so much as reputation and small batch sizes. Looking at companies like Platatac for example that sell off contract overruns they're really not that expensive for what they are. Companies like Crye, Mayflower/Velocity etc spend a lot of money getting military contracts and that is always going to be reflected in the cost to the retail consumer (who aren't really their primary market).

Like you say, there's definite strata within the Asian nylon market, I have gear from TMC, Emerson, Flyye and Condor and they're all perfectly good for airsoft. I have some Warrior Assault Systems gear and plagiarism claims aside, their kit is made well enough for the price and is certainly more than good enough for airsoft. I have a number of friends who have Crye, Spiritus and First Spear kit (none of whom have mortgages, just FYI) and on the face of it, they don't carry their airsoft mags and grenades any better than mine do. They'll probably outlast my gear but I change my mind fairly regularly on what I want to run so paying "real steel" prices just isn't going to work for me.

 

[Druid799]

I very much agree with this, there is metrics by which you can measure the quality of gear like this (weight, durability, fitness for purpose etc) but I do think there's an amount of subjective judgement to be made as to whether something is "good enough" for you. I'm not entirely sure that brand plays a huge part in the cost of tactical nylon so much as reputation and small batch sizes. Looking at companies like Platatac for example that sell off contract overruns they're really not that expensive for what they are. Companies like Crye, Mayflower/Velocity etc spend a lot of money getting military contracts and that is always going to be reflected in the cost to the retail consumer (who aren't really their primary market).

Like you say, there's definite strata within the Asian nylon market, I have gear from TMC, Emerson, Flyye and Condor and they're all perfectly good for airsoft. I have some Warrior Assault Systems gear and plagiarism claims aside, their kit is made well enough for the price and is certainly more than good enough for airsoft. I have a number of friends who have Crye, Spiritus and First Spear kit (none of whom have mortgages, just FYI) and on the face of it, they don't carry their airsoft mags and grenades any better than mine do. They'll probably outlast my gear but I change my mind fairly regularly on what I want to run so paying "real steel" prices just isn't going to work for me.

Exactly my friend ! ?

 

[The Waco Kid]

Some of the “clone” tactical gear companies make pretty good stuff these days. 
 

One of Eagles most famous products was a knock off Lowe pack. 
 

I still use a lot of initial issue US MOLLE kit. A lot of it was probably sewn by an inmate at a State Prison with smashing through lowest bid orders. 
 

The vest doesn’t look to bad. It’s not Beez Combat Systems but why pay that much for game gear.
 

Wouldn’t take too much to reinforce the more important seams before use if you aren’t sure.

 

[TheFull9]

The vest doesn’t look to bad. It’s not Beez Combat Systems but why pay that much for game gear.

coz' i wanna

Or, if you do end up being a player for life (and you'll have played a while already if you're buying the top tier shiz) you're nigh on guaranteed that item will last that entire time even if you play pretty often.

 

[Asomodai]

Sorry for not replying earlier gents. 

The only vests I have used in the past are of the 8Fields, Mil-tex, GF own brand and some Russian/French Surplus stuff. The best vest I have is a "laser cut" GF own brand thing. 

For me "Real quality" would be something along the lines of Invader Gear, compared to what I have used before. I am not sure I am willing to spend much more then 90 quid as I want to get at least 3-4 Vests of different colours. The Invader Gear I was looking at because its the best vest I can find in Vegetato. 

Should I be looking at something second hand instead for the OD, Black and Tan varieties?

Cheers!
 

 

[Lozart]

Sorry for not replying earlier gents. 

The only vests I have used in the past are of the 8Fields, Mil-tex, GF own brand and some Russian/French Surplus stuff. The best vest I have is a "laser cut" GF own brand thing. 

For me "Real quality" would be something along the lines of Invader Gear, compared to what I have used before. I am not sure I am willing to spend much more then 90 quid as I want to get at least 3-4 Vests of different colours. The Invader Gear I was looking at because its the best vest I can find in Vegetato. 

Should I be looking at something second hand instead for the OD, Black and Tan varieties?

Cheers!
 

If you're looking at buying multiple PCs I would say go with what you know (ie Invader Gear) particularly as you want vegtato as an option because not that many companies make that pattern. Alternatively, pick a colour that works across different camno loadouts (like Ranger Green or Tan) and splurge on one half decent plate carrier instead.