Flyye RAV Vest

[AlexHewitt]

Introduction

I'm am sure many of you will be familiar and may have a CIRAS style plate carrier. One of the Plate Carriers that is not as often seen though is the RAV.



The RAV (Releasable Assault Vest) is manufactured by an american company called MSA Paraclete. It is regarded by many to be one of, or if not the best quick release style plate carrier available. It has become the vest of choice for UKSF and Delta Force.



The real RAV vest costs around £600 pounds, which is obviously, for most, a bit steep for airsoft. Thankfully though, Flyye have come to the rescue with a much more reasonably priced replica.

Background

I brought the Flyye RAV in ranger green for around £130 pounds, with shipping, from a well known scottish retailer (PM me for the link), who are only of the retailer in the UK who stock most Flyye products.



Flyye are a relatively new brand. It is rumored that Flyye and Pantac gear is made at the same factory, as their stuff uses the same blueprints and the quality is identical. So consider this Review a review of the Pantac RAV as well.

Construction

Note: In some of the following photos the vest sometimes appears to be a coyote brown color, its just bad lighting. The vest is actually ranger green. I will probably get out the camera lights later and try and take some better photos.



(Note: The pouches are extras I have added and do not come with the vest)

This vest screams quality. It is made of 1000d Cordura -which it tear, cut & water resistant, as confirmed by the official tag attached to a piece of MOLLE on the rear of the vest.



The vest has YKK zippers and ITW clips - just like the real thing!, so you know they will not fail on you.



One of the features that makes the RAV different from other vests available is the way that the cumberbunds attach. Instead of a piece of the vest flipping down over the front of the cumberbund, the cumberbunds zip together in the middle and then are secured by velcro on the back. This makes it easier to don and remove.

Flyye have even had their name engraved into the snaps on the vest. This is something that, according to my knowledge, no other manufacturer does.



Also included is some imitation soft armour which helps helps keep its form and stay rigid - most plate carriers, need plates, or at least soft amour to keep their form. My one complaint of the soft armour though is that it seems a little stiff, and seems to try and conform to its own shape, rather than that of the vest, thus sometimes making it uncomfortable. I'll probably remove the soft armour when my replica SAPI plates arrive, I believe that this will fix all the issues.

One other complaint I have is the stupid amounts of velcro around the vest., especially around the neck. On the real vest this velcro has a purpose as its for adding extra protection around the neck, but as there aren't any neck protectors currently available, the velcro is redundant.



Flyye also includes some shoulder pads which attach to the vest. These are not necessary but may help when carrying heavy loads, i.e. hydration, GBB M4 Mags and day sacks.

The are built in covers for comms and hydration, for stopping them from rubbing against your neck as you run.


Here is a picture of the internal cumberbund



The vest folded open.



Fit/Sizing/Adjustment

I'll be honest, the vest is a bit of a bitch to adjust. The shoulders rely on snaps and velcro while the internal and external cumberbund are adjusted by threading the quick release wires through different loops at the end of the cumberbunds.



The vest snugs the body like its supposed to, is comfortable and does not shake around when running.

Quick Release

Like the real vest, there is a quick release system. This releases the internal & external cumberbunds and detaches the shoulders. I have not tried this yet, but will update this thread later if it works as described.



The release handle can be swapped to either side of the vest. Out of the box it is on the right. The handle is covered by a patch of velcro, so you have to crap the corners of the handle sticking out of the top and bottom.

Conclusion

I would recommend this vest to anyone. It gives you great flexibility freedom of movement. Although it has a hefty price tag, it defiantly worth the extra money. I will most likely update this thread once I have fully kitted it out and skirmished with it.

If you have any questions just PM me.

[AlexHewitt]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

Any ideas on how I could make this review any better?

[will.i.am_bakewell]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

necro post........

Pulled the quick release, it works! But now I cant put it back together....

[AlexHewitt]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

necro post........

Pulled the quick release, it works! But now I cant put it back together....

This should help.

http://gearsoc.com/blog/2010/04/rele...-instructions/

[will.i.am_bakewell]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

Thankyou by the way! And this is a excellent vest. Differential rate this vest highly.

[mrpugster]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

nice thanks for the review

[Krayzee]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

Necro post. Sorry... whats better? This RAV or Pantacs offering?

Krayzee

[AlexHewitt]

Necro post. Sorry... whats better? This RAV or Pantacs offering?

Krayzee

I'd defiantly go with the Flyye RAV. The colour is much better. A mate of mine's got the Pantac version it almost appears to be purple under sunlight.

Hope this helps.

[Krayzee]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

Okay thank-you mate! Nice review aswell!

[Smithles]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

Sorry for the mega bump.

Alex, any chance you could take a photo of the vest open up but show us the externals? You've got the same position but showing us the inside, but I'd like to look at something on the outside when it's opened up. Namely, how much molle webbing there is on the outer face of the inner section in front of the stomach. (if that makes sense) - which would only be easily visible if the vest was open.

I can't find it anywhere.

Cheers.

[AlexHewitt]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

Smithles,

Sorry for the super late reply. I haven't checked this thread in ages! How is this photo?

[murta369]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

gonna add to mega necropost , the flyyes ravs are nice to wear like but no where near as nice as the paracletes which are made of a lighter denier cordura and then have a soft lining inside. the release wires also are annoying usually bunch up at the front of the vest on the flyye.

if you can get a smoke green paraclete go for one , however this is a good alternative

[AlexHewitt]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

You'd expect the Paraclete ones to be nicer. They are five times the price!

[murta369]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

not if you know where to look... you can expect on average to pay 200 for a paraclete (05 model too) , flyyes retail for 160 now

[-Drake-]

Re: Flyye RAV Vest

I wouldn't say on average you'd be lucky to get a paraclete one for £200 in fact just this month I had 4 on my radar and only one of them went for close to £200 with the rest averaging £275-£303-£340 not including postage (from the states).

If you look around especially on ebay you can pick up the flyye rav for little over £100 so there is a notable difference in the price brackets.