Condor Cyclone Review: The Plate Carrier For Every Man

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CONDOR CYCLONE PLATE CARRIER

RATING

SPECS

Material: 500D Cordura Nylon
Supported Plate Size: M or L Swimmer/ESAPI plates up to 10.25″ x 13.25″
Size: Adjustable from 30″ – 45″
Weight: 3 – 4 lbs
Features: Easy Access plate bag
Manufactured: USA (Berry Compliant)

PRICE

CHECK PRICE ON WEBSITE (DISCOUNT CODE: TG4L777 FOR 15% OFF)

OVERALL

The Condor Cyclone plate carrier overall is a very solid minimalist carrier.

Besides a bit of padding on the shoulders, the Cyclone has no padding. However, it’s still reasonably comfortable.

The adjustable cummerbund and straps allow the Cyclone to fit large and small bodies nicely. The MOLLE on the front, back, and cummerbund allow the Cyclone to be modified to suit pretty much any setup.

The Front and Back plate pockets accept M or L Swimmer and ESAPI plates up to 10.25″ x 13.25″, and the cummerbund accepts soft armour inserts up to 6″ x 10″.

The cummerbund has to be fully open to fit a guy my size (6’4″ and 265 lbs), and since it isn’t attached to the carrier on the rear, it tends to slip around, causing it to bunch up.

The Cyclone can also be hard to size properly by yourself as the shoulder straps easily slip through the buckles until they’re held shut by the hook and loop strap holder.

At $195.95, the Condor Cyclone is also a fantastic price for a plate carrier made in the USA and is Berry-compliant. Other USA-made plate carriers can cost as much as $400+.

FIRST IMPRESSION

When I first got my hands on the Condor Cyclone, I thought it was a well-built carrier.

Build quality is so important for tactical gear because the last thing you want in a tactical situation is for your gear to fail you out of simply poor quality.

Out of the box, it’s pretty slick, with a good minimalist design. However, I was disappointed that the shoulder strap padding didn’t cover my shoulders.

The 500D nylon body makes the Cyclone nice and flexible, and the MOLLE on the front and rear is great for customizing your loadout.

The straps were thick, the buckles strong, and the stitching on point. The Cyclone is worth every penny, especially because it is made in the USA.

FIELD FIRSTS

I ran The Cyclone all day at the range and never once had problems. I didn’t have mags in then as we were practicing shotgun to pistol transitions, but I ran level-four plates all day.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite no shoulder padding, the Cyclone felt great on my shoulders the whole time.

It was quite comfortable, except the cummerbund kept getting all messed up on my right side. It would bunch up like crazy no matter what we did.

If I had had side armour in, I don’t think this would have been a problem, but no matter what we did, it would not sit right.

Other than the cummerbund issue, though, it was solid.

QUALITY AND DESIGN

ID PANEL

The Condor Cyclone has three rows of loop panelling for ID patches on both the front and the back.

It’s a fair amount, but that’s fine, as the rear panelling can be used for hook and loop attachments instead of patches.

It’s held on with solid bar-tack stitching, which gives the panelling great strength. You won’t have to worry about it accidentally being torn off.

ADMIN POUCH

The admin pouch on the Condor cyclone is lower down on the bottom half of the carrier, behind your mag panel.

I like both carrier configurations with the admin pouch lower or higher on the chest, but I definitely find it easier to access when it’s lower. It’s usually a bit larger, as there’s more space there.

A decent-sized hook-and-loop panel keeps the pouch closed, and a nylon pull tap allows quick access. The ID panel picture above best shows this.

MOLLE

The Condor Cyclone plate carrier has four solid rows of MOLLE on the front and back of the carrier. This allows for mag pouches or anything really that uses PALS webbing.

In this photo, I have Condor’s Triple Stacker M4 Mag Pouch attached to my front.

The back MOLLE also allows for back panel attachments such as an admin pouch, hydration pouch, or IFAK.

With a minimalist carrier such as the Cyclone, you don’t want to load yourself down with a ton of attachments, but the Cyclone gives you the ability to customize it as much as you want

SHOULDER STRAPS

I mentioned earlier that the shoulder straps initially concerned me regarding comfortability over long-term use. Honestly, they might still, if I was looking at prolonged use, having to wear it consistently for multiple days on end.

I wore the carrier for a solid day with plates in, though; the shoulder straps didn’t bother me.

On the front of the shoulder, there is 1/2″ thick padding, and then over the top and down to the rear of the carrier, there’s a 1 1/2″ wide nylon strap.

As shown in the photo, the top features a large quick-disconnect buckle and a hook-and-loop strap holder.

This hook-and-loop strap holder must be fixed, as it is the only thing keeping the buckle from slipping and causing the carrier to lose the size you’ve set it to.

Without it done up, anytime you pick the carrier up from the shoulder straps, it just slips out and undoes itself.

CUMMERBUND

The cummerbund itself is well made. It has a solid build, using bar-tack stitching, double stitching and strong dual-layered elastic bands for a firm fit.

The cummerbund is completely separate from the plate carrier, and there is no way to attach it to the carrier.

It slips through a tunnel in the back just underneath the MOLLE layer. It’s a straight pull-through, and nothing holds the cummerbund up.

Although the Cyclone is a minimalist plate carrier, the cummerbund accepts soft armour inserts up to 6″ x 10″.

The Condor Cyclone cummerbund attaches on the front using strong hook-and-loop panels. Both ends have easy pull tabs to help remove the cummerbund from the main carrier.

As you can see here, the front panel, like many carriers, folds down and around, securing the cummerbund in place.

This massive hook panel holds the cummerbund closed very securely.

EASY OPEN HANDLES

The Cyclone has strong, reinforced pull handles on the front panel and the front and rear plate pockets. These are super helpful in opening flaps quickly.

The handles are made of thick nylon, which has been attached using bar tacking and double stitching. This ensures that you can yank on them without fear of them ever tearing off.

I have another plate carrier that was created without easy-pull handles, and as much as I like my other plate carrier, it is harder and more of a nuisance to open the pockets without these handles.

PADDING

Like most minimalist plate carriers, the Condor Cyclone has no padding on the main body. The only padding is 1/2″ thick padding in the small front and rear shoulder straps.

This was initially a major concern for me, as any weighted gear one wears must be comfortable, especially if it’s worn for long periods of time.

After putting some solid hours into wearing the Cyclone, however, I found it to be quite comfortable, and it didn’t bother my shoulders or back at all.

TRIPLE STACKER M4 MAG POUCH

Condors Triple Stacker M4 Mag Pouch is very well-built. The pockets are formed well, the elastic is strong, and the front and back rows are offset nicely.

It is a solid and highly functional mag pouch.

It has MOLLE on the front for additional attachments, grommets on the bottom of each pouch for operating in inclement weather, and six sets of nylon straps on the back to hold it securely to the carrier.

Overall, I was quite pleased with this mag pouch. I had no problems at all running it on the range.

WHAT I LIKE BEST

CONSTRUCTION

I was very pleased to see the quality Condor put into the construction of the Cyclone. Although some parts have single-layer stitching, the vast majority are double-stitched.

Condor also used bar-tack stitching all over the Cyclone. This greatly increases the strength of attachment points in the fabric layers.

The Cyclone is completely berry-compliant, and the quality really stands out.

EASY OPEN HANDLES

After using plate carriers without easy-open handles on the plate pockets and then the Cyclone with easy-open handles, let me tell you, they’re a very nice addition.

The handles are highly functional and make donning and doffing the Cyclone and changing plates quick and easy.

I was quite pleased with these handles.

ADMIN POUCH

If a plate carrier has an admin pouch, you will find them in one of two spots. Lower down underneath the mag panel or high on the chest.

I have had carriers with both and prefer the admin pouch lower down. They’re larger as there’s more space, and I find them easier to access and use.

When they’re lower down, like on the Cyclone, they can hold maps, whereas the chest admin pouches are often too small.

CONCERNS AND CRITICISMS

Overall I was pleased with the Condor Cyclone, but two aspects concerned me.

CUMMERBUND REAR ATTATCHMENT

You can see below that the cummerbund sizes by lengthening or shortening the three straps. When the cummerbund is extended close to or at its maximum length, the straps are the only thing in the rear tunnel.

Inside the tunnel, it is smooth nylon, with nothing holding the cummerbund in place to the plate carrier. You can see this in the third photo; the cummerbund has slid down and is not in line with the carrier.

No matter how my team and I adjusted the carrier, this would not change. This led to the problem you can see in the fourth photo; the right side of the cummerbund bunching up and not staying in place.

We would often stop shooting, straighten it out, and adjust it to try to fix this, but it didn’t matter what we did; it would bunch back up.

It didn’t bother me much with a sweater on, but it may have been quite uncomfortable with just a T-shirt on.

Now, the two ways I can think of to prevent this would be to insert soft armour or side plates into the cummerbund. Both of these would stiffen the cummerbund, preventing it from bunching up.

Or two, be a smaller person. I have a buddy who runs the Cyclone, and he’s never complained about this, but he’s also quite a bit smaller than me.

So, if you were smaller, the fabric of the cummerbund would be in the back tunnel, and potentially, it wouldn’t bunch and would stay in place better.

SHOULDER SIZING STRAPS

The nylon straps used to size the Condor Cyclone feed through a quick-release buckle and are held in place by a small hook-and-loop strap.

The problem arises when you size the carrier and have these hook-and-loop straps undone.

When you’ve got it at the correct size and then proceed to remove the carrier from your shoulders by picking it up by the straps. The nylon straps slip through the buckles, come undone, and you lose your size.

If you have someone to help you, this isn’t an issue, but when you try to size it on your own, it can be very frustrating.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Condor Cyclone is a well-built all-American plate carrier. Made in the USA, it is one of the most affordable carriers on the market.

The Cyclone has a high-quality and strong build. It’s decently comfortable and has many attributes that make it highly functional, such as easy-open pull handles and a lower admin pouch with tons of MOLLE.

The Cyclone has a couple of drawbacks, but nothing will prevent me from continuing to run it.

Condors Cyclone is a great plate carrier for anyone looking for a high-quality and affordable USA-made carrier.

CHECK PRICE ON WEBSITE (DISCOUNT CODE TG4L777 FOR 15% OFF)