If you’re looking for an awesome low profile plate carrier, then this Agilite K-Zero Plate Carrier Review is written for you. I’ve had the K-Zero for a little over a month, and I’m impressed with it’s intelligent design, and most importantly, high comfort level. In this article I’ll review my experiences with this awesome piece of kit, and I’ll also review a few practical setup recommendations. Keep reading for more.
Tactical plate carriers are a dime a dozen. They certainly run the gamut, from high quality equipment, to utter junk that you might see on a social media commando. For this reason I’m always a little leery when companies contact me to review their equipment. However, when Agilite contacted me earlier this spring about reviewing their new plate carrier I agreed.
I’ve never used any of their gear before. From what I’ve seen, they seem to be a reputable company. To be perfectly clear, I received the plate carrier for free, for testing. I have not received any other form of compensation for this review. As such, I feel perfectly justified in saying something is garbage, if it’s garbage.
That will not be the case with this Agilite K-Zero Plate Carrier Review. Here’s a quick overview of my thoughts on the carrier.
Agilite K-Zero Plate Carrier Overview
- Clearly designed by end users for a lightweight mission set
- Available in: Ranger Green, Multicam, and Black
- Easily to adjust for all body types, for a perfect fit
- Includes cable management kit
- One of the best modern plate carriers for hot environments
- Does not include front plate bag quick release buckles (ITW)
- Assault Pack Compatible
- Not a tactical vest, no included ballistic protection
As of this writing the plate carrier retails for $289 from Agilite. Given the smart design, I think this is a fair price for a quality plate carrier. It’s very comfortable, and from what I’ve seen, it’s clearly been designed by end users. Let’s get to all the details. Before we do that, don’t forget to join the email list below.
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Agilite K-Zero Plate Carrier: Initial Impressions
I received this plate carrier a little over a month ago. It came with the basic carrier, and a few tube and hose routing pieces. Increasingly, this is more and more important for tactical users. If you own a plate carrier for fun, you may not really need this, but professional users certainly do.
It’s important to be be able to route cables from your radio to your helmet, or ear piece, depending on your particular setup. You will also have to run hydration tubes from the back of the plate carrier to the front. There is nothing more annoying than having cables going everywhere. They catch on everything and can be a real hazard.
Sizing and Adjusting the K-Zero Plate Carrier
The next thing I did was to throw in some large plates, made of steel. These are SAPI medium plates that weigh roughly 10 pounds a piece. This plate carrier would work with shooters cut, and swimmers cut plates as well. Just make sure you get the right sized front and rear plate bag when you order your carrier.
My testing plates are Level 3+, and I use them because they’re much heavier than ceramic armor plates. You can’t learn as much from super lightweight plates during testing. All body armor feels good with no weight on it! If you want to see an awesome article on the lightest tactical gear currently available then check this out.
The K-Zero is incredibly easy to adjust for waist circumference. As you can see in the photos below, you can extend or tighten the low profile cummerbund. I do wish there was a slightly more streamlined way to tighten the free end down.
As it is, they aren’t in the way, but they do dangle a bit. If I was going to run this all the time, I might get some elastic to cover them. Agilite leaves them loose so you can make quick adjustments, depending on what clothing you’re wearing underneath.
The most important adjustment is the shoulder height. Agilite makes this very easy with the interior numbering system. The K-Zero is the only plate carrier I’ve seen with this feature. This system makes sure that each shoulder strap is the same length, for zero hot spots. That sounds trivial, but having one shorter strap transfers the load to one side of your body. As you might imagine, it quickly becomes uncomfortable. Kudos to Agilite for thinking of these functionality issues.
All in all it took me about 5 minutes of fiddling to get the armor to sit at the correct height. With my heavy metal plates, the slick plate carrier weighs about 20 pounds. The adjustment system spreads this load over the shoulders admirably, as you’ll see in the next section.
The rear plate bag has plenty of hook and loop velcro as well as laser cut velcro / MOLLE real estate. I really enjoyed the shoulder pads, which have exterior flaps. This, along with the included cable management kit, is one of the key built-in cable management elements, as they can wrap over wires, and tubes.
Athletic Movement with The Agilite K-Zero
If you’ve read any of my other fitness articles, then it should be no surprise to you that one of my first tests of the K-Zero, is working out in it. I find this mimics a full range of motion for folks that will be wearing this plate carrier for long periods of time.
Since memorial day Murph is coming up, I decided to try 10 rounds of 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 air squats, with the plate carrier. It proved to be very comfortable, and didn’t cause any hot spots as I was moving. The padding did it’s job well.
In the side view above, you can see the nice closed cell padding, which makes this a comfortable piece of kit. Agilite claims to have integrated different suspension points, for an unprecedented amount of comfort. I think we can safely say they have succeeded in creating a design that spreads the weight well, allowing for even heavier loads than normal.
As you might imagine, it’s also a breeze to run in. You can sprint, jump, and climb with no problems. Next let’s see how well this plate carrier performs when shooting.
Shooting and Tactical Tasks with the Agilite K-Zero
This one is a biggie. After all, you don’t want to have a comfortable plate carrier, that you can’t shoot in. One of my first tests is making sure that I can shoulder a rifle easily. Some vests cause the buttstock to shift to an unnatural spot when shooting.
The K-Zero doesn’t have this issue. This is because the shoulder straps are thin enough not push the stock to the left or right, as you shoulder it. Score another point for the K-Zero. This is a good video covering some of the background info on the K-Zero. Check it out.
I found that there is no issue drawing magazines, or pistols from your belt. This is a low-profile plate carrier and that means you don’t have to fit your draw stroke around the gear, which is all too common. There’s no point doing a bunch of dryfire one way, and then having to modify how you perform tactical tasks when you’re in gear. Score more points for the K-Zero.
In the next section you’ll see some of my recommendations for pouches, velcro-backed placards, and other items you might want to pair with this plate carrier.
Pouches and Accessories
This plate carrier ships without any accessories or pouches. The first thing I recommend is a good velcro backed placard. I highly recommend this elastic placard, from Spiritus Systems (pictured below). I’ve used it on one of my duty vests for about two years, and it fits everything from 5.56 magazines, to radios, and tasers. It also has the benefit of being very low profile when not in use.
During my testing I used an older Velocity Systems placard, which you can see in the photos. It works well, but I find I prefer this elastic version much better. I also recommend something with a little more storage, like this kangaroo drop pouch from Spiritus Systems.
The only other thing you might want to add to the Agilite K-Zero is a back panel. There are a variety of options, but I think this style of assault back panel would work well with a plate carrier of this size. This offering comes from Tactical Assault Gear.
The back panel can attach via the MOLLE webbing on the back of the plate carrier. As you can see, it has room for a hydration bladder, magazines, and a general purpose pouch. If you really need, you can add in some extra pouches in the upper MOLLE section as well. Now let’s get to my final thoughts about this Agilite K-Zero plate carrier review.
Final Thoughts
I think this plate carrier is a good option for civilians, military personnel, and law enforcement officer, that need something that is comfortable for long use. It also makes sense for those that want a low profile option with minimal side coverage. Given the smart design of the padding, you can carry a fair amount of weight with less fatigue.
If you need a comfortable low profile plate carrier, that can be used in any area of the world, then head over to the Agilite website and grab your own. I hope you liked this Agilite K-Zero plate carrier review. Let me know in the comments section if you want to see more of these types of articles.
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Nice review. Do you know if a Qore IMS Versa combo will work on a medium Agilite K-Zero?
Not sure about that one Alan. I would shoot them a message.
I did, Agilite said no and Qore said yes 🤣. All the best, Alan
I think Qore has a bunch of adapters though for different PCs. I’m not super sure about their stuff. That may explain the discrepancy.