RBAV-AF ReviewReview of RBAV AF, the newest addition to the BAE Systems ECLiPSE Modular Vest Program (MVP) The RBAV-AF is designed to work with armor packages cut in the SPEAR-BALCS pattern. For purposes of this review, the AF was outfitted with a PPI TWARON BALCS package with LARGE Ceradyne ESAPI plates. This new carrier platform incorporates the direct input of highly-experienced operators to create a mission-ready, integrated solution. The RBAV-AF is fully compatible with all accessories and components of the RBAV-SF. The BAE part number for the RBAV-AF is 7610.

The RBAV AF is the latest iteration of the RBAV series of releaseable outer tactical vests offered by BAE Systems Eclipse line of products. The original RBAV vest pattern came about around SHOT 2008. Designed by the same folks responsible for the Eagle CIRAS, the similarity in outward appearance to the Land variant is very hard to miss, beyond the appearance though, the RBAV is essentially an entirely new design.

Feature differences between the RBAV-AF model and previous SF and earlier models. There are some design differences from earlier RBAV configurations. The most notable are the weapon accessory loops hanging from the shoulder straps, the cable/wire management ports, internal hydration bladder pocket and an increase in usable PALS real estate.

From BAEs Website, the RBAV-AF has in addition to all of the -SF features, Integrated Cable Management for radios and other equipmentBuilt-in rear panel hydration carrier pocketExtended MOLLE panels located on both the front and back which allow for greater load carrying

optionsImproved quick-release access flap and release handle designBuilt-in front admin/document pocketRemovable, front mounted weapon/general purpose D-ringsEnhanced interior side pocket design to accommodate larger itemsImproved access to side pockets for removal and insertion of radios and magazinesFully compatible with all Eclipse SOLAR accessories, SPEAR/BALCS soft armor and hard armor

currently in use with the RBAV-SF

Design The RBAV follows the outer vest concept utilizing two vest halves (front and rear), an inner elastic cummerbund and an outer cummerbund. Tying these four major sub-components together is the releaseable system 2-line ripcord. When assembled, the inner and outer cummerbund attaches to the rear half of the vest.

Exterior of Front RBAV-AF Panel showing D-rings, revised ripcord handle cover flap covering shoulder cord access and cable/wire management slots.. Note the enlarged cummerbund retainer flap.

Design The RBAV follows the outer vest concept utilizing two vest halves (front and rear), an inner elastic cummerbund and an outer cummerbund. Tying these four major sub-components together is the releaseable system 2-line ripcord. When assembled, the inner and outer cummerbund attaches to the rear half of the vest.

Exterior of Rear RBAV-AF Panel showing drag handle, upper flap covering shoulder cord access and hydro bladder opening. Note the extent of PALS webbing coverage on both sides of the lower half of the carrier body

The two halves of the vest are held together by the ripcord assembly that secures via 5 locations inside the back panel, two anchor points for the shoulder/upper half of the vest assembly, and three anchor points for the lower half of the vest assembly and cummerbunds. These anchor points consist of a woven Dacron loop that is threaded through eyelets on the component pieces. The ripcord cable is then threaded through the Dacron loops thus securing the vest assembly together until ditching is required.

The RBAV is designed so that the ripcord assembly can be configured for either left-handed or right-handed deployment and requires about 48 of linear movement to fully extract the ripcord. During testing, I found that even when laden with about 50 lbs of kit, the cable motion did not exhibit signs of binding, and the vest components fully separated off my body.

Ditched RBAV-AF Panels showing inner elastic cummerbund, outer cummerbund retention webbing and mesh interior lining.

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The two halves of the vest are held together by the ripcord assembly that secures via 5 locations inside the back panel, two anchor points for the shoulder/upper half of the vest assembly, and three anchor points for the lower half of the vest assembly and cummerbunds. These anchor points consist of a woven Dacron loop that is threaded through eyelets on the component pieces.

The ripcord cable is then threaded through the Dacron loops thus securing the vest assembly together until ditching is required. The RBAV is designed so that the ripcord assembly can be configured for either left-handed or right-handed deployment and requires about 48 of linear movement to fully extract the ripcord. During testing, I found that even when laden with about 50 lbs of kit, the cable motion did not exhibit signs of binding, and the vest components fully separated off my body.

Ditched RBAV-AF Ripcord, the short cable is for shoulder release while the longer retains the cummerbund assemblies

The inner cummerbund is a 4 inch wide elastic belt that keeps the vest from riding up on a wearer during excessive range of motion and helps to distribute some of the borne load over a larger surface area. The two sides of the outer cummerbund wraps around the front half of the vest assembly and is held secure by a Velcro lined front flap assembly. The bulk of the external mission load is borne by the outer cummerbund.

Sizing of the Cummerbund assemblies is accomplished by threading the two upper/lower webbing sets for the outer cummerbund and the middle webbing set for the inner cummerbund. The degree of adjustability is more exact than what is provided for in the CIRAS platform. NOTE: The inner cummerbund is permanently anchored on the wearer's left side, so it will fall away only from the right side.

The securing method for the rear panel ripcord / cummerbund adjustment/anchor site cover was changed from all snap closure in the 2008 RBAV to snap closure and Velcro in the RBAV-AF

The shoulder strap core is a piece of webbing that provides the structure for the shoulder straps and ripcord routing eyelet. On top of this webbing assembly is another piece of webbing that is sewn up to form a tunnel through which the ripcord cable is routed through from the center handle retainer position. The shoulders have a series of 4 eyelets to adjust for front/rear panel ride height.

Reconfiguring of the vest release system takes about two minutes, the most involved part of reassembly being the routing of the release cable back through one of the shoulder strap tunnels.

Access to the interior of the vest for both the hard armor and soft armor is accomplished through the interior side of both front and rear panels.

Note raschel type mesh lining for breathability and reduction in weight

Rear Interior Panel Front Interior Panel

The rear panel releaseable anchor site cover flap is secure by a large snap/Velcro area.

8 full-height PALS Column (12 In Wide) x 8 physical PALS Rows (16 In high)

Top and bottom webbing controls the adjustability of the out cummerbund while the middle webbing controls the inner cummerbund

The front Cummerbund securing flap is also secured using a similar method. The front securing flap also contains a kangaroo-type slot pocket that is Velcro secured, and could ostensibly be fitted out with a double or triple M4 magazine shingle or used for document retention.

7 full-height PALS Column (12 In Wide) x5 physical PALS Rows (5 In high)

On the end of the shoulder strap core/routing tunnel webbing piece is sewn an ITW Nexus D-ring. A wearer can either leave this D-ring hanging down for use with a weapon sling, comm-mike hanger or they can fold it up and wrap it using the removable shoulder/MSAP pad. This shoulder strap pad assembly covers/pad the gap between the front and rear panels and the shoulder cores. The pad does provide some modicum of comfort against the weight of the entire rig. It is important to note that proper configuration and wear of this vest system causes weight to be distributed more evenly throughout the wearers torso are and not just upon their shoulders.

Attached shoulder pad assembly showing MSAP attachment slot and optional up armor loop velcro.

Shoulder Core, showing D-rin in down or up position

The cable/wire management ports allow for the weaving through of various comm. cables through from the vest exterior into the vest interior. These ports are very similar to the serged foliage slots in protective helmet covers, or buttonholes.

A hydration bladder pocket is sewn onto the interior side of the rear panel cover. There is a webbing loop sewn in a manner that provides hanging support for a bladder from the top edge of the rear vest. My comparison 2008 RBAV has this loop, but there is no bladder pocket. I see this feature as a wear-protective measure as the bladder would otherwise be exposed to the ripcord routing hardware and metal buckles of the cummerbund adjustment would make short work of the hydro bladder material. Access to the hydro pocket is through the same flap that allows access to the shoulder ripcord routing loops

Packcloth lining pictured here is actual hydro bladder pocket.

Hydropocket opening is slightly wrinkled material pictured here. Note vertical loop for bladder retention

An obvious difference is in usable PALS. Readily apparent is in the widened front cummerbund retainer flap. Went from 6 columns in the 2008 RBAV to 7columns in the AF version, and with the odd numbering comes and offset in alignment.

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2008 RBAV in Ranger Green 6 PALS channels wide 2011 RBAV-AF in OCP7 PALS channels wide

An obvious difference is in usable PALS. On the rear exterior face, PALS from 6 columns in the 2008 RBAV to 8 columns in the RBAV-AF version. Usable in this case would be full height of PALS columns. On the lower half of the 2008 RBAV, the ripcord / cummerbund adjustment point cover is noticeably raked in toward centerline compared to the RBAV-AF, there is an addition webbing row in the RBAV-AF leading to a larger overall PALS grid.

2008 RBAV in Ranger Green 6 Usable PALS channels wide, 13 Rows High

2011 RBAV-AF in OCP 8 PALS usable channels wide, 15 Rows High

The RBAVs neck area is lined with loop Velcro to allow for attachment of optional neck/throat armor, and the removable shoulder pad assemblies are also lined with Velcro to allow for attachment of optional MSAP/Deltoid/Upper arm armor packages

Around the interior of the neck hole

Removable Shoulder pad assembly

Outer cummerbund Unlike the CIRAS-Land vest that uses an outer cummerbund that is reinforced with thin polyethylene plastic to provide structure, the RBAV uses a doubled over material for its outer cummerbund, and there is a loop of webbing on the ends to provide leverage when donning and securing the vest

Front Panel with Outer cummerbund secured

On the side wings of the front vest panel are sewn in pockets with elastic bungee and a snapclosure secured webbing bar divider. This is the Side Plate pocket, which can be configured to hold 6x6 or 6x8 SAPI plates or if not used in that role, the pocket can be used to carry 2 M4 magazines in a side by side arrangement. The outer cummerbund wraps around this feature when the RBAV is worn.

Side SAPI plate pocket Side SAPI plate pocket covered by outer cummerbund

Comfort This is a very subjective term and the degree of experience felt will range depending on the user. The refining of a proven existing design combined with the lighter weight of material and softer hand or degree of firmness reduces the effort needed to accomplish an equivalent range of motion and by default should lead to longer wearability before the user experiences an imparted or felt fatigue setting in.

Thanks to SKD Tactical (skdtac.com) for providing a demo RBAV-AF for examination

Construction the base material is 500D Cordura nylon rather than the thicker 1000D Cordura of the CIRAS vest. A lightweight raschel-knit mesh material forms the bulk of the wearer-side lining. 17337-type webbing is used for the PALS webbing material, shoulder strap cores, accessory straps and cummerbund adjustment straps. Hardware is from ITW Nexus. The RBAV AF also has a sewn-in hydration bladder pocket on the rear panel formed from a single piece of 420D packcloth. The net effect of the 500D use for the vest body is that it allows for better wearer-body shaping/load distribution, thus alleviating some of the perceived stress imparted by looser wearing, bulkier, or more rigid armor packages.

When correctly configured, the weight is distributed throughout the wearers torso, so it is advisable to configure this vest to your particular body shape. For an XL sized platform, it could be adjusted to fit someone 61, 310lbs with a 52 chest

Overall, I would be hard pressed to come up with further refinements to this RBAV-AF platform example. Value-wise, you cannot go wrong with the AF or the preceding SF model RBAV carrier. The new features may be of limited or no use to some, thus money can be saved by going the SF route and no utility would be lost. However if your mission needs require wire management, internal hydro pockets, revised release handle cover or some additional PALS real estate, then you would do well in considering the RBAV-AF as your next BALCS carrier choice.

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