Introduction and disclosures
The Fulcrum plate carrier by C2R Fast was among the most hyped gear releases in the UK in 2022, with resoundingly positive pre-release reviews from guys like The Geardo Crow and ATRG before its release at the end of September, and positive reception from initial buyers at release. This coincided with the period that I was coming back to airsoft – as I discussed in the January 2023 update on my Direct Action kit – and the positive reception from the market encouraged me to pick one up even though I am normally wary of brand new products until they have spent more time in use (regardless of how trusted the brand is). Initially, however, the Fulcrum was only released with size medium plate bags which, at 6’3” and built like a brick shithouse, wasn’t going to work for me. I reached out to the guys at C2R to ask about whether there were any plans to release a large version, which they advised there was not, but they immediately offered to make me a bespoke unit with large plate bags as a one-off. Indeed, C2R – Concept2Reality – Fast, as well as the name of the brand, was the founding ethos of the company who set out to provide a service which covered meeting individual end-user needs as well as providing contract gear to some of the most elite fighting forces in the country. I felt quite privileged that they were so willing to meet such a need for me. In brief, though, I needn’t have been worried about taking a risk on a new product. The Fulcrum is a seriously refined bit of kit, and I have loved using it since it arrived.
In terms of relevant disclosures, I paid the full retail price (£460 with the placard and cummerbund as at October 2022) for my Fulcrum carrier with personal funds, though I was not charged any extra for mine being a bespoke unit. C2R also kindly gifted me some extras including their Drop Down Utility Pouch and handmade leather Union Flag patch, both of which I continue to use. I do have a limited T&E relationship with C2R in respect of certain products which I have not yet been provided with, but no money will change hands as part of that relationship. I have not been paid to make this review and C2R were not given advanced notice that I would be reviewing the Fulcrum at point of order. While C2R have been given the chance to share their thoughts on my review, they have had no influence on the contents or my opinions.
The Fulcrum in the wider armour carrier market
One of the major difficulties faced by any company releasing a new armour carrier today is just how saturated that market has become. It’s more important than ever that the release finds its unique place in the market, else it be disregarded as white noise. The Fulcrum occupies a really interesting place in the market in terms of what it is designed to do, which is the first indication that there is a lot more to the design than meets the eye. Aside from the very clever name (have a quick Google of the definition of ‘fulcrum’ after you’ve finished reading this), the whole design of the fulcrum allows it to be scaled up or down quickly and easily, meaning it can be configured to fit in any one of a number of ‘positions’ in the market as regards competitor products.
Generally, when we think about modern armour carriers, I would break them into three broad categories (excluding covert armour carriers) according to what sort of load they are very broadly designed to carry. At one end of the market, you have minimalist carriers like the Crye JPC, Ferro Slickster or Spiritus LV-119, which are more-so designed to stay reasonably slick and have no additional features to specifically spread weight across the body, but have the benefit of being pretty lightweight and unobtrusive. You then have what might be called ‘semi-structural’ armour carriers, or something to that effect. These carriers, like the new LBT 6094G3, Crye SPC or Ferro FCPCv5 (in certain configurations), are beginning to add features like more rigid cummerbunds which more evenly distribute and support heavier loads, without being enormously bulky overall. Finally, you have harness-style plate carriers, which utilise a fully structural rigid harness to cope the best under the heaviest loads – the trade-off, of course, being significantly increased bulk. Notable examples include the Crye Precision CPC, AVS and CAGE Chassis, though other brands utilise comparable technology as well.
To my mind, as it comes from the factory, the Fulcrum sits in the second category of carrier: it is pretty lightweight and slick, but the cummerbund is pretty rigid (more on this below) and the carrier copes well even under the heavy loads I’ve tested this with (ceramic plates, GBBR magazines and multiple BFGs). With that said, though, the whole design brief of the Fulcrum as I discuss more below is that it can scaled up or down quickly and easily to fit about any use case. For example, if I wanted something ultra-slick, I could throw on a 3” elastic cummerbund and slick-front elastic placard like the Ferro TEAR and it would fit the bill perfectly. If I needed to load up for sustained firefights, I’d be considering a molle-fronted placard which would give me the most flexibility to stack up supplies at the front, and the factory cummerbund or even a more rigid option (like the Axl Equinox or similar) would comfortably let me run more gear on each side to keep me in the fight. Depending on the parts you were swapping in and out, this would probably take less than five minutes. The Fulcrum’s ability to scale up or down quite this fast is, in my opinion, its biggest selling point and defines its market offering.
Materials and feature set
Plate bags
The Fulcrum is, in the main, constructed with 330d Cordura (thankfully none of the ultra-heavy 1000d stuff from days gone by) as well as laser-cut Hypelon-like laminate material in areas, giving the feeling that C2R have really considered the materials they’ve used and how/where they’ve used them. The plate bags, and the front plate bag’s ‘placard pocket’ cover (more below) are primarily constructed of Cordura while the webbing and shoulder straps are all laser cut. The Velcro panels – both the main one to secure the cummerbund/placard and the Velcro-MOLLE panel in the admin area both appear to be laser cut around the edges, giving a nice clean finish with no fraying or sharp edges, and the latter is also reinforced with what appears to be a layer of some sort of laminate material which increases the rigidity of the webbing in that area. This is a massive plus for those of us running some form of end user device in that area for TAK platforms, which I’ve got no doubt was C2R’s intention from the off. This laminate material also used in the onewrap-style loops on the sides of the carrier and the shoulder pads which can be used to cinch down cabling, hydration tubes or antennae. The back faces of both platebags are covered with a layer of C2R’s signature spacer mesh. It provides about as much ventilation as you can realistically hope for from a plate carrier which is loaded up heavily and secured closely to your torso. I’ve got no difficulties with this, personally, but if you were desperate to run additional padding, etc, then you may struggle as there is no provision for this. For what it's worth, I don’t think it’s terribly necessary.
The rear platebag features a great system for attaching the cummerbund, meaning massive inter-brand compatibility for different end user preferences. This design allows both Velcro and shock-cord style cummerbunds to be used, though the design is definitely geared towards modern two-band cummerbunds rather than more traditional three-band options, mainly evidenced by the height of the concealed panel that they are secured under (as pictured). One of my favourite bits about this system is how sleek it keeps the back of the carrier, virtually eliminating the snag hazard of stray shock-cord and suchlike. Interestingly, apart from a small panel of Velcro-MOLLE which is very similar to the panel on the front platebag, there is no webbing on the rear plate of the Fulcrum. It is instead slick-backed, save for the unique inward-facing zips which comprise part of the Fulcrum’s back panel mounting system. C2R have designed a line of back panels specifically for the Fulcrum, that design involving a zip orientation which renders it incompatible with mainstream back panels including Crye-patterned or Ferro-patterned options. On the face of it, this does seem incongruous to the rest of the Fulcrum’s design brief, where much emphasis is put on inter-brand compatibility of parts. I understand, however, from what I have seen and heard of the back panel designs, that this is an integral part of an innovative attachment system which, without giving too much away, should serve to minimise the amount of additional strain on end users which is very exciting. My only real gripe about the design here (and, to be honest, about the carrier as a whole) is the decision not to include any webbing on the platebag as it comes – given the highly limited availability of back panels at time of writing, it would have been great to be able to configure some sort of setup in the interim to at least get some hydration on the back of the rig. While this is not by any means an insurmountable problem (I have seen one Fulcrum owner who has had his back panel modified by a third-party tactical tailor to add some laser cut MOLLE), I do find it quite frustrating that I can’t get a setup that really works for me until a panel becomes available. Anecdotally, I understand that C2R’s newest JPC2.0 back panel (if you can find one) can be made to fit the Fulcrum, but when these are also so incredibly hard to come by, they don’t really constitute a viable alternative to the Fulcrum-specific panels.
Shoulders
Coming up to the shoulder straps and pads, these are constructed of laser-cut laminate, attach together by Velcro in a fairly traditional way, and have the added bonus of an emergency doffing system by way of a pull tab which can be discreetly tucked under through the signature laser-cut triangles in the shoulder straps (which are a great feature for routing comms cabling, too). I know at least one fellow Fulcrum owner (@echo27_xray on Instagram) has had his shoulder straps modified to include FirstSpear-style tubes which eliminate the need for the carrier to come on and off overhead. This is definitely a cool idea, but that’s not to say that there is anything at all defective about the shoulder strap configuration as it is. It was also X who had his back panel modified to add more MOLLE. The shoulder pads are also pretty traditional, each with two rigidised Onewrap loops (great for routing hydration tubes and cabling), a decent amount of spacer mesh and no rough or raw edges. They are really pretty comfortable even with the Fulcrum loaded up heavy – I have no complaints about them whatsoever, and they are certainly miles ahead of the ‘sock style’ shoulder pads seen on certain other modern carriers. I’m increasingly of the opinion that shoulder pads are almost akin to insoles in boots, though, in that different people are going to have wildly different preferences on what they find comfortable – in the future, I might shop around and try different pad setups, but it’s definitely not something I feel like I need to do ‘out the box’ at all.
‘Bund
The Fulcrum’s cummerbund is a very well-engineered piece of kit, providing a level of rigidity (and so comfort under load) which far exceeds its relative weight and bulk. It is lined on the inside with a fairly soft material, not unlike the soft side of onewrap (though I don’t know that it’s designed with any Velcro properties in mind), the outside being Cordura webbing over a layer of laminate. Laminate and similar products are increasingly common on cummerbunds as they provide a great low-weight low-bulk way of adding rigidity and increasing end user comfort under load. While I don’t run my cummerbunds absolutely stacked, just as a general preference, this one has coped more than adequately with anything I’ve loaded onto it, and I wouldn’t worry about loading it up more than I have done if it was required for a specific mission set. I haven’t tried to run side armour on the cummerbund, but I would not foresee hitting any issues if that was a requirement for you. Even though the cummerbund is only attached to itself, and not directly attached to the carrier (a function of the cummerbund mounting system, as discussed), I’ve not had any issues with it coming loose or wanting to pull to one side even under tension. Again, purely for the convenience factor, I am considering adding to or modifying my cummerbund to add a QD feature – either by way of tubes, like the A&A Tactical tube mod kit, or a cobra buckle system like the Ferro Concepts 3AC uses – but there is certainly nothing defective about the traditional Velcro attachment system.* In terms of sizing, the standard cummerbund will be more than sufficient for the overwhelming majority of users – I usually wear an XL combat shirt and have absolutely no issues with it.
*In the time between writing and publishing this review, I swapped the standard Fulcrum cummerbund out to test the Axl Equinox – in time, I will review the Equinox itself and also discuss my decision to make the change in a Kit Locker article.
Placard and placard mounting
I’ll only very briefly touch on the Fulcrum’s placard itself, mainly because it is really an ‘added extra’ rather than being an integral part of the unit. It’s a really good placard – the kydex inserts are very secure and have a great amount of positive retention without being overkill, as well as optional shock cord and pull-tabs to make it jumpable. The front pockets – designed for .338 Lapua magazines in the main – are also great for carrying everything from batteries to blanks to snacks. Finally, the whole-length zippered pocket is a fantastic inclusion for carrying things like maps and notebooks. I enjoyed using the Fulcrum placard a lot, and the only reason I changed it out for the Ferro TEAR placard was that I wanted something which was slightly lower-profile and lighter weight as I transitioned to a new primary rifle setup (watch this space). It’s something I’d have no qualms in recommending, though, if you are getting a Fulcrum.
The main story as regards placards is the ingenious system developed from the ground-up by C2R to allow the attachment of virtually any placard on the market, and also the quick changing of placards depending on application. The upper half of the front platebag, as you look at it, is actually covering a panel of loop Velcro which runs underneath the Cordura outer layer. The cover is secured by a small panel of loop so that it is held secure. The Cordura is secured to the Velcro by a small, central panel of hook Velcro mounted to its inside.
The Velcro exists for C2R’s ground-breaking ‘hardpoints’ to be attached, which are hook-backed hard laminate squares with cutouts to accept G-hooks or swiftclips, which can be placed anywhere in that ‘pocket’ so that any placard can be made to sit at the perfect height for the end user. The Fulcrum comes with two sets of hardpoints, so you could easily keep two placard setups ready to go in your kit bag and swap them out in a matter of seconds when mission parameters dictate with no compromise on how the placard is positioned on the plate. This is a genuinely ingenious system and is, in my opinion, a real focal point to the Fulcrum’s unique market offering.
Nine-month thoughts
As you might have gathered by now, I really like this plate carrier. The unique, nuanced design approach to scalability and modularity does make it, in my opinion at least, a carrier offering genuine points of difference from competitor brands and models. I’ve now spent a pretty decent amount of time wearing the Fulcrum in “action” and I’ve been really impressed with how it has handled being loaded up, how easy it has been to experiment with interchangeable parts and how overall comfortable it has been for a carrier which isn’t based on a harness system. It’s not showing any particular signs of wear yet, despite the fact that (without being abjectly destructive, obviously) I have gone out of my way not to treat it with kid gloves. It is definitely a source of frustration that I’ve not yet been able to do anything with my rear plate, but I nevertheless feel that, on balance, the carrier as a whole is a market-leading option for those who desire the flexibility and modularity that it offers.
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