Ares Armor’s Derma Plate Carrier is a lightweight plate carrier made of 1000D Cordura nylon, with a weight of 2 lbs 14 oz.
The namesake of the Derma, meaning skin, comes into play with its unique tubular elastic cummerbund, featuring bungees which allow for a greater degree of movement without the carrier shifting out of place on the wearer.
The Derma also features Cobra buckles, front and rear PALS webbing, Velcro loop panel on the front and rear, and a direct connect system for packs.
The Derma is currently in testing with select US Military units.
The Derma comes in Small-Medium, sized for 10×12 plates, and Large-XL, sized for 11×14 up to 11×17 plates. Veteran made in the USA, and Berry Compliant.
Tags: Ares Armor, Darley Defense
Love that closure system; I came so close to buying one of these!
Are the buckles below the shoulder strap for some sort of removable assault pack or panel?
I figured they would be for a panel like the Haley Strategic D3CR, but on closer inspection, they seem to be a larger sized buckle. But maybe that’s just my imagination, I can’t really tell…
I love the Ares / Austrialpin collaboration with the unique buckle! My only issues is the very large gap between the plate bag and the cummerbund system. If you would like to install more magazine pouches on the side it would end up underneath your arm pit. It also looks very busy under the arms.
Since the Durma is so slim which I like it also does not have a lot of front PALS for more magazine pouches, radio pouch, etc.
Very nice to think differently Ares!
Well Pierre, it’s not that much different than the First Spear tubes in that respect. You might consider a different plate carrier if one, arguably two, vertical columns of MOLLE you are missing ruin the carrier for you. As far as looking busy under the arms, no different than any other PC with a cummerbund.
You are right! The First Spear tubes are very nice as well but they are still very slimmer than the Ares. The cummerbund is also much closer to the plate bag than this one.
I wouldn’t say the cummerbund is like any other in terms of busyness because this one has no pouches and there are many straps and things poking out making it look very busy.
Another thing that I noticed is that by having a single cobra buckle the cummerbund angles down. This is one of the nicer features about the tubes because it’s taller than just the 1.75″ of the cobra. The taller buckles gives the cummerbund more support when heavily loaded down.
Still a very nice design to Ares! These are just my opinions! ~Regards
Latin word for skin is “Derma” not “Durma”…
Name of the PC is “Derme: it was just spelled incorrectly on here.
“Derma”
That cummerbund is great and I’ve been meaning to pick one up for a while. I really don’t like constantly ripping and unripping Velcro cummerbunds. The price is reasonable too.
I have had quite a few cobra buckles seize up after repeated drenchings and drying cycles. A little bit of oil or CLP or whatever will clean them up, but not being able to get your PC off can be extremely annoying.