The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) strives to provide law enforcement with the information and resources necessary for training and resources. As a part of that the NTOA carries out testing on various pieces of gear to make sure it’s capable of keeping officers safe and helping them do their jobs. One of their recent tests – which are always carried out by members, all of whom are proven members of the law enforcement community – was done on Tacprogear (TPG) BLACK’s Bonz GRID-HERCULES Plate Carrier, and judging by the reviews NTOA put out, it went quite well.

Tacprogear BLACK came out with their Bonz GRID-HERCULES Plate Carrier this past fall. The plate carrier is designed for TPG’s own NIJ-certified hard armor plates in a variety of military SAPI (Small Arms Protective Insert) sizes. SAPIs are ceramic trauma plates specifically made to protect the wearer from high-velocity rifle rounds. The Bonz GRID-HERCULES also features a flame, water, chemical, and abrasion-resistant outer shell, adjustable bungee side straps, a drag handle, and is MOLLE-compatible. It comes in black, tan, coyote brown, and ranger green, and TPG says it will soon be available in multicam, multicam black, and Kryptek camos. One size is supposed to fit “most” and the MSRP is not listed.

NTOA’s testing reviews were full of high praise for the plate carrier. A LEO in Pennsylvania said it’s a “great” carrier and said you can “easily thrown on over the uniform, snap the two side buckles, and go.” Another LEO in California was impressed by its light weight and said “the material made cleaning the unit fast and easy and no drying period [was] needed.” The review remarks made available address the PC itself, not the plates it’s designed for and their effectiveness.

This does appear to be a good PC, but it would be nice to see some active testing with it, plates and all. Visit the company’s website for a closer look at http://tacprogearblack.com/tpgblack/?product=bonz-grid-hercules-plate-carrier or email them at sales@tacprogearblack.com. And if you’re interested in NTOA, visit http://ntoa.org/