MW4 DMZ armor and backpacks: every plate carrier and bag

Two pieces of gear decide most DMZ runs: the plate carrier that keeps you alive, and the backpack that gets your loot out.

Plate carriers

A plate carrier holds armor plates. More plate slots means you can take more damage before your health starts dropping.

Plate carrier	Rarity	What we know	Printable
1-Plate Armor Vest	Uncommon	1 plate slot	Yes, DMZ Level 2 (recipe)
2-Plate Armor Vest	Rare	2 plate slots, more durable	Yes, DMZ Level 2 (recipe)
2-Plate Ballistic Gel Vest	Epic	2 plates (from its name)	–
2-Plate Helmet Armor Vest	Epic	2 plates (from its name)	–
3-Plate Armor Vest	Legendary	3 plates (from its name)	–
3-Plate Ballistic Gel Vest	Ultra	3 plates (from its name)	–
3-Plate Helmet Armor Vest	Ultra	3 plates (from its name)	Yes (recipe, cost not shown)
Tempered Armor Vest	Ultra	Heavily armored, uses enhanced plates	Yes (recipe)

”–” means not shown yet.

Gel and helmet vests

• Ballistic Gel vests were described by Infinity Ward as regenerative: the gel absorbs hits and refills over time.
• Helmet armor vests protect you from one-shots, including headshots from certain sniper rifles.

Armor plates

• Armor Plates fill your Armor slot automatically when you infil.
• Refill at Ammo & Armor Caches around Hajin. They have a cooldown after use.
• Want extra starting plates? You need suitable traits or an Armor Box, a Field Upgrade that drops plates for your whole squad. It’s printable from 1 Reactive Metals. You can swap it for an Ammo Box from your backpack.
• Field Upgrades don’t recharge during a DMZ deployment (Field Upgrade recharge), so place them carefully.

Backpacks

Your backpack holds everything you loot. The default Basic Pack has 8 item slots. Upgraded backpacks add more slots, room for the four resource types, and sometimes Secure Slots or extra weapon storage.

Backpack	Rarity	Printable
Small Backpack	Uncommon	Yes, DMZ Level 2 (recipe)
Medium Backpack	Rare	Yes, DMZ Level 2 (recipe)
Small Secure Backpack	Epic	–
Medium Scavenger Backpack	Epic	–
Medium Weapon Backpack	Epic	–
Large Backpack	Legendary	–
Large Scavenger Backpack	Legendary	–
Large Secure Backpack	Ultra	–
Secure Scavenger Backpack	Ultra	Yes (recipe)

The Medium Secure Backpack is also listed in the 3D Printer, but its stats aren’t shown yet.

Secure Slots: your insurance

Items in Secure Slots survive if you die or fail to exfil. The Medium Backpack already adds Secure Slots. Put your most valuable find there: a rare ingredient, a Weapon Manual or a Recipe.

Mission items don’t need room. Story and Dynamic Op items go into a separate Mission Item slot.

What to wear for each run

Run	Carrier	Backpack
Learning, Low-threat areas	1-Plate or 2-Plate (printable)	Small or Medium (printable)
Loot run	Your best 2-plate	A Scavenger backpack
Critical and Extreme zones	3-plate or Tempered	A Secure backpack
Prestige prep	The rarity your Prestige tier needs	The same

Print the starter gear at the 3D Printer, and see every bag on the Loot page.