body armor

Daleo8803

Daleo8803

Move along, move along
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Where's the cheapest place to get decent plates? Looking for level 3 plates. Looks like $65 to $80 is normal pricing. Where did u get yours? Thanks
 
NIJ Body Armor Classification..................................................................

Type IIA (9 mm; .40 S&W).........................................................................
Type II (9 mm; .357 Magnum) ..................................................................
Type IIIA (.357 SIG; .44 Magnum)..............................................................
Type III (Rifles) ...........................................................................................
Type IV (Armor Piercing Rifle) ....................................................................

.
 
rintintindog68 said:
NIJ Body Armor Classification..................................................................

Type IIA (9 mm; .40 S&W).........................................................................
Type II (9 mm; .357 Magnum) ..................................................................
Type IIIA (.357 SIG; .44 Magnum)..............................................................
Type III (Rifles) ...........................................................................................
Type IV (Armor Piercing Rifle) ....................................................................

.
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Ok. I had it mixed up. Thanks for clarifying... I was thinking IIIa was better than III for some reason and I had in my head rifle was 4 and 5. I went and checked mine and sure enough the plates are 4 and rated for 30cal AP 7rds. I think your ribcage would be jello in 7rds but it's nice to know... My soft vest is IIIa.

So with the IV plates inserted in the IIIa armor what's that? VIIa? :D
 
Level 3 and 4 differ by level 4 only stopping 1 round vs level 3 is multiple rounds.
 
Steel plates are pretty inexpensive. I think TYR Tactical has some ceramics for under $200 a set recently. Highcom has many different types at reasonable prices and they have 10-15% off coupon codes all the time.

Do you know if you want III or IV plates?

CHRIS
 
Djstorm100 said:
Level 3 and 4 differ by level 4 only stopping 1 round vs level 3 is multiple rounds.
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Not totally accurate. http://www.bulletproofme.com/Body_Armor_Accessories_Rifle_Protection.shtml#Levels
Level III = 6 shots of .308
Level IV = 1 shot 30-06 AP (will also take multiple hits from lesser rounds)

The aforementioned TYR plates are multi hit depending on the round. Also, level III won't stop M193 reliably.
The TYR plates are a great deal BUT they're size large, 10.125x13.25 vs standard 10x12 and they're not stand alone plates. I had some stand alone IV from TYR and the extra length prevented me from moving comfortably.

Lastly, @Daleo8803 are you looking for standalone plates or do you have IIIA armor that you'll be wearing underneath? ICW or in conjunction with, plates are only rated to IV when worn with IIIA underneath. Since I'm not LE, I think stand alone make much more sense.

I have the SKD level IV combo and a few LE friends bought the same. It's an awesome setup for the coin. If you shop around for ceramic, steel is t worth it IMO.
 
Jerzsubbie said:
Not totally accurate. http://www.bulletproofme.com/Body_Armor_Accessories_Rifle_Protection.shtml#Levels
Level III = 6 shots of .308
Level IV = 1 shot 30-06 AP (will also take multiple hits from lesser rounds)

The aforementioned TYR plates are multi hit depending on the round. Also, level III won't stop M193 reliably.
The TYR plates are a great deal BUT they're size large, 10.125x13.25 vs standard 10x12 and they're not stand alone plates. I had some stand alone IV from TYR and the extra length prevented me from moving comfortably.

Lastly, @Daleo8803 are you looking for standalone plates or do you have IIIA armor that you'll be wearing underneath? ICW or in conjunction with, plates are only rated to IV when worn with IIIA underneath. Since I'm not LE, I think stand alone make much more sense.

I have the SKD level IV combo and a few LE friends bought the same. It's an awesome setup for the coin. If you shop around for ceramic, steel is t worth it IMO.
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Thanks for the info. I have a ceramic set that is rated for I think 2 rounds of 308 AP. But they won't fit in my minimalist Carrier so that's why I'm looking into stand alone plates.
 
Worn Level IV for over a decade down range in service and contractor. Make sure they are the right size. Once had a XL instead of a LG and it killed my back during those 2.5yrs in Astan.


CD
 
Ok, body armor ignorant here. Outside of military or LEO guys on here when do the rest of you actually use body armor? Do you train wearing it? Or is it just in a pack somewhere for end times? Seems like it would be impractical as heck to wear about 100% of the time in day to day life. Although it might come in hany for my occassional trip to Durham. :p
 
CZfool68 said:
Ok, body armor ignorant here. Outside of military or LEO guys on here when do the rest of you actually use body armor? Do you train wearing it? Or is it just in a pack somewhere for end times? Seems like it would be impractical as heck to wear about 100% of the time in day to day life. Although it might come in hany for my occassional trip to Durham. :p
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Exactly, it's a just in case and likely will never get used. Considering the violent riots we've seen I thought it was a decent idea.

I actually used mine last year once. I needed a Halloween costume with 20min notice, so I removed my plates from the carrier, printed a "Ben Ghazi" name patch and put on some fake blood, worked great :)
 
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CZfool68 said:
Ok, body armor ignorant here. Outside of military or LEO guys on here when do the rest of you actually use body armor? Do you train wearing it? Or is it just in a pack somewhere for end times? Seems like it would be impractical as heck to wear about 100% of the time in day to day life. Although it might come in hany for my occassional trip to Durham. :p
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They can also be part of your home defense plan, to thrown on in a matter of seconds if possible. US Palms make a great, minimalist carrier. It's very light weight with soft armor.
 
I purchased my level III plates and carrier from AR500 and am very pleased. They run specials form time to time.

http://www.ar500armor.com/ar500-armor-body-armor.html

Sgo3IWo.jpg
 
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ATM I have a cheapie from condor. One of their sentry ones. Just wanted to see if I like the minimulist feel. If so then I will get a gray ghost for a better quality. But to be honest I think condor has pretty good quality for the $$
 
Ikarus1 said:
Mike from LR sells body armor, plate carries, oh and reloading supplies and he's a Concord local
www.loadingrepublic.com
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I bought the loading republic level 4 steel plates and Carrier. The price is great but it's really heavy,15 pounds I think, they're part of my home defense plan, but somewhere down the road I'll be looking to upgrade to ceramic
 
S4f said:
I bought the loading republic level 4 steel plates and Carrier. The price is great but it's really heavy,15 pounds I think, they're part of my home defense plan, but somewhere down the road I'll be looking to upgrade to ceramic
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Yep rifle protection comes with a price - weight
 
S4f said:
I bought the loading republic level 4 steel plates and Carrier. The price is great but it's really heavy,15 pounds I think, they're part of my home defense plan, but somewhere down the road I'll be looking to upgrade to ceramic
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I'd double check that weight. Most entry level lvl 4 ceramics are 7-8lb ea.
 
Checked the website and you re correct, would be x 2 , so now its twice as heavy as I thought,
 
Got my carrier and plates today. It's the condor xl with the bigger plates. Got the level III+ plates with heavy buildup. Setting it up now. Full review in the future here's a quick pic.
3662d7677c17a930985adab200d58a25.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Daleo8803 said:
@RJT what is the companys website? I'm interested :) thanks
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The weight savings is a huge plus. I have both steel plates and ceramics and can tell you I would gladly pay a little extra for the ceramic plates. The prices have come down a lot on the ceramic plates since the China made stuff has started coming in. I also think that the Condor MOPC carrier is a great value to quality.
 
RJT said:
The weight savings is a huge plus. I have both steel plates and ceramics and can tell you I would gladly pay a little extra for the ceramic plates. The prices have come down a lot on the ceramic plates since the China made stuff has started coming in. I also think that the Condor MOPC carrier is a great value to quality.
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In your opinion which are more durable the steel or ceramic?
 
Daleo8803 said:
In your opinion which are more durable the steel or ceramic?
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Like I said in the video steel is going to be more durable. However, no matter how durable if you are not comfortable enough you are not going to wear it. Don't get me wrong I think steel has its place because it is so durable. The issue is if the steel is actually shot multiple times and the anti- spall coating is damaged it would not be safe to wear at that point. Could you add more coating? Sure if you had the materials to do so. I have both kinds (and glad I do) but if I were to buy just one set it would be the ceramics. The weight of the steel is really heavy and not easy to wear for extended periods of time. Even in a sitting position it wears on you because of the weight on your shoulders, etc. Could I do it if that is all I had? Sure, if thats all I had.

Ceramic plates will last just as long as steel (our lifetime) if taken care of. The only real way of damaging them is dropping them and cracking them. If you watch my video of me shooting it you will see multiple hits with no penetration which is much worse than dropping them.

I travel to Greenville SC on business every moth. I would be glad to meet up and show you both and let you see the difference in weight. Just fyi, I am not paid by that company or anything like that. They just wanted me to review their plates for a YouTube video and sent me three plates. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.
 
No anti spall > 5.56/7.62 induced sucking chest wound.


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