Poll: Body Armor....What say you?

[CamoDeafie]

@CamoDeafie I will state that I like your idea of the "square" plate for the back. Hadn't thought of that before.
It seems to me that all of the pairs I saw for sale on various sites always matched up two shooter's cut plates.
Kinda hard to see what value a shooter's cut would have on one's back when a square plate would offer a little more coverage at the shoulderblades...

The biggest issue is that most carriers are shaped for shooters cut both front and back, as opposed to the older vests in which the plate pockets were square and you could run either shape.

 

[CamoDeafie]

My guinea pig soft armor came in from Ebay. Safariland S-IIIA 4.2 in size 2XL. Its so old, it was made in 2001, and made for NIJ101.03 certification For its age, it's in dang good shape, and does not smell worn. There's even no evidence of pen markings in the Issued To: and so on.. only the sharpied "2001" on the carrier tags. Its a guinea pig set, simply due to its age and the fact it's obviously not made anymore as Plate backers, and frag protection, due to being Kevlar/Aramid... it should be OK behind the Level 3 ICW plates.
The front panel measures just shy of 28 inches across, and the height on center is 18 inches from bottom to neck cut. The "wings" for lack of better term, starts at around 7 inches tall on the ends, and rises up to a 9 inch total height. The plates shown are 10.25x12, so you can see just how big the soft inserts are. It also came with a 5x8 curved steel Point Blank Trauma insert that's rubber coated like the stuff you see on old tool handles.. shiny rubberized vinyl plastic coating. No info on what threat level it is.. its different from the Second Chance K15 and K30 inserts I've seen.
The back resembles the various USMC soft armor inserts.. but not the BALCS/SPEAR types.

What am I going to do with this? Make a custom/prototype carrier with some maybe dumb-butt ideas I have... that would accept the plates. I could go retro and do ALICE in woodland It's no mistake that it resembles an Eagle Industries Rhodesian Recon Vest with rear plate carrier... likely Safariland once offered a MOLLE carrier with these inserts...

When I can acquire a Level 4 Stand-alone front shooters plate, I will make a good custom carrier in either a shade of military green or woodland that will also have soft plate backers just for comfort's sake...

 

[Colt_Commando]

Since the likelihood of needing body armor is quite low, that means that it's okay to not rush into the purchase and cheap out. There are few things as uncomfortable as wearing it in the first place, and cheap heavy plates in poorly constructed carriers are about as uncomfortable as it gets.

I never gave body armor much thought until after the economy took a nose dive in 2008 and I found myself unemployed and taking a job that required me to wear armor. Even though that first setup was just a level IIIA vest, it was the cheapest one that met NIJ standards and it was brutal. Hot, uncomfortable, poorly fitting, and it took on odors that you couldn't get out no matter what. I "upgraded" to a vest that held plates instead of just soft armor that was worn outside of your clothes, it was cheap too but was more comfortable than the first one. I kept that setup for about a year until Blue Force Gear came out with the Plateminus carrier in 2013. I won't say it was the first lightweight, low profile carrier, but it was one of the first and the first one that I was aware of at the time. Man what a difference. Everything about it was quality, it fit well, was easy to adjust, and could be reasonably concealed with just a thick hoodie.

Fast forward to 2020, I no longer have the job that required me to wear body armor, but I still have that BFG carrier and last year I updated it with some Hesco plates. I wish that setup was available in 2008. The lightweight ceramic plates they have these days weight nothing compared to the armor from just a few years ago. I still train in mine quite often. There are a lot of great options on the market for carriers, Spiritus Systems, Blue Force Gear, Crye Precision, Ferro Concepts, London Bridge Trading, all make good stuff for a wide variety of uses.

Since it is potential life saving equipment, it's not something that you should just buy, toss in the closet and plan on working out the details of wearing it when you need it. You need to try it on, adjust it to the correct ride height, and train in it. Spending a day at the range in the plate carrier will tell you little adjustments that need to be made here and there. It will help you figure out the correct LOP while wearing it, as well as other things like sling usage etc.

Long story short, don't cheap out on armor, you'll be disappointed and you'll spend more money in the long run getting a proper setup that works for you.

 

[Ringo]

if and when i buy it going to be the most comfortable and best i can afford... i wouldn't want to go through ETERNITY with everyone pointing and laughing saying,
THAT FOOL BOUGHT THE CHEAP STUFF !!!

 

[redsuit]

I work in armed security so a vest is required. Pretty much everyone invested in a Safe-life armor vest. Very comfortable, very protective, great coverage. Nice soft armor, you can make the payment in 4 installments so it doesn't break the bank, and you can also buy plates that are ICW a IIIa+ that bump it up to a level 4. I can't stress how comfortable the vest is enough, that's super important when you're wearing this for long periods of time as I'm sure all of you are aware. I forget I'm wearing it a lot. If you make the leap in price you can even get a flexible rifle plating which imo is insane, guaranteed up to 7.62x39, but it's about double the price of IIIa+ which is more than enough for my job.

their IIIA+ Model is stab resistant and there are a few videos proving the point. In one video a guy takes a (probably cheap) Ice pick to the vest and the vest bends the ice pick backwards onto itself. One video a guy took a lot of shots with 9mm fmj to a IIIA+ vest and the vest looked virtually undamaged which yeah it should handle 9mm easily but the number is still pretty darn impressive on any armor (Bear in mind this link is made by the company itself so always be skeptical but most independant reviewers have had good experiences with testing these too

). It's shop also has a few different looks you can get from a uniform looking vest to tactical (I bought this one because it's way nicer to have your duty gear on your chest and appearances matter in my job) to even concealable forms (though I'd recommend a level II vest for that personally, level 3a+ is a little bulkier, doable but if someone is looking at you close enough they'll know)

I'd buy this vest again and trust my life with it, my only issue with them is that I've heard that they use a proprietary blend for their kevlar, so nobody is particularly sure what they make it out of as far as I know and that some of their armor is not NIJ rated but that is likely due to it being untested except from within their company. I am also not sure how well the plates fit with other carriers and the ICW plates are def meant for their vests so it's unlikely you'd get much use out of them in a different carrier even if the soft armor fits into another kind of carrier. IDK their cut LOOKS like it should fit any vest you throw it into though that is built for soft armor.

 

[CamoDeafie]

IDK their cut LOOKS like it should fit any vest you throw it into though that is built for soft armor.

Probably not; if they do not specify certain shaping/cut. The defacto standard for MOLLE/Tactical soft armor carriers are either the Safariland SPEAR BALCS or Point Blank Interceptor/Front Opening armor inserts. All others are cut according to the model of the vest carrier, and will vary between models and brands.
For police/LEO type, its usually specific to the brand. some will work with somewhat standardized inserts like the Second Chance Monarch series, but here, it is difficult to find inserts that aren't expired or Zylon which is no longer on the NIJ compliant list.

It's the biggest reason to not buy a soft armor carrier that doesn't specify what soft insert models are for the carrier.

 

[Alexx1401]

their IIIA+ Model is stab resistant and there are a few videos proving the point. In one video a guy takes a (probably cheap) Ice pick to the vest and the vest bends the ice pick backwards onto itself. One video a guy took a lot of shots with 9mm fmj to a IIIA+ vest and the vest looked virtually undamaged which yeah it should handle 9mm easily but the number is still pretty darn impressive on any armor (Bear in mind this link is made by the company itself so always be skeptical but most independant reviewers have had good experiences with testing these too

).

When I fist heard of these guys it was an LEO here who said they were good. I watched some of their video's and wondered since it was done by the owner. Then looked some more and found other video done by people who are not part of the Co. They got the same results, very impressive. The only down side was I was used to being able to order a vest and it showed up in days. These guys it took over a month to get after I paid. I was shocked at how nice it is though. Compared to the lightest vest I have, a IIA, it's not as flexible but is only slightly heavier. When weather got hot here again I quickly found the new vest is better than the lightest one. The new one seems to allow better air flow so it's more comfortable. For the price they make some great soft armor. Have worn it for 14hours at a time when weather got warm and it was no problem.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I would be all for Safe Line, if they would offer a BALCS cut insert set for SPEAR/BALCS carriers. But as they don't... my options are relatively limited. That is also why I'm looking at plate backers and making my own carriers. The set of soft armor I have, is just to test some ideas that may translate to workability with newer inserts.

 

[clearconscience]

I'll save my money and just run in a zig zag pattern.

 

[Alexx1401]

I'll save my money and just run in a zig zag pattern.

Hey without the armor you can run faster too

 

[CamoDeafie]

I have a conundrum lol. Do I spend money on 1 more standalone Level IV NIJ certified rifle plate, thereby completing my Level IV front/back set, or do I acquire AR parts for the pistol build? I'm looking at either Hesco made 4401 front plate from Body Armor Outlet for $120+ shipping, with unknown lead time, or RMA 1155 plate for $130-135 with free ship and approx 2-4 weeks lead...

 

[CamoDeafie]

Random question... is there such a thing as NIJ 06 certified IIIA soft plate backer sets, for use with Level III ICW plates?

Edit. Okay so they exist. Bit pricey but they do exist; probably expensive for getting certified as current as possible. I would feel better having a set of 3A NIJ 06 certified plate backers behind the older, technically obsolete NIJ 04 certified Level III ICW plates.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I just placed an order for a 10x12 Shooters Cut 4401 level IV standalone plate from Body Armor Outlet, it's made by Hesco and is NIJ 06 certified, and on the NIJ compliant list. Whenever it arrives, I will be sewing up a fitted carrier for the odd combo of 10x12 Square cut back and 10x12 Shooters cut front, in 500D Woodland camo. Just not sure if I want fixed AR mag pockets, or if I want to do MOLLE yet.

 

[Stomper]

I'm picking up this Level IV kit tomorrow from another forum member...

Each plate weighs less than 7-lbs, and this thing will work fine for an emergency SHTF situation.... like say a bunch of hippie-richards decide to block an intersection, or the highway.

 

[EPS]

I'll save my money and just run in a zig zag pattern.

Lol

 

[sobo]

I had ordered the same thing from Body Armor Outlet about 3 months ago, a pair of Hesco #4401SH Level IV S/A hard armor plates, $240 for the pair, $9 for shipping.
About 5 weeks ago, I got an email from BAO saying that they were back-ordered and they were only fulfilling LE orders and they didn't know when they would ship to private parties. They offered an alternative; a pair of #1155 Level IV S/A hard armor plates, $270, but they waived the extra $30 as compensation for the delay and product substitution. They arrived about 3 weeks ago, and I swapped out the Level IIIA soft armor panels for these in the front of two of my vests.
Each 1155 plate is about 1 pound heavier than the 4401 plate. However, the warranty on the 1155s is 10 years instead of 5 years on the 4401s.
I really wanted the 4401s, but I had no idea how long I'd have to wait for them, so I took the substitution offer. I guess I'm happy with my purchase, for now.
I can always buy the 4401s after all the rioting the hub-bub dies down...

 

[EPS]

Given the current situation .
I will be taking some extra stuff with me in my car on my drive to work .
And in my truck at work .
I can't say anything other than that.

 

[CamoDeafie]

I'm picking up this Level IV kit tomorrow from another forum member...

Each plate weighs less than 7-lbs, and this thing will work fine for an emergency SHTF situation.... like say a bunch of hippie-richards decide to block an intersection, or the highway.

View attachment 705790View attachment 705791View attachment 705792View attachment 705794

I might have something for that to carry 3 AR mags and be able to use a standard cummerbund thing let me go through my stuff

 

[Stomper]

Given the current situation .
I will be taking some extra stuff with me in my car on my drive to work .
And in my truck at work .
I can't say anything other than that.

Ditto, Bro!

 

[CamoDeafie]

Not shown, the mag retaining system I came up with; using 1" triglides sewn and loops of bungees with webbing tabs. Never been 100% satisfied with the velcro stitching though