DKX Rifle armor plate: So light it floats!

[erudne]

DKX Armor - Advanced Manufacturing of Body Armor

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[Nick Burkhardt]

What are the prices?

 

[aslinged]

Yeah, what's the story....release, price, etc?

 

[ocarolan]

That test cited by DKX is misleading. It shows armor plate, shot with a Garand at muzzle distance, and extolls how the bullet failed to perforate.

First, they claim this shows performance beyond class III. However, class IV requires 30-06 AP rounds, and there is no intermediary class. This armor is still class III.

Next, the medical danger with a rifle bullet is the temporary cavitation and blunt trauma, not necessarily perforation. Inelastic vitals (liver, kidney) do not survive temporary cavitation. Looking at those bulges in the plate, if one had hit the liver it would be quite lethal.

For perspective, a IIIA Second Chance vest might repel a 30-06 bullet also, and pass Mr. Camp's 0ft test. But it is still not protection against those threats. The real goal of a rifle plate is to dissipate energy, so testers need something to measure that (gelatin blocks).

For background, typical plate uses ceramic in addition to dyneema/kevlar solely to dissipate energy.


<broken link removed>

 

[erudne]

What I do not understand is this:
In the age of the internet; on a page dedicated to self-sufficiency there are 'men' who cannot visit the factory web site and post a cogent retelling of the facts but rather conflate the level III and level IIII specs. Further they seem incapable of independent action for apparently they cannot even find an independent review of the product. I feel I am among "midgets".

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

I could not find any prices on the DKX website or elsewhere on the internet. I'll take reusable steel for $85 even if it is twice the weight. AR500 Armor Plates

 

[LimPShoT]

Professional Firearms Instruction, LLC - Body Armor

 

[mattdomes]

Nutnfancy did a good review on these plates:

Civilian Body Armor: 18 oz That Could Save Your bubblegum - YouTube

 

[Widerstand]

Ive been looking at getting these, from what I can tell they are pretty damn good for the cost.

 

[Blue Devil PA]

What are the costs? Looked through the website, came up dry. Is Amazon going to carry these?

 

[206thsense]

Nutnfancy did a good review on these plates:

Civilian Body Armor: 18 oz That Could Save Your *** - YouTube

For those of you who have been trying to find the cost... I've been searching too.

Turns out nutnfancy managed to get some bulk purchase deal through this website... pistol plates (level IIIa) will run you about $170 per a plate and rifle plates (level III) will run you about $435 per a plate (ouch).

Rifle plate:
DKX Max III Armor Plate - 2.9LBS - Multi-Shot Rated - AND it FLOATS!

Pistol plate:
DKX Max IIIA Armor Pistol Plate - 10" X 12"

The cost seems high, but the weight savings seems quite nice. I'd probably consider a pair of the pistol plates... a pair of rifle plates would probably be out of my budget, though.

 

[blankman32k]

I ordered a set and can report when they arrive. No failure analysis testing though.

 

[AOTAC]

The guy on their home page is so badazz he can hit targets with nothing but a front sight. ( ;

 

[Widerstand]

Lately ive been combing the internet for better IIIA plates and by better I mean something less then $200 a plate, within the same weight and thickness range and I am pretty sure these are the best bang for the buck. If I can sell some stuff I am buying them.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Less than $900 for front and back coverage is cheap compared to taking one bullet

Have front/back 12 x 16 steel plates and level 3 Second Chance vests but the steel is realistically only rated to 30 carbine

 

[Widerstand]

I ordered a set and can report when they arrive. No failure analysis testing though.

I can't wait to see some photos and hear what you think of them.

 

[AOTAC]

I shoot AR500 steel targets. Why would anyone want to wear steel after seeing what happens to and around the target? Your throat, inner arms, thighs and crotch would catch all of the fragments. Not to mention the possibility of spall. No thanks.

I had a bad experience buying ceramic in the past but it has educated me. Definitely do your homework before you purchase anything. NIJ has limitations and there are several big name companies with shining reviews that I've found who will intentionally mislead you.

As for DKX, I have done some reading on their website and I would consider it, but not before talking at length with someone from the company.

 

[Widerstand]

I shoot AR500 steel targets. Why would anyone want to wear steel after seeing what happens to and around the target? Your throat, inner arms, thighs and crotch would catch all of the fragments. Not to mention the possibility of spall. No thanks.

I had a bad experience buying ceramic in the past but it has educated me. Definitely do your homework before you purchase anything. NIJ has limitations and there are several big name companies with shining reviews that I've found who will intentionally mislead you.

As for DKX, I have done some reading on their website and I would consider it, but not before talking at length with someone from the company.

I'm interested in hearing about your bad experience buying ceramic.

 

[Riot]

I'm interested in hearing about your bad experience buying ceramic.

Ceramic brakes easily...mainly if you drop them or if they hit something hard. Once the ceramic brakes the ballistic protection is greatly reduced.

I saw some steel plates that I really liked that were cheap just a few weeks ago. They covered them with a rubber coating (similar to the Rhino Linings) that kept the bullet fragments from splashing on you, but I can't find their site again to save my life (pun intended).

I've actually done a bit of work on DIY plates and armor without success. My next project is going to consist of plates made from a sandwich of 1/4" lexsand, ceramic tiles and liquid nails.

Homemade Armor Plates - DIY? - Survivalist Forum

Anyone that tries the Poor Man's Bullet-proof Vest method, I can tell you (from a personal perspective) that this is a lost endeavor of a waist in time and money.

 

[AOTAC]

I'm interested in hearing about your bad experience buying ceramic.

I'll forward you the whole story Wilder, since it's a bit long and there were some legal threats made to me.
Basically, I purchased armor that was intentionally or not, illegally mislabeled.

Since then, I've learned a lot about NIJ certification, which can be seen here:

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/223054.pdf

After that bad experience, I looked to a large body armor company with a sterling reputation to supply my new plates. Unfortunately, I found that they added additional labels to the factory labeled plates, which inferred that the plate could be used with any II-A soft armor underneath in order to be an NIJ certified system. This is incorrect if you read the above .pdf They also mislead people by labeling one particular plate as mult-hit* and then stating "an independent lab tested" multiple rounds... that is NOT the same as NIJ certification. I'd never buy a thing from them after seeing those things.

*I went to the site and noticed they still talk about the independent lab but no longer sell the plate as "multi-hit"