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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).
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I've seen lots of people try and fail to come up with something to catch or direct the fragments away from the user including every type of bedliner known to man. At this point I'd never wear steel, however, I am curious what they came up with that works.
 
I've seen lots of people try and fail to come up with something to catch or direct the fragments away from the user including every type of bedliner known to man. At this point I'd never wear steel, however, I am curious what they came up with that works.

Found them! They advertize the stuff they use is "Line-X"

Austin PD Testing of Steel Defender armor plates - YouTube

Video shows the shrapnel with and without the Line-X.

They advertize $299 for a plate carrier with two plates...

SD Max Armor Plate Carrier - Bulletproof Vest - Best Bulletproof Vest - Buy Bulletproof Vest
defender_360.jpg

http://www.steeldefender.com/compact_vest.html
You can get a "compact" one for $239 with both plates! Carriers have MOLLE attachments as well. Most carriers are this expensive without the plates so I think this is a steal!

defender_360.jpg
 
Found them! They advertize the stuff they use is "Line-X"

Austin PD Testing of Steel Defender armor plates - YouTube

Video shows the shrapnel with and without the Line-X.

They advertize $299 for a plate carrier with two plates...

SD Max Armor Plate Carrier - Bulletproof Vest - Best Bulletproof Vest - Buy Bulletproof Vest
View attachment 59924

Compact Armor Plate Carrier - Bulletproof Vest - Best Bulletproof Vest - Buy Bulletproof Vest
You can get a "compact" one for $239 with both plates! Carriers have MOLLE attachments as well. Most carriers are this expensive without the plates so I think this is a steal!

Nice links... that "Line-X" stuff looks like it really does the job.

The only bummer: one plate weighs 7.8 pounds, so if you're rocking 2 plates, that 15 extra pounds on you. Not including anything else like mags, first aid kit, etc. But your right that the cost is quite affordable.

Good to have options...
 
Well now that I know that "Line-X" has a local dealer, I sent them an e-mail to see how much it would cost to layer my DIY plates made from lexsand and ceramic tile...but first I have to see what lexsand-ceramic tile combo works (thickness, layering, type of tile [i.e. one big one or several small ones])

I think that one big tile may have fewer weak spots than one with several small ones, but the small ones I think may take several bullets versus the big one will probably shatter after the first shot and be useless- then again I might have to stagger layer the small ceramic tiles....lots of possibilities and variables with this but I have high hopes that (at a minimum) it will stop most of your major pistol rounds (45acp and 9mm). Add that to the fact that it will be cheap and lightweight, I have to give it a try!
 
I have a shooters cut and square plate on order. i ordered within hours of the announced opening. Just got this email today.

Dear Customer,

Thank you for participating in our Special on the DKX Armor!

We wanted to give you an update regarding your DKX ARMOR PURCHASE.

The response to our special has been phenomenal and we quickly sold out of the plates we had in house. We anticipated the excitement and have multiple shipments arriving over the next 2-3 weeks. Orders have already began being shipped to customers. We will ship the orders in the order they were received and you will get tracking information via email when your order ships. Orders will ship when all items arrive.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support as we work to fill all orders. -The PFI Team
 
I have a shooters cut and square plate on order. i ordered within hours of the announced opening. Just got this email today.

Dear Customer,

Thank you for participating in our Special on the DKX Armor!

We wanted to give you an update regarding your DKX ARMOR PURCHASE.

The response to our special has been phenomenal and we quickly sold out of the plates we had in house. We anticipated the excitement and have multiple shipments arriving over the next 2-3 weeks. Orders have already began being shipped to customers. We will ship the orders in the order they were received and you will get tracking information via email when your order ships. Orders will ship when all items arrive.

Thank you again for your continued patience and support as we work to fill all orders. -The PFI Team

Wow, power of the nutnfancy project. Let us know when the plates arrive and take lots of pics!
 
I'm not exatly sure. Probably the cost of the plates. When you check out plug in "nutnfancy" in the coupon box and it discounts everything else you buy, but not the plates.

I'll also second the "power of TNP". From zero to sold out in nothing flat. I got kind of lucky in that I was looking for armor and then the review came out so I pulled the trigger within 3 hours of the review going live. So, you have to figure that there were a lot more guys even faster on the trigger to sell them out of their stock before I got my name in.

What was the special?
 
A good way to decrease or stop the amount of spall or fragmentation from steel plates would be to wrap the the plates in a couple layers of kevlar. The bullet would go through the kevlar and splatter against the plate but the kevlar would contain it. Buy a cheap vest off of ebay and cut open the panel and you have a bunch of layers of kevlar to cover your plates. How many layers you want to add is determined by how much more weight you want to carry.
 
Building stuff and gambling are cool, but the better advice if you feel you will ever have to use the armor is to quit wasting your money on useless things (beer, drugs, hookers) for a week or two and buy a set of researched, developed, tested and certified armor plates.
 
A good way to decrease or stop the amount of spall or fragmentation from steel plates would be to wrap the the plates in a couple layers of kevlar. The bullet would go through the kevlar and splatter against the plate but the kevlar would contain it. Buy a cheap vest off of ebay and cut open the panel and you have a bunch of layers of kevlar to cover your plates. How many layers you want to add is determined by how much more weight you want to carry.

Or just buy kevlar by the yard...
 
A good way to decrease or stop the amount of spall or fragmentation from steel plates would be to wrap the the plates in a couple layers of kevlar. The bullet would go through the kevlar and splatter against the plate but the kevlar would contain it. Buy a cheap vest off of ebay and cut open the panel and you have a bunch of layers of kevlar to cover your plates. How many layers you want to add is determined by how much more weight you want to carry.

My plates are Second Chance and have several layers of Kevlar sheathing. Not the ultimate but it's an emerging tech

What would be great is force field belts but you know our masters would not allow mere citizens to possess such
 
Everything is a balance and a compromise.

Steel.
Pros
Cheap, durable, multi hit, can handle some serious abuse.
Cons
Heavy, most level III will stop M855 but not M193 or other fast light rounds. Speed is what punches through it, and most is only about 6mm.

HDPE
Very light.
Will stop M193 and other light fast rounds.
Not super expensive.

Cons,
Will not stop steel core ammo, to include M855
Can be deformed in heat
Can lost strength in extreme heat
both of those would be like leaving in a trunk in Arizone or Yakima in the summer

Ceramic
Pros
Lighter than steel, but heavier than HDPE
most all level 3 will stop both M855 and M193

Cons,
expensive
heavier than HDPE
somewhat fragile, don't drop it onto hard surfaces or abuse it, don't drop a lot of gear on top
needs to be x-rayed annually to check for cracks

Remember though, that neither M855 nor M193 or any .223 or 5.56mm are in the NIJ spec. Any company that claims that protection should have it listed as a special threat and tested by an independent lab.


As to this thread, I'm not sure about the Dyneema. It's a great material, but in the soft armor for handguns and submachine guns (3A and below) it doesn't handle contact shots very well. Some of the ones it's rated to stop will penetrate if the muzzle of the gun is touching, or very close to the vest. CO used to test for this and the results were published in various places, and I think the FBI still does if you can find the results. I'm also curious how this handls both M855 and M193 as well as the other light and fast .223 rounds that are around.
 
Building stuff and gambling are cool, but the better advice if you feel you will ever have to use the armor is to quit wasting your money on useless things (beer, drugs, hookers) for a week or two and buy a set of researched, developed, tested and certified armor plates.

Ok no more drugs or hookers.
 
I am two weeks into my order now and still they have not shipped, I am not super happy with Professional Firearms Instruction lack of responding to emails about the order and that they are selling products they do not have in stock but don't say anything about that on there site, at least they didn't when I ordered but now they do.
 
Yes, especially since they ran my credit card and then sent me "you'll have to wait" email.

I am two weeks into my order now and still they have not shipped, I am not super happy with Professional Firearms Instruction lack of responding to emails about the order and that they are selling products they do not have in stock but don't say anything about that on there site, at least they didn't when I ordered but now they do.
 

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