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As I understood it, the pads werent necessary for use with 'stand alone' plates.

However, I still see everyone sell them.

Are they necessary or functional on hard armor?


I can see it potentially on the ceramic or PE plates and the PE/ceramic hybrids... Where there is deformation of the backface...

With Steel, there is no deformation and it seems the impact/blunt force effect would transfer across the entire plate, can a trauma pad be effective there?

Or...

Explain trauma pads to me :D
 
If you're going to War someplace, then get whatever you can to help you to come back in one piece. But unless you have dozens of enemies who are marching on your House daily, well, I don't see the point.
 
I took a Round of 7.62X39 to the plates and let me tell ya, it deformed about 1/4 inch deep and made a dent about the diameter of a baseball!
With modern anti spall coatings, deformation is the only other issue, and it's still gonna hurt like hell and put you on the ground for a while, but it does the job it was meant for!
 
You would have to refer to the armor manufacturer's guidelines on whether or not plate backers or trauma pads are "necessary" to achieve the armor's rated level of protection. This widely varies among manufacturer's and even specific products those manufacturer's sale.

Regardless of whether or not it is "mandatory" to achieve the rated level of protection offered by whatever armor you are wearing I would highly recommend it. Depending upon the material your armor is made up it can help prevent serious injury or potentially death from back face deformation after your armor takes a round. It may also theoretically increase your level of protection beyond what your armor is rated for depending if you are using kevlar plate backers or simple trauma pads. Being shot, even with armor on, will typically severely bruise you and can even break ribs and other bones - wearing a soft armor backer could help minimize this damage.

Beyond personal safety, they simply increase comfort. Running around with ceramic or steel rubbing against your chest blows... put 0.25-0.40 inches of foam or kevlar between you and a hard object and it's much more comfortable especially when dropping into adverse positions.

For my personal set up I wear Hesco H210's with AT Armor AT-29 SAPI Medium Kevlar Plate Backers. Cost effective, comfortable, light, thin, and offers a level of protection I am satisfied with. Hesco H210's are rated as "standalone" plates with no need for backers or pads. However, there is a notable difference in comfort running with and without the plate backers. $250 is a cheap price to pay for that additional comfort regardless of any additional protection or not IMHO.
 
Also dont forget that even with no plate deformation, a soft(Dr) backer will slow the acceleration of the plate/help to reduce direct energy transfer. This will absolutely be beneficial when/if you take a round to the chest.
 

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