Body Armor

[BradMacc82]

Most soft vests are only cert'd for (IIRC) 5 years, body sweat does a number on them, so most manufacturers play it safe and give them a service life of a few years.

With the costs dropping across the board, it's your life and money, but I'd suggest buying new.

Steel plates spall, Ceramic plates crack, composite plates like Dyneema won't stop common M855 (62gr 5.56) - just blows on thru. There is no magic solution, they all have their trade-offs.

 

[Biggfoot44]

That's 5yrs of constantly being warn. If only warn occasionally, the calender lifespan is longer.

In recent decades virtually all soft armor panels arein waterproof covering, so sweat per se insn't an issue. ( Whether on not waterproofing is desireable is seperate discussion.)

The wear is primarily from the layers of fabric subitly rubbing against each other with body movement. Of course it varies widely with an individual's build and activity level. The 5yr industry standard recomendation is weighted to the worst case predictions. As broad rule of thumb, you will wear out at least two carriers before worrying about the panels.

And no, they don't reach a point of sudden total loss of protection. It's a very gradual reduction of petformance. Somthing might be " in need of replacement", yet stil perform to 95% or better of origional Threat Level. I.e., a slightly degraded full Level II would still protect much better than a brand new Level IIA. If you original spec was just barely adaquate for expected threat, then any degredation at all will ruin your day. If you startedyou started with a "rounded up" protection level, you've got a margin of error in your favor.

 

[Blaster229]

Most expiration dates" are just warranty dates.

 

[md123]

Until the SHTF....

Bingo.

Level III plates can save your skin for roughly the price of a nice family dinner ($120ish). As a prepper I see this as really cheap insurance.



The AR500 torture tests are impressive. Green tip 556/7.62x51 hits all day long. Protects up to .338 lapua in this video, IIRC.

 

[Minuteman]

Most expiration dates" are just warranty dates.

This.


UV light can do a lot of damage.

Lay flat to store, never store while damp.

 

[OrbitalEllipses]

The AR500 torture tests are impressive. Green tip 556/7.62x51 hits all day long. Protects up to .338 lapua in this video, IIRC.

The kinetic energy transfer from the .338 will grievously harm you you even if the bullet doesn't.

 

[trailman]

The kinetic energy transfer from the .338 will grievously harm you you even if the bullet doesn't.

Regardless you still have to wear them. Steel is damn heavy unless your sitting on your ass. And in a kinetic situation where you will probably wearing plates you'll deserve to get your chest cavity concussion ejected out your backside by getting hit with a .338

 

[Dave Greenberg]

Regardless you still have to wear them. Steel is damn heavy unless your sitting on your ass. And in a kinetic situation where you will probably wearing plates you'll deserve to get your chest cavity concussion ejected out your backside by getting hit with a .338

If you are getting hit with .338 lapua and it's not going through YOU, I think you will be cool with pissing blood out of your ass, as opposed to the alternative. It's just like when people bring up spawling. Well would you prefer a couple nasty cuts or a big ass hole where your heart used to be. I'd rather be maimed than dead.

 

[OrbitalEllipses]

If you are getting hit with .338 lapua and it's not going through YOU, I think you will be cool with pissing blood out of your ass, as opposed to the alternative. It's just like when people bring up spawling. Well would you prefer a couple nasty cuts or a big ass hole where your heart used to be. I'd rather be maimed than dead.

The damage to your internal organs will in all likelihood kill you in a protracted manner. Don't know about you, but I'd rather go quick than slow.

 

[trailman]

If you are getting hit with .338 lapua and it's not going through YOU, I think you will be cool with pissing blood out of your ass, as opposed to the alternative. It's just like when people bring up spawling. Well would you prefer a couple nasty cuts or a big ass hole where your heart used to be. I'd rather be maimed than dead.

Shrapnel into your jugular or femoral artery will kill you just as fast as a hole in your chest you'll just have a bit longer to experience it. And the impact of such a round as above will have you passing more than blood. The steel will transfer the energy of the hit right through to your body, there is nothing to suck it up. Like ringing a bell. Hey to each his own, you want to put a 90 plate in your $200 rig feel free. We all have our opinions and justifications. I'll skip my costs savings there, thanks. And it still doesn't address the issue of weight. You got to wear it for it to work.

Don't bring up the multiple hit issue either. if you need a plate that can take multiple hits your doing something wrong.

 

[md123]

Shrapnel into your jugular or femoral artery will kill you just as fast as a hole in your chest you'll just have a bit longer to experience it. And the impact of such a round as above will have you passing more than blood. The steel will transfer the energy of the hit right through to your body, there is nothing to suck it up. Like ringing a bell. Hey to each his own, you want to put a 90 plate in your $200 rig feel free. We all have our opinions and justifications. I'll skip my costs savings there, thanks. And it still doesn't address the issue of weight. You got to wear it for it to work.

Don't bring up the multiple hit issue either. if you need a plate that can take multiple hits your doing something wrong.

Wow. I didn't mean to stir the pot with the Lapua test video!

Good points all around on the frag and internal bleeding issues. My point was that I'm impressed that a $60 plate MIGHT keep you alive with a COM hit from that beast. Bloodied and bruised but maybe alive. It's a great value to me in a world where guys spend $60 on a charging handle (I'm guilty of this too BTW, love my raptors).

No doubt a carrier and plates are heavy and probably not practical in most situations. But then again, there are lots of things we buy that are unlikely to be needed. I like having options for any eventuality.

 

[Dave Greenberg]

Shrapnel into your jugular or femoral artery will kill you just as fast as a hole in your chest you'll just have a bit longer to experience it. And the impact of such a round as above will have you passing more than blood. The steel will transfer the energy of the hit right through to your body, there is nothing to suck it up. Like ringing a bell. Hey to each his own, you want to put a 90 plate in your $200 rig feel free. We all have our opinions and justifications. I'll skip my costs savings there, thanks. And it still doesn't address the issue of weight. You got to wear it for it to work.

Don't bring up the multiple hit issue either. if you need a plate that can take multiple hits your doing something wrong.

And a booger being flicked in your eye can render a $2000 piece of glass useless if we are dealing in the realm of what ifs. Your jugular is not an artery, it's a vein. You are referring to the carotid artery. You are also referring to possibilities as opposed to certainties. A center mass shot from a 338 with have you looking like Jessie Ventura when he went up against the predator. With the armor sure you might suffer from internal hemorrhaging or spawling might slice open an artery but at least you have a shot at surviving. I'd take those odds any day over a zero percent chance of living. If you can afford $600 a plate armor that weighs 2 lbs that is great but it is far better to have something than nothing especially since all it is going to be doing is sitting in your closet. An average Joe will likely never have to use any of this stuff in their lifetime. I feel like the majority of the people I meet concerned with the weight of their rifle, gear, etc... are the people that have 30 lbs to lose around their mid section lol. I'm not saying you do but this is usually the case. Most folks that have body armor dont train with it, nor do they wear it in their everyday lives. There is no sense for a regular guy to shell out a grand for something he will likely never use or train with. It's better to save your money and spend it on ammunition and training. If shtf and you run into these mall ninjas with thousands of dollars in gear that have never trained with it, you can just relieve it from their corpses.

 

[Mickey the Dragon]

And a booger being flicked in your eye can render a $2000 piece of glass useless if we are dealing in the realm of what ifs. Your jugular is not an artery, it's a vein. You are referring to the carotid artery. You are also referring to possibilities as opposed to certainties. A center mass shot from a 338 with have you looking like Jessie Ventura when he went up against the predator. With the armor sure you might suffer from internal hemorrhaging or spawling might slice open an artery but at least you have a shot at surviving. I'd take those odds any day over a zero percent chance of living. If you can afford $600 a plate armor that weighs 2 lbs that is great but it is far better to have something than nothing especially since all it is going to be doing is sitting in your closet. An average Joe will likely never have to use any of this stuff in their lifetime. I feel like the majority of the people I meet concerned with the weight of their rifle, gear, etc... are the people that have 30 lbs to lose around their mid section lol. I'm not saying you do but this is usually the case. Most folks that have body armor dont train with it, nor do they wear it in their everyday lives. There is no sense for a regular guy to shell out a grand for something he will likely never use or train with. It's better to save your money and spend it on ammunition and training. If shtf and you run into these mall ninjas with thousands of dollars in gear that have never trained with it, you can just relieve it from their corpses.

I disagree with the first two comments in bold. Sure, a steel plate will give you an increased chance of survival in a situation where you have just been shot in the chest. But those survival odds are diminished when you factor in the increased odds of dying due to spalling or spontaneously passing liquefied spleen out of your anus. Additionally, you're now also accepting a higher risk of exposure to deadly threats when you strap a heavy-ass plate to your chest. You'll move slower, you'll make more noise, and you'll be overall more fatigued, which will lead to poor decision making. Overall, those factors will make it MORE likely that you'll get shot at in the first place. If I'm trying to bug out from my house and move over a long distance while avoiding contact with the enemy and my choices are a) steel plate or b) no steel plate, I would decline the steel plate and assert that for the given scenario nothing is actually preferable to something.

The OP asked if buying body armor is dumb. I originally said that it wasn't inherently stupid, but it depends on lots of other factors. If you're buying body armor to survive getting shot with a .338 Lapua while out on the move, it's dumb to buy steel plates because they're worse at what you need them to provide and the trade-offs aren't worth the minimal benefit. I agree with that last comment that I bolded, there are far better things to spend money on to get prepared. But we waste money on all kinds of crap that we don't need, so if he wants to go get some ceramic plates, have fun! Plus, wearing a plate and plate carrier around for a few training classes can help cut down on any weight that might be accumulating around the mid section.

 

[lonzo]

I spent a few years in military body armor and its no fun. body armor has limited protection. Main question is what are you looking to do with it? home protection, you might want to think of something better than body armor, like steel door, brick/concrete walls, ect...your car? bullet proof glass,steel doors which i was watching a show and this company can do your car pretty "cheap"...if you got money to burn

Sure you can get body armor, Kevlar or plates or whatever, but get hit with a round or two..you might live but if you are on the ground and they are close..armor isn't going to protect you...

you want body armor, do what those 2 guys in LA did a bunch of years ago..then again, I think LA police was bad shooters or something

 

[C&RTactical]

For armor, my take away with it is are you willing to deal with the bulk and weight of wearing it? From a army friend of mine, he says the next thing is your medical kit and skills. Because treating other non-gun shot wound related medical issues is more likely. Also being able to patch yourself up after getting hit wearing no armor is more useful than getting hit with armor and not being able to patch yourself up. The bigger picture skill is avoiding conflict and use of cover and concealment to protect yourself and avoid line of sight to get shot at.

So a quick summary is, are you willing to wear it and deal with the bulk and weight for hours? Do you have medical skills? then do you still feel the need to buy it?

Me personally I am not willing to wear it. Medical skill and kit is lighter. I am able to move faster and be less worn out to move when I need to.

 

[ascorb]

Thanks

Thanks for all the advice and thoughts, I actually just received backpack armor from ar500, I stuck it in a soft laptop holder. I take the D.C Metro everyday and there has been stabbing shootings quite often these days. If it doesn't protect me or give me a place to hide behind, I think I'll just throw it at them(this *@(@ is heavy as #(#$). It' s a level III plate with PAXCON Line-X Base coating.

 

[Dave Greenberg]

Thanks for all the advice and thoughts, I actually just received backpack armor from ar500, I stuck it in a soft laptop holder. I take the D.C Metro everyday and there has been stabbing shootings quite often these days. If it doesn't protect me or give me a place to hide behind, I think I'll just throw it at them(this *@(@ is heavy as #(#$). It' s a level III plate with PAXCON Line-X Base coating.

Good to know. Yeah 8 lbs is no fun to lug around but it's not much more than we lugged around in grade school and it sure beats having holes in you.

 

[Indiana Jones]

practical until you see it sitting there, never used and realize how much you could sell it for. hence why mine is for sale....

 

[5.56blaster]

Having been flagged with the muzzle of an AR at a class once, i wouldn't rule out wearing a plate carrier for training. It's a stupid idea . . . until it isn't.

Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk

I was a military combat arms instructor and I never set foot on the range without armour on.

 

[Blaster229]

Thanks for all the advice and thoughts, I actually just received backpack armor from ar500, I stuck it in a soft laptop holder. I take the D.C Metro everyday and there has been stabbing shootings quite often these days. If it doesn't protect me or give me a place to hide behind, I think I'll just throw it at them(this *@(@ is heavy as #(#$). It' s a level III plate with PAXCON Line-X Base coating.

Should have stepped up another $40 and a couple more weeks wait for the soft, 1lb9oz rimelig? panel.