The Great Plate Debate

[themonk]

To answer a couple different questions in the last few posts:

The carrier used for this particular steel plate is meant to be slick for concealment purposes. To get (carbine) mags into the game, I’d probably have a chest rig to throw over the top of the whole system, or just roll with one in the gun and one in a concealed belt mounted carrier along with my regular EDC. That’s IF I’m even trying to conceal a carbine in a backpack of some sort. Being that this is a concealment application, I’m of the mind that I don’t want to be in a prolonged firefight. Shoot to break cover and get the hell out.

As for why this steel plate vs ceramic, it’s not necessarily about the money. I’m not sure there’s a ceramic plate on the market that comes in at 1/4” thick. Again, this is for concealment. If I’m going with an overt rig, then I’ll be running ceramic with a full load out of mags on the same chest rig that gets clipped into the swift clip setup. It also can serve as a backup in case one of the ceramics gets damaged.

I see this system as a good solution between a concealed soft armor vest and the full overt rig. In my use case, it’s for a situation where society is volatile (but not full on “SHTF” where people might be kitted up overtly) and where you expect to be up against handgun rounds and the rifle protection is just a plus. Apparently it sucks to get shot with soft armor only, so the plate helps keep you in the fight if that were to happen.

This is super interesting. So who makes the thinnest plates?

[Ironman8]

This is super interesting. So who makes the thinnest plates?

The plate I’m referring to is the one Doc posted in post #32 with a link. They’re having a BF deal too. $103 shipped for a set of their lvl III multi-curve.

Not sure if there’s a thinner plate out there...maybe the Velocity Systems steel plate they sell to mil/LE/gov guys.

There’s also a thin hard 3A plate made by Hesco (?) but it’s only pistol rated and more expensive. Personally I’ll take the heavier weight for the rifle rating.

[ubet]

This is why I bought ceramic, this is a steel plate.
If you want concealable then get soft armor.



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[Clint]

What are we looking at here?

This is why I bought ceramic, this is a steel plate.
If you want concealable then get soft armor.



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[ubet]

What are we looking at here?

Ar 500 plate with a coating that's supposed to deflect bullet splatter. As you can see, that splatter would still end up in your jugular.


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[okie]

I think it makes sense for every fighting age person in the country to have a basic loadout that's comparable to an infantryman at the time.

That being said, there is other equipment that's way more critical, like night vision. If you don't have a PVS14 and a PEQ, I would get those sorted before you even think about armor.

If you're going to get armor, I would advise staying far away from any steel, with the single exception of steel plates in a concealable vest worn under a shirt, in which case they're a necessary evil if you want rifle protection. Steel is so unreasonably heavy though I don't know if it really has a place at all.

[okie]

When they say 5 yr shelf life, what's that mean?

It means if you wear them on day 1826 and get shot they're not liable if the plate doesn't do what it's supposed to.

In real life, however, plates are good for a long, long time. How long nobody really knows, but SAPI plates are aging extremely well so far.

[ViniVidivici]

Ar 500 plate with a coating that's supposed to deflect bullet splatter. As you can see, that splatter would still end up in your jugular.


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Thanks for showing that. Folks need that dose of reality.

[Disciple]

Ar 500 plate with a coating that's supposed to deflect bullet splatter. As you can see, that splatter would still end up in your jugular.

What does a ceramic plate look like in the same test?

[gaijin]

I'm using ShotStop G2 level III+ Special Threat in one of my PCs.
Multi hit/Stand Alone.
Weight is 3.8 lbs.

And yeah- I have ceramic and have had steel
Steel has the obvious drawbacks (Spall), Ceramic is heavy.
The test results on this stuff are quite impressive. My understanding is no NIJ rating yet, as they are about to change level ratings or something.
This stuff is plastic/UHMP-WTFE with a laminated piece of metal that achieves the Green Tip rating.

Watch Buffman vid for some insight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANZHhk78TJk

https://www.shotstop.net/rifle-plates-duritium-gt2