The Great Plate Debate

[vandal5]

https://safelifedefense.com/product/...rmor-fras/#SLD

Anyone out there have any experience with this new flexible rifle armor? I figured it was coming, but not so soon.

Mr Gunsngear has a review on them. They look pretty cool.

As posted above... Seems you'd get quite a bit of movement on the interior side.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[teufelhund1918]

It’s interesting if expensive. But I imagine taking a round would feel like getting hit by the small end of an I-beam thrown by the Hulk. Even Imperial Stormtroopers wear hard armor for a reason.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Actually says it has the same blunt force rating as hard armor. Not going to volunteer to try, but I always wondered what it might feel like getting hit wearing armor with the trauma pads. I imagine you would still feel it pretty good.

[just a scout]

Actually says it has the same blunt force rating as hard armor. Not going to volunteer to try, but I always wondered what it might feel like getting hit wearing armor with the trauma pads. I imagine you would still feel it pretty good.

I got hit with a 21/2lb hammer wearing IIIA at work and it put my on my ass with a broken rib. I can’t imagine how a round would feel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[AOTAC]

These may have been mentioned already but some personal recommendations:

1. I only use MADE IN THE USA for lifesaving products.
2. Choose armor that's rated for the threats you're most likely to encounter. (weight vs. likelihood of encounter can come into play)
3. Terms such as Stand-Alone, Multi-hit, thickness and weight can all assign a perceivable "value" to and affect cost of the plate.
4. Personally not too hung up on NIJ rating anymore, so long as the testing is done by one of the NIJ accredited labs.
5. Buy the lightest weight plate(that meets your needs) as you can afford.
6. Steel... I tend to shy away from it, but that doesn't mean there are not valid uses for it to name a few: weight training, target practice, spalling demonstration and though rarely seen, deep concealment.

[AndyLate]

Are there non-steel plates that can survive living in my truck's toolbox for years? Heat, cold, humidity, vibration, etc. make it a tough environment.

Andy

[Aries144]

Just a note on some of the cheap ceramic/HDPE plates out there: Some are using 1" foam spacers inside the plate all around the plate's edge. That means the outer 1" of the plate offers little or no protection and cannot stop the rated threat. More importantly, it means you can't get the plate high enough in a carrier to protect the aortic arch.

Here's the inside of a 10" x 12" LAPG plate, curtesy of mrgunsandgear's destruction video.



Here's a diagram demonstrating proper plate wear, emphasizing the need to cover the aortic arch.



The uncolored area is roughly the coverage you can expect with the LAPG plates:



Selling the plates as 10" x 12", especially with the height coverage issue due to the foam at the top, comes across to me as negligence.

Buyer beware.

[vandal5]

Just a note on some of the cheap ceramic/HDPE plates out there: Some are using 1" foam spacers inside the plate all around the plate's edge. That means the outer 1" of the plate offers little or no protection and cannot stop the rated threat. More importantly, it means you can't get the plate high enough in a carrier to protect the aortic arch.

Here's the inside of a 10" x 12" LAPG plate, curtesy of mrgunsandgear's destruction video.



Here's a diagram demonstrating proper plate wear, emphasizing the need to cover the aortic arch.



The uncolored area is roughly the coverage you can expect with the LAPG plates:



Selling the plates as 10" x 12", especially with the height coverage issue due to the foam at the top, comes across to me as negligence.

Buyer beware.

Do you recall which plates these were? I have the lvl 4 10x12 plates and they don't seem to have that much foam around them. I'm not about to cut them open to check but I'm curious.

On the front they seem to have some type of soft outer layer and maybe what seems to be a 1/4" if that cushion around the outer edge. On the back side (towards the body) they are more solid under the fabric ciber and that does seem to go just about out to the edge.

Wonder if mine are a different or updated version than the ones from your pic. In that pic you can see quite a bit of foam.

If anyone needs pics or other info on mine I'd be happy to help where I can.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Aries144]

Do you recall which plates these were? I have the lvl 4 10x12 plates and they don't seem to have that much foam around them. I'm not about to cut them open to check but I'm curious.

On the front they seem to have some type of soft outer layer and maybe what seems to be a 1/4" if that cushion around the outer edge. On the back side (towards the body) they are more solid under the fabric ciber and that does seem to go just about out to the edge.

Wonder if mine are a different or updated version than the ones from your pic. In that pic you can see quite a bit of foam.

If anyone needs pics or other info on mine I'd be happy to help where I can.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

I just bought them, so they should be the latest iteration of the plates. They are the LAPG marked lvl IV plates that they sell for around $100-$125.

The 1 inch of foam around the edge is very firm and there also appears to be 1/4" foam over the strike face of the plate between the ceramic and the outer fabric. If I press really hard, moving inward bit by bit, I can feel the foam give until I get in from the edge of the plate about an inch. That's where the ceramic starts.

Sounds like you have the same plates.

The lvl III they sell seem to be of similar construction.

[vandal5]

I just bought them, so they should be the latest iteration of the plates. They are the LAPG marked lvl IV plates that they sell for around $100-$125.

The 1 inch of foam around the edge is very firm and there also appears to be 1/4" foam over the strike face of the plate between the ceramic and the outer fabric. If I press really hard, moving inward bit by bit, I can feel the foam give until I get in from the edge of the plate about an inch. That's where the ceramic starts.

Sounds like you have the same plates.

The lvl III they sell seem to be of similar construction.

Thanks, I'll try that same test. Want to say mine were mfg in 2020 with expectation date of 2025?


Edit to add:

Only had this one pic on my phone. Has the newer lapg circle lapg logo on the front.



Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Aries144]

Mine are the same date.