The Great Plate Debate

[omegajb]

There's your key word there.
The dolts buying the el-cheapo steelies IS a boot move.



Yes, but IIRC the LVL3 LAPG plates won't stop 855, like most Lvl 3 "plastic" plates.

According to this video the LA Police Gear III plates will stop M855 its at the 7 minute mark and even stopped 30.06 AP.

https://youtu.be/WYLvtrxZxcs

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[Jellybean]

Interesting.
It says "non-AP rounds" on the LAPG website, in the description for the plate.

[okie]

Interesting.
It says "non-AP rounds" on the LAPG website, in the description for the plate.

Isn't M2 AP one of the NIJ requirements for lvl 4?

That would kind of make sense, though. I thought it was too good to be true that a 175 dollar standalone plate weighing 6.5 lbs could do that. I'm not aware of any standalone plates that can do lvl 4 in that weight class that don't use boron carbide, which is about 800 per plate.

[FriendlyStranger]

It's all about what you can afford. If I could afford to buy multiple lighter ceramic plates I'd wear them all the time. I'd still buy a set of steel plates too because you never know.

Steel plates with coatings or layers of kevlar + trauma pad is cheaper and can be passed on even after getting hit a few times.

[pag23]

Isn't M2 AP one of the NIJ requirements for lvl 4?

That would kind of make sense, though. I thought it was too good to be true that a 175 dollar standalone plate weighing 6.5 lbs could do that. I'm not aware of any standalone plates that can do lvl 4 in that weight class that don't use boron carbide, which is about 800 per plate.

RMA level4 are about $135 a piece and 8.3lbs per plate... Is a couple of pounds that much of a difference? It feels that way sometimes between my two PCs lol

[okie]

RMA level4 are about $135 a piece and 8.3lbs per plate... Is a couple of pounds that much of a difference? It feels that way sometimes between my two PCs lol

A couple pounds per plate makes a huge difference. You know how a 7 pound rifle feels light as a feather, but an 8 pound rifle feels too heavy? Plates work the same way.

[omegajb]

Interesting.
It says "non-AP rounds" on the LAPG website, in the description for the plate.

Possibly for liability purposes. It wasn't designed to stop AP but it does the lawyers probably wouldn't let them advertise they can stop the rounds.

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[Defaultmp3]

Possibly for liability purposes. It wasn't designed to stop AP but it does the lawyers probably wouldn't let them advertise they can stop the rounds.

It's probably because the plate doesn't stop .30-06 M2 in a meaningful manner. The video does not show proper testing procedures according to NIJ; there is no data that I saw in a cursory viewing of the video that dealt with backform deformation. Just because a bullet doesn't fully penetrate doesn't mean that the plate actually is considered to have defeated the round, as if enough BFD has occurred, the wearer would still incur catastrophic injury.

[okie]

It's probably because the plate doesn't stop .30-06 M2 in a meaningful manner. The video does not show proper testing procedures according to NIJ; there is no data that I saw in a cursory viewing of the video that dealt with backform deformation. Just because a bullet doesn't fully penetrate doesn't mean that the plate actually is considered to have defeated the round, as if enough BFD has occurred, the wearer would still incur catastrophic injury.

This I believe.

[Defaultmp3]

Looking further at the specs between the Level III and Level IV LAPG plates, I'm guessing they're of similar construction (both use the same materials, ceramic/UHMWPE hybrid), but the Level III is a bit thinner, and thus also a bit lighter. My SWAG is that the Level IV's thickness is what allows it to perform to Level IV standards (perhaps a thicker ceramic strikeface), as the additional material allows it to pass the BFD parameters as set out by NIJ.