(LEOs and Military, please do not enter the poll unless you also own/wear outside of work.)

Please discuss in comments what you wear, recommendations, what to look for when buying, etc.

Question:
Do you Own/Wear Body Armor?

Choices:
OWN, Wear Regularly (training, etc)
OWN, seldom wear (general safety, prepping, etc)
DON'T OWN, but interested in purchasing
DON'T OWN, have no interest
DON'T OWN, banned in my area
Other, please explain in comments

 

I own soft level III A, in a tactical carrier. I have worn it in training. It sets in my bedroom for bumps in the night.

I also have some rifle plate level III+, I would like to upgrade to something better, lighter, and more protection. I got them for a good price and as I see it something is better than nothing.


ARman

I got money burning a hole in my pocket and while I live in state/area that doesn't have major natural disasters it
would be nice if to have on hand if we have more flyod riots going on or some other SHTF situation.

Currently looking at a Crye Precision plate carrier. When I buy something I save and go all out.

My Dad when he was working for Bank Of America fixing ATM's bought his own level IIIA kevlar vest since he was not allowed to carry on the job. Usually wore it at night under a button up shirt and no one was the wiser. Was light enough and less bulky while giving him adequate protection.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dfens,

After the advice here on this topic, I went all in on a plate carrier and plates.

I wear it around the house doing chores. Great way to get used to the carrier and plates.

I don't own any. It isn't completely off the table, for a true "SHTF" situation like, for example, the 2020 riots, but is extremely unlikely. Under no circumstances will I wear it just going about my daily activities. Carrying a gun is being prepared. This crosses the line into being paranoid.

I have my soft body armor I wore as a cop, the department let me keep it since it was fitted to me.
I have it right next to the bed with two ammo shotgun cards Velcroed to the front. It is right next to the shotgun.

I can only imagine putting it on when the riots have made their way out of the east side of town and rioters are wandering into neighborhoods. Think TEOTWAWKI.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MikeinNC,

I answered don't own but interested.

Not quite true because I do have an old timey PASGT vest I bought at a gun show circa 1990ish. I added six hundred rounds of CCI .22 ammo to the pockets to add weight and use it while doing exercises when I feel froggy.

Would like a decent plate carrier set up to replace what I have so it can do double duty for working out and preventing extra holes.

Crye Precision JPC 2.0 plate carrier, RMA multi strike level IV plates. I still need to add some 5.56mm mag pouches.

Worn mostly while training and shooting (and occasionally other random tasks to stay familiar with the extra weight and slight loss of mobility).

I paid attention the last few years. I started with an AR500 plate carrier combo, learned quickly, unloaded that, and upgraded. My current setup is:

Crye SPC
AXL Equinox
AXL AVP
AXL Spiritus Tubes adapter
Eagle Ergo
Unobtanium Gear SLEDS placard
WTFidea 91 hydration panel with Camelbak short 3 liter
Ferro Mini Dangler for minor first aid and snacks, tourniquet
S&S SOCS covers
Protech lvl IV ceramic multicurve plates

Arbor Arms Liner Belt
AXL Eclipse Belt
Safariland ALS
LBX Utility pouch - snacks/Oral IV/paracord/lighter/ etc
LBX Blowout pouch with surplus USGI IFAK II insert.
LBX Dump pouch
Esstac KYWI - Rifle mag, two pistol mags.

Ops Core XP
Czech M10 mask with bag and extra filters

Yes, I wear the stuff around the house fairly often to do chores and workout, dry fire and reload drills, etc. I've done airsoft in the kit (go ahead and laugh, we use shot timers to add stress and track progress, but paper doesn't shoot back) and looking to make that a regular thing. I gotta get to some classes when it's a little cooler. Need some time in this stuff in the desert on BLM land also. My kit is in a state of evolution and I need to add some more tourniquets, a few more rifle pouches on the carrier, earpro on the helmet, radio, and get medical and sustainment stuff sussed out a bit more, but I feel like I'm starting to approach the current accepted standard of "shit you need" if you're going to carry a rifle and wear a pistol into a situation where people are likely to shoot at you.

What I've learned is this: Steel plates are for targets, not body armor. Cheaping out and upgrading is more expensive in the long run (this is my fifth plate carrier and I wish I'd just skipped straight to Crye). I went cheap and then realized this was all stuff I was going to depend on to help save my life if Things Are Bad. When everyone online is recommending Crye, don't go buy an Agilite K19 because their marketing is better than their product. Don't buy an Agilite K19, just... trust me on this. Structural carriers are becoming the new standard for a reason. SPC with an ERGO and the Equinox is the gold standard here, but WTF (Whiskey Two Four) makes an arguably better setup with their 24 carrier that just debuted a few months ago. I had one for a weekend, but it only fits SAPI sized plates, and I have 10x12's, so it went back. I'm the reason there's a checkbox on that page saying "I acknowledge this carrier will not work with 10x12 plates) because when I ordered, there was a paragraph long tirade about how people are not 10x12 sized, but they'll sell you this carrier if you have those plates "Because we like money." Ummm... tangent. I think Haley has a structural carrier coming also. If you don't know, the point of structural is it takes a lot of the weight off your shoulders and distributes it around your body, so all of those 15, 20, or 30lbs aren't just hanging. It's also a more rigid system, so there's a lot less wobble and splash as you move around - properly adjusted, the carrier feels like an exoskeleton of sorts, rather than a heavy, floppy sandwichboard. The Eagle Ergo goes one further and puts pressure on the lower middle back and forces you to stand upright. It sounds horrible, but I have bad L3 and L4 discs and it helps a ton. The best stuff coming out makes extensive use of Tegris (super lightweight and strong thermo-cured resin that's thinner, stronger, and more flexible than Kydex), and I am a true believer in this stuff.

For plates, get ceramic, period. If buying used or surplus, learn to do the tap and flex test to check for delamination. Some companies use some cute language to get around this, but you want NIJ Certified. This means NIJ keeps a sample of these plates in inventory and eventually tests them again. A run of plates that initially passed will sometimes eventually fail after sitting around for a bit, and their certification will get yanked. A number of HESCO plates have had this happen, so be careful about buying HESCOs - they may say "NIJ Certified" on the plate, but that rating may be dated. A quality lvl IV will stop basically handles everything up to, and including M2 AP (.30-06 steel core armor piercing). III+ is an imaginary rating, but some companies ensure it handles everything that qualifies for III and then tests it against the threats they've engineered it for, often M193, M855, and even M855A1, plus the Russian steel core stuff. Hoplite does this, RMA does not - they just revamped their 109X series, but it's not NIJ certified at lvl III. I'm actually looking at "downgrading" to some III+ plates to shave a little more weight off my carrier, specifically the Hoplite 19513. There is no perfect anything, it's all a tradeoff of mobility for protection, and praying that if you get hit, that you actually get hit in that 9.5x11.5" or 10x12" plate. Shooter's cut is less protection than a square plate, but trying to get your arms around a square plate sucks. Swimmer's cut is even more maneuverable, but does this by sacrificing some more protection up top. Get the size plate that fits your body - a correctly sized plate will seem too small to the uninitiated. Front plate should be one finger width below your sternal notch - most people wear plates way too low. Rear plate should be about even with it. Most plate carrier have way more adjustment in the shoulders than anyone would need, and this is to accommodate dudes who are solid beef and have a chest to back depth of like, nine feet. As a general rule, LVL IV ceramic plates can be had relatively inexpensively, but can be pretty heavy, about 7-9lbs. That doesn't sound like much, but double it and hang it off your shoulders for the first time and wear it for an hour and you'll have a different opinion. Wear it for an afternoon and you'll quickly figure out where your fitness is lacking. Lighter plates at higher ratings get expensive fast, but if money is no object, you can get lvl IV's at under 3lbs apiece.

Oh, and most modern plates are standalone, but may be SAPI sized. This means a soft armor back isn't required. If you do buy a SAPI plate, a soft armor backer is required for it to work correctly, so pay attention to that.

apexarmorsolutions.com is a great company. They have an active presence in other online communities where the owner directly answers questions, great company. They do tend to dick-ride RMA, though, so take that for what it's worth. There are a few vocal detractors of RMA online who tend to get shouted down, but from what I have been able to determine, they make a pretty decent plate for the money. Big problems I keep seeing is torn fabric covers straight from the factory that they won't warrant, and supposedly some plates aren't edge-to-edge like they claim. Worth digging deeper if you're looking at an RMA plate, but if I had to start over or suggest to someone where to buy a turn-key rig, that's the company.

I should probably get some, for when I have to go to the mall, because .338 Lapua.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I should probably get some, for when I have to go to the mall, because .338 Lapua.

The world has changed since Gecko45. This was thirty miles from my house two years ago:

Those same people were scared away from two towns near me by armed and armored townsfolk.

I have a couple plate carriers and a helmet.

I own a plate carrier and plates. Mine is for Active Shooter/RTF response. Only thing on it is a single TQ in a holder. I carry all my medical gear in a waist pack and backpack so if I’m prone, I’m not laying on it

I do have a sling pack “bag of doom” that I keep in my bedroom next to my armor. No need for mags and ammo as I can’t carry it when I’m working EMS. That bag is for bumps in the night

Two carriers, steel plates (sorry, I'm a Poor). Wear a de-tacticaled vest to hike in for exercise.

I have a M1955 Flak, and a M69 flak, do those count?
They go with my M1 Helmet.

May have posted this before...

I was given an old soft vest to shoot and and throw away. Didn't feel right about it, as it belonged to a family member (LEO) who passed. Was going to toss it and thought "this might not be the worst thing to hold on to."

Also, I was looking for weight vests, to wear on walks. Same company selling them sells armor. They were having a sale and the price of armor wasn't all that much more than just metal weights. Again I thought "Might not be the worst thing in the world to have around." So I bought some. Ended up only wearing it a couple times on walks. In part because it was too hot.(honestly afraid some idjit would call the cops on about a gunman in body armor walking the streets. So I needed to wear something over it... which was just too hot at the time.) So it lives in the truck of my car for added traction in winter, and puzzled looks from anyone who see's it.

So I do, but only sort of.

quote:

Wear a de-tacticaled vest to hike in for exercise.

That there is what I need to do. But recent medical issues have made walking with MORE weight a really dumb idea, so I haven't looked into it.

Eagle scalable plate carrier i picked up for a song many years ago. Has soft armor sewn in. Picked up some $99 AR500 plates and a few mag pouches. Also has an extra war knife and leatherman attached to the molle. Would truly need to be end of the world for me to go out in public with it. At least steel plates don’t degrade and won’t crack if dropped.

At the absolute minimum, you guys with AR500 plates should really consider getting some spall sleeves.

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
At least steel plates don’t degrade and won’t crack if dropped.

I bought into that marketing at first, also. Ceramic plates don't degrade over time if stored properly. Most anything ever made for duty use will also take a fall. It's ceramic inside bonded aramid fibers. Armor manufacturers have limited warranties, but that's so they can keep selling plates. Unless abused, a ceramic plate is likely going to outlive you. I've seen recent shoot tests with stuff made in the Korea and Vietnam eras that stopped what they were rated for.

I have plate carriers for my wife and myself. They had AR500 plates but they were heavy. I bought lightweight deuterium(?) plates still rifle round rated.

We also have pistol caliber soft body armor.

All of the above are staged.

I have a 6” x 8” pistol round insert that is in my sling bag. In use and while driving, the bag is across my chest.

I plan to also get a rifle round back pack insert where I’ll also have a cz scorpion.

Body armor is really too generic a term for recommendations.
What are we discussing? What threat level?
To do what?