i am looking to invest in armor and i would like some insight on what brands to go with and brands NOT to go with. Originally i was thinking of going with steel plates but i have been looking more and more into ceramics. But of course i would like to spare my bank account as much as i can but still have plates that will do their job.

so far the only brands i know are "bulletproof me" and  "spartan".

is the weight of ceramic worth the extra money? do ceramic plates "expire"?

any tips you have on purchasing armor i will gladly take. the carrier i am most likely going with is the PIG

Good coated steel plates are just fine.  Bare steel is OK, but I'd say spend the extra to get one coated.  That's my opinion, everyone has one.

I like ceramic but I also like coated steel.

I've bought from Bulletproofme.com before.  They ship what you order.  I've moved on to other people to supply what I need or want.  I have different needs and wants than you though, so you may have better experience with them than I did.  I sent several email inquiries after that purchase and never received a response back.  I take the position that if you won't talk to me, I won't buy your stuff.

Over the past few years, there have been A LOT of companies making armor.  Do your research, ask the company for their NIJ documentation on the product you're buying.  Read reviews of that product.  Be sure you are willing to trust your life to it.

I will say that AR500 and Infidel armor have a pretty big following.  Wait times seem to be an issue every once in a while for folks.  In general, I don't buy from them, most of my stuff comes from LE-only sources.  That isn't to say my stuff is better than your stuff, its just some companies are worried about a number of issues and won't sell to the general public.

As for expiration...most companies will not warranty their stuff beyond a few years, 5 years seems to be the norm.  It doesn't necessarily mean your armor will cease protecting you a month after the five year mark.  But, it's your life on the line.  Is $100-150 for a new plate every five years really that bad?  I don't think it is.  In fact, you'll probably wind up buying a new carrier for that plate in between that 5 year mark.

In the end, like I said earlier, it's your purchase and your life, whatever you buy you better be willing to trust your life to it.

i greatly appreciate your input.

if you dont mind me asking, what issues did you have with BulletProofMe?

Ceramic, IMO. That's becoming a 1911 vs Glock, 9mm vs 45 though.

I would personally never wear steel plates though.

Watch Highcom, AT Armor, and SKD and hope for a Black Friday Sale.

There are others, but those 3 have got a lot of my money.

ETA: Steel vs Ceramic

Ceramic plates are lighter and more reliably protect from a larger threat spectrum.

I bought swimmer cut, curved still plates from Spartan. They are comfortable and they were in my hand within three days of ordering them, so I recommend them if you decide to go with steel.

Whatever you do, don't buy the Vism plates. They're cheap. They're also Chinese-made with questionable QC.





I don't even know why they decided to enter the armor market, but that's airsoft level shit right there. This is coming from a die-hard, dress up in kit, let's LARP/MilSim guy. Playing army with plastic BBs is one thing, but actually taking incoming rounds is a whole other level.





As the others have said, keep an eye out on Highcom, RMA, Velocity Systems, etc. They usually have great BF/holiday deals.

thank you for all your inputs

I have never heard a bad thing about BulletProofMe, so that's a first.

The following is my opinion, so take it for what it's worth:

Brands I would recommend include Midwest Armor, Tencate, Highcom, Velocity Systems, Hesco, or LTC. There might be one or two I'm forgetting.

Brands I would never purchase include RMA, Infidel Armor, International Armor, Hardwire, and Armour-Wear.

Products I would never purchase include "anything with steel in it".

Why do you mention RMA?

This

He doesn't like their tiled plates for some reason.  There was a big hubbub thread a few years ago, where it was mentioned that Chinese used tiled plates because they couldn't manufacturer solid sheets of the ceramic needed for body armor. RMA manufacturers their plates in the US, and they are NIJ Certified. They do use some big marketing words though..

Hicom, paraclete, and a few other major ceramic places are your best bet. If you are spending the coin on a PIG carrier then do yourself the favor and get good plates. If you hang out for a while and get a deal you will end up ahead of the game. Ceramic WILL be more expensive, but all in all they are more expensive for a reason.

You need to research each plate by each manufacturer. Armorwear has had horrible plates and awesome plates, same for AR500. NIJ certification does not mean much, IMO unless you require federal grant money... that is where the artificial 5 year warranty comes from too and some of the cost.

Having owned both steel and ceramic/UHMWPE, I'd never buy steel. IMO you want a stand alone, triple curved plate with a ceramic face and bonded composite backer in level III+ (if you want lighter more expensive) or level IV. You want a plate that is sized to fit your body and your carrier.

One the ceramic front, you have cheaper Aluminum Oxide and lighter, super expensive Silicon or Boron carbide.

On the composite backer, you have Fiberglass/ E glass/(cheapest, heaviest, weakest) Kevlar/Aramid (mid on all) and Dyneema/UHMWPE (lightest, strongest, most expensive).

For steel it's generally all AR500, flat or curved, very few multicurved. With no build up, slight build up, or heavy build up of a bedliner type spall reducer. Or you have to use a spall insert to catch spall in front of plate. A steel plate with spall liner in front and padding in back suddenly is not so thin or cheap as first thought.

Remember anything but SAPI cut is non standardized and is playing a game of less coverage to have less weight and price. Don't be fooled into thinking shooter cut or swimmer cut or whatever marketing term is providing better utility... it's just less square inches of coverage to save weight, material, and money.

I'd recommend not considering non or single curved plates if comfort means anything to you at all.

Steel plates are good for one thing, IMO... making you appreciate the multicurve ceramics.

I use triple curve on the front and single curved because I find it more comfortable. Ymmv.

Is it just bedliner?

Yes, in most cases it is an off the shelf material, in others small tweaks have been made by the supplier to make the build up perform better as a spall liner. It's still essentially just truck bed liner.

I find single curved rear plates stick up at the bottom and don't conform as well as multicurve. It does require the plate fit your shoulder blades to be comfortable so you sometimes run the rear a little lower than you might be able to run a single curve, but still at a proper height.