Ideally they'd also provide the width at the top and the length from the bottom to the top between the lowest part of the V, but that should work. Did they provide any guidance on expected fit for chest circumference?

Nope just the email with the image.

I would absolutely get your own measurements done with the bulletproof me link, and send those measurements to the company for them to determine the correct size. Its really up to the company to interpret the vest sizing matrix, not the consumer.

Armor really is one of those 'measure twice, cut once' type of things.

http://www.bulletproofme.com/Sizing.shtml

Midwest is now offering the Complete Stinger II w/ carrier:

https://midwestarmor.com/products/specter-stinger-ii/

And the Cyber Monday sale ends in a few hours, which knocks $25 off the price.

Just received my level 2 soft armor from Sword & Shield.

This is the Malal 2 set.

Construction seems nice. The pictures below are of me a 5’10” 239lbs male that typically wears a XL t shirt. This armor is supposedly thinner than the stinger 2 but it’s so close I’d say it’s negligible. This particular armor is also not NIJ certified but is NIJ type tested. For the money under $300. I’d have it say it’s worth it.


Carrier over T shirt
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Still over a T shirt but with another t shirt on top. It appears dark colors are going to really be beneficial to better concealment.

Green
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Black
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Rear of black

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This is with a thin fishing type button up shirt. Which can still be seen.

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This is another button up but it’s much thicker. It appears the plaid helps conceal it as well.
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This is a thin type golf collared shirt.

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And lastly probably the best way to conceal the vest is with layers. A t shirt and a un button shirt or lite jacket.

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Thanks for that

Great pics, and thanks for the contribution.

It looks to be that the most 'printing' aspect is the velcro straps rather then the armor. That was a concern for me with a polo shirt - velcro would poke through a bit on the shoulder even though the armor itself was concealed.

I'd try and fasten the velcro down as smooth as possible to see if that minimizes printing. Also looking at the fit, I'd experiment with loosening the shoulder straps a bit, so that the back armor sits slightly lower. That helped with mine when I was fitting it; I found a tight chest but looser shoulder worked best for concealment. For my shoulders, the straps are secured to the edge of the velcro on both panels.

Likewise, it seems like a button up shirt with pattern works best, which mirrors my experience as well. I'm planning on snagging a few short sleeve plaid shirts for summer.

I suspect a velcroless carrier like the Stealth SST shirt will avoid the velcro print through, as the entire exterior of the carrier is smooth. I'm planning on snagging one down the road for testing.

https://stealtharmorsystems.com/shop/ols/products/sst-shirt-armored-vest

I think its a good idea to find a short sleeve and long sleeve clothing combo that works well for the armor, so if you need to wear your vest you don't need to do any clothing experimenting.

I had the same idea. Winter won’t be a issue. Summer is where clothing choices will be critical.


I also considered using tape on the straps to help smooth out the lines.


I only played with it long enough to take the photos as the pest man pulled up when I was taking pics of my self. Lol

I did read somewhere about conditioning your panels by rolling them up in various directions to increase there flexibility I guess. Need to look for that again.


I do have a police issue safariland Lvl 3 and best I can remember it actually covers more of my abdomen over this style. I could be wrong need to wear it and compare.

Thinking of wearing mine tomorrow all day to get a opinion on it.

I know one thing it’s a heck of a lot lighter and more maneuverable that my external hard plates and carriers. Me and the wife do about 2-5 miles every night and over the last few weeks I have been wearing my different sets just to get a feel for them. And 4401 suck and L210s suck less. Guess the next logical purchase is polymer plates $$$.

Realistically you only need a couple shirts to rotate through, unless things deteriorate to the point we're always wearing armor.

The pro-gamer move would be going now, in your winter layer clothes with the vest, and go to the mall to buy some shirts. That way in the changing room you can easily verify which shirts actually work.

Taping over the velcro or somehow smoothing it down, would be worth exploring. Gaffers tape would be a good option, as its designed to remove without leaving sticky residue, and has a cloth like feeling to it:

https://www.amazon.com/Professional-Gaffer-Power-Non-Reflective-Multipurpose/dp/B00GZE3UJ8/

And like i said, experiment with the velcro tension. Took me some experimenting to figure out what works best with mine - turns out mine works best with one shoulder slightly tighter then the other.

In terms of armor break in, 100% would recommend, really makes it much more flexible. This is the exact process I used on both my Stinger II and older IIIA vest. Its a lot easier if you take the armor out of the vest; I tried to be lazy and it was much harder rolling up the whole carrier.



I also found wearing it around the house, and also driving in it, helps both with the break in and also familiarizing myself with the feel.

All in all though, I think you did really well for $300 with that setup. And I think you can imagine how much harder concealing a thicker (0.33-.35") IIIA vest would be.

It's amazing to me that manufacturers are still using the same basic carrier design that was around back in the 80s/90s. They really do print horribly. I have a Safariland vest (like the one in the pic) that I bought around 20 years ago that had really thin, low-profile velcro and smooth satiny fabric front and back, to keep your shirt from hanging up on it. Even the strap attachment points were designed to minimize printing.

 

The way the straps are sewn on my Sword & shield, they make little lumps where the elastic and velcro meet and are sewn, rolled and flat-seam sewn. I was thinking some better, smoother shoulder straps would print less.

Are there any options for this?

I think the Shirt Carrier by Stealth is the most promising. I'm going to order one; best to contact them about what size is best for your armor inserts.

https://stealtharmorsystems.com/shop/ols/products/sst-shirt-armored-vest