In my search for plates I've been looking at the Velocity Systems plates.  Specifically the PSA level 4 rifle plate and the Special Threat Ceramic Plate.  If I understand correctly, Level 4 is a standard but "special" -- Well,  Special can mean anything you wish to read into it.

For all intents and purposes they are the same price (yes they vary by $30 if you use Brownells as a metric) but close enough.  The shape does vary though and that may be the more important point.  

For body armor I've only worn the standard issue of the time.  My last trip was to AFG was in '17 (when I started out, there were still two separate Germany countries and I spent some time on the border between the two).  

I decided to go with a Spiritus LV119 carrier and cummerbund.  I borrowed some plates from friend to put some miles on the carrier and I have no immediate complaints about the plate carrier.

So, can anyone who owns either of these plates help out?

As an aside, does anybody know about  Praetorian Guard plates? I have a friend who is on the gun show circuit for an optics company and he likes this guy.  I know nothing of this outfit, and thus have no opinion of their products.  

Thanks!

27 JUL EDIT:

To answer some valid questions asked of me:

*What is your expected threat level?   Level IV

*What is your tolerance for weight?   Under 7lbs preferably 6

*What is your budget? Based on the discussion to date--Can I do this for under $650? (per plate)

Velocity Systems' hard armor, at least the NIJ certified models, are made by LTC and Tencate, both of which are solid. You can't go wrong there, they're likely just LTC rebrands.

Praetorian Guard is made by a known Chinese supplier, Beijing V-great, same place that supplies Ace Link and a few others.
EDIT: That's anything expressly not listed as made by another manufacturer. And considering the only thing of known quality they sell is Hesco...yikes. Tactical Scorpion is garbage-tier armor.

Firstly, Velocity Systems is a quality name and both plates are OK options depending upon your needs.

The Level IV plate you referenced offers greater protection at 6.8 lbs and .75" thickness, The ST plate is 6.0 at .5" thickness.

Other than the weight and thickness, the Level IV is a better plate.

Why?

That ST plate is only tested to defeat the following rounds:
7.62 x 39 Mild Steel Core
7.62 x 51 M80 Ball
5.56 x 45 M855
5.56 x 45 M193

The website makes no mention of how many of these rounds... 1? Not sure. This will stop the most likely threats IMO. However, the Level IV plate is designed to stop all of those rounds and more. However, that protection comes with thickness and weight.

0.5" for a ceramic plate is about as thin as it gets, so the ST plates would be great for a low-viz setup. But it's still a little heavy IMO for a plate that isn't Level IV.

All said, there are other ST plates which do more. I have the much higher-end API-BZ special threat plates from Velocity and they stop a lot more and weigh less than the budget ones.

As for the other brand you mentioned. It may be a great one, I'm not familiar with it. Just be sure it's a reputable brand before buying. The armor business is not without some shady actors and it's important to remember that this is life saving equipment. If you don't need to depend on it, save your money and don't buy it at all. So if i'm buying something that I'm going to trust my life with, I'm buying a reputable brand. From my viewpoint, my favorite brands are LTC and Tencate (these two make a lot of other brands, including Velocity Systems, Hoplite, AT-Armor, etc.). Other brands I'd trust include Hesco, RMA, Highcom, Protech and Paracelete. There may be others but these come first to mind.

It sounds like you're looking for budget plates. Hesco has the L210 and RMA has a couple of models that you may want to look at also.

Give the Hesco M210 a hard look. Multi-hit, multi-curve, and a medium weighs 5lbs.

Love mine.  They are pricey but thin and light.  Wore them every day in AFG.

To everyone who replied--Thanks for the info.  

What I highlighted in Blue I am complete agreement with.  

What I highlighted in green is a little more nuanced.  

--I presented budget plates not knowing where the line is between budget and mid-level (Yes that is subjective)  

--I will refine my search to  buy at least mid-level quality.  I'm not sure where that line is but it can one say it starts with plates like hesco 3611C or 3810? I don't see me getting the $900 plates unless I continue to pursue employment where I would need them.  (For now those jobs are out on the edge of the radar)  And I can say the Chinese stuff is off the table without question.

Thanks again for help

As someone else mentioned above, take a look at the Hesco M210, they're a bit lighter than the special threat plates but only marginally more expensive I believe.

The 3810s are also excellent plates for a bit more $.

I've seen some incredible deals in the EE as of late fwiw.

Don't get too caught up on my comment about budget plates. Cheap plates made by reputable manufacturers are still safe. They just weigh more and are thicker. But they're just as safe. If you're going to be hunkering down this may not be much of an issue.

Keep in mind:

Special Threat can mean whatever threat panel the manufacturer decides for it. If it really is Special Threat tested they should list the threats tested against in their lab report.

To use an example, the Hesco L210 is designed to defeat common rifle threats below what is normally encountered in level III -- such as 5.56, 7.62x39, etc. If that is your use case, it's useful for that.
Since Hesco is also a known, reliable brand that has many plates that are NIJ certified, a specific plate NOT being certified isn't such a big deal.
Sometimes a manufacturer will go for a specific NIJ rating *and* Special Threat to encompass/prove a more robust protection profile.

The big things you need to look at first, before you start looking at individual plates, is making these determinations:
*What is your expected threat level?
*What is your tolerance for weight?
*What is your budget?

Knowing an answer to those three can narrow your search down tremendously.

@Army03CRNA  You need to really consider what @Hayashi_Killian posted & figure out your budget before you proceed with ANYTHING.  I'd say the hesco l210 are the most budget with the M210 being a close second.  Also, look up @Buffman_LT1 on youtube for his armor reviews.  I ended up with a Miltech RF2 plate as something I could afford that actually met my threat/weight considerations.  

I will edit my initial post to answer the questions asked of me which are valid ones to ask.

@HecklerKoch_USP  I thought your comments were on point and in NO way was I offended.  I can be an optics snob, yet I realize where the optics I buy fall on the scale of quality.  I consider anything under1K a budget optic.  My Night Force optics are (at todays prices in the) lower 2K and I still consider them MID-grade optics.  Same goes for the Leupold Mark 6 glass I've tried.  So--to your point--if I presented options in the budget range I'm not offended by being informed where my choices are--in fact I'm glad it was pointed out.

I wish to reset my position in that I am willing to spend the required amount to get me into the MID-grade plates (yes I will restate that is a subject point) but that is the benefit of this thread in that I can get a grasp of where the range of mid-grade equipment starts.  

Level IV under 7lbs is easy, even the budget-friendly ones like the Hesco 4401 and RMA 1155 are close to that amount, maybe just a bit more than 7lbs each. But if you're willing to up the price to about $650 a plate you have options, such as the Hesco 4601. LTC also makes some but they're much more expensive.

https://www.justnet.org/app/tims/CPLReport.aspx is where you can see all armor that's either currently or been NIJ certified. Anything listed under "Active" has a current, valid certification. As you can see, there's a lot of duplicate model listings -- those are all rebrands. Once you recognize the manufacturers you begin to see who actually makes what.

This only applies to Hesco plates obviously, but it gives a good idea of what all their different plates protect against and their associated threats. If you decide on a plate you like based on size, weight and threat rating, we can probably give you some related/similar models to consider as well.

Fwiw, of Hesco, in analyzing their III+/ST plates I would say the L210 is their low end, the M210 is probably on the lower half of mid tier, and the 3810 is on the upper half of mid tier (and some plates in-between like the 3611). Their upper tier is going to be the U210 as it also stops M855A1 while being extremely thin and lightweight.

For a mid tier III+/ST, for a 10x12 or M SAPI, I recommend only considering multicurve plates that are sub 5lbs each and rated to stop M855 at a minimum. This should help you eliminate some outliers.

@Army03CRNA

 Do you have to worry about 30-06 or 7.62R ammo?  If not your plate options open up & get lighter (2 of the RMA plates below are 10.6 lbs) .  You might want to look at something like these 3+ style.  If you go with Hesco 3810 they're only 4 lbs/ea for a M plate.

RMA:
https://rmadefense.com/store/body-armor/level-iii-plus-body-armor/multi-curve-nij-07-tested/

Hesco:
https://www.trex-arms.com/store/hesco-3810-level-iii-plate-set/

Keep in mind: level III+ is NOT AN ACTUAL NIJ SPEC. It's a manufacturer term and can mean anything the manufacturer deems it to mean.

Also the L210, M210, and U210 are not even close to level III, they do not stop M80 ball. They are Special Threat plates that will stop intermediate calibers, something closer to the proposed 101.07 RF1 spec, though RF1-3 will still test with M80 ball. I've heard unconfirmed reports that an L210 with a IIIA backer will stop M80, though I haven't seen any hard data to prove that.

I would avoid wherever possible to ignore any kind of made-up manufacturer threat ratings because there's so much inconsistency and even sometimes outright lies in the body armor industry. Since I've seen so much made-up shit I automatically assume seeing a + or ++ after a rating means it's neither of those things.

Everything since my previous post has really allowed me to narrow my focus.  I appreciate the insight!

I cannot see where M2 AP protection is needed and yes, some of the 3+ plates (IF they have supporting data) look like they would suffice.  

Yes I realize 3+ is Not A Standard (in fact I took that same position  a similar position in my first post).

If I take the budget up to $700 that will bring RMA's level IV plates into consideration.  (Of course at the time of my posting they only have one in stock, but I will admit to Not spending much time on Duck Duck Go)


Edit: accuracy

There +2 earlier :D I finally will get to demo these things. I'm interested to see how they compare to the Spartan Armor Ares, or some other lightweight level IV options.