[ARCHIVED THREAD] - SHTF Body Armor? (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 6/3/2007 3:16:27 AM EDT
| I've been thinking lately that, in a SHTF scenario, body armor wouldn't be such a bad idea. I know it is expensive and would take up the cost of a lot of supplies, but a BP Vest could prove to be an extremely valuable assets to your survival. What do you guys think? Do any of you currently have some ready to go? What brand do you reccomend/who has the best bang for the buck? |
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I don't think most on the survival board recommend armor. I'm going to save for interceptor or whatever the military is currently using. But there are other preps that are more important than armor to me, including paying off my house, food, ammo, a 30 cal silencer, and night vision. (I'm choosing concealment before cover) In other words, armor is the absolute bottom on my list. I will probably send my 2 year old to college before I get any. |
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as i plan on staying in my urban environment and digging in, armor has always been a consideration for me. you might want to go over to the arms & tactics section though, as armor is discussed there. personally, i would go with some sort of plate carrier. if you have a membership here on arfcom, go to the arms & tactics tactical gear section and do a search for CTD Molle Plate Carrier review. there is a 20 something page review on the cheaperthandirt plate carrier. stickman was so impressed by it, he was using it in his every day law enforcement career. when i build my setup, i'm going with the ctd plate carrier, a radio pouch, a emt pouch (for my blow out kit), a double pistol mag pouch, a triple ak mag pouch, a hydration carrier, admin pouch and a few others. it will be setup for patrol applications. i'm not sure what level plates i will go with yet, as my preps and communications are my primary concern atm; but it will probably be level III plates.  double pistol mag  triple ak mag  emt pouch  radio pouch  admin pouch  |
Body Armor For as little as $90.00 you can protect your self from most handgun rounds. Cheap insurance if you ask me. |
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Protective equipment is important. Other preps are also important. Consider the threat, consider the budget, consider the rule-of-threes, and consider the rule-of-redundancy. When all of these competing dicta are satisfied, buy the best armor you can possibly find. Nothing would be more tragic than starving to death wearing your MICH. |
Realize that up until the discovery of antibiotics, and modern sterile medicine, a gunshot almost anywhere could be fatal. These were slow moving, non expanding bullets that left a wound channel a little bit bigger than their own diameter. Think about getting hit in the fleshy part of any part of your body with HP ammo, "the tumbling 5.56", or any modern ammo, the impact may not kill you or strike a vital organ, but the wound could very easily kill you post SHTF. Many people in the 1800's and early 1900's survived the gunshot only to die a week or two later from the wound becoming infected. The best treatment for a gunshot wound is not having a gunshot wound! If you were shot, and the hospitals were no longer working, think about what you would trade/sell/give up to get help, armor doesn't seem so expensive now. Remember that you can't starve to death if you never make it past day 1.
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I purchased both of my Level III vests prior to the late unpleasantness, so probably got a better deal than most. Both were about $300 ea. The first one was a pre-Interceptor military issue vest, and the second (pictured below with a new CTD carrier) was a gunshow special.  I have since added to and rearranged the pouches on the above vest. It now has a dual AR mag pouch, GPS/HT pouch, and "admin" pouch. Better to have one rifle and one vest, rather than two rifles and no vest. JMHO. |
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Not that I have any dreams of being some kind of tactical swat nylon ninja dude with my body armor and hard plate, but I am interested in it if it can be done rather inexpensively. After I got my food preps and other stuff in order, I'd consider body armor. Can we have a discussion on what the different types are that are available? Soft armor? Hard armor? Both? |
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The more I think about it, if nothing else it would give me some peace of mind. I looked at CTD and they no longer have it, supposedly was a one time special purchase. That sucks I am searching, and have found this as a possiblity. MOLLE Plate Carrier What do you guys think of it? |
what were you looking at at ctd? everything is still in production, thier site is just poorly organized. follow the links i posted and you'll find the carrier |
i'd suggest looking at the arms & tactics section called tactical gear before asking that request. lots of good info there |
Sorry, i searched for ctd plate carrier and that was what it said. I didn't bother to acutally look around  . I just found it here MOLLE-134.
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| I think it depends on where you live. In a city, where there will be a lot of handguns from the wanna-be gangster types, you would be served fine by a lighter vest I suppose. However, if you're in the country, most people will have rifles, at that time, the vests won't do much good unless you're getting into heavy, expensive stuff. |
Right on buddy. I put it in the top 10 (if not top 5) things to get for someone worried about major SHTFs, around here anyways. I have a set of plates in a Eagle Plate Carrier and me and the zero six both have soft armor. I'm gonna get 2 more sets of plates whenever I can jump on a deal. I'd show off my plate carrier, but its in multicam and I dont wanna be acused of being airsoft
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I have a Level IIIA vest. In the overall scheme of things they're not that expensive. Some people stockpile thousands and thousands of rounds of ammunition, when for just the cost of a couple thousand of those rounds they could probably buy themselves some decent armor. If the SHTF so badly that I'm grabbing my AK and gear, I'm also grabbing that vest because, if I'm grabbing all my gear, I'm sure many others are, too. Better to have it and not need it... |
I see home invasions or attempted burglary as far more likely than a TEOTWAWKI scenario, and those will probably involve handguns only. Soft armor for my wife and I. Hard armor = weight and expense that are really unlikely to be called for. Even in TEOTWAWKI, hard armor adds a lot of weight and reduces mobility, which I think will be more important for a couple, than the enhanced ability to conduct squad-level missions. So FMD's soft armor off the EE, level I+ or thereabouts, was a great deal as a spare/loaner 3rd set.  Of course, my crystal ball is definitely broken, or I would have stocked up on cheap .223 and .308. 
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I picked up an over-vest class IIIa at a hell of a discount. The stuff was normally $600 something dollars - dropped to $350 in certain sizes (mine!) and certain colors (mine!) and then I pulled out a 20% coupon. They only sold to police and military so it wasn't goof for all but I got mine for less than $300 - sweet. I doubt that I'll every have to wear it but wouldn't it be nice if I never used it. I feel the same thing about night vision goggles but they cost $3500-$4000. If I can find a nice set of thrid generation goggles for 50% off I'd likely buy them. |
there aren't many people on this entire forum that i truely value thier opinion. stickman is one of the few. he gave the CTD carrier a flying colors review. he was so impressed with it that he used it while he was on patrol with his local pd. |
any chance for a link to that review? |
If I were you, I'd look for a concealable Level 3/4 vest with steel/ceramic plates insert. In a "SHTF" situation, I'd want to look like everybody else, like a civilian. With that said, a concealable Level III and 8x10 front and 10x12 rear rifle plates are the least expensive. Good luck. |
It's in the archive. IIRC, you have to be a paying member in order to view CTD plate carrier mega thread |
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Lots of Guns - check Zillion rounds of ammo - check Magazine whore status - check LB equipment for weapon systems - check 6 months of food - check Water purification and pumping supplies - check OTC medication and first aid supplies - check Lots and lots of tools - check Body armor - next on the list These are not in order of necessity as food trumps guns, but could help hold on to said food.
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you know, i have never really looked at what purchasing one of these vest could do for me. Now that I have decided to get one (still not sure which one) i realize that all of the pouches I can add are really going to aid in my ability to access my gear. This is great. I am torn between the CTD MOLLE Vest, BlackHawk S.T.R.I.K.E. Vest (I know it is only front cover, but I coudl add the back section later on), and (if I get really froggy) the TAG Vest. I am leaning more towards the CTD or STRIKE vest since they are more within my current budget. |
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Or you could fill a bright orange life vest with sand, and sew Iron skillet pans to your front and back It would weigh about 30 lbs. but it just might stop a pistol round....or two. still.... if all hell were breaking lose and people were getting shot around you, I think alot of us who can't afford vests will be thinking "expediently" 
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   I can see me running around in that.
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I can see a bunch of Don Quixote's running around! I wonder what rounds would be stopped by an iron pot! That would save me the money to buy a helmet!  Saving up for a better vest is like waiting to buy a real car instead of picking up a cheap used beater because you can get it quickly. |
yeah, but that beater serves the purpose till you can afford that lexus. let's face it, i'd rather have a cheap carrier with good plates than nothing at all, cause i was waiting to spend $150+ on a carrier that does the same thing as the $50 version. it ain't the carrier, it's the plates inside of them. plus, if a veteran LEO (like stickman) will trust his life to the ctd carrier, it's good enough for me. |
I am going to spend almost 8 times that amount on my carrier. Many times in my life I have settled for something less than ideal and have upgraded later. If it works for you then go for it. I think that I am going to go with steel Level 4 plates because they are so much thinner. |
Is this the one? Initial Attack |
let's see $150x8=1200  even the high end eagle carriers aren't that much. diamond back tactical isn't either. the only way your going to spend $1200 on your unit is if you include the level 4 plates, which should run you about $500-$700 a piece.... or post up what your looking at.... |
thanks for that link. i'm getting all but the tripple ak mag holder and hydration carrier from them. for a little less than ctd |
no problem, glad i could help |
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I hate to say Galls, ....but check out Galls. They carry 2nd chance, Safariland and the other big names as well as there own brand. The last vest I bought for duty use was from them and was one of the Galls brand vest. It was a class 2 vest and the ballistic panels were actually made by Safariland at about half the cost of a comparable Safariland vest. The armor most people can afford isn't going to stop a rifle round; but, it sure would be nice if you were getting pistol rounds or buckshot thrown at you. You should be able to get a decent vest for under 500 bucks. I'd go class 3A for a SHTF vest. |