Posted: 9/18/2015 5:16:03 PM EDT
| What is everyone's views of body armor? Either soft or hard armor to include into your survival gear? I am considering getting a IIIA soft armor set and then a set of IV ceramic plates as well to go with my gear. I know it adds weight and limited movement but I see it as a thing I would like to have during certain situations. What is everyone's views on this topic? |
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What is everyone's views of body armor? Either soft or hard armor to include into your survival gear? I am considering getting a IIIA soft armor set and then a set of IV ceramic plates as well to go with my gear. I know it adds weight and limited movement but I see it as a thing I would like to have during certain situations. What is everyone's views on this topic? For your bug out location I think its great. If your going to get armor you might as well go all the way get the plates as well. I'm much more concerned about rifle fire than pistols. |
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I see it much like night-vision as far as position on the priorities list. It can be a game-changer, but for most people & situations it's something that imo is a much later priority than a whole lot of other things.
IE, you may need (or just "really wish you had") body armor or night vision; but you WILL need food, water, toilet paper, etc. |
| I already have most of the other things covered so I am working my way into things such as this. I had PVS14 last year but ended up selling them. I am thinking on doing both the IIIA soft a IV ceramic for a few reasons. First, I do not want to wear hard armor in a full kit out in public if I can prevent it. I can also wear the IIIA soft stuff under clothes. I guess my reasoning for this is when I went through Katrina. After the first week without power ect. I had to move to check on family so that put me out and about. If I would have had soft armor. I would have worn it in a heart beat during the situation. |
| I think soft armor is a good asset and more likey to be helpful then plates. If your being shot at by a rifle its most likey gonna be a barage and more likely that multiple areas hit. The soft armor could discreetly save your life in statistical gun fight/personal defense distance. |
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after we had 5 hurricanes in 2 years, several local deputies told me to get armor for both me and my family. they said our local sheriff's office has it for all personnel including enough supplies for 6 months for all of their employees (1400+ employees) their reasoning was we would pretty much be on our own |
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I dont see the point in getting armor not rated for 556/223. The AR15 is the most popular gun in history and there are millions in circulation. Pick a manufacturer or vendor and get LVL IV front and back plates if you can afford it. The last thing I am worried about is being discreet (with my armor at least) in a SHTF sitch. If you catch me Ill most likely be wearing my PC.. |
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I dont see the point in getting armor not rated for 556/223. The AR15 is the most popular gun in history and there are millions in circulation. Pick a manufacturer or vendor and get LVL IV front and back plates if you can afford it. The last thing I am worried about is being discreet (with my armor at least) in a SHTF sitch. If you catch me Ill most likely be wearing my PC.. This is why I plan on buying both soft and hard armor. There were times I was out and about that if I had a plate carrier on, it would have caused some people to freak out Im sure and cause a even bigger issue. They both serve their own purpose and I can always double down and run the IV plates with my IIIA for extra protection. |
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I think soft armor is a good asset and more likey to be helpful then plates. If your being shot at by a rifle its most likey gonna be a barage and more likely that multiple areas hit. The soft armor could discreetly save your life in statistical gun fight/personal defense distance. Agree. |
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I never read ferfal's book, but I wonder if he ever discussed body armor. I could see soft armor being useful, especially if you can wear it and conceal it under your clothes. Some folks wear tight fitting clothes and unless they lost a bit of weight you would be able to tell they had something on. In the winter a coat would cover it of course. With some of the stories from people at the range or some of the classes people have taken, or just youtube videos, I could see wanting armor for a class. So the soft I can see. I figure the hard armor is way down on the list but it is one of those things where it might be wanted if you experienced any sort of home invasion or other issue that has you barricaded in your bedroom. Just having it for the wife or girlfriend to hide behind would be nice. I guess I can see soft armor ahead of some stuff people put way down on their list like thermal, night vision, and what not. I see hard armor behind that stuff. I will admit my list can look like I tossed darts at it since I don't have some stuff everyone thinks you have to have, but I have some stuff people consider an outright luxury. My hobbies wander and anything I own can be used for preps, so if a hobby has something way down on the prep list I might have it for the hobby. To some extent once someone gets into 3 gun or anything of the sort where they are going to carry multiple firearms and magazines and compete on a course of some sort, just doing at home can be amusing, I can also see using a carrier to hold stuff vs. some of the other options out there. In reading up on carriers and other odds and ends in the tactical forum or whatever it is called I read about people using the plates as a bit of weight lifting since they own em and just wear em while doing exercise and what not. Some folks preffered other options for the gun competitions, a carrier can be dang hot and does not always breathe depending on what you buy and wear, so it just comes down to how you do things or want to do them. Biggest thing I got from reading stuff is to know what you are buying if you buy and get used to it if you get it. One thing about something like an adjustable stock on an ar15 or shotgun or other long gun is that it often comes from the carrier taking up space so you want to shorten the stock up to keep the reach the same for your arms. So if no carrier or anything, is an adjustable stock needed? Is a carrier coming? How thick a winter coat do you wear? Do you shoot enough for it to even matter? I picked on the mossberg with the adjustable stock a lot, in my head anyway, cause I have an old basic 590. Considered it silly to add an ar15 adjustable stock to it. Then as everything got more tactical in the world and I saw more uses for odds and ends, I put 1 and 1 together. I figure anyone who worked katrina sees a major use for serious body armor. I would expect most to already have soft armor and many to have at least bought some plates on the deals that come up on arfcom now and then and have a way to carry them as well. Living rural I can see where it is hard to wear armor to stop the common hunting round out there so perhaps it depends on how I want to look at things. With all the police being shot and since police already have armor issued to them in most cases, I just see it as kind of normal for them to probably have some sitting around for backup use or whatever. There have been threads on some of the used soft armor out there and some of the folks have shot at it to see how it has held up over time. I guess with the current use of my jeep, just tooling around easy trails for it, I could also compare the cost to a winch. Is the jeep more likely to go places if it has a winch? Am I more likely to need a winch if I have it? Does armor change your mindset? Is it a good thing or a bad thing if it changes your mindset? If I had it, I would not really change my mindset. I still figure if I ever get shot with or without body armor I most likely am going to need hospital care and that might depend on if I survive or not. Body armor is one of those things where I see it requiring a lot of other stuff if you do need it. If you have a group and well trained people, including more than basic first aid, and transport to quick and good health care I see body armor being more useful. Then again, I did not deal with the katrina mess other than criminals being displaced and bringing their job skills to my area. |
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I see it much like night-vision as far as position on the priorities list. It can be a game-changer, but for most people & situations it's something that imo is a much later priority than a whole lot of other things. IE, you may need (or just "really wish you had") body armor or night vision; but you WILL need food, water, toilet paper, etc. That's kind of how I look at it...something for when you have all the basics covered. I've got plates and NV but am thinking about adding concealable soft armor as well. Again, just nice to have. |
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It has its place. Both hard and soft.
But get a 556/762 in the belly button then what? Balance. I see nvg/thermal more of a ""game changer " in my area. But BA would be above it if I still lived in an urban area. But I left the city...so priorities and "mission " change. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Do you have it? I would love to see how big those USP defender soft sets size up and if they would fit in a laptop bag? Sure do. I am working on doing a small video review once it stops raining here! They are very comfortable and can be rolled up/ packed away into a pretty small area. I will post it here once I get the video done. |
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Level IV plates can be found cheap (~$250 a pair when on sale), Midwest Armor is good to deal with.
Bottom line is that they aren't THAT heavy and they aren't THAT bulky. If its a natural disaster or a high alert scenario, I'd much rather project that if you shoot me you might not kill me rather than I'm harmless come take my shit. Would you rather run the risk of people knowing you have plates on or would you rather run the risk of getting shot in a vital area and not being able to get any immediate medical care? If "times are getting rough" that's not really SHTF and you would want to keep a low profile, but if its actual SHTF, might as well be adequately prepared for all that it brings. With the proliferation of AR15's and AK's these days even from gangbanger types I see no reason to bother with soft armor unless you're envisioning using it a completely concealable everyday use. If you're on your own and anticipating gun fire? Don't expect just pistol rounds being fired. The weight aspect is foolish since very few situations would dictate that you're not either 1.) bugging in 2.) bugging out via vehicle. If for some reason you absolutely have to just hike on foot? Ditch it, otherwise you'll be glad you had it. |
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I think soft armor is a good asset and more likey to be helpful then plates. If your being shot at by a rifle its most likey gonna be a barage and more likely that multiple areas hit. The soft armor could discreetly save your life in statistical gun fight/personal defense distance. Agree. Agree x 2 I have 2 sets (well, 3, but I plan on selling one soon). Not so much for bugging out, as bugging in. Plus some classes want you to have armor (or you might want it seeing some of your classmates ... ) which is how I justify it to Household-Six. |
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Agree x 2 I have 2 sets (well, 3, but I plan on selling one soon). Not so much for bugging out, as bugging in. Plus some classes want you to have armor (or you might want it seeing some of your classmates ... ) which is how I justify it to Household-Six. Quoted:
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I think soft armor is a good asset and more likey to be helpful then plates. If your being shot at by a rifle its most likey gonna be a barage and more likely that multiple areas hit. The soft armor could discreetly save your life in statistical gun fight/personal defense distance. Agree. Agree x 2 I have 2 sets (well, 3, but I plan on selling one soon). Not so much for bugging out, as bugging in. Plus some classes want you to have armor (or you might want it seeing some of your classmates ... ) which is how I justify it to Household-Six. Think about it though. For the same reason you might want it for a class, would you not want to also have it while potentially fighting alongside people you don't regularly train with? One drill I did was walking then when called, the group turns and approaches the target but the goal is that before firing you are all side by side...lot of times we were a few steps back which means someone can get shot. |
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It has its place. Both hard and soft. But get a 556/762 in the belly button then what? Balance. I see nvg/thermal more of a ""game changer " in my area. But BA would be above it if I still lived in an urban area. But I left the city...so priorities and "mission " change. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile The 8x10 plate will still let you get on in the belly button if you are tall. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Since my first post in this thread I have been spending some time getting caught up on body armor. Reading and chasing links and watching and learning will turn up odds and ends for decent prices. Kind of depends on how picky you wish to be. I see soft armor you can conceal as being the most likely item I would use. Especially in cooler months and winter when it would help keep me warm. I can't knock the hard armor and what not, we talk about who checks the bumps in the night and who goes outside to investigate and it is not hard to wind up shot these days. I also have been searching and reading all the police shooting threads, so yeah one thing leads to another. |
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Think about it though. For the same reason you might want it for a class, would you not want to also have it while potentially fighting alongside people you don't regularly train with? One drill I did was walking then when called, the group turns and approaches the target but the goal is that before firing you are all side by side...lot of times we were a few steps back which means someone can get shot. Quoted:
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I think soft armor is a good asset and more likey to be helpful then plates. If your being shot at by a rifle its most likey gonna be a barage and more likely that multiple areas hit. The soft armor could discreetly save your life in statistical gun fight/personal defense distance. Agree. Agree x 2 I have 2 sets (well, 3, but I plan on selling one soon). Not so much for bugging out, as bugging in. Plus some classes want you to have armor (or you might want it seeing some of your classmates ... ) which is how I justify it to Household-Six. Think about it though. For the same reason you might want it for a class, would you not want to also have it while potentially fighting alongside people you don't regularly train with? One drill I did was walking then when called, the group turns and approaches the target but the goal is that before firing you are all side by side...lot of times we were a few steps back which means someone can get shot. Absolutely agree. |
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Level IV plates can be found cheap (~$250 a pair when on sale), Midwest Armor is good to deal with. Bottom line is that they aren't THAT heavy and they aren't THAT bulky. If its a natural disaster or a high alert scenario, I'd much rather project that if you shoot me you might not kill me rather than I'm harmless come take my shit. Would you rather run the risk of people knowing you have plates on or would you rather run the risk of getting shot in a vital area and not being able to get any immediate medical care? If "times are getting rough" that's not really SHTF and you would want to keep a low profile, but if its actual SHTF, might as well be adequately prepared for all that it brings. With the proliferation of AR15's and AK's these days even from gangbanger types I see no reason to bother with soft armor unless you're envisioning using it a completely concealable everyday use. If you're on your own and anticipating gun fire? Don't expect just pistol rounds being fired. The weight aspect is foolish since very few situations would dictate that you're not either 1.) bugging in 2.) bugging out via vehicle. If for some reason you absolutely have to just hike on foot? Ditch it, otherwise you'll be glad you had it. +1 |