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Posted: 7/12/2015 1:43:35 PM EDT
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I think I want some armor. My prospective usage for this would be 3-fold.
#1 bump in the night / crazy neighbors (I seriously have 2 legitimate bullet holes on my house, within 12" of the front door.) #2 Classes and training that may require armor #3 a travel kit so if I end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, I have a chance of getting back out [for example, if my GPS had routed me through Ferguson during that excitement] Considerations: in none of these situations am I interested in looking like tactical tommy, I want to be as nondescript/low profile as possible. I would like it to conceal under a light CC style vest or sweatshirt. If I am at a class, I will wear a gear only vest over the top, or even old school LBE, or just use belt mounted gear. To this end, I think I am looking for something like OD or gray or even ranger green. Red is a target, blue and brown look like police (our sheriff's wear brown), camo stands out in an urbane environment. What I am thinking is a set of XL [11x17 or similar] steel plates (I am a bigger guy) in a slick carrier with some type of anti-spall arrangement. I don't mind the movement/weight penalty since I won't be "on patrol" with these, and the extra coverage might make the difference between getting shot or not is the shooter is accidental or has poor aim.  I am les sure of my choice of level. I don't expect to be standing in front of garands shooing AP, but I don't want to be stuck hoping that the idiot pointing an AR at me is shooting Wolf ammo instead of something more effective..
Steel is also a good choice if I carry this rig in a duffel bag in the trunk while travelling as it is more durable with rough handling, and it also seems to be the cheapest of the options So, does anyone have any suggestions? Feel free to challenge my assumptions if I am obviously going awry somewhere, the sum total of my knowledge of armor came from the internet... 
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Quoted:
Steel is also a good choice if I carry this rig in a duffel bag in the trunk while travelling as it is more durable with rough handling, and it also seems to be the cheapest of the options Moving would be the smartest course of action and a more worthwhile investment than armor, especially if you have a family. Steel is not a good choice for wearable armor. As long as you're not throwing plates off the second story on to concrete, ceramic will be fine, plus they're lighter, slimmer, offer better protection without the risk of spall, and are about even in cost. Do yourself a favor and forget about steel plates completely. If you have to wear the plates at all, you'll be thanking yourself that you went with a lighter-weight option. I'm in better shape than ninety+ percent of the folks around here and I still count ounces. It's not about being a badass; it's about inducing less fatigue so you are more effective for longer. I have a Blue Force Gear PLATEMinus v1 and it is superb. I can throw a jacket over it and would be hard to notice. There is a BFG Ten Speed mag pouch attached, so I could conceal by just removing the magazines. Crye's Airlite is the same concept, but the BFG is only an ounce or two heavier and it covers the plate with an integral plate pocket, whereas Crye's does not. Both are about the same price. Plus, BFG's customer service is first rate. |
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You have a much, much greater chance of being shot with a handgun round than any type of rifle. The FBI stats show some 14,000 handgun kills and less than 400 rifle kills with the vast majority of those being hunting accidents.
For your scenario, I think soft IIIA armor would be a much more logical choice, as well as being far easier to wear and conceal in a normal setting. The other benifitmis the much lighter weight than a set of steel plates means you are more likely to put them on if you are in a "maybe, maybe not" situation. Also speaking from an LE prospective, getting pulled over wearing a soft vest in a while or black UC carrier under a sports jersey or light coat will probably go un noticed. A set of rifle plates in a tactical nylon plate vest? Prob will bring a few question with it... Even LE very rarely wears rifle plates unless they are facing a known threat, and even then its normally just special teams that have them... |
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Steel is also a good choice if I carry this rig in a duffel bag in the trunk while travelling as it is more durable with rough handling, and it also seems to be the cheapest of the options I had an older style AR500 steel 10x12 plate in my laptop case for a while (after the CEO announced horrible quarterly results and massive layoffs). It was heavy enough I had to be careful how I picked up the laptop case to avoid dropping it. Unless you look like this: 
carrying two 11x17 plates in a duffel is absolutely insane and will stand out to. That's going to be close to 30 pounds; not something most people can casually pick up with one hand like a normal gym bag. |
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All good information so far, let me see if I can address some comments.
I am moving, actually plan to haul some boxes tomorrow, however, you can never truly escape the idiots, they multiply too fast. I have looked at steel, ceramic, and even the threads on the various plastic armors, and I will admit to more than a little of information overload. My concerns over ceramic are mostly the "online opinions" of their comparable lack of durability. Since these will spend a lot more time off me than on me, and I have an absolute gift for breaking things by accident... Well, it's a concern. I was also under the impression (possibly mistaken) that ceramic was quite a bit thicker than other comparably rated materials, is this true? No I don't look like the governator, so carrying around 30lbs of steel might be a challenge if I was to try to do it a lot, but then if I am in that much need of armor for an extended period, I would likely need to toughen up anyway...LOL Steel is, however the cheapest of the options despite the obvious collary that would require a more expensive/nicer carrier to mitigate the weight as much as possible. Maybe the cheap steel isn't so cheap. One other concern I just thought of is that if I am buying ceramic, I have no idea how to tell if whatever that is being offered is possibly stolen or DOD property, and with my luck, well, that's also a concern. The main reason soft armor hasn't been on my radar is that I want whatever I buy to be rifle rated. The threat I am envisioning most likely here is an AD/ND at a class, but if you think the bad guys only haul pistols, google the series of videos "HOOD life" What I don't really know about is the plastic ones. The idea seems cool, and I watched a video where a guy shot at some floor tile and cutting boards and managed to stop a lot of rounds, so if the makeshift is that good, the professional stuff has to be so much better. This is why I am here asking the questions |
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Quoted:
....snip.... I have looked at steel, ceramic, and even the threads on the various plastic armors, and I will admit to more than a little of information overload. My concerns over ceramic are mostly the "online opinions" of their comparable lack of durability. Since these will spend a lot more time off me than on me, and I have an absolute gift for breaking things by accident... Well, it's a concern. I was also under the impression (possibly mistaken) that ceramic was quite a bit thicker than other comparably rated materials, is this true? .... . The main reason soft armor hasn't been on my radar is that I want whatever I buy to be rifle rated. What I don't really know about is the plastic ones. The idea seems cool, and I watched a video where a guy shot at some floor tile and cutting boards and managed to stop a lot of rounds, so if the makeshift is that good, the professional stuff has to be so much better. This is why I am here asking the questions You are correct, it can be a bit overwhelming. Take a read through this, follow the steps for armor selection and you will stay on track. Armor 101 - AT Armor |
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I have this in CB. http://www.beezcombatsystems.com/BCS-Plate-Carrier-Low-Profile-BCS-PC-L.htm I bought it long before the negative bcs thread here. The quality on mine is good. I wouldnt buy from them now. I just linked the carrier to show what Im using.
With level 4 ceramic plates from midwest armor. I cant conceal it without a thicker, darker shirt or light jacket. But it is doable with my rain shell or a cammie blouse. There is no good reason to use steel for armor. Actually I use an old set for PT but beyond that there is no good reason. 
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