Hopefully simple question, I see prices for stand alone plates very well below the price of regular plates and soft armor, why would you still run soft armor?

Is it extremely uncomfortable without it?

Is it like saying , why the hell wouldn't you wear the extra armor when your wanting to stop bullets, etc?

My very very limited experience with plates I can only guess these are the reasons, can anyone confirm?

To achieve level IV you need to wear soft body armor under most all plates.

Even under a standalone level IV plate, it's a good idea to wear plate backers or soft armor. Helps to absorb the trauma and in case the back of the plate ever dents from a ballistic impact, the soft armor will absorb it instead of your ribs..

Plates only cover a small area of your torso, soft armor almost always covers more.

"stand alone" means the round won't penetrate, but it will still leave a bruise and can break bones.  Think of it as 'minimum necessary' to do the job, and adding soft armor will help reduce the trauma further.

Basically what I was thinking, thanks for confirming guys.

I think I might go with the Mayflower set-up and run low profile plate carrier and chest rig that way I can go light or heavy.