Body Armor Vest for Civilians

Ernie Bass said:

... I personally feel the time to do so now for obvious reasons. ...

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My first thought was , "Obvious reasons?" ...

... then I thought about it a bit; viral pandemic with no vaccine yet available, the world economy closed down and in some places crashing, Crazy starting to crop up here & there ...

... so, yeah, I guess if you're ever going to invest in some personal body armor, you're right, and now might be a good time.

Here is a place that has been sending me emails for a long time: https://www.ar500armor.com/

Need to ask a few questions.

Is this going to be worn over clothing (rifle plate usually) or hidden under clothing (usually IIIA)?

Did you have a price limit?

I tried the AR500 armor. It was required for a rifle class. Plus I used it for a bit for exercise. Wearing that stuff is pretty miserable depending on the carrier. For that reason I’ve since upgraded both pistol and rifle rated armor.

For a rifle carrier I went with Mayflower LPAC that also contains Level IIIA armor as well as the lightweight rifle plates in front and back instead of the AR500 I used to have. I went with polyethylene/UHMWPE instead of steel. Steel won’t stop some common .223 threats from close range. There’s trade off with all armor.

I also have pistol rated vests as well. Most of it is IIIA (although I do have a level II vest from the 90’s when I was employed as an armored car guard for a short time), most of it is from Point Blank.

It more depends on how much you think you’ll be wearing it, how much you want to spend and whether you’ll be going covert or out in the open.

How about this?
https://wonderhoodie.com/products/bullet-proof-hoodie?variant=13837980827703
Covert and good for handgun threats.

Ernie Bass said:

Just something to put on when going to a indoor range. Too many mistakes going on there now.

The indoor ranges have the side curtains so not too worried about a rooking stepping out of the zone with a rifle. Pistols, they do it all the time.
So again, something light weight for Pistol caliber at a indoor range only. Thank you for your insight.
I am thinking that around $300.00 would give me the quality I am looking for. But again, have never done much shopping for one. So I may be way off.

PS how is a good vest suppose to fit. Snug? Can they be worn like a jacket?

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If I were in the market I’d probably go with something like this ...

https://safelifedefense.com/product/multi-threat-vest/

They also have payment options where you can split it up into four payments of $112. It’s what I was reaching for before the edit.

You can still wear it over your clothing, but you have the option to wear it under as well. Most of the cops in our 911 district are wearing this brand.

Its $149 over the $300, with the payments it might work within your budget.

If not and it needs to stay under that price there’s this. I’ve heard of shooters buying this and feeling okay about the purchase, I have no experience with it.

https://bulletsafe.com/products/bullet-proof-vest?msclkid=9673d4c763aa1786196b8a6323933110
Every place that sells body armor will have a sizing chart. Mostly you use a fabric/cloth measuring tape that you can buy at hobby stores or the dollar stores to take your measurements.

If you’re an unusual size and hard to fit it might be worth your time to find a local store that sells body armor and to get fitted. Having the right size body armor is the most important part as far as comfort goes. Most major cities will have a place that will sell body armor to civilians unless your state laws prohibit such a sale.

Most are worn about like a snug vest the way the movies show a cowboy wearing a vest over clothing. There are bullet resistant jackets. In fact I bought one at one point, too bulky, too hot and too form fitting for the work I was doing.

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Edit : There’s also the second hand market. Lots of times people will buy body armor and because it’s like a fire extinguisher for them and not seeing much use it will get sold for cents on the dollar. I bought this from a buddy for my son. His wife is a cop and she was upgrading to a soft body armor that also has a rifle plate insert as part of the uniform requirements. He’s 9 and the size of an adult female, so he got this.



Bought it for a little over $100. It’s a Level IIIA and within date.

You just have to know what you’re buying when attempting this. You have to research the brand, find out if they’ve been sued due to use of defective materials, find out when it was made, find out how it’s been stored - used - cared for and so on. On the last part it helps if you know the person you’re buying from and trust them.

How to measure body armor ...
https://www.officer.com/blogs/indus...o-measure-for-your-body-armor-in-6-easy-steps

If you do better with video ...

Yeah, at that point I might gift it to a family member for one of their kids. He’ll get an adult sized one. It’s under his bed at night. I’ve done a couple drills where I’ve gotten him used to putting it on if there’s a break in. At which point he’s supposed to wake up, put it on, go to a certain part in the house and stay there unless something else happens. I made it part of a fire drill. More chance of the house catching on fire (since it already happened once from lightening) than us getting overrun by criminals looking to breach our home.

Mostly he just wears it at the range. His has been manufactured within 5 years. Still new. My buddy’s wife had only gotten it a short time before.

Even if it wasn’t within date used body armor will still usually stop threats. It’s not milk, where it’ll go bad a week after it expires. There are a multitude of threads and videos on gun forums and on YouTube where people have tested them. Some expired in the 90’s.

It’s just the newer and better taken care of it is (not left in a hot car or submerged in water) the greater the chances it has of working when you need it.

Personally I’d buy new. That way you know exactly how it’s been treated and you aren’t getting someone else’s reject.

Ernie Bass said:

I figured as much. Is that a stethoscope hanging on the safe?

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Yes. I work in healthcare.

Body armor is a pretty subjective topic, IMO.

Budget, threat profile, situation, weight, etc all play a roll.
Ceramic can be fragile, steel can be heavy, poly can be thick... etc

It is my understanding that AR500 steel is generally avoided for rifle threats these days (not the company, the material).

They make "special threat" plates that offer some advantages in weight reduction but are not NIJ certified and are designed to stop specific rounds, no more no less.

For rifle threats I'd look at companies like
Hesco
Hoplite
Tencate
RMA
Midwest armor
Chase tactical
SKD

There is probably ones I am not thinking of.

Prices vary, of course, but you can get a Level IV kit (with carrier) for less than $500 in most cases. It's going to be heavy, though.

for IIIA, I think Safelife Defense is a good deal. the carrier has pockets for rifle plates if you need them.
They also make a Flexible Level IV vest that provides a lot of coverage. $$$ though.

I have been considering getting a set for some of the classes I teach.

I like the idea of concealable carriers that can scale up if needed.
Right now, I have my eye on the "Slickter" by Ferro Concepts.
I wanted an Esstac "Daeodon ASS" but they aren't making them right now.

Wearing the armor properly is important, too:


Now, I want to caveat the entire post with:
I've been looking into armor for a few years, but I don't own any (yet).
I have worn armor at matches (pretty fun), but that's the extent of my experience.

Me, in armor at a match (I know it's a touch low on my chest, but we didn't take the time to adjust it. Just wrapped the cummerbund around as best we could):

If I felt it were too much risk to attend an indoor shooting range without wearing ballistic protection, I simply wouldn’t attend said indoor shooting range. Period.

Armour doesn’t make you safe, it just makes you more likely to survive.

I have been eyeing one of these for no other then I want a plate carrier and i watched some great reviews of it. Specifically Garand Thumb.

https://cryeprecision.com/ProductDetail/blc06602lg0_jpc-20

I have some great valued 3A armor from Botach.com. It was their Emergency Package for $99 for 10”x12” plates & a good carrier for pistol & shotgun threats. I have AR500 III steel plates for rifle threats but those are heavy & more expensive.

I don’t know if I’d trust any armor from BOTACH. Up to you.

I’d probably go with Hesco, Hoplite or Paraclete today.

RMA III+ are only 4.5 lbs and $250ish bucks.

They are, however, 1.2" thick.

I ordered a pair to see. They will be paired with a Slickster plate carrier.

You guys got me curious and I started clicking on the links. Now I have lots of ads for body armor on my computer.

I went with the Scorpion Tactical Level III plates, Level IIIA Velocity panels and a Mayflower LPAC.



Plenty of other options though.

Having gone from steel plate, to ceramic/composite it’s night and day. The steel plate was 15-18lb, while the ceramic was 8lb. Well worth the extra money. And the ceramic is not as fragile as some may say.

Browning said:

I don’t know if I’d trust any armor from BOTACH. Up to you.

I’d probably go with Hesco, Hoplite or Paraclete today.

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Yeah that's a big ole 'NOPE' on Botach.

everything I've found on Hesco says they are gtg.

I almost pulled the trigger on Hoplite, but I found a thread on ar15 of people getting jerked around. The plates are good stuff (Plates are made by LTC), though.

I went with RMA because the plates fit the profile and budget.
They also have a presence on the gun forums I frequent and answer questions that people have. Customer service is reported to be good. I am not super stoked about the 8-10 week lead time, but they make them to order. That way they are not degraded by time or thrown around a warehouse waiting to be shipped.

Point blank or safariland or second chance is good. I agree with @Varminterror if I needed armor I wouldn’t visit that range. it’s also going to be very hard to buy new armor not being LEO or the sort.

Axis II said:

it’s also going to be very hard to buy new armor not being LEO or the sort.

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Not true.

Plenty of companies sell to non-LEO civilians.

https://safelifedefense.com/body-armor-guide/#tab-con-3

Browning said:

Not true.

Plenty of companies sell to non-LEO civilians.

https://safelifedefense.com/body-armor-guide/#tab-con-3

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I sometimes work as an armed guard and also worked armored car and metro housing authority for a long time and halls and some others won’t sell to you unless you show LEO or a state security license. I was going to upgrade and outdated vest a few months back and they wanted my dept of homeland security licenses.

Axis II said:

I sometimes work as an armed guard and also worked armored car and metro housing authority for a long time and halls and some others won’t sell to you unless you show LEO or a state security license. I was going to upgrade and outdated vest a few months back and they wanted my dept of homeland security licenses.

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Yeah, but again ... if you read the link it spells it out pretty well.

That’s a company policy, not a law of some sort. Just tick that company off a place to buy from and keep going. Plenty of other places to buy from.

You don’t really need them. Galls has been like that for years. Not just on body armor either. Hence the fact that I haven’t bought anything for them in the better part of two decades despite the fact that their catalogs litter the station like Xmas ornaments.