Body armor "update"

[dudley0]

Not as hard as taking it off after

 

[tbhausen]

My armor is shipping today....now I just need the carrier!

Duct taping it to myself would be hard

Yay! Six or seven months? Wow...

 

[tbhausen]

More Safe Life Defense good news… They’re shipping ahead of their promises. They already shipped my side straps and tactical carrier, and they say rifle plates will be in “any day”. Those were projected 6 to 8 weeks and it’s only been about 3 weeks. If anybody’s looking to buy plates with a short lead time, Safe Life Defense might be the ticket. Just keep in mind that they are ICW plates. NIJ doesn’t certify ICW plates, but all the tests online look pretty solid in terms of performance.

 

[Cameramonkey]

My armor is shipping today....now I just need the carrier!

Duct taping it to myself would be hard

Look at it this way, if you do, your aesthetician bills will be lower because you wont have to go in as often for chest waxing. So there is that...

 

[tbhausen]

Well, I went off the deep end and bought FRAS. It shipped the same day. They had a flash sale last weekend and I combined it with one of the YouTube 10% coupons and got it down to about $1300. That’s doable in four payments... They haven’t shipped my rifle plates yet, so I’ll go ahead and cancel those and send back the unused side armor, too, then I’ll be able to load up the tactical carrier with the FRAS and leave the concealable vest iiia+. Swapping the armor and plates in and out of the two carriers would be a pain in the ass, so I figure it’s worth it in the long run.

I’ll let you guys know how the FRAS feels. The FRAS tactical carrier should be about 17 pounds total with full coverage around the sides and the weight all evenly distributed, so I don’t think it will be too bad to wear. Hey, good way to get a workout, right?

 

[TheJeff]

A few years ago I bought AR500 plates and carrier and after putting a few rifle mags, med kit, etc on it, it was ridiculously heavy. LA police gear is now my go to for body armor. Level 3 and 4 hard plates(PE/Ceramic) for just over $100 a piece.

 

[tbhausen]

I decided to keep the plates and side armor, too. They’re paid for. If ever SHTF, I’ll add them to the iiia+ vest and hand it to whoever I’m working with to survive. I’ll let you guys know how they look and feel.

I’ll have the FRAS in hand Monday, so I’ll write about that, too.

 

[Ruger_Ronin]

I decided to keep the plates and side armor, too. They’re paid for. If ever SHTF, I’ll add them to the iiia+ vest and hand it to whoever I’m working with to survive. I’ll let you guys know how they look and feel.

I’ll have the FRAS in hand Monday, so I’ll write about that, too.

2 is 1, 1 is none?

 

[tbhausen]

Probably more true than ever. Who knows if we’ll even be able to buy this stuff a year or two from now?

 

[foszoe]

Getting my Testudo finally. Have everything else except the plate carrier itself and two pouches. One pouch was on back order so it will ship later.

Did get a coupon out of the deal so used that to buy a Freeman outfit for lighter in car or similar stuff. Testudo will stay mostly at home.

 

[tbhausen]

I got the FRAS today... Think about what it would be like to take a bowling ball, cut it in half, and then flatten it out so half of it fills up the front of a carrier and half of it fills up the back, but it’s still reasonably flexible, and there you have FRAS. I didn’t measure, but I would estimate it to be about 7/8” thick.

When I got it, I went to put it in the tactical carrier and I thought “there’s no way this is going to fit!”, so I called and they told me to bend it more. It felt very stiff when I got it but it does bend. They said it breaks in and after handling it I can see how that is possible despite the initial impression that it is pretty stiff. They assured me I couldn’t damage it by bending it too much, and once I got aggressive enough with it it fits the carrier like a champ.

I did wear it for a short time and honestly, it’s not bad at all. It doesn’t feel nearly as heavy as one would expect if you were wearing a bowling ball. The shoulder straps of the tactical carrier are actually three layers of padding, with a Velcro connection on both sides of each strap, so this bears the weight very well. It’s a smart design.

I’ll probably get a big baggy outer garment that wind can blow through and wear it around the neighborhood just to break the thing in and get used to it. It makes the iiia+ vest feel like wearing almost nothing by comparison. Really, they’re both quite comfortable and convenient to wear with the way the weight is distributed and kept close to the body.

A tip for anyone who goes down the road of ordering this stuff: The sizing is the same for all Safe Life Defense armor products. The FRAS in the tactical carrier is a tighter fit than the iiia+ armor in the concealable vest, though. I’ll have to lose a bit more weight to get an ideal fit in the FRAS, or maybe the sizing will line up better when it breaks in and becomes more flexible. But the tip I would give is to perhaps size up for the FRAS if you’re borderline or between sizes.

Now that I’ve seen so much of what they make and talked to them numerous times, I can give my highest recommendation (short of vouching for being shot in this stuff) for SLD. I’ll have about $2400 invested in everything when I finish paying it off (I’m most of the way there) and I have no regrets or second thoughts.

 

[tbhausen]

My level IV ICW plates have shipped from Safe Life Defense. I should have them Thursday and will let you guys know what I think of them.

 

[foszoe]

Now have the wife's and mine all set up. Now to get a couple different levels and one more carrier. Like to get some IIIA soft and Level 4s

 

[DadSmith]

I just ran across ar600 plates they are advertising it as stronger, thinner, and lighter than ar500 plates. Level 3+ but goes to 30 06 fmj point blank. No AP rds just standard FMJ. It's guaranteed to stop m193 and m855rds point blank also.


Thoughts, opinions?

 

[tbhausen]

6.6 pounds is reasonable but not super light, but the SLD plates weigh almost 6 pounds so that sounds like a lot of protection for the extra less than a pound. How much are those things?

The FedEx guy just brought my SLD plates two days early! I’m working from home so I won’t be able to put them in a carrier and try them on until probably tomorrow, but they seem damn nice. Handling them, they feel stiff as steel, only lighter. They have a nice fabric covering on both sides and all the edges, with a slightly padded feel along the edges. They’re really well-finished. The labels say they were built on February 10th, so this company is apparently flat-out building stuff. I can imagine it took about that long for them to get here after they were actually built. Yes, unfortunately, they do come from PRC. I forgot to mention, the FRAS comes from Italy.

This completes everything I’ve ordered from SLD.

 

[boosteds13cc]

2 is 1, 1 is none?

seeing this lights a fire under my ass to help motivate myself to get some plates for my other carrier.

 

[DadSmith]

6.6 pounds is reasonable but not super light, but the SLD plates weigh almost 6 pounds so that sounds like a lot of protection for the extra less than a pound. How much are those things?

The FedEx guy just brought my SLD plates two days early! I’m working from home so I won’t be able to put them in a carrier and try them on until probably tomorrow, but they seem damn nice. Handling them, they feel stiff as steel, only lighter. They have a nice fabric covering on both sides and all the edges, with a slightly padded feel along the edges. They’re really well-finished. The labels say they were built on February 10th, so this company is apparently flat-out building stuff. I can imagine it took about that long for them to get here after they were actually built. Yes, unfortunately, they do come from PRC. I forgot to mention, the FRAS comes from Italy.

This completes everything I’ve ordered from SLD.

Body Armor Archives

Tacticon Body Armor, Plate Carriers and Tactical Gear offer the highest level of quality, protection, affordability, and are warrantied for life.

tacticon.com

 

[Tombs]

Still waiting on my carrier... I ended up going for shellback tactical IV ceramic UHMWPE plates. 5.7 pounds is pretty good for the cost.

I don't really see the point of the steel plates out there, just way too heavy. There's good level 3+ stuff out there going for 4 pounds these days. https://www.optactical.com/he38leiistal.html

 

[DadSmith]

Still waiting on my carrier... I ended up going for shellback tactical IV ceramic UHMWPE plates. 5.7 pounds is pretty good for the cost.

I don't really see the point of the steel plates out there, just way too heavy. There's good level 3+ stuff out there going for 4 pounds these days. https://www.optactical.com/he38leiistal.html

I know some guys that bought ar500 plates they say with the right carrier you hardly know you are wearing it. However, they are in their 20's yet. Ask them in about 30 years how that feels I bet it gets really heavy lol.

 

[Tombs]

I know some guys that bought ar500 plates they say with the right carrier you hardly know you are wearing it. However, they are in their 20's yet. Ask them in about 30 years how that feels I bet it gets really heavy lol.

Even if you can carry the weight, that's weight you could be carrying in magazines or force multipliers.
Steel plates are also kind of rough on your carriers, if you use them much.