Florida Shooters Network

Ferro Concepts Slickster Plate carrier which is affordable, high quality and extremely customizable.

The most affordable ceramic plates are made by Bullet safe

https://bulletsafe.com/collections/fron ... tic-plates

$170 each plate, or you can get the Cheap Steel plates

You can also buy second hand Kevlar vests for a decent price.

Did you get that from SKD? I don't like using them because of their draconian approach to selling body armor. They do have ok prices on some gear though.

I bought mine on evike because they had the multi cam in stock with fast shipping. It’s mainly air soft store but the carrier is genuine and made for the real deal stuff. They just happen to sell it to

most plate carriers are made for guys 5'08" and 150 lbs, I wear a size 60 sport coat and most common plate carriers look like a bra on my massive manly chest , that being said its better to have it for that day when you may need, but I'm in that category that I'm NOT spending a month mortgage on it, but will be happy and lucky with a basic set up ( carrier and cheap steel plate ), versus the gun next to me that doesn't have anything....but I probably will not be sporting it to the range.

any armor is better than nothing IMHO

This is my verrrrrrrrrrrry basic bitch cheap ass set up :

https://greyghostgear.com/collections/plate-carriers Whichever carrier Grey Ghost has in stock, only differences what QD mechanism they use. This only accepts front and back plates. This carrier is about as cheap and minimalist as you can go with any expectation of quality. The guy who owns Grey Ghost is the brother of the owner of Tactical Tailor and both lines are made in the same factory domestically.

https://www.ar500armor.com/ar500-armor- ... _e16c576cd

AR500 level III steel is about the lowest acceptable body armor I would trust my life to. I actually use their LW plates in my professional rig because at the time I could not afford ceramic. These are HEAVY but they are cheaper and thoroughly tested. While not NIJ rated (because for some reason they don't submit to NIJ testing, I don't know why), these plates have been extremely thoroughly independently tested and are proven to hold up to .308 black tip rounds. I cannot stress enough that if you buy steel plates, you should always get the best anti spalling coating available through the retailer and a set of trauma pads. No use in buying armor if blunt force trauma kills you after the plates stop a round.

Skoll wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:32 pm No use in buying armor if blunt force trauma kills you after the plates stop a round.

whats the use in having plates if you have to worry about spalling or trauma

Im thinking 99.9% of that is internet B.S. and Arfcom/Airsoft hype YMMV

Id rather have a plate and worry about the rest of the B.S. later

HELL, in a pinch I'd tie a rope around my neck to hold the plate and charge in if no carrier was available and only a stack of plates laying around, possibly I'd use phone books or something else if I was really desperate

rentprop1 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 5:19 pm

Skoll wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:32 pm No use in buying armor if blunt force trauma kills you after the plates stop a round.

whats the use in having plates if you have to worry about spalling or trauma

Im thinking 99.9% of that is internet B.S. and Arfcom/Airsoft hype YMMV

Id rather have a plate and worry about the rest of the B.S. later

HELL in a pinch I'd tie a rope around my neck to hold the plate and charge in if no carrier was available and only astack of plates laying around, HELL I'd use phone books or something else if I was really desperate

Because in both NIJ and military testing the spalling created by bullet impacts can (not always, but can) send shards upwards into your neck. If there was no benefit to coatings, I don't think all the major reputable manufacturers of steel armor would bother with it.

That being said, I couldn't tell you whats Arfcom hype because I don't have an account on there. I'm only sharing how I've been taught and my own research.

Skoll wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:32 pm
I cannot stress enough that if you buy steel plates, you should always get the best anti spalling coating available

A bullet striking hard steel plates generates a lot of shrapnel and they disperse in all directions.
I had plenty of shrapnel generated from 5.56 FMJ bullet that struck my AR500 plates and puncture through both sides of spray paint cans that are 5 - 6 feet away. Also you should see the wood beam that the plates hang on as they are full of shrapnel everywhere.

rug357 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 5:50 pm

Skoll wrote: ↑Wed Aug 21, 2019 4:32 pm
I cannot stress enough that if you buy steel plates, you should always get the best anti spalling coating available

A bullet striking hard steel plates generates a lot of shrapnel and they disperse in all directions.
I had plenty of shrapnel generated from 5.56 FMJ bullet that struck my AR500 plates and puncture through both sides of spray paint cans that are 5 - 6 feet away. Also you should see the wood beam that the plates hang on as they are full of shrapnel everywhere.

I had similar results at the old Area 51(Military firearm/arfcom organized) shoots a couple years back. Our wooden steel target holders would be blasted by shrapnel. If that was a neck or arms, that would cause massive bleed out.

Always have a few things nearby that can be expensive but useful and last you a lifetime. You’re the fool if you’re caught w you’re pants down and you don’t have any when you could have