BODY ARMOR: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

[Buffman]

Prime Armor has been pimping their PE Level III for quite some time. What's unique is that it's very THICK!. 1.3". I saw someone else test M855 against it, but of course they leave off important details like was it really M855, what was the velocity, etc. I've tested M855 in the past against pure PE, and typically a 10.5" barrel velocity is the limit for PE, but those plates are anywhere from 1/2" to 1" thick.
Prime Armor III PE magic nugget code "buffmanrange"

Edit: Material is imported from Bulgaria, and is finished here in the US

[Buffman]

Wearing these to me is like multi curve plates. They are definitely NOT cheap, but they are smaller batch manufactured, with very good attention to detail. I hear grumblings that the land of China is trying to knock these off for commercial sale..Al said he's set up a discount code "Buffmanhexaricw3" on this plate and the alumina version.

https://stealtharmorsystems.com

[Buffman]

Alumina Version:

[Buffman]

Spartan Armor Ares B4C

[Buffman]

Stealth Armor Systems Rigid Level IV:

[Buffman]

Hesco M210 fans?

[Buffman]

L210 Re-test

[Buffman]

Some level IV against surplus M2-AP

[ShredLA]

Just in case anyone is looking through here for AFFORDABLE ceramic plates, I have a set of RMA Level 4 Ceramic plates which have been babied and never taken out of the house. they're in perfect condition and have never been dropped.
I'll sell both level 4 plates for $210 but buyer has to cover shipping or come to me (located in Rancho Cucamonga)

[Buffman]

This level III PE plate did surprisingly well for being thin.

[Regular guy]

This thread is huge. Without having to eat the whole thing, is there a consensus on the LAPG Level III plates I picked up a year ago, when they were on sale? Got an LAPG carrier shortly after that also.

I remember seeing a couple of youtube videos after my purchase where a guy did some rifle testing on them, and they did surprisingly well. They actually should have been classified as Level IV plates, because they stopped .30-06 armor piercing, or maybe it was some other Level IV round like 5.56 green-tip, I don't remember the details.

I'm running their ceramic lvl IV plate up front, and a lvl IIIA soft armor in back with trauma pads.

[Buffman]

Battle Steel by Botach level III PE:

[Big Chudungus]

imma gonna get TWO of these

https://hardwirellc.com/products/bulletproof-clipboard-level-3a-1

Reasons are:

1) seems pretty cheap.
2) I do some Security gigs and one of my fave props is to carry a clip board. It seems to calm people down when they see I'm just seeing if they are "on the list" or if I'm going to ask them to "sign the list"...so it would make extra sense if its also armor I'd be holding more or less between my chest and them. Clip board seems to be a universal Symbol of Authority.
3) I got personal drawing/paperwork/reading to do at "work" and this looks like nice slightly super-size board.
4) TWO because "they" might soon ban or restrict body armor (and spike prices if nothing else) plus I could keep one in my backpack for front and back coverage.

Any reasons I shouldn't waste my money on these?

[Buffman]

A very typical PE plate. I was surprised to find almost 1/4" of foam hiding in the back of the plate, as a buoyancy aid, and to help with blunt force trauma. Pure UHMWPE plates are still very low on my recommendation list because of their weakness to M855 even from SBR, as highlighted below. I did get a chance to test 5.45 against plates

[crufflers]

imma gonna get TWO of these

https://hardwirellc.com/products/bulletproof-clipboard-level-3a-1

Reasons are:

1) seems pretty cheap.
2) I do some Security gigs and one of my fave props is to carry a clip board. It seems to calm people down when they see I'm just seeing if they are "on the list" or if I'm going to ask them to "sign the list"...so it would make extra sense if its also armor I'd be holding more or less between my chest and them. Clip board seems to be a universal Symbol of Authority.
3) I got personal drawing/paperwork/reading to do at "work" and this looks like nice slightly super-size board.
4) TWO because "they" might soon ban or restrict body armor (and spike prices if nothing else) plus I could keep one in my backpack for front and back coverage.

Any reasons I shouldn't waste my money on these?

I'd buy some. I'd slide the board down the front of my shirt and clip it to the neck band of my t-shirt if I had time when something pops off. Probably just as fast as turning a armored backpack around.