AR500 inexpensive steel plate armor? Thoughts please

[jgwills]

Title says all guys.

I have an HSGI weesatch plate carrier that I have been thinking at some point I should populate with armor of some type as its intended to do so.

Right now I've just thrown in some foam and cardboard to help it keep its shape as those of you know without something rigid in there once you load one up with pouches especially fully loaded rifle magazines they can sag quite a bit. Quite functional like that for using at the range and shamefully I admit it airsoft games lol. While I'm being honest here looking good in doing so is great and all that but any simple chest rig or battle belt serves the same purpose. Being a plate carrier though I keep thinking why not use as intended by adding some extra insurance around yourself at the range? Accidents can and do happen. Of course with the way things have been heading lately having legit plates handy is huge bonus in your SHTF defense plan for zombies or more realistically speaking, general break down of law and order in a catastrophe scenario.

Enter the AR500 body armor.

http://www.ar500armor.com/index.php

As low as $65 each for a steel plate that is rated for Level 3 multiple hits its been very tempting to consider a pair of these. Of course for not much more there are some upgrades that I think would be worth the extra coin that they offer. No these are not high speed ceramic or an exotic lightweight floating life jacket that happens to do double duty as body armor. Obviously something boring sounding unlike dragon skin which wound up being an epic and expensive fail by the way. These are what they are, simple but effective lower cost steel plates with what I see as a big bonus, the rubberized coating treatment.

With the upgrades in mind (thicker line x rubberized coating and the curved plate option) you can get a pair of these shipped for under 250 bucks to your doorstep. $232 to be exact as of 4/26/13. I also like that they are 100 percent made in the USA by hard working Americans too. As a proud citizen of the USA I can live with that.

So what do you all think? Any users already here on the forums?

There are some youtube vids out there now that show that even though they still exhibit some splatter from fragmention on impact with the lining its considerably less than just the rounds hitting steel that is uncoated. For the price I can live with that as you wont take a direct hit to the vitals compared to wearing nothing at all.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... rdVgcfh9xA

I'd love to splurge on something lighter weighted thats made of ceramic or other exotic material(s) that contain the entire round if struck but damn they are spendy. For the cost of these something like this AR500 around me (and you possibly) is a far cry better than absolutely nada which right now is where I'm at.

Really tempted to pencil this into my budget and purchasing a pair of these in the near future. It would be nice to put that Weesatch to usage as it was intended, a proper plate carrier. I know the old saying you get what you pay for but these seem to be a very affordable and viable option to have handy in a bad scenario.

Again, thoughts would be kindly appreciated.

Cheers
J

 

[GunnyGene]

Whatever blows your skirt up. :mrgreen: Personally, I'm more of a mobility guy. If I'm being shot at, I try to get the hell out of the line of fire as fast as possible. Armor slows you down.

That said, there are some situations where armor is useful. Sitting in a chopper heading in to a LZ for example.

I don't know what your kink might be, but in a HD scenario, I doubt you'll be wearing it to bed .

Seriously tho, armor has never proven effective except in very limited circumstances, even going back a few hundred years. Chain mail was effective against broadheads, but offered little protection against slim points for example. Modern armor might keep you relatively protected from massive torso trauma, but won't help for head or leg shots.

So if you're in a serious fight, you have a choice to make - die fast, die slow, or kill the other guy before he kills you. Point is, there are other (and better) ways to avoid being a casualty.

For target shooting, just don't shoot at stuff that will ricochet back at you.

 

[Poopypants]

funny you bring this up... just saw this video series recently hosted on a channel I subscribe to....you may have seen it in your research..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt5hJORcbkQ&list=WL438B7CC5B1674AF2[/youtube]

 

[oli700]

I shoot AR500 targets.....I know they aren’t light. How much do you figure it would all weigh when said and done?

 

[Poopypants]

20lbs

edit: front and back... 9+lbs and 9+lbs

plus the vest, not even a lb, but then everything else, spare mags/full shotgun cards, side arm holster, side arm, small first aid kit...

the whole rig can start getting hefty...40-50lbs easy with armor.

 

[oli700]

Tough call for me.
I have spent a lot of years in a job I had to carry 60 to 70 or so pounds for miles in mountainous terrain and moving fast with it in that environment is out of the question......and it is exhausting...most of it on the back though so it’s not evenly distributed.....the majority of the weight being a backpack that contains 5 gallons of water, chainsaw, fuel, fire tool. Just making it to the fire was the hard part a lot of times.

 

[John A.]

Reminds me of Fistful of Dollars when he put that stove door under his poncho.

It worked for Clint Eastwood.

 

[rodm1]

I think it's a good idea when around hunting season or other gun related activities. From what people have said about the steel plate I think you would be better of with something other then steel. I regularly shoot at steel targets and there is always bullet fragments and very sharp copper shards laying close to the target, Imagen getting hit by one of those.