Category: Body Armor

Predator Armor Plate Carrier and Plates, by Thomas Christianson

I recently had the chance to test the Predator Armor Minuteman Plate Carrier as well as a couple of Predator Armor steel plates. I found the 500D Cordura material from which the plate carrier is made to be robust, stain and odor resistant, comfortable to wear. It included 6 rows of MOLLE style webbing. It cost $160 at the time of this writing from www.predatorarmor.com. One of the plates I tested was a Level III+ Shooter’s Cut plate made from ballistic grade AR650 steel. With the multicurve body contour, it cost $145 for a single plate and $195 for a …


VISM Soft Body Armor, by Pat Cascio

Today, if you’re in law enforcement, military or even private security, body armor is an absolute must-have piece of kit, if you ask me. We are no longer in Kansas, Toto.  It’s a dangerous world out there, and you don’t want to have a target on your chest, especially in law enforcement. Used to be, if you wore body armor under your uniform shirt, many other police officers made fun of you, and said you were paranoid. Gone are those days. Most major police departments now issue and mandate that their officers wear soft body armor. These days, many departments …


Readying Your Family: Count The Costs

As I’ve mentioned in previous essays, I believe that We Are Living In The Age of Deception and Betrayal (WALITAODAB). Looking back on the trauma and drama of 2020 and 2021, please consider some of the questions that you must ask yourself and the choices that you may have to make in the next few years: 1.) First and foremost, are you right with God? If not, then repent and commit your life to Christ Jesus. (Yeshua, the Messiah.) Salvation in Christ is there for the asking, but you must be saved. 2.) Are you living in a truly safe …


Ready Yourself for a Turbulent 2021 and Beyond

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The year 2020 will be remembered as an exceptionally turbulent year, marked by multiple worldwide crises and massive urban protests and riots. It has been a year of significant drama and trauma. I do not expect that 2021 will mark a “return to normality.”  If anything, 2021 will be just as jarring to our collective psyche. Parenthetically, I should mention that I created a meme for that. In this essay, I’m posting my recommendations for SurvivalBlog readers on how to ready yourself and your family for any of the following in 2021: Economic Turmoil Sociopolitical Upheaval Global Military and Terrorism …


Body Armor Basics, by Raskolnikov

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It’s always struck me as odd that we often think of defensive preps almost exclusively as involving firearms. Don’t get me wrong, I love guns. I’ve taken courses and train regularly so I can use them effectively if the need should ever arise. But in a gunfight, the bullets don’t just go in one direction. Often, they come back at you as well. Today, we’re going to talk about how we can protect ourselves with various types of body armor or ballistic protection. We’ll talk about some of the basics of body armor, how it works, what options are available, …


Guest Article: The MVT Lite Fight Concept- Part 2, by Max Alexander

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We’ve covered the first two components of the MVT Lite Fight Concept —Lite Hydration Pack (LHP) and plate carrier. However, I haven’t wrapped up my comments relating to plates. Here are my notes: Ballistic Plates: There is a persistent tomfoolery about steel plates. These are heavy, suffer badly from spalling (ever shot a steel target; you are wearing one). You cannot navigate while wearing them (magnetic compass). In the winter it would be like wearing a refrigerator. Ceramic/hybrid plates are criticized for needing a little more care, like not throwing them off the back of your truck lest they crack (which …


Scot’s Product Review: JRH Enterprises Armor, Helmet and Carrier

DKX Max III Body Armor I like having body armor. I first bought some to wear while covering civil disturbances, but I was always happy to have it around in case of trouble around my home. My early stuff was soft armor that could be worn concealed and was intended to stop handgun rounds. Choosing body armor is a great conundrum, however. You have to consider the threat you might face and how much weight and bulk you can carry as well as how it affects your mobility. We will be looking at armor here that can protect you from …


Product Review: Infidel Body Armor – Level IV

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Much has been written and discussed on SurvivalBlog lately about body armor, which is something many people mistakenly refer to as a “bulletproof vest”. There is no such thing as bulletproof vests. There are just vests that are designed to “resist” certain types of ammo of varying degrees of power. I make no claim to being any sort of expert when it comes to body armor. However, over the past 35-yrs or so, I have tested quite a bit of soft and hard body armor. My tests were not “scientific”; I just took body armor panels out and shot them …


Letter Re: Armor Plate

The thing about armor plate on a vehicle is it’s really heavy. The point of a vehicle is that it moves. Also, the engine, transmission, and suspension are all built for the specific weight of the vehicle, not a couple thousand pounds of steel. If you add the weight of armor, you have to upgrade everything, or modify it to go slower with the existing system, without flipping over or disabling itself. Top Gear, a car show in the UK, actually tried this with SUVs a couple years ago. It did not work well. DIV Bond Car Pt. 1 video …


Letter Re: Armor Plate

Hugh, Let me say that at one point I was the sole North American distributor for the German Wiesel 1 AWC. I never sold any, so that and a ten spot will buy me a cup of coffee at Starbucks. However, it did afford me an education in lots of bits and bobs. First, figure out what your engine is rated to haul. Then halve that number to be able to haul it around under harsh conditions. Lots of early armored cars and tanks suffered from a fine automobile engine being stuffed into a vehicle at the upper edge of …


Letter Re: Armor Plate for a Bus

Hello, I’m looking at putting plate steel inside the walls of a bus that I am converting, and I was wondering how thick of steel I should put in there for effective armor from rifle fire up to something like .30-06. Can you provide any guidance in this area? Thank you – T.K. Hugh Responds: If you are talking mild steel plates, there isn’t any thickness that I would recommend. Mild steel (the most common plate steel) is so soft that thicknesses of greater than 1” may be required. Many today use abrasion resistance steel (steel intended for large earth …


Letter Re: Prepper Armor

Hugh, One point concerning body armor I have always wondered is if the NIJ testing is done at shorter ranges. In theory shouldn’t armor offer higher levels of protection at longer ranges than the NIJ certification due to velocity loss (and with it, reduced energy)? I know it’s not as simple as looking at energy, but a 240 Grain, JHP .44 Magnum round has about 700 ft-lbs at 25 yards, while a M193 round has the same energy at about 250 yards (according to my iSnipe app). While a .44 Magnum projectile is a lot heavier, slower, with more surface …


Three Letters Re: Prepper Armor

Hugh, In response to K.W.’s concern, posted December 18, 2014, about M193 5.56 ball ammunition vs. Level III plates: It should be noted that two things defeat body armor– velocity and mass of the bullet. The NIJ 0101.06 (the most current) standards rate a Level III hard plate to stop a 7.62mm 147 grain steel jacketed bullet at 2780 feet per second. Considering the M193 travels right around 3000 fps (close to the NIJ standards) and the mass is significantly less, that should put you on the safe side. Incidentally, it seems some companies understand this concern and make sure …


Letter Re: Prepper Armor

Hugh, Just a few thoughts on the article about body armor. “The idea that you’re going to be wearing full-on body armor 24/7 during an SHTF situation is fantasy land.” That’s me, as accurately as I can remember, on a Facebook prepper group page. Yes, I’m one of those guys who doesn’t think body armor should be a high priority item. Certainly it shouldn’t be one before you have more basic preps squared away. Why is that? Well, having spent a decent portion of my life wearing the stuff, I know just how inconvenient it is. So, here are some …


Letter Re: Prepper Armor

Dear Hugh, The recent article, “Prepper Armor,” by J.J. was good but needs clarification. It seems a lot of faith is put in the statement that Level III armor “stops 5.56mm,” but this needs to be explained further. We have two basic 5.56 x 45mm rounds– the 62 grain SS109/M855 and the 55 grain M193. The former travels at 2,970fps when fired from a M4 16 inch barrel, while the latter is 3,200 fps at the muzzle. Most body armor retailers distinguish the “stopping power” of their product between these two rounds by categorically stating the SS109/M855 WILL be stopped. …