James,
Military surplus Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) is starting to show up on eBay from Iraq war veterans who had to purchase the military spec armor themselves before the military was able to issue the armor to every soldier. This week, I purchased a full set of the Interceptor body armor with the front and back small arms protective insert small arms protective insert (SAPI) rifle plates from an Army officer via eBay. This equipment is heavy (around 17 pounds) tactical armor that is bulky. It offers good protection and intimidation factors for post-TEOTWAWKI uses and is perfect for guard duty or working security related jobs. The Dragonskin armor is better but is too expensive (~$5,000) unless if you need it for a day job (e.g. contractor in Iraq or Afghanistan). I would still recommend separately buying a concealable, lighter Level IIIA bullet proof vest for use in day-to-day, non-tactical applications, particularly for trading and leaving your home or retreat during an economic collapse or severe economic depression. Finally, your mileage can vary purchasing on eBay. The condition of the equipment varies greatly, not all auctions include the SAPI rifle plates, and some are for the older (defective) versions that used the Zylan material. I would recommend that SurvivalBlog readers create an e-mail alert on eBay to have eBay send them an email when the key word “interceptor armor” appears in new auctions. There are some bargains and more sets of Interceptor Body Armor are starting to show up in eBay auctions. – Dr. Richard
Letter Re: Surplus Interceptor Body Armor
