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Buying Steel Body Armor – What You Need To Know


For a number of years now I’ve wanted to acquire body armor hard plates. I have a Kevlar soft body armor vest left over from my law enforcement days (a Second Chance Monarch, Threat Level II), but I’m a ‘worst case scenario’ kind of guy when it comes to preparation, and the title of this magazine isn’t ‘Be Kinda Ready’. Soft body armor is both discreet and effective against most handgun and shotgun rounds, but it falls short when dealing with rifle rounds. Basically they zip right through. Modern hard plates though can stop many rifle caliber threats. Not only that but they have become quite economical. I recently did some extensive research before buying a set of hard plates and a plate carrier. Some of what I learned may help you if you’re in the market for hard armor.To get more news about tactical helmet bulletproof, you can visit bulletproofboxs.com official website.
The first thing that surprised me was the cost of hard armor. I was expecting it to be more expensive than soft body armor, but in fact it’s about the same price or cheaper if you’re talking steel plates. Soft body armor is a multi-layer weave of Kevlar or other proprietary fibers, and many of the vests are designed to be as thin and comfortable as possible for all day wear. Of course the more comfortable the vest, the more expensive it becomes. By comparison new 10x12 inch (the most common size) steel plates run between $80 and $140 apiece depending on options (more on that later). This means you can get two plates and a carrier for as low as $200. That’s less than what I paid for my soft body armor twenty years ago.
You’ll find a number of retailers offering steel hard plates. Do your research and don’t just go for the cheapest option. Two companies who seem to be very popular in the commercial hard armor (steel plate) market are AR500 Armor . Many other companies selling armor are in fact just vendors for AR500 Armor or Steel Defender.

Hard armor plates should have a NIJ (National Institute of Justice) rating of III or IV. Level III plates are rated to stop 7.62x51mm 147 grain M80 ball and lessor threats (including all pistol and shotgun rounds). Level IV plates are rated to stop .30-’06 166 grain M2 Armor Piercing ammunition and lessor threats. Different materials, including ceramic, polyethylene and steel are used in hard plate manufacture and each has certain advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of a steel plate compared to ceramic or polyethylene is its very economical nature. Due to their very affordable pricing I’ll concentrate solely on them here.
While economical and robust steel plates due have two drawbacks. The first is their weight, they tend to be heavy. The next is spalling. While bare steel plates are available (usually painted black to prevent corrosion) I do not recommend them. Bare steel plates lack the ability to capture bullet/armor fragments (spall) which can still wound or kill you. If you’ve spent any time shooting steel targets, you’ll have observed that the bullets just don’t stop and drop to the ground in one piece below the target. They shatter and send shrapnel/spall in every direction. The same thing happens when a high velocity projectile impacts a steel body armor plate.

Ceramic and polyethylene plates eliminate spall, but they are much more expensive than steel plates. One solution for steel plates is Line-X. If you’re unfamiliar with Line-X it is a spray-on coating similar to a hard rubber. The US military some time ago realized it works very well to reduce shrapnel and spall. It has actually been sprayed on the inside walls of buildings to reduce fragmentation/disintegration in the event of an explosive attack. Line-X coating also drastically reduces spalling off of steel hard plate. Due to this AR500 offers two levels of Line-X protection, a basic coat and a built-up option which adds ¼-inch to the thickness of the plate and nearly eliminates spalling. I highly recommend buying plates with a built-up coating of Line-X.
Body armour is a garment or item designed, intended or adapted to protect individuals from stab wounds or gunshots. Under British Columbia’s Body Armour Control Act and Regulation, you must have a permit to possess body armour. A business that sells body armour to an individual without a permit may face a fine up to $100,000 and its controlling members could face up to six months in jail. If you possess body armour without a permit you could face a fine up to $10,000 and six months in jail. Police can seize body armour that is sold or possessed without a permit.