This is basically me just venting frustration, but if someone is looking at Level III armor maybe they'll learn something here.
So I have Level III steel armor plates (as in for a plate carrier) on the way from AR500 Armor. I ordered them a couple months ago and they shipped yesterday.
Before ordering a did a lot of research and watched a lot of videos about these plates. They're probably the most well known new-production, civilian armor out there right now and overall the product looks good. Here's where I'm frustrated (and I should point out here that AR500 Armor hasn't mislead anyone directly, but I will speculate).
In the dozen plus videos you can find on these plates, people shoot them with all manner of bullets. They stop every pistol round you can throw at them with no issue. They stop shotgun slugs, they stop .308. They even stop .308 AP and will stop a 30-06. The latter two aren't even supposed to be stopped by a Level III plate (as defined by NIJ standards). Lastly... they stop 5.56/.223, but here's the catch... Every video you see shows the person shooting XM855 or heavier 5.56 AP rounds. XM855 is thought to be the one that can get through armor because it has the steel penetrator core. What you never see is someone hitting these plates with XM193.
I don't know if AR500 tells reviewers, who they send armor to, which rounds to use. I'm not saying they do or don't, but it seems like more than a coincidence that none of the big channels have used XM193 against their test plates. Well I was annoyed when I found a video of a guy shooting one of these plates with XM193 and it zipped straight through at 10 yards (and again at 25 yards in another of his videos). So... bummed... To my mind this makes this — and any other Level III plate — all but pointless for civilian use. The uses for armor outside of war are highly focused around close quarters threats. That means within 50 yards, most likely, and it seems XM193 (debatably the most readily accessible 5.56 round) would get through and kill you despite the armor.
Now to be clear I don't fault AR500 Armor's product. There are videos that prove it exceeds NIJ standards on the energy side of things. Trouble is that the NIJ standards don't even account for 5.56. They skip it. At Level IIIA they go to .44 Mag. Then at Level III they jump to tests with 7.62 M80 Ball. Trouble is, it's velocity that defeats armor, much more-so than energy. My beef is mostly with the fact that the NIJ standard hasn't been amended to account for 5.56 threats, but I'm also slightly disappointed in a company — which is clearly very quick to publicize all the things its armor stops, and is clearly mindful of the possible threats out there — that makes armor above Level III standard, but didn't quite take it far enough to stop XM193 at 25 yards.
I'm being a bit unfair pointing fingers, but I do get the sense that they know it can't stop this round. Now that I know, I'm going to look to see if I can supplement the plate (at least the front plate in the carrier) with some Level II soft armor that would hopefully be enough to catch a 5.56 that gets through. Not a perfect solution but a budget solution.
If you're reading this and you've been looking at armor, my personal two cents is to look at something with a higher rating, unless you don't think you'd ever be facing an AR inside 100 yards. If the money comes together at some point, I'll be replacing these with AR500 Armor's Level IV ceramic plates. Twice the money, 50% thicker, and just as heavy, but at least they will stop what is, in my mind, the most likely thing they'll need to stop (above pistols, that is).
End rant.
So I have Level III steel armor plates (as in for a plate carrier) on the way from AR500 Armor. I ordered them a couple months ago and they shipped yesterday.
Before ordering a did a lot of research and watched a lot of videos about these plates. They're probably the most well known new-production, civilian armor out there right now and overall the product looks good. Here's where I'm frustrated (and I should point out here that AR500 Armor hasn't mislead anyone directly, but I will speculate).
In the dozen plus videos you can find on these plates, people shoot them with all manner of bullets. They stop every pistol round you can throw at them with no issue. They stop shotgun slugs, they stop .308. They even stop .308 AP and will stop a 30-06. The latter two aren't even supposed to be stopped by a Level III plate (as defined by NIJ standards). Lastly... they stop 5.56/.223, but here's the catch... Every video you see shows the person shooting XM855 or heavier 5.56 AP rounds. XM855 is thought to be the one that can get through armor because it has the steel penetrator core. What you never see is someone hitting these plates with XM193.
I don't know if AR500 tells reviewers, who they send armor to, which rounds to use. I'm not saying they do or don't, but it seems like more than a coincidence that none of the big channels have used XM193 against their test plates. Well I was annoyed when I found a video of a guy shooting one of these plates with XM193 and it zipped straight through at 10 yards (and again at 25 yards in another of his videos). So... bummed... To my mind this makes this — and any other Level III plate — all but pointless for civilian use. The uses for armor outside of war are highly focused around close quarters threats. That means within 50 yards, most likely, and it seems XM193 (debatably the most readily accessible 5.56 round) would get through and kill you despite the armor.
Now to be clear I don't fault AR500 Armor's product. There are videos that prove it exceeds NIJ standards on the energy side of things. Trouble is that the NIJ standards don't even account for 5.56. They skip it. At Level IIIA they go to .44 Mag. Then at Level III they jump to tests with 7.62 M80 Ball. Trouble is, it's velocity that defeats armor, much more-so than energy. My beef is mostly with the fact that the NIJ standard hasn't been amended to account for 5.56 threats, but I'm also slightly disappointed in a company — which is clearly very quick to publicize all the things its armor stops, and is clearly mindful of the possible threats out there — that makes armor above Level III standard, but didn't quite take it far enough to stop XM193 at 25 yards.
I'm being a bit unfair pointing fingers, but I do get the sense that they know it can't stop this round. Now that I know, I'm going to look to see if I can supplement the plate (at least the front plate in the carrier) with some Level II soft armor that would hopefully be enough to catch a 5.56 that gets through. Not a perfect solution but a budget solution.
If you're reading this and you've been looking at armor, my personal two cents is to look at something with a higher rating, unless you don't think you'd ever be facing an AR inside 100 yards. If the money comes together at some point, I'll be replacing these with AR500 Armor's Level IV ceramic plates. Twice the money, 50% thicker, and just as heavy, but at least they will stop what is, in my mind, the most likely thing they'll need to stop (above pistols, that is).
End rant.
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![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
