Body Armour Opinions Please
 

I posted this in survival prep but it was suggested to post here too:

I have been thinking of picking up:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bulletproof-Bo...3A1%7C294%3A50

plus these plates:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bullet-Proof-B...3A1%7C294%3A50

Anyone got any thoughts? They seem to be the best value for money I can find. Level 4 plates are hard to get and very expensive.

Any thoughts? I have read a few posts, but dragon skin etc dont seem available to civies, and wont come cheap.

Re: Body Armour Opinions Please
 

are you looking for concealability and blending in or all out war???

Re: Body Armour Opinions Please
 

I think there's a good armor thread on TB2K and IIRC on WhenSHTF, too. Sorry no linkies, just google 'em.

Looks like the big thing is to nab it before legalities set in. Also, it might be that they're not illegal everywhere because LE have appropriate means to defeat armor.

Re: Body Armour Opinions Please
 

It would be hard for LE to defeat level IV. He/She wants plates too.

To the op, I would not trust my life to plates bought off of ebay. If those are ceramic plates they could have been dropped on the floor causing weakness in the plate.

Re: Body Armour Opinions Please
 

They will be hot. Probably stiff & not very comfortable, also.

If you want a vest to protect you against anything & everything, then get a high level vest like these. If, however, you want a vest that you can wear concealed (under clothing) to protect against common pistol ammo, without baking in your own juices, you might consider a level IIA or II vest.

The first eBay ad fails to specify the ballistic fabric used in the vest. If it's Kevlar, that's good. If it's a high strength polyethylene (as is mentioned in the 2nd ad for the plates) like Spectra, that is stiff, and not very permeable to moisture vapor. Polyethylene based vest panels also tend to delaminate after repeated flexing. Some videos I've seen from body armor makers also show that Spectra is great at stopping copper/lead projectiles, but sucks at defeating steel projectiles. NOTE that the second eBay ad mentions how lightweight the plates are, talks about high strength polyethylene fiber (probably resulting in the light weight), but then goes on to talk about how good CERAMIC plates are under the NIJ III standard. The plates for sale may be PE, or they might be ceramic - the ad is not clear at all.

I'm not sure if www.bulletproofme.com ships to your location, but they seem to offer a good range of used & new vests.