Educate me on plate carriers and plates.

[JS624]

Hey guys looking to get my first plate carrier and some plates.
Been looking at Spartan armor.
There ar550 plates and sentinel carrier look like they would work well for me.
My intended use is only precautionary. if SHTF type of scenario.
Obviously one should not try to cut corners on something intended to save your life.
But I also do not have 2000$ to spend on something I hope I never need to use.
Thank you for any insight you can provide.

 

[Wyfox]

I would shy away from AR-steel plates for body armor. It's heavy as shit!! Not practical and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be shot wearing it, your going to eat shrapnel, I have no faith in truck bedliner holding it in.
Our Department bought some to try out and no body wants to wear it, 20 pound's +. You can get into really nice polyethylene light weight plates for a reasonable price. I bought all the guys on our team Outer Armor Tactical level 3 plates, they come in at 2.6 pounds a plate, lightest I've found. I coupled them with LBT-6094 carriers and the whole carrier with level 3 plates and 3a 6x8 armor in the cumberbund, under 8 pounds total.

$695 for 2 plates and a carrier on Outer Armors site, pretty hard to beat that!
https://outerarmortactical.com/products/body-armor-nij-level-3-kit

 

[devldogs55]

https://highcomarmor.com for plates. Ceramic and MUCH much lighter. I started off with the AR550 plates and couldn't stand them. I feel like even with the anti-spalling coating I would bleed out from my jugular from shrapnel if I ever took one to the plate.

Since there's no rush on this, don't buy yet and keep putting a few bucks a week into your fund for plates. They run some amazing sales - especially during black friday. Their regular prices are great too.

I think the cheapest I would recommend for a carrier is the Banshee plate carrier made by Shellback Tactical. Good prices at LA Police Gear. Skip the Condor stuff. I love Spartan Armor's stuff for steel targets only.

 

[Spblademaker]

Each has its pros and cons. Steel will dissipate the energy, not push into your body, better than the others yet very heavy compared to the others. Ceramic is light yet not as multi-hit durable. Poly is light and multi hit capable, but still flexible when hit. Might not create spall but try breathing with a few broken ribs, and might not stop green-tips. So your decision should depend on you shtf scenario.

 

[devldogs55]

Steel can cause extreme pain when you're hit with it.. that's why they sell the pads with them. I'd take ceramic over steel any day.

 

[Pusher591]

Spartan makes some nice light weight plates as well (3.5lbs a peice) for $610 a set. Couple that with a nice carrier and you can easily stay below $1000 total

I chose a a moderately heavy plate for the rear (7lbs) and a light weight plate (3.2lbs) on the front to help create a better balance once I add all my gear to the front of my vest.

 

[JS624]

Thank you gents.
I will continue to do research.

 

[TheGerman]

If you're looking for a carrier, I actually have an extra Mayflower Low Profile Assault Armor Carrier I have that just has had plates sitting in it. PM me if you're interested in the carrier.

As for plates, there are a ton of places to get them now. I remember just 5 years ago it wasn't that easy, now they are everywhere. Get ceramics unless you like doing squats. Overall most reputable I've come across is bulletproofme.com