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Plate Question

RTH1800

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Minuteman
  • Sep 16, 2009
    10,175
    6,618
    Midwest
    I don’t have any experience with plates or carriers. This is just a thought that comes to mind when they are mentioned.
    I know that when an expanding bullet hits steal it splatters. So, when an expanding bullet hits a plate are your face, eyes arms and hands in danger?
     
    Steel armor tries to keep the round its rated for from even penetrating; in the process breaking the round up and/or having the round deflect just like the steel plate you shoot at does.

    Ceramic is designed to not be able to stop penetration, but to absord it. This keeps the projectile from coming apart or deflecting. However, with things moving at 3000fps, anything is possible.
     
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    I know that when an expanding bullet hits steal it splatters. So, when an expanding bullet hits a plate are your face, eyes arms and hands in danger?

    Not as long as the steel plates you are using have a proper coating. The main detractor for steel is not the spall/frag issue, it’s the weight of the steel plate. Good for a quick use type deal but if you plan on wearing them for a bit or doing a lot of movement, you would be better served with a ceramic or composite plate but even these have their own set of advantages and disadvantages.

     
    Would not recommend trusting your life/limb/eyesight to some sticky glue on a steel plate. Will it stop all of the fragments from the round that just shattered on your plate? Who knows. Don't be a cheapass when it comes to plates, you can get ceramic level IV's for a hundred bucks or so apiece. There is absolutely no reason to ever buy steel plates.
     
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    Only on a great sale at that price. But easily at just over $300 you can get single curve Level IV Hesco plates. Only 3 weeks out.

    Im looking at multi curve too, Chase Tactical has one of the better prices on those.
     
    ^^What Cruiser...said. A simple 1/4" lip laceration will be a $1800 ER bill.......divide that by per ceramic plate cost....that's your bargain.
     
    Im a nurse. Have closed many a wound though. I even got lessons on face stuff from a very nice plastics guy. Dude loves to teach and knows I am more of a DYI guy if possible....
     
    Even single curve steel plates feel like putting a piece of plywood in your carrier. They suck.
     
    The only real downsides to steel plates are weight of the plate and the limited availability of multi curved plates. Steel plates with proper coating will far outlast ceramic when exposed to the same rounds at equal protection levels. I run ceramic for the weight savings and comfort but if they could come up with a steel plate that had the weight and curves of high-end ceramic, I would dump the ceramics and go back to steel as I have no worries about frag/spall on properly coated plates.
     
    AR500 belongs on targets not on people. If it's all you can get, its better than nothing but are you really gonna trust a half inch worth of bed liner to catch all the copper shards that get launched on impact?

    It's also stupid heavy.
     
    Check out the video link I posted in #3 and watch the 3rd video where they test cheaper ceramic, like the stuff many are recommending.
     
    I would not recommend steel plates, but if you go that route make sure they have some serious anti-spalling coating on it. I accidentally left a paint can at the base of my steel target stand and was shooting 9mm at 1/4” ar500. A piece of lead caught the can and made quite the unexpected explosion.

    Pick up some hesco’s or similar reputable ceramic.
     
    To clarify, I’m not considering buying plates. Simply curious about the splatter issue. Not that it makes any difference.
     
    To clarify, I’m not considering buying plates. Simply curious about the splatter issue. Not that it makes any difference.

    Gotcha. Yeah, I have always wondered about how well it works. After a long day of banging steel with handguns you can see a very clear line in the ground where the lead has pelted it, I sure wouldn’t want to take that in the chin.
     
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    People talk about steel and think it is the wonder material. Yes it stands up to abuse bettter than ceramic, but m193 goes through it, here is an excellent article of why. https://diamondage.org/2020/08/24/s...r-at-penetrating-steel-armor-plate-than-m855/

    Spall is another issue. One hit on steel and the coating is delaminated and torn up. Antispall for subsequent rounds is compromised. The coating they use, polyurethane, is designed for truck bedliners, not bullets. I would know I invent the stuff (33 years inventing paints, coatings and urethanes including multiple patents and dozens of published articles).

    Why risk it, you can get level 4 ceramic armor for $135 a plate.
     
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    I’m going to keep saying this until it sinks in. I don’t trust the $8/hr worker that’s working 100 hours a week during the highest body armor purchase campaign in history to perfectly apply the super-duper modified version of Line-X to every steel plate and then trust my life to it.
     
    Then don’t...I made it 24 years in the military and 9 major deployments outfitted with gear provided by the lowest bidder. I would use steel if I could get them at the same protection level/weight/contour as ceramic. Both have positive and negative aspects and all plates, regardless of what they are made of, have issues with fragmentation and causing secondary injuries. As with anything, quality costs money so spend the money (steel or ceramic) and you will have good plates. Cutting corners and trying to go with the least-expensive options may not work out so well.
     
    My plates are showing this week after being on backorder for 15 weeks. Just a little FYI for those of you who keep trying to play the lottery of waiting for retailers send notifications of current inventory. I played that game before my backorder and always late to the party before they sold out again.

    If you’re serious about getting plates, you better get on it.
     
    There's some great youtube videos showing just how dangerous spall off an uncoated steel plate can be. Doesn't take much to splash up from your plate into an unprotected carotid artery and then it's lights out. A lot of important real estate in the neck and not easy to work on.

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