Hopefully I can answer all of the questions posed in this response.
Firstly, thank you for those that have contributed and made recommendations for both plates and retailers. I appreciate it.
I had the Shot Stop Duritium III+ plates. They were .7 inches thick and 2.7 pounds per plate. Supposedly they were rated for green tip SS109/M855. I'm not going to question the law suits or the efficacy of the plates. I don't want to find out what might happen should my plates end up being tested in the real world, no matter how small the possibility of this may be. I bought my plates through Ferro Concepts and they're offering a full refund of the purchase price. I cannot speak highly enough of them regarding how they're handling this.
My question earlier was perhaps, not phrased well.
I guess what I was trying to ask was this. Does the collective believe that III+ and M855 protection is needed? I'm not sure how well that question can be answered as threats probably vary based upon region, location, beat, and a variety of other factors.
I really do love how light weight my current plates are. I believe anything at or around that three pound mark is going to be desirable to me but i'm not really basing that around any real criteria other than subjective comfort. At the time that I purchased these plates, I believe they were the lightest "special threat" plate or III+ plate made. At least in that price bracket.
I'd be willing to take the weight penalty if there was a compelling argument for a III+ rating. I'm all ears.
I'm not sure if I care about NIJ certification. I'd love some education on whether or not people really believe this to be necessary, or not? I do appreciate certifications as they establish a baseline standard but I can't imagine that the REPUTABLE companies that we are talking about here are getting by selling armor with pixie dust promises.
Has anyone looked at these?
https://dfndrarmor.com/collections/a...43795976978655
The price point is pretty nice with the only downside being the thickness. I'm not sure if that is really all that much of a detractor for me as the weight and ballistic rating is where I want it to be.
I think that covers most of the questions levied towards me.
Thanks again guys.