AR500 armor recall

[TGS]

Look at what barrel length/velocity the armor was shot at what distance....

So, am I correct in assuming that the testing parameters will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer as "Special Threat" is not an standard industry defined test protocol, as opposed to NIJ testing?

On that, what are reasonable (recommended?) parameters (velocity, distance, ect) to look for? 7 yards, 25 yards?

[RoyGBiv]

Dusting off an old thread for an RFI....

They are running a BOGO on their Level III+ plates. $124 for 2. Seems like a fair deal, but, based on Doc's comments on page I of this thread, maybe not worth it?

Thoughts?

Thanks.

https://www.ar500armor.com/3-plus-bogo.html

[Kommander`]

Dusting off an old thread for an RFI....

They are running a BOGO on their Level III+ plates. $124 for 2. Seems like a fair deal, but, based on Doc's comments on page I of this thread, maybe not worth it?

Thoughts?

Thanks.

https://www.ar500armor.com/3-plus-bogo.html

I don't have any personal experience with AR500, and after doing some research earlier this year I have no intention of ever having any. I do not claim to be an expert in these matters, but did have cause to research this topic earlier this year and will share what I found. First these plates are NOT, I repeat NOT NIJ certified. That means the manufacturer can claim that they will stop whatever they want to say they will stop and no independent entity has checked it. You can go here https://nij.ojp.gov/compliant-armor-...tandard-010106 and check the current list of NIJ certified armor. Now some reputable companies do sell un-certified armor along with their certified stuff. This is usually due to the plate being some sort of special threat plate, or they are waiting for a soon to come change in the testing to go though before submitting their armor because it is not cheap to do so. My understanding is that the NIJ armor classification system is about to undergo a big change soon so some manufactures are holding back sending in their newly designed plates so they don't have to resend them when the standards change.

So what is this certification system? They don't just sent NIJ a few plates, NIJ shoots them, and that's the end of it. The current test involves a drop test and submersion before shooting the armor. Additionally once armor has passed NIJ will periodically retest the armor to make sure there are no cut corners or manufacturing defects. Given this I see no reason to purchase non-certified armor. As for steel even when it works properly it has some issues. The first is spalling. The coating on the plate is supposed to help with that, and I have seen arguments either way. The more serious is ricochet rounds. This https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An6aM8zL-U8 video is allegedly an example of what can happen when steel armor is hit at an angle. Since the guy who made it sells armor as well you'll have to take it with a grain of salt obviously. Steel is also quite a bit heavier for the same level of protection than ceramic, even if it is thinner.

Honestly I would take the chinesium ceramic armor from LAPG before I would use steel. There are also supposed to be business practice issues with the AR500 company itself but I dont really know enough to comment. Hope this helps.

[Cacafuego]

This seems to be NIJ certified

https://www.chasetactical.com/produc...treme-coating/