Hi. My father in law is looking for armor and decided to purchase the RTS Tactical Active Shooter kit with plates for $390. Considering my Scarab cost about that along with my Hesco 3810 plates being $1,300,this seems too good to be true. Does anyone have experience with this company and/or products? I don't want him wearing some Chinese garbage plates. Thanks.
What is the nature of the ballistic threat in your dad's area? What situations might he realistically need it for?
His ballistic threat is certainly important M855, M193, and/or M80 changes what plates make sense.
A rough idea of size would also help, height, weight and jacket size will help as well.
10x12 plates are easier to find and more economical than 11x14.
I have been researching plates, there are many options cheaper than 3810’s that fulfill different needs.
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Not sure which kit is the 390 USD one; you can outfit the Level III steel one to be 350 USD, while the Level IV one without side plates is either 370 USD or else 410 USD (without or with mag pouches respectively). Maybe the shipping/taxes bump something up to 390 USD?
Either way, their descriptions are pretty fucking garbage. For example, on the ceramic Level IVs:
M855/SS109 ain't exactly the highest velocity 5.56×45mm out there, and they neglect to mention that the UHMWPE plates do splendidly against M193, which is higher velocity. Nor do they mention this tidbit on their steel armor page, which is where M193 can be the big issue.Ceramic plates are known to stop high-velocity 5.56mm rounds including the green tip 62gr SS109. Don't get stuck with a Lightweight Polyethylene or other NIJ Level III inserts where fast 5.56mm rounds can slice right through. The NIJ Level III Standard protects the user from the bigger 7.62x51mm round, however, they can have a hard time stopping the thinner and faster 5.56mm round. With a Ceramic core The RTS Active Shooter Kit features protection from larger 7.62x51mm as well as faster 5.56mm round.
Nor do I see their brand on the NIJ certified website, though they may just be selling rebranded plates.
Steel is what it is. Heavy, generally kinda thin, pretty good at taking abuse, spalling is a big issue, and can get defeated by M193. The ceramics are gonna be heavy, thick, and of dubious multi-hit capability. I would be fairly confident that the plates will defeat what they're rated against... but that's not really saying much. Nor is the pricing that great, though stock is pretty shit right now, and availability is it's own benefit.
As a gear snob, I'd say your FIL bought garbage. But if it's the ceramics, then meh, good enough, and really, it's probably just a talisman for him. If it's the steel... bleh. Who knows how good that spall coating they had applied is, and the M193 remains a pretty big issue.
What is your FIL using this for ? Is he an LEO ? A teacher ? or is this something for when he thinks antifa is invading his neighborhood ?Originally Posted by witchking777
What is his actual threat ? Stateside, unless his job to "look for trouble" the primary threat is handguns so soft armor would be the armor of choice.
The RTS kit says it uses level IV ceramic single curve - single curve helps keep costs down but the plates are 6.3 lbs each.
He's in the Portland area so Antifa is a big concern. I will ask him to return or cancel this order and get some armor from a reputable company. Level 3+ is plenty of protection for him.
Wrap around IIIA soft armor may well be a better choice for a number of reasons - coverage being not the least of them. The addition of IIIA special threat plates (I happen to use Point Blank/Paraclete ones) could handle but centerfire rifle threats. And do it both lighter and more comfortably.
AT Armor, a very reputable vendor, has several articles about hard plate armor here:
https://store.atarmor.com/profession...les_s/1884.htm
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