I am looking for body armor, preferably something concealable, I'm sure my kids would be super impressed if I had a big camo vest but I can imagine scenarios where I would like to not advertise what I am wearing. I found some interesting stuff from china on ebay but thought I would ask someone with more experience in these things for advice.
I would be interested in this also, BenP. I am thinking something like the cops wearing under their clothes.
I can get AR500, if there is something on there you like, PM me, and I might can save you a little money.
body armor made by rigid norms Made in china Reading the small print "do not wash,not water resistant, avoid hard impacts,no chemical cleaning"
Cheapest armor is , don't be there.. Situational awareness . Body armor that uses ceramics is only good for one shot and it shatters . Laminated Steel plating however can take significantly more abuse. Keep in mind this incident,,, An officer was dealing with an altercation and drew and fired several rounds at almost point blank range on a very large fellow using a .40 and it didn't stop him ,the fight got into close bodily contact and the man shot the officer once from the side in the ribs and killed him with a .22 ,an area there was no armor . There are time when perp is so pumped on speed the shock of a bullet is not realized, and the perp is not stopped. Hence the invention of the 1911 .45 acp . And this provided to people required to be in this conflagration . A shot in the inner thighs, abdomen shoulders neck head can be as lethal and usually will stop a normal person, but these are places no armor is usually applied . Flack jackets alone assume medical help is right behind you and assumes people will aim center mass . But if you've been at the range ,even in a static situation on still targets the hits are all over the place. More so during a real fire fight. Best to not even be there.
The bodyguard looked cool the advertisement should have read Chicago & Compton ready wear. Weight and protection looked good.
The company that I recommend is Infidel Armor. I have no ties to this company. I just like their product. Infidel Body Armor, Bulletproof Vests and Plates for Sale in Texas, Tactical Body Armor, Bullet Proof Vests, AR550 Steel and Hybrid Composite Plates Gafarmboy
Sorry to self-post, but two weeks ago I just updated the #1-ranked guide to body armor for preppers, including some picks for the cheapest yet still acceptable products (namely the base AR500 level 3+ and a Hesco 4400 for level 4) cc @BenP. Ended up doing deep data on ~90 armor plates. Happy to answer any questions about armor, especially since I just finished 100 hours of research on it!
Me? I like 'Active Shooter' body armor. Just keep in mind that most of the people I know who already own body armor of one brand, or another very seldom wear it. Why? Probably because most of the lower priced armor is invariably hot 'n heavy; and once you add any sort of trauma plate, now, you're really talking weight!