” I recently came upon a company called AR500 Armor, primarily a web-based enterprise which started in 2012. My first impression: This stuff is too cheap to be real. The tactical market has conditioned us to believe that everything needs to be at least $100.00 and painted black before it is worth buying. My SRT unit has attempted to acquire modern body armor over the past three years while their existing carriers, soft armor, and single polymer front plates put overall cost at an approximate $2700.00 per officer. The rifle plates alone can range in prices of $500.00 – $900.00 depending on the material, vendor, and multi-hit capability. The low cost of AR500ARMOR.COM’s 10” x 12” trauma plates had me believing it was a scam, with costs ranging between $65.00 and $110.00 plus shipping.
I began with 10 rounds of .223 PMC Bronze FMJ training ammunition. Following the first few rounds I happened to notice where the surrounding vest carrier material was becoming absolutely shredded. The next observation was that not a single round had penetrated the plate. I examined the vest and found that none of the fragments had penetrated through the final layer. Although the plate was slightly bent and indentations could be seen on the strike face, there was no loss of material and no indentation that could be measured at more than 1mm.”
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