The thing that scares me is chance of ricochet, if you were in a weird shooting position or leaning in anyway the bullet just hitting the plate and being redirected into your face or legs. I don’t know if the spall coating would catch it the same way as a straight on shot or not. Also I don’t think a lot of companies coat their plates as good as this one. A group I’m in on Facebook always has people asking about armor and every time it just turns into an argument Steel or ceramic like you said lol. I always tell people either way it’s going to keep the bullet out of their heart. Hopefully no one is in a position where they get shot and definitely hope they aren’t sticking around to take enough to make any plate fail. Awesome video!
This is an awesome vid. I bought an AR500 plate with a build-up coat and all my gun buddies mocked me mercilessly for it. I was ready to drop another heap of cash to buy HESCO plates until I saw this. I’m very relieved
Nothing can contain spalling to a safe level. Not even kevlar bags. And once you do that, you're making a plate that's heavier, bulkier, and more expensive than a comparable ceramic plate, eliminating any advantage.
I bought a set of base coated AR 500 lv III armor from eBay. The seller is very well respected due to their rating. I wanted to test one side against a 5.56 16" AR and a 5.45 16" AK. After shooting the top side with five M193 rds, I got only one pass through. That singular shot only happened when I was fairly close. Like 16 yards maybe. Everything else was stopped as I was back a bit for most of the rounds. Then I shot six times on the bottom with Hornady V-Max 5.45. Nothing. For lv III just be careful about 55gr M193 totting baddies at very close range. They could penetrate the plate if you let them.
One thing always ignored by the ceramic-fanboys is that they have a shelf-life of 5 years, so you're paying 4x the cost of steel over the same timeframe. Military and police also x-ray plates regularly to confirm no cracks have developed over normal use. Steel has its problems, but the differences between it and ceramic go beyond weight and spall so get fully informed before buying.
They don't have a shelf life. Ceramic plates don't expire or degrade other than with hard use. If stored properly, they'll last you 20 years. 5 years is just a warranty, used by steel plates manufacturers to scare and misinform ppl to buy their product.
@@easternpromises7991 i was under the impression that ceramic plates do degrade with time due to the fact they are composites held together with resin, and the actual resin does degrade
@@jeremyhoggatt972 Exactly same. I use my steel for force on force and I put my ceramic as my primary equipment. My steel become backup if I get shot, and I need a replacement for the ceramic during the week I'm waiting for it to be shipped to me (or in the case of the recent armor shortage, for the following months of waiting)
@@skreek.o7 No, I'm someone that listens to experts and people that have actual experience, and tries to retain some of what they say. The extent of my medical training is a trauma class.
I'm just here to tell you that if someone wants to run steel armor, they'll more likely than not be fine. However, at the same time, the biggest advantage steel used to have was price. Battle steel and LAPG kinda ruined that.
People think there's an argument of Steel vs Ceramic. Really, there's no contest. Ceramic wins hands down. Military, LE, and every professional I've interacted with who carries a gun, (with one exception), wears either soft armor or ceramic plates. Ceramics we're at one point cost prohibitive, but can now be had for a reasonable price on a budget.
While I do agree, ceramic is better, there are some pros to steel armor. Basically no BFD, don't have to spend a lot for nicer features like multi curve, no real shelf life, don't have to worry about the ceramic cracking if it falls on concrete or something.
@@TheKalkara131 Steel armor absolutely has BFD, that's a myth. Multi-curve is actually dangerous on steel armor as it changes the properties of it when shaped and reduces any of the ballistic properties it has. Ceramic does not have shelf life either, that's a myth. Simply falling onto concrete is not going to damage a ceramic plate.
@@refutonefandus When the shelf life is printed on ceramic plates, or stated on a companies website, are they lying or just propigating myths???? Yes, steel has BFD, though minute compared to the large bulges made on ceramic. I own both, both are viable options.
@@jeremyhoggatt972 Ceramic plates do not have a "shelf life", the number you see is a manufacturer's warranty. Depending upon how they are stored, their shelf life can exceed your own. Steel still has BFD, and ceramic's isn't "large". Remember, as part of NIJ testing they do measure BFD.
