body armor

A plate carrier for the big boys: AR500’s Testudo Gen 2 is a good pick for large frames

Plate carriers are among the most fiercely debated pieces of kit on the market today and it’s easy to see why. With so many options and prices that can range from thirty bucks to three hundred, just about everybody has an opinion on what you need for your purposes. Like most things, it’s been my experience that neither the cheapest nor the most expensive options on the market are right for most users, and what really matters is finding the kit that works best for you, rather than the one that’ll score you the most cool-guy points in the Tacticool subreddits.

AR500 offers a number of different kinds of plate carriers meant to meet various needs and budgets. I opted to review the Testudo Gen 2 because it can support both standard 10″ by 12″ ballistic plates as well as the larger 11″ by 14″ plates reserved for those of us that shop at Big and Tall outlets. I’m not as skinny as I was on active duty, so the Testudo also offers the added benefit of not making me look like a gorilla in a tank top.

I ran this carrier with plates provided to me by ShotStop that are among the lightest on the market, which when combined with the 3d webbing AR500 uses on most of the interior of this plate carrier, made running and gunning in the Georgia woods survivable even in June when the humidity is just north of what you’ll find in the Amazon rain forest. The combination of light weight and breathability made my range session not only tolerable, but as pleasant as Georgia summers can get.

At $160, this probably isn’t the right plate carrier for preppers that like to stockpile their gear but rarely run and gun in their kit. If, however, you’re a bigger dude that wears your plate carrier for work, the 3D webbing and good quality stitching make this an excellent choice. That same 3D webbing, however, can be pretty abrasive if you’re wearing a thin undershirt. I’d imagine that gets better over time, but at least so far, I’ve stuck to thick tee shirts and had no trouble.

You can get your own Testudo Gen 2 Plate Carrier from AR500 Armor here.

And you can get your own ShotStop Ballistic plates here.

Bulletproof Backpack Inserts: What You Need to Know

Not all bulletproof backpack inserts are the same. Here’s a rundown of what you need to know when it comes to ballistic backpack inserts.

Are you looking for a bulletproof backpack insert? Whether you landed here because you’ve seen them in the news or you just decided to look for new ways to protect yourself or your kids, you probably have a lot of questions:

What guns/ammunition will it stop?
How much does it weigh?
How much does it cost?
Will it actually keep me/my child safe?
And many more…

In this article, we’ll look at several bulletproof backpack inserts and share some details about each. We are not here to tell you to buy our backpack insert. It’s totally up to you to decide 1) whether you want or need to buy one and 2) which one is best for you/your child.

What are the different types, or levels, of bulletproof backpack protection? The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has been setting voluntary body armor standards since 1972. The NIJ standard is the only nationally accepted standard for the body armor worn by law enforcement and corrections officers, and its ballistic resistance standard classifies body armor by levels of ballistic performance. The chart below shows those classifications:

Most bulletproof backpacks are classified as Level IIIA, which means they will stop at least four rounds from most handguns. The majority of ballistic backpack inserts on the market fall into this classification; they are meant to protect against multiple rounds from 9mm, .357 Magnum, and .44 Magnum ammunition.

In our research, we found the following bulletproof backpack inserts at the Level IIIA (handgun) protection level:

NOTE OF CAUTION

Be sure to check the Ballistic Lab Report and any NIJ Compliance letters referenced on all websites. We have found that many manufacturers show a lab report or compliance letter that may be for a different product or an outdated NIJ standard. For example, the current NIJ standard set in 2008 is NIJ 0106.01. We have seen several of these backpack inserts noted as NIJ 0108.01, which was the standard set back in 1985 – much has changed since 1985 when it comes to guns and ammunition!

Watch our video “How to Read a Ballistic Lab Report” to make sure you’re getting what you think you’re getting.

So, what does a Level IIIA backpack insert really stop?

Here is a video testing the ShotStop Level III3a backpack inserts:

ShotStop: The body armor Batman would wear

The tactical industry isn’t getting any smaller. Every day, my Facebook newsfeed seems all the more inundated with companies selling you the “operator” fantasy, keen to convince you that you need the same kit Seal Team 6 used on the Bin Laden raid to clear your kitchen when you hear a bump in the night. The truth is, you do need good gear when your life depends on it, but I’m way past aspiring to be an operator. I already served my time in the Marine Corps and I’ve got lots of special operations veterans in my rolodex — and we’ve all got one thing in common. None of us are bullet proof. Not like Batman is.

While some guys may wish they could be more like the Navy SEALs they see on TV, I’d much prefer rocking the kit Batman wears into a fight. While there were times that I felt like I could barely breath in full battle-rattle, Batman’s mobility is never compromised in favor of ballistic protection. In fact, the only time a cinematic Batman has ever asked for a suit upgrade in a movie, it wasn’t armor piercing rounds he was worried about… it was dog bites. Granted, Batman is a fictional character that isn’t burdened by the realities of physics… but I still think there’s something to aspiring for more than just rocking the same JPC we saw Garand Thumb wearing. We should be looking for as much mobility as we can find in today’s market, and in order to do that, we’ve got to dive into what’s riding along inside the plate carriers we wear and talk about the plates themselves.

And if you want to get as close to Batman-level mobility, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better ballistic plate option than the Diritium series of plates from ShotStop.

Of course, the folks at ShotStop didn’t set out to make body armor for aspiring Bat-men like me — their customer base is more law enforcement and military professionals and less salty-old-vet turned journalist — but through their efforts to produce the lightest, thinnest, and most reliable armor on the market, they found their way into where a Navy SEAL’s Venn diagram overlaps with that of everyone’s favorite caped crusader. Their plates are among the lightest you’ll find and come in a variety of cuts and sizes for shooters of all sorts, because Batman may not carry a gun, but I sure as hell do.

All that weight savings doesn’t come at the cost of ballistic protection, however — and here’s the proof. In this video, ShotStop’s Duritium III+PS plate holds up to a full magazine of .223:

These plates are light, hold up to tons of punishment, and most importantly, will save your life. If you ask me, that’s about as Batman as you can get out here in the real world. You can get your own ShotStop ballistic plates by following this link to find your nearest dealer, or just go to ShotStop.com and check out their gear for yourself.

In the mean time, you can also check out our previous review on ShotStop’s ballistic inserts and some of their other great piece of gear that are worthy of their own Bat-monikers.

Stay Connected with The Mic Loop

Sometimes it’s the simple things that work the best. Take for instance the original Mic Loop. Until you’ve needed The Mic Loop you probably won’t understand The Mic Loop. Don’t make that mistake, just get one now and save yourself the problems.

Many years ago I initiated a traffic stop on a wanted felon. He failed to stop and the pursuit began. After crashing through a chain link gate and showering the roads with sparks for several blocks, all four tires were flattened and the wheels spun within the tires putting on quite the smoke show and bringing his rig to a slow, anti-climatic stop. My backup unit and I began a high-risk traffic stop when said bad-guy decided to give us a little bit more of a show by running from us.

As we stumbled through backyards in the dark, I had one big misstep on an uneven yard and took a dive head first like I was sliding into home base. My portable radio, with what was an attached shoulder mic, launched from me and all communications was lost for the remainder of the chase. My partner made an amazing running shot with his TASER and bad guy went to jail but that moment of losing my shoulder mic stuck with me.

A simple yet effective design of hook and loop closure to your body armor, tethering the microphone to your body just flat out works. Losing your microphone may seem like an inconvenience but it’s so much more, that radio is your lifeline!

The Mic Loop is marketed to law enforcement officers but could be very handy to anyone that is tasked with wearing a radio with a mic and you have something for it to hook to.

When I initially received my Mic Loop for review, I was a little perplexed about how I was going to make it work with my fancy new Bluetooth Motorola mic. It was a simple problem to solve by running it through the D-Ring on the clip and attaching The Mic Loop to my body armor.

If you wear traditional, concealed body armor, go with The Mic Loop Original. If you use a plate carrier or external body armor, go with The Mic Loop MICRO. At about $10.99 for the original and about $9.99 for the Micro, it’s a smart investment.

AR500 Body Armor Put To The Test

We here at Loadoutroom.com love our guns, armor and gear. We love using them, testing them, reading about them and writing about them. When we’re not doing all that, we’re watching funny videos online about people using them, testing them, et cetera. While FPSRussia was once the heavyweight champion of gun channels, sad events laid the channel low. While we wait to see if more fortunate events can bring it back in some fashion, their old videos are always worth revisiting.

While doing a little brushing up on the various material compositions and makeups of modern bullet repellants, I came across this video from 2015. In it, the channel’s “Russian” host (Kyle) walks us through an impressive litany of abuses against a Level IIIA soft armor set and (presumably, as he doesn’t specify) a Level III plate armor set. They take a considerable number of rounds from a variety of weaponry.

-Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

Lifesaver: Army tests new body armor in search of lightness and better protection for soldiers

An Army infantryman moves toward a mock enemy trench during a live-fire exercise at Fort Hood, Texas, February 9, 2019. (Department of Defense)

The Army is edging closer to fielding its updated body protection system. The Soldier Protection System (SPS) has been in the works for years, and it promises to better protect soldiers. The best way to describe the SPS is to compare it to a medieval knight’s armor. Its different subsystems (it has four) cover and protect the pelvic region, torso, upper extremities, neck, head, and eyes. The SPS is broken down in four components: Torso and Extremity Protection (TEP), Vital Torso Protection (VTP), Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS), and Transition Combat Eye Protection (TCEP). Each subcomponent has a different acquisition process.

All of them have met the Army’s ballistic requirements. Although the Army has already made a “Full-Rate Production” decision for the TEP and IHPS (respectively in September 2016 and October 2018), it still has to commit to a company and product for the VTP and TCEP. With respect to the VTP, which is essentially the body armor, the Army is seeking lighter options than the ones currently on the table. The plan is to test an improved version in the upcoming months before testing the whole SPS against additional threats in the fall.

What sets it apart from existing personal protection equipment is its ability to provide equal or increased levels of defense against small caliber weapons and fragmentation threats at reduced weights. For example, the IHPS weighs almost three pounds less than the previous version but offers 15% more protection.

In its annual report, which was just released, the director of operational test and evaluation describes and updates ongoing acquisition projects across the military.

The report recommends the Army do three things in order to improve the system:

Establish a credible correlation between threat-induced deformations in both the torso plates and combat helmet and the probability of injury.
Improve its free-field blast test methodology to enable a credible correlation between the blast pressure mitigation provided by the torso plate and combat helmet and the probability of blast-induced injury.
Improve its ability to model fragmenting threats against combat helmets and torso plates.

Once all four components have been selected and the SPS is cleared, the Army plans to issue the new body protection to deploying units through the Rapid Fielding Initiative (RFI), as opposed to issuing the SPS to individual soldiers. Some subcomponents have already found their way to the front lines. For instance, the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB), which was activated in November and is about to deploy to Afghanistan, has already received the improved helmets.

When it comes to combat loads, efficiency and agility are everything.

body armor

**NOTE OF CAUTION**

So, what does a Level IIIA backpack insert really stop?

NOTE OF CAUTION