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I bought some new Level III+ from AR500 Armor last month; should be here before the end of the month. But if you want to add a bit of plate to your collection on a budget, they have 10"x12" shooter-cut, basic basecoat, flat steel in Level III on sale until end-of-day August 10: 2 for $65. A build-up basecoat and curved plate are extra options.

But hey, for $32.50 each, it's a pretty good deal. I'm placing an order just because. Never hurts to have extras, and since the cheapest ones are flat they could always serve as backpack inserts or maybe laptop bag inserts. Or even stick 'em in a pillowcase behind an old memory-foam pillow and use it as an at-home place to point your muzzle when clearing your guns. I suppose you could even impress your friends and neighbors by using it as a cutting board in the kitchen (but that basecoat will start to flake under a knife).


https://www.ar500armor.com/level-iii-flat-bogo.html

Too, most non-sale items are discounted 20.12% right now in their 8th anniversary "sale"ebration. Use promo code 8YEARS.

(I have no affiliation with AR500, just a new customer passing along discount info. I'll let you know what I think of the new plate and plate carrier after I've had a chance to break it in. Really looking forward to "retiring" my old carrier.)

Do I need a trauma pad?
I configured
Curved, build up coat and trauma pads, $175 for 2. Are the front and rear the same or would be cut accordingly?
Total is $205 including Tax and Shipping, I ordered a set anyway.

Beiruty wrote: ↑Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:53 pm Do I need a trauma pad?
I configured
Curved, build up coat and trauma pads, $175 for 2. Are the front and rear the same or would be cut accordingly?
Total is $205 including Tax and Shipping, I ordered a set anyway.

I think the trauma pads are a good idea...but I've never been shot in a plate to find out. Not saying AndyC has, but he'd probably be able to tell us about the value or not of trauma pad inserts. I figure they can't hurt, they weigh next to nothing, and I don't have any on my old rig.

I actually thought a little bit about using Level IIIA soft armor as a trauma pad. The hybrid stuff in 11"x14", which is the size of my main July buy I'm waiting on, would add only about 2.5 pounds, so I think it's still feasible. They're not on buy-one-get-one sale, so would come in at a little under $400 total. Maybe later. The build-up basecoat is a good idea, too, I think. But it does raise the really cheap 2-for-1 economy price. I ordered the build-up on the III+ plates.

As I understand it, the BOGO is two identical plates, so you'll get two shooter-cut curved plates. That's the same deal I got July 2 when I ordered the Testudo carrier plus two BOGO III+ curved plates. I'll have to confirm when I get everything, but the plan right now is to simply flip the back plate upside down for a little more coverage of the upper torso if sacrificing some on the sides at the lower. That said, I'm fairly wide and have pretty inflexible shoulders to the rear. People who are more limber might prefer to keep the shooter-cut plate upright in the back.

There are tons of options for plate carriers nowadays, but getting decent plates has always been the pricey part. Can't tell until I get my orders, but research into AR500 Armor indicated they were a good company that makes good stuff. Got an email last Saturday from them updating me about the status of my July 2 order and giving me a target date of August 27, which is a week sooner than the earliest date when I originally ordered. So the communication seems to be good, too.

I'm willing to bet guys who have been actual operators like AndyC will always have a plate carrier. If it's a bump in the night thing, you'll probably never take time to get it on (even though it only takes several seconds to put on a quality rig if it's close to hand). But if you have time--and the current state of violent unrest and localized rioting paints a grim picture--it's much like a carry gun: better to have it and never need it than to not have it when you really do need it. I'm not pitching for AR500, but it would make me feel all warm and fuzzy if some of my LTC buddies who don't have any armor at all could take advantage of an introductory deal like this and at the very least grab the $65 Level III pair. Level III is rated out to 7.62x51 ball, so it's nothing to sneeze at to help protect all the squishy vital stuff in your chest.

FYI....
https://www.ar500armor.com/promotions-sales.html

PROMOTIONS/SALES
PLEASE NOTE: COUPON CODES DO NOT APPLY TO PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS.

Oh well.... I tried.

The Annoyed Man wrote: ↑Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:26 pm FYI....
https://www.ar500armor.com/promotions-sales.html

PROMOTIONS/SALES
PLEASE NOTE: COUPON CODES DO NOT APPLY TO PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS.

Oh well.... I tried.

Yeah. If we could get another 20% off the $65-for-two sale price, we'd be at, what, $26 per plate? Man, we could start using them as bookends for that!

Or mount a bunch on 3/4" plywood so you can cover a front window of the house if antifa rioting starts in the neighborhood.

The current 20%-off code, 8YEARS, is good (I think) for most everything that is not otherwise on sale.