ARMOR FAQ December 2024

I get all sorts of body armor related questions throughout the week.  I thought I would just collect them for a period of time and then post my opinions and answers in an FAQ format.  Please remember that my answers are only my opinions.

What is your strongest armor plate? 

Our strongest armor plate is our Model 9049. This plate is a no ceramic fragment plate and has a wear face stiffener to reduce trauma and enhance multiple hit resistance.  Check out the NIJ certified ballistics report. Model 9049 NIJ Ballistic Test Report

What do you think about social media demo guys?

It's entertainment. I prefer watching dedicated, objective testers that stick to the facts. Almost all of the demo channels claim to know more than they really do about materials and bonding processes.  Those that make "suggestions" to armor builders are the most humorous as most armor guys know much more about design, materials and performance than the cursory look that demo guys provide. Some of the more educated subs leaving comments will even pick up on this. I read and watch but rarely comment. Most of my comments should just be "SMH."

What makes matters worse about some of these channels is that they are equipped with affiliate links for their "reviews" which creates all sorts of bias (subconscious or not).  This bias leaks across other videos and reviews in such a way that solid performance of one product is then criticized later in the face of another, more profitable partnership between the channel and the manufacturer.

Watch out for demo guys that cannot glean the "best" from the products that they shoot.  Learning and adjusting (continuous improvement) is what makes our industry better. One demo channel in particular attacks our mosaic style ceramic arrays even though his own videos show that they are far more dependable than monolithic ceramic forms.

These guys say one thing and then change their minds in other videos.  Very little consistency.  The lack of consistency is a hallmark of bias and preference for manufacturers that really have only average performing armor.

Some of these channels AstroTurf or troll my videos, so I've removed their access to most of my community.  I want to make sure our customers get reliable, unbiased information.  

A large percentage of subreddits are Astroturf shilling from one account that poses a question and other accounts that respond in support of certain manufacturers.  Reddit seems to fall prey to this more than other social media venues due to its design and function as a message board site accessible by one person making up and signing in with a number of accounts.

What do you think about Chinese armor?

Here's the short answer: Focus on performance.

Chinese, American, Italian, South African... it's material.  Modern ceramic armor is made from polyethylene and ceramic, bonded by adhesives.  Instead of searching for materials sourced on geography, look for material that can meet high quality standards. 

For example, in our mosaic armor, we use a 99% alumina ceramic.  This ceramic is more dense than the industry standard of 95%. Is that 4% difference worth the extra cost and weight (almost 8 ounces heavier in 10"x12" RF3 configuration)?  We think it is.  We want as many advantages on our side as possible to create redundancies in your armor.

One advantage we have is our strong adhesives that are ingredient sourced and 100% manufactured in the USA.  The adhesives in armor are one of the most important ingredients. Many armor companies will claim 100% Made in USA and then use  foreign made adhesive sheets (almost all of them).

But the fact that the adhesives are "Made in the USA" isn't the only reason you should choose them.  It's certainly a plus! Here's why our adhesives work: They are blended to match our plate energy, providing the proper elasticity and strength which matches our mosaic style and materials interface between the ceramic and polyethylene. Performance in materials is key.

We are planning to offer our proprietary adhesives to the general public under our brand.  We are working on the technical and safety data sheets now.  We won't disclose the exact percentage of certain ingredients of our adhesives. But allowing sales of the adhesives should permit a nice increase in armor effectiveness stateside.

What do you think of using 3a backers behind straight up ceramic strike faces?

No, no and no.  

Using unbonded materials behind a ceramic strike face can lead to severe injury or death.  The ceramic and backing material should be joined via bonding to provide the best protection.  Have a backer "float" on the wear face of the tile means that the projectile will treat each material independently.  Often, if separated, a rifle projectile can penetrate both the ceramic and the 3a backer. This is a dangerous practice - don't do it!  In our testing, there is obvious performance degradation when the ceramic separates from the PE backer.

Ceramic armor is carefully designed to meet manufacturer's performance goals that are generally aligned with the NIJ. Some manufacturers use a thinner ceramic and thinner backer while others do the opposite.  Sometimes, a 3a backer is NOT enough to stop a disrupted rifle round after meeting variably thick ceramic strike faces.  

What do you think about Special Threat Plates?

The NIJ has standards for a reason - stick with them. At a minimum, you need RF1 protection (IMO). 

In addition, most Special Rifle Threat armor doesn't meet NIJ RF1, RF2 or RF3 performance standards.  This means that if your backer (due to ceramic destruction in a multiple hit scenario) has to meet even HG1 or HG2 threats it may fail on its own. You can double tap some ceramic SRT plates with a 9mm pistol and get a pass through because of the lack of material in the backers (not even HG1 level).

These SRT plates are often touted as real world threat armor. That's only true IF you get shot with the threat the plate is designed for and nothing more powerful.  An SRT plate designed for 5.56 lead ball may not protect you against AK rounds or .308. Do you really want to take that chance?

SRT plates are designed to sell to an uninformed public. Hey, let's use a thin ceramic strike face and a minimal backer to barely stop some 5.56! Sound great? Nope.  It doesn't.

How is your company different than HighCom, RMA or other companies?

I do not generally comment on other companies specifically.  Many of these companies have some common characteristics.

It is public knowledge that most armor companies use monolithic strike faces.  We prefer the multiple hit performance offered by mosaic ceramic tile arrays. This is the most obvious difference.  

We use 99% Alumina. Most of the other guys use a 95% tile or a sub 99% Bitossi monolithic (still good quality).  Some get their tile from South Africa. But it isn't the 99% we use.

We use 100% Made in the USA adhesives (our blend) that are specially formulated to work with the energy in our armor (performance again). Other companies use foreign made adhesive sheets even while claiming that their materials are 100% of USA origin ( I do not specifically know what the two companies you ask about use but most use Pontacol sheets).

Contrary to popular belief, no one makes their own ceramic or manufactures their own polyethylene sheet material.  No one makes their own adhesives (we make our own via a manufacturing agreement). So, the "manufacturing process" you hear about is physically about joining a pre-made ceramic piece to select UHMWPE backing material via an adhesive sheet.  Of course, the processes of design, testing, marketing and internal procedures make the process much more complicated than it sounds.

Some companies press their own backers, others contract out for super high tonnage press services to reduce vulnerabilities related to equipment break downs, etc. Some autoclave while some prefer to use backing made at higher pressures from a physical press. Some even do a combination of the above.

Performance is the all important metric.  Our armor is just as strong as anyone else's and frankly exceeds other manufacturer's performance in many cases.  Just compare the ballistic test reports.

The armor industry is tough.  Many people think this is an easy way to make money.  I'll assure you that it isn't. Testing, R&D, sampling, design, internal processes and equipment all cost lots of money.  The companies that are in the business and doing it right deserve to be where they are including the companies you mention. Some companies are having a tough time right now with the transition to the 0101.07 testing and certification.  I mean, no one would sell their robust plate for $99 unless they "had to," right?

We also provide a level of customization that is not possible with other firms. We can build armor plates of almost any size. We are not locked into one or two sizes and can provide a lot of flexibilities in design.

I have experience starting and growing businesses. I led my last company from one employee to 100 and from zero to 12 million annual income (before I sold it). In the armor world, it's important to remain small enough to be nimble and keep  low overhead with lots of R&D budget. 

What plate is best for me? Is a foam ring around a plate OK?

This is an excellent question and the answer is that it "depends."

A "foam ring" or "Chinese Cheat Ring" is a 1/2" to 1" (most common) area along the perimeter of a ceramic armor plate where the ceramic does not exist and EVA foam or hard rubber is substituted in its place.  This makes a 10" x 12" plate have only 8" x 10" of actual ceramic coverage, making the armor lighter and less expensive.

The problem with this design is that it is rarely disclosed to the buyer.  Even so, most plates sold in the USA are Chinese-made AND have the foam ring (whether you know it or not).  The replacement of ceramic with EVA or rubber drops almost 2 pounds from an alumina edge-to-edge plate.  Any alumina ceramic 6 pound plate (10"x12") is almost always a plate with a foam edge.

IF the plate backing material has been NIJ certified lab tested at the HG1 or HG2 level, then you could consider such a plate to be a "hybrid" armor.  The outer edge (and areas behind destroyed ceramic) would be resistant at the HG2 level (.44 Magnum) and the rest of the plate would be either an RF2 or RF3 rifle plate. Even though this hybrid type of protection may be adequate for some, I would always keep a set of single-curved mosaic tile array edge to edge RF3 alumina plates with me for any serious barricaded or known rifle threats.

There is no other body armor plate more resistant to heavy multiple hits like a mosaic configuration (available only in single curve due to the 2" ceramic array's fit requirements).

More to follow in the coming weeks as I collect and answer additional questions (IMHO).