In one of my previous posts on body armor, I mentioned that I ordered some IIIA soft plates for my plate carrier from TopBodyArmor.com (via eBay). I just got them in the mail, and here they are.
These are the 10 in. X 12 in. plates in the shooters cut profile (the top left and right are cropped to fit the chest better). Many plate carriers out there use this style plate and you need to order the right ones for your carrier, or they wont fit.
There are no major defects that I can see or feel from a decent going over… The plates are covered by a synthetic material that is loosely stitched around what feels like Kevlar® (or some form of UHMWP material). What these are actually made out of is not listed on the website or on the product its self. Also, these are NOT NIJ certified. They are “tested to NIJ levels” but not certified (so the company tells me).
The plates measure in at 0.317 in. (8.07 mm.) thick and are 9 7/8 in. x 11 15/16 in. (W x H). So they are very close to the as advertised size (10″ x 12″). And they weigh in at 1 lb. 1 oz. and 1 lb. 0.8 oz. I’m not sure where the discrepancy in weight is from, but it’s so slight it probably has something to do with minor size differences, or something along those lines; it’s hard to tell. With both plates in my Velocity LWPC and no other kit attached, it weighs in at 3 lb. 15 oz.
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