Are you needing in stock ceramic rifle plates? I found some for you. [Update Below]
If you’ve been looking for body armor – especially rifle rated hard armor plates – you know the wait time is 8-16 weeks depending on the company. I guess a communist insurrection will spike demand for such things.
However, LA Police Gear currently has ceramic Level III and Level IV hard rifle plates in stock. And…they are less than $120 each.
A few notes:
First, these are selling quickly. When I ordered some this morning, the website showed 999+ in stock. Hundreds have sold since then and the numbers are dwindling. I doubt they will last the week.
Second, these are constructed with PE+Alumina (AL2O3). In a nutshell, that means they are a kind of ceramic plate backed with Dyneema, a kind of UHMwPE fiber. They are much lighter than AR500 steel plates and you are not likely to get spalling (or fragmentation) that you can get from steel plates. However, they are also thicker than AR500 steel – about 3/4″ – 7/8″ depending on the model.
Additionally, these use ceramic tiles instead of a monolithic plate. That means it should have much better performance against multiple hits.
Lastly, they are tested to NIJ specifications but are not on the NIJ list. In general, I recommend that people only buy NIJ listed plates. However, there are good products that have not been listed because the company elects not to spend thousands of extra dollars for the government’s certification process.
I believe that LAPG makes good plates. Good enough that I ordered some for my own needs.
However, you will need to make the decision between waiting for months to get a NIJ listed plate or the LAPG plates now.
If you are interested, you can purchase the Level III plate through my affiliate link here or the Level IV plate here. The Level IV plate is only $5 more but will stop much tougher rifle rounds including the .30-06 AP round.
Here are a couple of videos showing how well the Level III plates perform. You will see that these defeat many of the 5.56 NATO rounds that normal Level III may not.
…and…
Full disclosure: Some of the links on this page and site are affiliate links. When you choose to use one, we earn a small commission on anything you purchase. We don’t get to see what any individual buys, so feel free to order up the plates: that’s between you and LAPG.
I’ve been a customer of LA Police Gear for many years, and I’ve always enjoyed their service. The company’s own branded products seem to perform well (I’ve owned a number of their knives, pants and shirts) and, I have no doubt the plates will also work. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Update: These are back in stock right now. However, I expect them to sell out quickly – just as they did last time.
