School me on rifle rated body armor

[Greg Nichols]

Most people go way over the top with armor. If I were in a static position, in the open, then I would consider all the soft armor pieces, front rear and side plates, including the brassards, groin, and throat protectors along with a helmet. From a perspective that fits 99% of the people on the forum, you need to think in individual or small unit tactics where speed is your security and mobility is paramount. If for some reason I feel the need to supplement my above selection of plates I'll add a concealable vest under it.

In the last Wilderness Warrior Weekend in TX Sua and I opened up our war chests to allow the students to inspect what we had. While our experiences are different and our gear choices reflect those experiences, the base setups were nearly identical in form and function. Read the article, there's a lot more there than you'll likely need but it will answer a lot of questions for you and help you wrap your head around the decision making process for what kit you actually need.

[CaptShack]

I defer to the experts SUA and Greg. I am in agreement with Greg about going over the top with armor. I wanted something simple, lightish weight, not too bulky, and could stop the M855 which I see as the most prevalent threat because everyone has an AR. 10x12 shooter's cut with a simple scalable plate carrier is the way I went, which is what Sua so eloquently wrote about in his excellent blog post.

[psalms23dad]

Thanks fellas. I have nothing to add, lots to process, I'm just in the shut up and learn mode.
The info is much appreciated.

[noonesshowmonkey]

There is a relatively recent development (at least since 2014) in armor that was not really covered in the blog by Sua. These are the Special Threat or III+ type plates. While they are not a standardized NIJ rating, I am not really comfortable calling out Velocity Systems or Hesco and like as peddling bullshit. These are often standalone plates, and usually are thinner / lighter than a traditional SAPI/ESAPI with a soft armor backer.

As with everything, you should be considering the threats that you expect to face. In CONUS, the III+ style plates, especially something like the Hesco 3810, may be rated against anything you'd likely find on a two-way range. Given the proliferation of long and magnum action bolt guns in the US, I chose to go with some ESAPI level IVs with Velocity Systems dynema backers.