There looks to be a very good dealon ceramic Level IV plates at the Officer Store, which has presented me with a bit of a dilemma. I’ve been thinking of getting plates for my Mayflower APC. My intended use breaks down about as follows: 99% for attending carbine training classes / 1% Zombie Apocalypse. So the extra protection afforded by Level 4 plates is not a huge factor in my mind, and neither is the extra weight of the steel plates. Cost-wise, they are about the same. My main concern would be cracking the ceramics during a couple of classes I take per year,and of course as non-LEO/military I don’t have access to X-ray machines to check the plates. Should I be worried about that?
What threats are you expecting?
Why do you want LIV plates vs. LIII?
You do know 5-6 mm steel plates will NOT stop common 5.56 mm M193 in many situations?
Primarily a negligent discharge on the range. I’m guessing most rounds would be .223, 5.45, 7.62x39 or 5.56. Outside chance of a bad actor, intending to do me harm.
Why do you want LIV plates vs. LIII?
The cost differential is fairly minor - so there is little downside to getting them, except for potential breakability factor.
You do know 5-6 mm steel plates will NOT stop common 5.56 mm M193 in many situations?
Actually, no - I was not aware of that.
It sounds like you do not need a LIV plate (rated to stop one hit of .30-06 M2 AP), but rather a multi-hit capable LIII (rated to stop 6 hits of 7.62x51mm M80 FMJ) plate tested to additionally stop multiple hits both M193 and M855.
Doc,
Are ESAPI plates by Ceradyne (multihit 7.62AP) standalone capable or do they have to have soft IIIa behind/in conjuction with them?
Could be wrong, but I believe the OP’s question was mainly directed towards the fragility of ceramic plates (regardless of rating).
Everything I have heard about ceramic plates is that unless you’re dropping hundreds of pounds of gear on top of your plate(s) or just totally abusing them (the term that I’ve heard is “treating them like you’re a grunt” :p) then you should be fine as far as durability goes. IOW, they shouldn’t crack under normal use.
As for the rating, see Doc’s post. Sounds like level III would suit you fine.
As a secondary, possibly more versatile, option, you could do a Lvl III plate that has an ICW Lvl IV rating when combined with IIIA soft armor. Run just the plates (or just the IIIA SA) when you feel that the threat level is satisfied, or “plus up” your armor capability with both soft AND hard armor if you ever feel you need to.
Yes - the latter would fit my needs quite nicely. I’ve read the description of L4 plates on bulletproofme.com “Level IV (i.e., Level 4) is tested to stop one hit of .3006 AP, and will easily stop lesser threats.” and figured that it must be able to stop multiple hits of M193/M855/7N1 etc, but I guess that was a just an assumption on my part.
Yes, that was my main concern.
As for the rating, see Doc’s post. Sounds like level III would suit you fine.
As a secondary, possibly more versatile, option, you could do a Lvl III plate that has an ICW Lvl IV rating when combined with IIIA soft armor. Run just the plates (or just the IIIA SA) when you feel that the threat level is satisfied, or “plus up” your armor capability with both soft AND hard armor if you ever feel you need to.
That would be a better option, however more impact-full on the wallet. 
I guess my question at this point would be - is it possible to predict the level of protection afforded by a L4 rated plate when struck by 2+ M193/M855 rounds?
When I got my plates, reviews on the BPME.com plates just weren’t there, so I went with a known good brand: Velocity Systems. Since then, I’ve seen a couple reviews of guys actually shooting their plates and they seem good to go. If I had to do it over…I’d still pony up the extra cash for the VS plates since they are thinner, lighter, and still a better KNOWN good brand.
As for actual ratings and what they stop, that is more in Doc’s lane so I’ll let him answer that. I can just tell you my buying process and what I decided, and how I like them.
For reference, here are the plates and soft armor that I have:
http://www.skdtac.com/Velocity-Systems-Plate-LEVEL-III-IV-ICW-p/amr.108.htm
http://www.skdtac.com/velocity-systems-10x12-plate-backer-p/amr.110.htm
As with everything these days, the above is quite a bit more expensive than when I bought them
I’m sure. 
I found a videofrom Vuurwapen blog where he tested a L4 standalone plate from bulletproofme.com, it certainly appears that their L4 plate can take several rifle hits before succumbing. Their price is reasonable as well - the L4 plate is actually cheaper than L3 plate+backer. Seems like a reasonable choice for my circumstance - if I don’t have to worry about busting it by going prone on it, that is. Come to think of it, me+gear do add up to couple of hundred pounds.
Quick update - I contacted OfficerStore to ask them if they knew whether this particular plate was multi-hit or not. They hedged their bets and said they had no information, and therefore their advice was to treat it as single hit for anything like .44 Magnum or above.
Does anyone know much about those AR500 plates with spall liner?
I’ve got an email out to Point Blank to verify multi-hit capability as I cannot find an answer anywhere else. I’ll let you know what I hear.
My Question and response so far…
Mr. Xxxxxxx,
I am considering purchasing some of your plates from a distributor, but there is no mention of weather or not your plates are multi-hit rated.Could you please confirm if they are or aren’t and provide any pertinent information that is not listed below and may be of interest?
Level IV 10”x12” Hard Armor Plate, NIJ .05 rated for rifle threat protection
NIJ 0101.05 THREAT LEVEL: IV SIZE: 10”x12” CURVATURE: Singular Curve CONSTRUCTION: Alumina Ceramic / Woven Aramid Composite/ Covered with Black Polyester WEIGHT: 6.6 lbs. THINNESS: .74"Sincerely,
Zhurdan
Response
The 05 standard level IV was not tested as multi hit by standard but I will check to see if this particular plate is in fact a multi hit rated and tested plate. I know our 06 standard level IV;s are tested with 3 shots of AP and I have shot them with 10 rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 ball with no problem.
Is this regarding the bulletproofme plates? Or Point Blank?
(I didn’t even know PB made plates…)
My post is for the Point Blank plates. The representative just got back to me and said it wasn’t even one of his plates. Not sure what that means, but I’ll post what he comes back with later.
How fragile are ceramic plates?
They’re not. Seriously, they’re pretty durable- and for good reason: Trigger pullers aren’t gentle with ANYTHING. We beat the holy hell out of everything we get our hands on. After you get back from a 14 hour patrol, when you drop your kit people frequently don’t set their armor down like it’s fine China. I’ve seen my fair share of plates dropped, and while people tried to prevent and mitigate it, IT HAPPENS. In fact my set of ESAPI’s post deployment looked like… well… they had been on every deployment. And I’m sure they would have still worked. No doubt. So treat them with common sense and you’ll be fine.
I’d never take steel plates over good ceramic plates any day of the week.
So to be straight (because ceramic plate durability is something I was worried about enough to start my own thrad, but since I can hijack this one…:D);
You mention a couple hundred pounds. Well, I’m not a big guy, but after plates and mags and other accessories plus me, if I throw myself on the ground on top of these things taking a prone position in hurry multiple times in a row, I should be ok as far as durability?
Because… this is very likely to happen, training and such…
I’m not worried about on/off damage- aside from the freak “OhshitIdroppedmythousanddollargearonthecement” accident, I’m pretty gentle putting things on and off.
I don’t know how much protection a plate carrier adds on a square range, a bit I suppose. Unless you need it for work or 360+ degree training (shoothouse or other high risk training), I don’t see a good reason to spend the money.
If the shtf scenario is that important to you, go for it. You will find that unless you have a very high fitness level, if you don’t wear armor routinely and train in it from time to time, fatigue can build up quickly and your shooting ability can suffer. And it’s additional weight to carry if you’re bugging out. I see most (non le/mil) folks go pretty low profile at carbine classes nowadays with a mag pouch or two on the belt or even spare mags in pocket. It’s up to you but unless you have above average finances (read money to through away), ammo and training classes may be of more utility.
All of that said, ceramic places can take a beating. I’ve been barrel struck with near full force dozens of times in training and my plates of 3 years are still fine (last checked 2 months ago). Any plates I have used in the past have held up to less than ideal handling on my part.
So, should we be X-raying these plates annually or not?
A couple friends shot a multi hit steel over (spectra or dynerma?)fiberplate donated for testing and a used sapi ceramic that was xrayed and found to be cracked. We shot both with a variety of m193, m855, 6.8, and .308 non AP rounds. Both plates stopped all rounds. I believe it was 10 rounds per plate. The cracked ceramic stopped common assault rifle rounds at 10 yards every time. I was shocked at the poor condition after multiple hits but so long as the ceramic had not crumbled to dust it stopped rifle rounds. We followed up with a mag of 5.56 FMJ. Both plates had failures. The ceramic had material crumble away at the edges and bullets zipped through the spall liner. The multi hit laminate had a round go 90% through the same hole in the steel then punch through the fiber board backer. If you can’t feel loose chunks crumbling away in a ceramic plate a crack under xray won’t matter… not for non AP rounds anyway. I now feel Xraying ceramic is silly for 99% of users.