I heard about these plates about a year ago and they seem to be taking off. This is a company out of Katy TX. Just wondering if anyone has first hand experience with them. Look a little bulky, but the weight trade off may be worth it.
Heard them on a radio show today and they stated that one of the biggest market is fire departments for active shooter kits and it is going to be mandated in NFPA80something that fire departments will be required to have active shooter kits.
Anyhow, sounded good and thought I would share/ask about them.
Looks like just a normal UHMWPE plate. Note how the threats defeated are only 55 gr for .223 Rem/5.56mm; M855 is known to defeat UHMWPE without much issue. Pretty standard for retailers to talk up the multi-hit capabilities of UHMWPE plates, along with talking about the larger calibers, which is a sly way of tricking folks into assuming that it’ll handle any .223 Rem/5.56mm fine. This is also why there are plenty of legit NIJ .06 Level 3 plates that aren’t really suitable for actual duty use, as being able to defeat 6 rounds of M80 ball does not transfer the ability to defeat M193 (steel’s weakness) or M855 (UHMWPE’s weakness).
If M855 isn’t a threat, then UHMWPE absolutely is money. But CONUS? Seems like a bad idea.
IMO, UHMWPE/Ceramic Hybrid give a best of both worlds plate. Stops and M193/M855. Also of note UHMWPE does not like cold weather. -15 degree F and lower is a no go.
