Surplus Irish Body Armour?

Frontier answered the phone 45min AFTER their stated closing time and took my vest order, shipped it out first thing the next morning for $15 (less than CP will charge them I'm sure), most excellent service!

I'm sure it'll be here before the aftermarket carrier I ordered will

Not to mention that there *should* be no question of Level IV plates stopping M855 if it's rated for 30.06 AP rounds (as long as you keep the plates with the IIIa kevlar backing!!!)

And I'm into a Level IV hard armor setup for under $400




Does anyone have the weight of the surplus Level IV plates?
 
223762 said:
i just got one in "excellent" condition thank you Bigfooter.
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Yeah, that was #37 in mint condition. I picked up a "Very Good" Medium for the princely sum of $229.95 -- a one-off bargain they generously listed as a "gift" for an early bird buyer. This is probably one of the finer selections of used vests that Frontier has ever received. Get 'em while they're still legal to be shipped out of country to Canada. With Obama and the U.N. at work -- http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/07/us-arms-treaty-un-idUSBRE8A627J20121107 -- things could be changing for shipping/trade of foreign arms and related gear.

Oh, and you're most welcome. Enjoy!
 
Something else I forgot to mention: Frontier's pricing for these surplus Level IV vests is a steal.

Allied Arms is offering up Irish Police surplus Level II vests for the "Incredible Deal" of $399.95: http://www.alliedarms.ca/General_Products.php .

To quote Howie Mandel..."Deal or no deal??" In my view, that's no deal.

SFRC had their Level II/IIA vests selling at a more reasonable $119.95 for a Large and $89.95 for a Medium. By adding mil-surp Level III poly plates in front of their Kevlar soft armour you could quickly and cheaply up that protection -- but then you're approaching the cost of Frontier's Level IV vests.

If you're even remotely thinking about body armour, you can't go wrong with Frontier's offering. But, yes, I also have some steel plates and plate carriers kicking around for additional SHTF/TEOTWAWKI insurance. For multi-hits, no-maintenance ballistic steel still rocks.
 
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Are these MIL/LEO only I was under the impression body armour was illegal? Plate carriers are legit with no plates though as far as I know. This may be explained earlier but I didn't read the whole thread as it's pretty lengthy. Could one of you ladies or gents please elaborate?
 
Akronym said:
Are these MIL/LEO only I was under the impression body armour was illegal? Plate carriers are legit with no plates though as far as I know. This may be explained earlier but I didn't read the whole thread as it's pretty lengthy. Could one of you ladies or gents please elaborate?
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Depends on where you live. Some provinces -- such as Alberta -- have a Body Armour Act that prohibits possession/use but if you hold a firearms license there you appear to be okay. At any rate, what you hold privately for a SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenario is up to you. As long as you don't walk down the street with it on, no one should be the wiser. Check your provincial regulations as they do vary. Also have a look at this link with discussion on the subject: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?755517-Surplus-Body-Armour-Sm-Med-amp-Lg/page2 .

I see a further tightening on both body armour and semi-automatic "assault weapons" in North America. If Obama has his way in the U.S., a new Assault Weapons Ban will soon come into effect and it won't have an expiration date like the last one did. That means full capacity mags -- even pinned ones -- won't be crossing the border and will be restricted to MIL/LEO. Realize, for example, that even the venerable Mini 14 Ranch Rifle is on the AWB hit list this time around. It was only in 2007 or 2008, that Ruger starting selling full capacity Mini mags to the general public and that will likely stop in the very near future. In the U.K., the only way you can use a Mini is as a single shot, straight pull (no semi-autos allowed): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IVHLTV54lo .
 
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BTW If you're "dry firing" at home and need a dependable, safe backdrop to aim at -- which you really should be doing -- these vests can't be beat. A Champion metal bullet catcher rated only for .22LR is about $100. These Level IV vests are a bargain as a practice safety item alone.
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wouldn't it be easier to just prove your gun before putting your booger pickers near the trigger lol?
 
cheeseburgereatin said:
wouldn't it be easier to just prove your gun before putting your booger pickers near the trigger lol?
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In theory, yes. In reality, no. It's called human error -- fatigue, nagging wife/kids/dog (fill in the blank) or other distraction. Happens all the time with fatal consequences. Read the link about dry fire safety.
 
luftmech said:
I just ordered the Level IV plate .......
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Don't forget that you need a Level IIIA vest (or Kevlar IIIA soft plate) under that to make it Level IV. For the price -- assuming the ceramic plates are undamaged -- the Frontier Level IV vests are still a much better buy.
 
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Four essential "B"s for a prepper/survivalist: Beans, bullets, bandaids -- and body armour.

Deferring to the fine folks at Frontier Firearms, I'll add another "B": Bible (the King James version which they offer up as a freebie on their website under FREE DVDs http://frontierfirearms.ca/index.ph...act-reference-bible-bonded-leather-black.html ).

We might need all five if a Contagion-like scenario unfolds: http://www.ondvdreleases.com/trailers-1105-contagion-dvd-release-date.html . Watched that flick last night and thought it was pretty good.
 
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5440fight said:
Being that this is Frontier's part of this site, as a courtesy, I would not promote a competitor here.
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Psssssst....you might want to scrub your quoted bubble a wee bit (see top of this page for example) or you will be promoting a competitor. In my mind, however, Frontier Firearms has no competition especially when it comes to offering up first rate Level IV vests: http://frontierfirearms.ca/index.php/body-armour.html .
 
I am still thinking of getting a ceramic vest from FF. Just to compare the two, I wish my employer would step up to the " Plate's" and get me some but that won't happen any time soon. So I figured I would go my own route.
 
.buyer beware Kevlar has a service life. After some time the ballistic integrity of the Kevlar will degrade.

In summation....I agree not really worth it if it's a buy just to have thing!
 
007derek said:
.buyer beware Kevlar has a service life. After some time the ballistic integrity of the Kevlar will degrade.
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And pray tell us all what the service life of Kevlar is in your professional experience?

In the experience of many folks in the industry who've actually tested the stuff -- yes, the old stuff -- it's fine going out a lot longer that the specified 5 year replacement date, especially if it's been taken care of. Some of the vests that Frontier has for sale appear to have never been worn or minimally at best.

Bulletproofme.com shows an example of an 11 year-old Kevlar vest being riddled with hits with no problem. Other testers have done the same thing. And I wouldn't worry about the Kevlar as much as I'd worry about the rifle plate that's actually going to stop a high velocity round coming in from a long gun. A brand new Level IIIA vest is not going to stop a hot rifle round any more than an "old beater" vest will. But of course you know that already. If not, read on: http://www.bulletproofme.com/Ballistic_Protection_Levels.shtml . Upping the underlying Level protection via a thicker Kevlar layer ensures that a higher blunt trauma force load can be received without killing you outright, but not necessarily stopping penetration. Get hit with a centrefire round and that vest will do diddly unless it has a hard plate in it. Even a Level IIIA soft armour vest is generally only good for protection against pistols/revolvers/shotgun pellets/light calibers. Blunt trauma can kill you as easily -- if not more so -- as the actual penetration by a bullet. In the case of the bullet, it might pass entirely through your body and not hit anything critical. If blunt trauma force isn't reduced drastically, ribs can break, organs get punched, displaced and damaged, etc. You get the idea.
 
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