Why do people own plate carriers?

I've had one for about 3 years, right now all it has is level 3a soft armor inserts front back and sides. I got it partly because it looks cool at a 3gun match not gonna lie and I feel that it could serve a practical purpose in the event of unpredictable scenarios occurring. I have enough ammo and rifles to arm a small squad of individuals in the event of something bad occurring, I might as well protect myself somewhat from pistol rounds as well as shrapnel. I'm looking at getting rifle plates eventually and relegating the pistol plates for the girlfriend but thats for later on. I do routinely practice shooting while wearing the vest running drills with friends and running around in it periodically taking short hikes of 2 miles or so with gear at the ranch for practice etc. Like they say train like you fight.
 
I believe Massad Ayoob once commented he has a raid style bullet resistant vest with cell phone and spare magazine for his Beretta 92 sitting at the ready - wanna tell him that he's an idiot?
 
I believe Massad Ayoob once commented he has a raid style bullet resistant vest with cell phone and spare magazine for his Beretta 92 sitting at the ready - wanna tell him that he's an idiot?
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A little sensitive, are we? My handgun is always easily accessible. It doesn't have a rail. It doesn't have a flashlight attached to it and it doesn't have a laser. If I were to own body armor, I wouldn't have it lying next to my bed - I'd have it for kicks and giggles, mostly. The handgun can be concealed, taken with me, hidden and very quickly deployed. The American Rifleman posts stories about how individuals used guns to repel or thwart attacks every month. Pretty good evidence that guns, especially hand guns, are quite useful.

You can rationalize anything as useful, I suppose. I just don't see any real evidence that body armor has been useful in a burglary/home defense situation. Now, for SHTF situations, it may be useful.
 
Originally posted by armoredman: I believe Massad Ayoob once commented he has a raid style bullet resistant vest with cell phone and spare magazine for his Beretta 92 sitting at the ready - wanna tell him that he's an idiot?
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If that's what Massad is comfortable with for SD/HD, then he should never be without it. But just because it's an absolute for him does not mean all of us need to walk around like Mall Ninjas, wearing them. Remember, he also claims folks should never use handloads for SD/HD. Not everyone in the world agrees with that one either.


The point being, folks should use what makes them feel safe to protect them and theirs, from doing research and personal experience....not just what MA uses or what those folks on "Tactical T.V." use. Folks should also be able to use, or not use, whatever they want without being mocked or looked down upon. Just cause Joe thinks that anything smaller than a .45 will not hold up in a firefight against a group of terrorists, doesn't mean John is not safe carrying a 9mm for SD. If folks want something just because they think it is cool, and they can afford it, why should anyone feel it necessary to come on a public forum and question their reasoning?
 
Body armor doesn't make me feel much safer, but that may be because I'm not worried about bullets as much as I'm worried about bombs. I'm firmly in the "because-I-can" camp, but I'll probably never have plate carriers or body armor for myself.
 
If the US government started talking about banning armor, would some or many of you buy it? I know several guys who were "anti-AR-15" that ran out and bought one after Sandy Hook.

As another poster mentioned, it is something that would be very useful in an emergency...just like our everyday carry pistols. The odds are in any given year that the owner will not need to use it, but they're carried anyway. The great thing about armor is there is nothing to maintain other than follow the storage, handling, and cleaning instructions if it's ceramic or other magic material.
 
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Skans said:
You can rationalize anything as useful, I suppose. I just don't see any real evidence that body armor has been useful in a burglary/home defense situation. Now, for SHTF situations, it may be useful.
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Apparently being shot at in your home doesn't qualify as SHTF?? What, then, meets your definition?

With tens of thousands of gun related shooting deaths annually, and a large percentage of those occurring in the home during criminal actions, the ABSENCE of the very life saving device is telling.

Consider that thousands of military and police officer lives have been saved wearing ballistic armor. Seems obvious logical conclusion that it would and does save civilian lives. Simply because of the absence of news stories, doesn't preclude the usefulness of the item.

I'd bet that 100% of those people that died from a chest GSW would elect to come back from the grave and have been wearing ballistic vest if that were possible.
 
I'd bet all the Jews who were in Germany getting rounded up by the Nazis wished they have some plate carriers and a few full auto Saiga 12's or at least an AR.

I know I would.
 
I believe Massad Ayoob once commented he has a raid style bullet resistant vest with cell phone and spare magazine for his Beretta 92 sitting at the ready
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I believe he makes a lot more money than I do, to drop cash on a vest he may not have even had to pay for, and a cell phone that does nothing but sit in the molle webbing. I get more bang for my buck out of other expenditures. And, again, if SHTF I'll be able to scavenge a nice second-hand one-previous-owner rig if I live long enough to need one.
 
I believe he makes a lot more money than I do, to drop cash on a vest he may not have even had to pay for, and a cell phone that does nothing but sit in the molle webbing. I get more bang for my buck out of other expenditures. And, again, if SHTF I'll be able to scavenge a nice second-hand one-previous-owner rig if I live long enough to need one.
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A carrier and plates can be had for well under $250. A disposable cell phone can be had for the cost of a nice lunch. Hardly unattainable for even the poorest individuals.

Save $1 per day and in 6 months you've got enough (I know lots of 'poor' people that waste more than that every day on Starbucks, scratch off lotto tickets, cigarettes, vending machine sodas/candy, etc.).
 
Body armor provides another option or layer of self-defense. The scenarios for civilian use are fewer than for LEO/Mil but as leadcounsel pointed out, there have many many instances of disasters followed by lawlessness and violence.

Not every defensive situation takes place at 0-dark-30 with meth-heads kicking in the front door.
 
Originally posted by leadcounsel:

A carrier and plates can be had for well under $250. A disposable cell phone can be had for the cost of a nice lunch. Hardly unattainable for even the poorest individuals.

Save $1 per day and in 6 months you've got enough (I know lots of 'poor' people that waste more than that every day on Starbucks, scratch off lotto tickets, cigarettes, vending machine sodas/candy, etc.).
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$1 a day for six months still leaves you $70 short of $250. Even those $10 disposable cell phones from WalMart cost $40 a month to keep in service. Whoops, there goes that dollar a day for the vest........:eek:


Spending a dollar a day for scratch off tickets, the odds are probably better for those "lots of poor people" that they'll win enough to buy a vest before they have the need for one. That's if their priorities tell them they really need one. That's kinda what this thread is about. Priorities. Whether a plate carrier is a priority for folks or not. To some it is, to some it isn't. No body is wrong, they just have different priorities. It's really not that hard of concept to grasp.
 
$1 a day for six months still leaves you $70 short of $250. Even those $10 disposable cell phones from WalMart cost $40 a month to keep in service. Whoops, there goes that dollar a day for the vest........
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Well it certainly wasn't literal nor intended as financial advice. By the way, I did say less than $250. But it was simply an off-the-cuff point. I know plenty of 'poor' people that can afford cigarettes, booze, nights on the town, nice designer clothes and accessories, the latest cell phones, $100+ shoes, and other garbage. I believe in some states an umemployed single parent can get some $40,000 or so in combined state and federal handouts. So certainly even the 'poorest' in society aren't doing too badly...

The point I was trying to make, which probably was clear to 99% of people, is that they are certainly not unattainable to anyone that can afford pretty much a roof over their head.

And they are quite useful, like the fire extinguisher in your home. When you need it, you NEED it. Ya know.
 
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Interesting how body armor has developed. During my time in the Army we just had OD flack jackets and steel pots. That steel helmet made a great basin to shave however. I have no need for body armor in my world now.
 
A carrier and plates can be had for well under $250.
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I know plenty of 'poor' people that can afford cigarettes, booze, nights on the town, nice designer clothes and accessories, the latest cell phones, $100+ shoes, and other garbage. I believe in some states an umemployed single parent can get some $40,000 or so in combined state and federal handouts. So certainly even the 'poorest' in society aren't doing too badly...
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Well I'm not poor, but I'm budgeted enough to have to prioritize. And booze I can enjoy today has a higher priority than a plate carrier I severely doubt ever using. Especially as I have a hard time finding a plate carrier and plates for under 250 without big disclaimers about the plates. A single new plate, of low (read heavy steel not light ceramic) quality is about 180 at the best price I've seen, and that's with a 50 dollar off sale.
 
Originally posted by leadcounsel:

The point I was trying to make, which probably was clear to 99% of people, is that they are certainly not unattainable to anyone that can afford pretty much a roof over their head.
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....and the point that I'm trying to make is that not everyone's priorities make them affordable at any price. No where in this thread have I said it is right or wrong to have one. All I have said is that it is a choice to be determined by the individual themselves....I also stated they do not and should not, have to justify their choices one way or the other, due to ridicule by folks that disagree. You seem to want us all to believe that we all need a plate carrier, and none of us should let the cost of one keep us from owning one, regardless of our financial situation or even if we don't feel the need. Folks like you that feel they are an important and necessary tool for SD/HD, would gladly pay many times over $250 for one......but for someone that feels no need, $75 would be too much to dish out for one. Folks continuously feel the need to justify their choices to others by claiming that their choice should be the same, and if it's not, they are wrong. That is not the case. No different than choice of caliber for SD/HD or the platform for that caliber. If spending monies on scratch-off cards or cigarettes(I do neither) is someone's priority over a plate carrier, what skin is it off your or anyone else's back? It is their safety you feel they are endangering, not yours.


BTW....the Jews in Nazi Germany did not have access to plate carriers, nor would they have done much good against the gas.
 
It is rediculous to me when I hear some one say why would some one need this firearm or that kind of combat gear . It angers me when I hear a American call for laws to prevent some one from owning a pice of defencive equipment . We live in the USA . I dont need some suit and tie guy sitting at a desk shuffleing pappers telling me I can't own a type of firearm or gear . In my opinion for a freadom loving American not to have thier own battle rattle is discusting . I have combat gear from all over the World its a right I have as a citzen of the greatest Country in the World . Like we used to say U.S.A LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT .
 
I own a plate carrier, soft and hard plates because there may arise the situation whereupon they may save my scrawny butt.
 
1.) The Corps didn't ask for it back

2.) A plate carrier beats an OTV

3.) It serves as a convenient platform for mounting magazine pouches

4.) To someone who hasn't spent days running around in one loaded with plates, ammo, and a camelbak, it probably looks pretty cool.

5.) In case SHTF. Part of the reason I haven't sold mine actually.
 
This comment is directed at those that flat out refuse to one a plate carrier and plates.

1. It's your decision. No skin off my back.
2. However, how do you reconcile owning a defensive handgun in the home - which presumably you want and think you may one day need against an armed assailant or group of assailants (presumably armed with guns), - with the same attitude of "I won't need a ballistic vest."

I'm genuinely interested in what seems to be a logical fallacy and internal contraction/inconsistency.

It would be the equivalent of saying that you have a fire extinguisher because you want to defeat a fire in your home and expect there is enough risk that it's worthy of owning taking that precaution. But in the same illogical breath, saying that you don't install smoke detectors because you don't think they will be needed.

I can't reconcile the difference, frankly.
 
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