The Best Level III Steel Body Armor I’ve Used

Hey everybody, how's it going? It's your daily shooter and today I want to talk about body armor, but more specifically the best steel body armor that I've used to date. Now, over the past several years I've had a chance to review and test several different types of body armor. Everything from Kevlar to composites like ceramic and polymer, AR500 steel, AR550 steel, Duracell 8000, and several different types of body armor in between. Now, I have my favorites in each category, but when you're talking about steel there's one that's kind of stood out to me over the past couple years. Now, without making you guys wait too long, let me go ahead and show you what I would consider the best steel body armor that I've used to date. Now, I've used a lot of different types of body armor, I've tested a lot of body armor, but I haven't used everything on the market. So, I can't say that it's the best of the best, but I can say in several different categories this is the best body armor that I've tested at least. So, we're talking about body armor and steel body armor in general from Premier Body Armor. Now, truth be told, the reason I'm making this video is because my wife and I, we were sitting on the couch the other night watching the news and we just couldn't believe the amount of civil unrest that was taking place in this country. I mean, we were watching people being harassed, people that were being stopped in their cars at intersections, people that were being pulled from their cars and beaten, large groups going after other groups based on their political leanings, and even the small stuff like Ted Cruz being forced from a restaurant by a large group of people just kind of chanting at him. I mean, it's just absolutely incredible the amount of civil unrest that's grown since 2016. So, we just kind of looked at each other and at least we were happy because we had the peace of mind knowing that we had taken the proper steps to defend ourselves, defend our family through not only firearms, but also passive ways like body armor. You know, and I started thinking, okay, I have body armor for each person of the family, I have different types of body armor, and I just kind of, the thought came into my mind that I could let you guys know what my favorite body armor was based on different criteria. So, we're going to start off with steel body armor today, and again, we're talking about Premier body armor. This happens to be their level three Duras 8000. Okay, so let's go ahead and first start by talking about ballistic protection because that's why you're buying body armor, right? You want it to stop bullets. So, does it stop the bullets? Then it says it's going to stop, and that's the one category where I kind of felt like it's a wash between all of the types of body armor that I have tested. So, if you're talking about steel body armor, it doesn't matter if it's AR-500, AR-550, or Duras 8000 like the Premier body armor, they all stop the rounds that they say they're going to stop within their threat profile, and what I mean by threat profile is the National Institute of Justice, or NIJ, sets a series of standards that put a type of body armor in a certain category. So, something like a level 3A soft body armor like Kevlar is going to stop and be rated for pistol calibers, okay? And then if you want to move up to a rifle caliber, you're going to go to a level 3, and that's what this is right here, and that's what a lot of other steel body armors are in this category. They're level 3. They're rated to take most common rifle caliber. So, your 308s, your 7.62x39, your 5.56, and so forth. And so, within the category of steel body armor in level 3, I haven't had a single one that has failed within, again, that threat profile. So, your common rifle calibers. Now, the thing is I have tested beyond the standard rifle calibers. So, when it comes to, this is a premier body armor panel right here where I've ripped off all of the buildup coating. So, I do typically test above that, and so what I've done here is I've shot this plate with multiple calibers, everything from your 7.62x51, 308, 7.62x39, your standard AK round, 223, 5.56, and then I upped it to sharps 25.45, and some other calibers that are on here as well, like 300 blackout and stuff, which doesn't really have a high chance of penetrating. Nonetheless, I still shot it, and I shot it with probably, I'm going to say, eight different cartridges, and not a single one passed through. And you can see that some of the heavier stuff, like your 308s and your 25.45 sharps, your 100 grain rounds, kind of made a slight dent on the back, still absolutely nothing went through. So, I do test above the standard NIJ limits, and I also bring it in as close as possible to make sure that I get the maximum velocities when I'm shooting at steel body armor, but I got to say that across the board, they all do their job within their threat profile. Okay, now that we know that ballistic protection is kind of a wash between all of the steel body armors that I've tested, let's go ahead and talk about the next two categories that I used to make my comparison, and that is weight and thickness. And that is where Premier body armor really kind of stood out to me, because out of all the steel body armor that I've used, this has got to be the lightest. It is extremely lightweight. Not only is it really lightweight, but it is very, very thin body armor. If you've ever seen steel body armor, you know that it's pretty thick. It's usually like a quarter of an inch thick. I'm going to say that this is probably half that thickness. I mean, it is extremely thin, and because it's so thin, it makes it very lightweight. And so weight savings is a big deal, because I mean, let's face it, steel body armor, steel body armor is heavy. You put on a front plate, you put on a back plate, it's heavy. You put on side plates, it's even heavier, and it can kind of wear on you after a little while. You don't want to wear it because it's just kind of weighing you down. I mean, it's heavy. So having something like this that allows you to get the affordability of steel body armor, but still save that weight means you have a higher likelihood of being able to wear it for longer periods of time without it just completely wearing you out. So it is very lightweight. It's very thin. And I think that overall, it adds to its wearability. And because you have a higher likelihood of wearing something that's going to be lighter, I think that definitely puts it ahead of the other body armors that I've tested. Now, the next category is another important category. This is something that kind of aids in the overall comfort and the wearability of the body armor. So it's lightweight, it's thin, but I also like this body armor over some others because this is a multi-curve rolled plate. So unlike, let's say like my AR500, the company AR500 armor, the armor that I have from them is a single roll curve. So it has a single curve to it. It's just kind of rolled like this. This right here is actually contoured so that it fits your body. I have a microphone right here, so you might not hear me, but it's contoured so that it fits your body a lot better. So instead of having just a single roll like that, this actually has a multi-curve to it that allows it to just kind of hug your body, which is nice because it just gives you a better overall feel, a little bit better movement, allows you to kind of get around, get your arms out in front of you and so forth, because you do have, again, that multi-curve. So you have a curve that goes this way. You also have a curve that kind of goes this way, and then some angles that kind of bring the plate in. And so you do get a definite nice rolled curve on this in several different areas. So instead of having a single curve, I like that the Premier is capable of a multi-curve steel plate. Now, my next category has absolutely nothing to do with ballistic protection and everything to do with cost, because if you can't afford to buy it, it does you absolutely no good sitting in a warehouse somewhere. So I think that cost is a very important factor. And when you move away from steel and you get into some of the composites, I mean, you're looking at a massive price increase typically. So you want to be able to stay in the steel because that's where the cost savings are going to be. And so you want something that's a pretty good price. Now, over the past, I don't know, five or six years, prices have dropped dramatically. And that's because there's a lot more competition on the market. There are companies that used to only sell to military contracts that are now selling in the civilian market. And with the flood of body armor coming in, it means that there's more competition and the prices go down. So I think that $115 per plate is actually a pretty good deal for something like this. Now, believe it or not, when I first reviewed this stuff, I think it was a couple of years ago now, they gave me a discount code and it looks like that discount code is still active. Not sure if it's Daily Shooter or The Daily Shooter, but I will check on that and I'll put the discount code in a link down in the description box so you guys can actually save some money on that as well. But prices have really come down. And if you're going to get into body armor, I think now is a great time to be able to do that. So this right now is about $115. Use the discount code, save yourself even a little bit more money. Now, before we end the video, I want to kind of clear up some common misconceptions about steel body armor. These are things that I see in the comment section all the time. People want to know, yeah, but can it stop green tip? Okay, that's a comment that I see quite often. And here's the thing about steel body armor. When it comes to steel body armor, velocity is its enemy. Okay, so the faster that a bullet is traveling, the higher the likelihood is that it's going to penetrate the armor. Because steel core rounds like the 62 grain green tips or SS109 are moving much slower than let's say a 55 grain standard full metal jacket. The 62 grain green tip actually has a lesser chance or a lesser likelihood of passing through steel body armor than a regular 55 grain 223. And that's because the 55 grain is moving so much faster. Remember, when it comes to steel body armor, speed is what kills. So the slower rounds, the heavier the bullet, the slower the projectile, the less likelihood that it's going to go through the body armor. So remember, in today's climate, with the type of civil unrest that we're seeing on TV, we got to make sure that if the boiling point ever gets to a point where it boils over, that we're absolutely ready for everything. And that means that you have to go through not only the firearms and the training, but you also want to make sure that you have the passive stuff available to you as well. This right here allows you to stay in the fight. This offers you protection. And if you're wearing body armor and you can't afford body armor for your family, make sure that you're the one in the lead and that your family is behind you and so that you can protect them. It's one of those things where you really have to kind of weigh whether or not the value is there for you and if it's something that you think that is ever going to be needed. I mean, the chances that I'll ever use this body armor are slim to none, but having it around, it's just a peace of mind is, to me, it's beyond valuable. So thank you all very much for watching. I really do appreciate it. Please like, subscribe. Have a great day.