Search Results
6/22/2025, 6:36:25 PM
>>63879602
Glad to help. Unfortunately, the armor industry is extremely shady and Adept / Diamond Age (pic related) is not the first to come out swinging with allegedly revolutionary armor. Ever since the first iteration of the NIJ standard was developed in '71, there have been buzzwords, scandals, and bullshit from a lot of people. Probably at least two dozen companies by this point. Even huge guys like Second Chance have pulled bullshit in the past - Zylon in particular. That got people killed.
Youtubers need to be taken with serious grains of salt. If they have affiliate links, they make money when the armor makes money. Pretty clear conflict of interest.
If something's not on the NIJ CPL and it's not made by a Big Six (Ceradyne - do not trust their GEN III TSA / SPEAR plates though, BAE, formerly owning Protech / Safariland, LTC, Tencate, Hesco, Highcom) then it needs to be treated with caution. Those last two - Hesco and Highcom, still need to be treated with some hesitation. Hesco has had several NIJ suspensions (3410, 3610, 4600, 4400, IIRC) and Highcom pulled nasty bullshit with the 4SAS4 months ago while continuing to pull sizing shenanigans with their undersized, allegedly 10x12" shooters cut. Stick to Hesco's currently certified plates - 4403, 4601, 3810, and you're fine. Stick to Highcom's SAPI-sized .06-certified plates and you're okay.
Long story short, the armor industry is the shadiest gun-adjacent industry probably by a large margin. All claims need to be verified. Do not trust any one singular source, not even the NIJ. Combine all the information available to get the best conclusion. We can give you shortcuts here, but you shouldn't trust the guys here completely either. It's a lot of homework.
But the short list is basically LTC 19513 for III+ - where the Mantis is, Hesco 4403 for IV if you're strapped, REV. J ESAPI + soft armor if you're not strapped, XSAPI + soft armor if you have concerns with tungsten core threats.
Glad to help. Unfortunately, the armor industry is extremely shady and Adept / Diamond Age (pic related) is not the first to come out swinging with allegedly revolutionary armor. Ever since the first iteration of the NIJ standard was developed in '71, there have been buzzwords, scandals, and bullshit from a lot of people. Probably at least two dozen companies by this point. Even huge guys like Second Chance have pulled bullshit in the past - Zylon in particular. That got people killed.
Youtubers need to be taken with serious grains of salt. If they have affiliate links, they make money when the armor makes money. Pretty clear conflict of interest.
If something's not on the NIJ CPL and it's not made by a Big Six (Ceradyne - do not trust their GEN III TSA / SPEAR plates though, BAE, formerly owning Protech / Safariland, LTC, Tencate, Hesco, Highcom) then it needs to be treated with caution. Those last two - Hesco and Highcom, still need to be treated with some hesitation. Hesco has had several NIJ suspensions (3410, 3610, 4600, 4400, IIRC) and Highcom pulled nasty bullshit with the 4SAS4 months ago while continuing to pull sizing shenanigans with their undersized, allegedly 10x12" shooters cut. Stick to Hesco's currently certified plates - 4403, 4601, 3810, and you're fine. Stick to Highcom's SAPI-sized .06-certified plates and you're okay.
Long story short, the armor industry is the shadiest gun-adjacent industry probably by a large margin. All claims need to be verified. Do not trust any one singular source, not even the NIJ. Combine all the information available to get the best conclusion. We can give you shortcuts here, but you shouldn't trust the guys here completely either. It's a lot of homework.
But the short list is basically LTC 19513 for III+ - where the Mantis is, Hesco 4403 for IV if you're strapped, REV. J ESAPI + soft armor if you're not strapped, XSAPI + soft armor if you have concerns with tungsten core threats.
Page 1