How to wear hard armor plate properly?

As the necessary bulletproof equipment for military activities, hard armor plates have been widely used in the army, security agencies and defense departments, and has saved countless lives. What we should keep in mind is that only used in right way can it exert its full function.

Hard armor plates can be divided into two types: STA plates and ICW plates.

STA plates (stand-alone plates) can be used in the chest pocket of an ordinary tactical vest or the pockets at the front, sides and back of a bulletproof vest for a comprehensive protection. While ICW plates (In conjunction with plates) must be used together with a NIJ IIIA bulletproof vest. No matter which kind of plate is used, its placement and cohesion with vests are very important. There is always Velcro on the bulletproof or tactical vests by which you can adjust the plate to a proper position.

Besides, if necessary, you can also put the STA bullet-proof socket in the backpack interlayers or other bags you carry daily. But it should be noted that you’d better to connect the plate with the backpack as tight as possible, or it can't provide full and effective protection for the user. There are several ways to fix the plate: you can put it in a narrow interlayer, or fix it with a magic sticker or tape sticker inside.

It is a common sense that a bulletproof plate mainly works for protecting our important organs such as heart and lungs in threatening environments. So, it must be able to cover the area between the collarbone and the naval. Therefore, the best coverage is from the collarbone to the naval or about one inch above the naval (an injury to the lower naval is usually not life threatening), so it will not bring action impediment to users while providing protection to their vital organs. Most armor plates are produced based on the US Military’s medium-sized SAPI plate with a dimension of W 9.5”x H 12.5”/W 24.1 x H 31.8 cm, however, different people have different heights and shapes, so the same plate cannot cover the same part of different wearers’ bodies. But for most people, the SAPI-sized plate has enough effective protection area to cover all the vital organs in the abdomen, provided it is positioned properly. There is a reference for the correct placement of plates: put the upper edge of the plate close to the collarbone to see where the lower edge drop. If the lower edge of the board is close to the navel or within an inch above the navel, the placement is great; If the lower edge of the insertion board is below the navel, you should move the plate up slightly to a proper place according to your needs. Of course, if your body size is much small or larger than common people, you can customize the bulletproof plate with an appropriate size according to your body shape. Remember never to wear an unsuitable plate, or it will threat your life safety.