Body Armor has sparked a debate amongst the people of the country ever since the Democrats decided it was time to put forth some type of restriction on it when it comes to the purchase for civilian use. In a previous article, I had expressed my viewpoints on why I believe body armor should be more available to the civilian market, and why restricting it would be something that I find detrimental to safety. When it comes to this I was very supportive in favor of the people to be able to obtain armor to protect them and their loved ones, especially in a day in age where it should be easily accessible and on hand in case of an emergency. So in support of my work, I had decided in following up on the support for body armor with a review on, “ Yes, you guessed it, body armor!”

The company that I have decided to write a review on when it comes to their work with body armor is High Com Armor. I have had the chance to go over a lot of what they have to offer to either the public or government contracts. They supply a lot of different items that may be found useful when it comes to protecting people. After going through their products, I have decided to do a review on their Level IV 4s17m plates. I decided that this would be the best place to start due to the fact that my readers.

The first thing I want to go over in this article is ratings that it holds up to when it comes to calibers, rifles, etc. This information comes from the producer of the armor itself.

WEAPON             AMMUNITION           VEL (FT/S ± 30)       VEL (M/S ± 9)

Rifle M-1 NIJ06 7.62 x 63 mm – AP M2     2880                                 878

Rifle AK-47, M, SKS 7.62 x 39 mm – API               2380                                             725

Rifle M-16/AR-15 5.56 x45mm – M855/SS109     3117                                             950

Rifle M-16/AR-15 5.56 x45mm – M193                 3150                                 960

Rifle SVD, Dragunov 7.62 x 54R-LPS                 2840                                 865

Rifle SVD, Dragunov 7.62 x 54R-L                             2840                                 865

Rifle M-1             7.62 x 63 mm – JSP                 2780                                 847

Rifle SVD, Dragunov 7.62 x 54R -B-32 API                 2800                                 854

Rifle FN FAL             7.62 x 51 mm – M80                 2780                                 847

Rifle AK-47, M, SKS 7.62 x 39 mm –Mild Steel Core 2380                                             725

Rifle AK-47, M, SKS 7.62 x 39 mm – Ball                 2380                                 725

This information provided by the company is something that many individuals whether they are Law Enforcement, Military, Federal Agents or people looking to add another form of protection in case of emergencies should look at it.

The next thing I would like to go over is the maneuverability the user has when they are faced with while wearing the armor. I have taken the armor to the range in hopes that I would be able to perform just as well as I would if I wasn’t wearing any armor. The best thing that I can say when it comes to armor is that you definitely know that it is there when you are training.

This is something that you should have realized when going into training while in full kit. I was able to shoulder my rifle without any restrictions and that was something that I had found extremely important. Now a lot of the time, especially if you haven’t worn body armor before, you will notice that it will take some time to be able to adjust to you. The “shooters cut” I find is something that should be praised upon when it comes to this type of armor.

To extend further on the plates “shooters cut.” I haven’t had the chance to hit the range using body armor in awhile. I pictured this as something that I find to be concerning in my point of view. I was used to armor before that made it extremely uncomfortable to be able to shoot. So when I shot my rifle while wearing this armor I was extremely surprised.

Thanks to this specific cut of the plates, I was able to fully perform to the expectations at the range that I was hoping for. I was able to fully maneuver my rifle the way that I wanted to shoot whether it was my dominant or opposite hands. The cut made it possible for me to be able to position my rifle without having to worry about the armor being in the way.

• I had laid in the prone position as well and felt comfortable shooting in this position.

More information that was made available on the site that I believe is extremely important and a few of the focus points will be touched on in this article as well. 

Protection: Level IV Stand Alone Armor Piercing

NIJ Standard 0101.06 CERTIFIED: This product is NIJ 0101.6 compliant “Certified” by NIJ and can be found on the NIJ’s CPL

DEA: Hard Armor Protocol Compliant

RST: Rifle Special Threats Validated

Material: Ceramic strike face composite backing

Exterior Cover:  1000D Cordura®, Textured Nylon

Cut: The 10” x 12” shooters cut plates are considered nominal and the actual measurement is  9.5” x 11.5”.

Thinness: 0.95”

Warranty: 10 years on all ballistic material excluding exterior cover and 1 year on exterior cover material and workmanship.

• On the inside of the plates is a QR code that you can scan that allows you to see when the plates are made along with other information. 

• When it comes to the 10-year warranty I believe that this is something I find to be beneficial. A good 10 years is something that I believe to be just right in the warranty field before someone has to buy more updated and more reliant armor.

After doing my due diligence of looking into and studying the properties of the body armor, I would have to give high marks to Highcom Body Armor. Looking into what they are producing for the general public and private purchases such as Government agencies. I believe that after reviewing the ballistics information that this armor is rated too, and going through different tests that when it comes to body armor I believe that it is something individuals should be able to obtain.