Introduction
We live in an increasingly dangerous world. It is no longer just members of law enforcement and some first responders who are faced with ballistic threats but also teachers, students, bank employees, churchgoers, and mall shoppers, just to name a few.
People from every walk of life are being forced to learn to protect themselves and those they love. The best protection from a bad guy with a gun is a good guy or a good girl with a gun. Unfortunately, many people live or work in situations where having a firearm is not possible or not legal.
For those in these situations, or even in a situation where you are permitted to carry a firearm for protection, having body armor increases your chances of survival if things go sideways. RTS Tactical’s Lightweight Level III+ Plates and RTS Tactical’s Advanced Sleek 2.0 Plate Carrier are one of the available options for incorporating body armor into your bag of tricks.
Today we’ll be testing RTS’ plate carrier and Level III+ plates to see if they provide the necessary protection and comfort to be useful. Keep reading to find out the results!
RTS Tactical Lightweight Level III+ Plates and RTS Tactical Advanced Sleek 2.0 Plate Carrier
RTS Level III+ Plates For Sale
RTS Plate Carrier For Sale
Specifications
| Level | 3+ |
| Plate Size | 10”x12” |
| Material | Steel core |
| Weight | 5.9 pounds per plate |
| Coating | SelfSealing Polyurea |
Pros & Cons
- Lightweight for steel plates
- Provides outstanding protection for .308 Winchester and below
- Protects against the threats faced by the vast majority of users
- Comfortable plate carrier with multiple adjustment points
- Has issues with spalling
Full Video Review
Check out my full review on Youtube if you want to see me torture test the plates –
First Impression
RTS Tactical’s Advanced Sleek 2.0 Plate Carrier is very comfortable. I tested the non-ballistic performance of the plates and carrier by wearing them around my farm and while shooting the plates.
It distributed the weight of the plates effectively on my body and helped limit the strain of the extra weight. The fitment of the plates in the carrier is tight, which I like.
My one concern is my ability to add extra spalling protection to the plates and still get the plates to fit in the carrier.
If your job requires you to be less conspicuous while wearing armor, then the RTS Advanced Sleek 2.0 Plate Carrier is a good choice. A good example might be a school teacher who wouldn’t want to be wearing armor while teaching but might be interested in having some stashed in a closet.
The plates themselves are nice and lightweight for being steel. They have a thin coating on the plates, providing general surface and minor spalling protection.
On the Firing Line
Testing body armor requires a suitable facility. You need to be able to shoot the armor and examine it between shots. Walking up and down the firing line is not usually possible on a regular public range.
Thankfully, Trinity Armory has a training range that was the perfect safe environment.
The testing protocol I followed when shooting the plate involved a variety of cartridges and firearms. All shots were taken at 15 yards, with the plate on a weighted stand.
I first shot the plate twice with 124-grain NATO spec 9mm ammunition, once from a Glock 17 and once from a Grand Power Stribog. As expected, the steel plates easily defeated both shots. However, there was some spalling from the shattering of the projectile.
Next, I shot the plate with two AK-style rifles chambered in non-NATO calibers. I used a Zastava O-Pap rifle, the forerunner to the current M70 ZPap from Zastava, chambered in 7.62×39, and a Palmetto State Armory AK-74 chambered in 5.45×39.
I got a solid center shot on the plate using the Zastava AK-47. Once again, the plate held up very well and experienced minimal deformation. The plate coating took a good bit of damage from the spalling, but that’s it.
My shot from the AK-74 was not something I am very proud of. I hit the plate low and on the edge, but the plate did not fail despite my poor shot. The shot location demonstrates the strength of the plate, even at its edges.
Anyone who takes a hit in a location near the edge of the plate will have a significant amount of spalling hitting their body as the bullet shatters. At least that would be less life-threatening than having a 5.45 project pinballing around off your ribs and vitals.
After shooting the RTS plates with the AKs, I moved over to a 16” barreled Smith & Wesson AR-15. There were two loadings that I wanted to test against the plate. The “vanilla” M193 and the “penetrator” M855 are two of the most common military loadings in the world. While not one hundred percent the same, their civilian versions are close enough.
The steel armor defeated both XM193 and M855 with ease and very little, if any, bulging on the backside. Even the M855 did not pose a significant threat to the III+ plate.
One interesting result of shooting the plate with the two 5.56 cartridges was how they affected the coating.
With the 9mm and AK cartridges, the coating peeled back from the plate to the point of eventually falling off. With the 5.56 loadings, the coating appeared to vaporize around the impact point with minimal peeling.
The fabric I used to cover my stand also suffered from the shattering of the M855 projectile. The ability of the III+ plates to easily defeat the M855 penetrator and the spalling, as a result, demonstrates well the strengths and weaknesses of steel plates.
The real test for RTS Tactical’s III+ plates didn’t start until I reached the 7.62x51mm NATO. I used a Century Arms C308 and fired M80 ball ammunition.
The 7.62x51mm was the first cartridge that left a significant enough bulge on the rear of the plate to make me wonder if any ribs would be broken. I would be inclined to say your ribs would be intact but sore.
The impact point of the 7.62x51mm on the plate was the most impressive of all the impacts, and while the plate did experience some deformation, I had zero expectation that the plate was nearing failure.
The plate’s coating finally gave up after being hit by the 7.62 rounds. If you are being shot as many times on your plate as I have put into this one, you have more significant issues to worry about than spalling.
With the plate proving its ability to protect up to its threat rating level, it was time to test it to an even higher standard. I pulled out “the greatest battle implement ever devised,” my M1 Garand, and tested the ability of the plate to defeat surplus M2 Ball ammo at 15 yards.
The results were both good and bad.
The first shot on the armor partially defeated the plate. The projectile managed to blow a hole through the front face of the plate but didn’t actually pass through. There was a small hole in the plate, though, where the shattered fragments of the bullet would have passed through and inflicted a lousy day on whoever was wearing the plate.
That being said, probably not as bad of a day as if you weren’t wearing a plate and were shot by an M1 Garand. I also have questions about how much of the blow-through would have been caught by the plate carrier to protect the wearer further.
The second shot I took with the M1 Garand was defeated by the plate but with some deformation on the back side. The ribs would be bruised but not broken.
My third and final shot with the M1 Garand had the same result as the first. This demonstrated that M2 Ball sits right at the edge of the threat threshold for the plate. Increasing the distance between the muzzle of the rifle and the plate would increase the ability of the plate to withstand the M2 Ball.
Ammo Used
The following ammunition types were used for the testing:
- 9mm:124-grain NATO Spec FMJ manufactured by MKE
- 7.62×39: 122-grain FMJ manufactured by Tula
- 5.45×39: 60-grain FMJ manufactured by Silver Bear
- 5.56×45: 55-grain XM193 FMJ manufactured by Federal
- 5.56×45: 62-grain M855 Green Tip FMJ manufactured by Winchester
- 7.62×51: 149 grain M80 FMJ manufactured by Winchester
- 30-06: Surplus M2 Ball
Spalling Mitigation
You need to be proactive to address spalling with any steel plates. Whether you get a built-up coating, purchase a spalling bag, or use duct tape, mitigating spalling with steel plates is necessary. While researching body armor, I have heard of two options that I feel are good choices if you don’t go with a built-up initial coating.
Spartan Armor Systems sells a spall containment sleeve that is well-received within the firearms community. This isn’t a cheap option but isn’t overly expensive either. It will not eliminate spalling, but it will reduce it.
The other option I have heard of but never tried personally is using duct tape in a crosshatch pattern over the armor. T-Rex tape is one of, if not the best, duct tape options for spall mitigation. There are two different flavors I have seen recommended. Those two are the T-Rex® Tape Mighty Roll and T-Rex® Brute Force.
Conclusion
RTS Tactical’s Lightweight Level III+ plates and Advanced Sleek 2.0 plate carrier work great together to provide sufficient protection against the threats the vast majority of users could face. The plate easily defeated all projectiles up to 7.62x51mm, and the carrier is comfortable and functional.
The only real negative with these plates is the same for all steel plates, which is spalling. Overall though, these are lightweight steel plates with impressive threat protection.
If you are in the market for plates and a carrier, head to RTS and grab some high-quality gear.
