Do Ceramic Armor Plates Expire

You might have thought that expiration dates are limited to items like food and medicine but body armor and other similar safety products also have a shelf life. They have a label that said expires in 5 years and their website says shelf life of 5 years. Plate armor is really heavy.

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No one wants to find out the hard way that an expired vest is no longer viable.

Do ceramic armor plates expire.

Although an expired vest may not be penetrable by a bullet or blade its internal components are more likely to warp crack or dent causing serious bodily harm to the wearer. You should expect to wear expired armor at your own risk. If your armor is expired and you cannot afford something new keep on wearing it. It has been proven that body armor does maintain some of its ballistic properties long after the standard 5 year lifespan.

However there are no guarantees and no official testing for expired armor. Does body armor actually expire. Considering the price ceramic level iv plates are a better investment. A pair of those plates will run close to 200 if you don t skinflint the process.

Both are really hot. Again they do not expire and a pair will probably cost about 300 350. You won t be able to move as quickly or get in and out of shooting positions easily while wearing it. This is because the chemical compounds that make up a vest such as industrial fiber or kevlar degrade over time.

Do they really stop working after that long. With the necessary spall coating maybe more. Steel plates are easily 8lbs or more each. The soft armor isn t much more than about five pounds but it will wear you out if you aren t used to having it on.

Expired body armor may not provide adequate protection against deadly force. So i have a pair of ar500 level iv ceramic plates in my plate carrier. 1 body armor is heavy and hot. I literally only wear them once or twice a year for a class or match that requires them.