rat.bastard.reviews: Minuteman Armor
Disclosure: As always Id like to start by saying thank you to Minuteman Armor (MA), for sponsoring todays review, I know for small businesses especially it is difficult to manage that. At this time I must acknowledge that MA sent me a set of 10X12 SAPI CUT LVL.3 basecoat plates for review free of charge, My analysis and final review however, will not be effected by receiving these items free of charge; Don't believe me? Read older reviews I give 0 shits, and exist only to serve as a counter-balance for tactical Youtube cuck's. Now I ponder, If my reviews were created in a vacuum would they even exist? Am I only the Yin to some tactical fuckboys Yang? In a universe parallel to this one do I still inherit the male pattern baldness gene? lets find out below.
Initial Impression: These plates are heavy, really fuckin heavy; about 8lbs per plate. It blew my mind to find out this is actually barely on the heavier side of average for steel plates and compares pretty spot on for other top competitors with comparable products. The plate is cleanly cut, basecoat is nicely done, and logo is pretty badass for a simplistic design. It's kind of like the 1776 version of the Air Jordan logo. The plates seem solid and well made but something was missing........the NIJ Certification sticker. Yes that's right these plates aren't certified.
Breakdown: The fellas over at Minuteman Armor were quick to tell me it's not a company it's a project, Which is great because that changes everything. The project was started in October of 2020 by veterans working out of their homes and garages, The initial inspiration came about from the long lead times awaiting armor from large companies. After sitting around and bitching about it for awhile their brain-child Minuteman Armor was born producing lvl.3 steel flat plates made from only American sourced materials and tooling. Minuteman also tells me they have plans on releasing curved plates and lvl.4 Ceramic plates in the near future.
Minuteman Claims that their 10x12 lvl.3 1/4" steel plates can stop 30-30, .308, and 223 AP. They have informed me that when they do testing they test until the point of ineffectiveness, and that testing has also been corroborated by 2 separate independent parties. If that's the case they are correct in claiming that yes, their armor does exceed lvl.3 NIJ Certification. Now at this point I can pretty much read your minds, You're hearing my passive tone and questioning "I thought he was reviewing them?", "Didn't he shoot them?" Yes and No. I could have destroyed the plates to prove a point, but actually Minuteman Armor has done a pretty good job at documenting what they claim. Now, I haven't seen a 100% transparent Paul Harrell style video yet but I have seen photos and videos that do seemingly back their claims. And a very basic understanding of steel and armor would suggest they are in fact likely telling the truth.
That being said there are 3 unknowns for me walking into this review, 2 of which I felt like needed to be tested over destroying a steel plate that could likely save a life. The first unknown is without the build-up coat for spalling how much danger are you in? good question, This is the one unknown I decided not to test as there are so many aftermarket spall coat options out there that the answer seemed irrelevant for my scenario. The second unknown is with it being a flat steel plate how comfortable is the fitment and does it impede maneuverability? And the final unknown is what level of fatigue are you experiencing utilizing these heavy steel plates?
The fit, They are flat; they don't fit the curvature of your body well and can be uncomfortable in some situations. The level of your discomfort depends on your body shape, if you have a skinny or athletic build I would imagine the level of discomfort is somewhere between negligible and tolerable. I however am an oddly shaped ape man, a product of modern food and beer paired with Eastern European ancestry has left me short and broad I am a "thic boi" a "DILF" and a "Modern Sex Icon" and have to fight off the cat-girls and effeminate boys with a stick (joke). My belly would certainly benefit from some curvature but the product isn't meant to be comfortable its meant to keep you alive. With that in mind, It fits, its fine; If its not intolerable then tolerate it. Where its shape does raise flags for me is its maneuverability, The sizing actually allows it to move pretty fluidly in most all aspects besides rolling in prone, and sitting completely upright which still isn't terrible but bad enough to mention in passing.
The weight, its heavy for the size but that's the nature of steel. You should definitely invest in a solid plate carrier for it because I bought the cheapest piece of crap airsoft grade carrier I could find on Amazon and seriously shredded it in just a few weeks from simple testing and average wear. The weight paired with a crappy support system left a pinched feeling in my traps even when I wasn't wearing the carrier, and one of the shoulder straps ended up breaking. I ended up throwing it out in frustration which was a mistake because I hadn't taken a picture of it before hand. I bought this type of carrier because I knew I was going to end up tossing it out afterwards but I still assumed it would make it until I wanted to stop. Instead I never ended up shooting at the range with the plates on like I wanted. During my Hike's I did feel fatigued but it was largely overshadowed by the pain in my traps Which I mostly blame on the carrier.
Special Mentions: I did a testing portion for this review, It unfortunately didn't work out the way I wanted, Logistically this was the hardest review I have ever done. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong and it resulted in quite a delay on my end, I'm finishing now at basically the latest time I'd given myself. The testing largely consisted of a lot of Hiking, up-down drills, hasty vehicle exit drills, and several maneuverability drills. I wanted to do some live fire exercises and test different shooting positions in the Armor but couldn't proceed at this time. I did however collect enough data to feel confident in my overall decision on these plates.
Final Thoughts: I'm just going to come out and say it, I do not recommend that anybody who is buying Armor for its intended purpose buys any form of armor without certification. Now, that doesn't mean that Minuteman Armor makes bad products, or even that they don't exceed the certification rating. What it does mean is that in buying from any company without certification you are not receiving the guarantee that a piece of armor will perform at least to the certified standards. I really do hope that these guys can manage to acquire that because I like the guys behind Minuteman and admire the experience and drive they have for creating this project. Hell I like the simplicity of the product and that they operate out of their homes. I like everything about Minuteman Armor because it is a perfect snapshot of the American lifestyle I love. But I've said since the beginning I'm here to help guide consumers honestly, and without the certification; at this time I can only recommend them as training plates and nothing further.
-Rat Bastard
@minuteman_armor
http://minuteman-armor.com/
