LAPG Armor vs AR500 Armor + Atlas Plate Carrier Review
It's a budget body armor comparison!
Also, isn't "budget body armor" just an absolutely bananas concept, when you stop and think about it?
Also, isn't "budget body armor" just an absolutely bananas concept, when you stop and think about it?
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
We have always been skeptical of budget body armor offerings, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that LAPG’s body armor is about half the weight of its similarly-priced competitors, while offering the same penetration protection (as proven during multiple video tests by trusted sources on the web). This feat is possible because LAPG sources all of its armor plates from overseas, allowing them to sell lightweight alumina-ceramic/UHMWPE armor plates for the same price that Americans produce simpler AR500 steel plates. Moving beyond the plates, LAPG’s Atlas plate carrier is surprisingly robust and user-friendly for its price-point, but not dramatically more so than its American budget competitors. Finally, LAPG’s MOLLE magazine pouches and other add-ons are sturdy vest decorations that work well for periodic light usage.
If you are looking at basic body armor ($250-$350 for the carrier plus two plates) and you can stomach overseas manufacturing, LAPG’s Atlas plate carrier and armor plates are just as good as American AR500 steel, at the same price, for half the weight.
If you are looking at basic body armor ($250-$350 for the carrier plus two plates) and you can stomach overseas manufacturing, LAPG’s Atlas plate carrier and armor plates are just as good as American AR500 steel, at the same price, for half the weight.
Is it safe to buy cheap Chinese-made body armor?
The simple answer is yes. It is well-documented by reliable public sources (link, link, and one more link) that LAPG’s body armor does in fact meet the NIJ level of protection it says it does, including multi-hit protection. In other words, both a $250 set of LAPG armor and a $1500 set of professional-grade armor will perform similarly at their one key job: stopping bullets. For additional perspective, consult the below chart:
Yes, this chart is supposed to be funny. Please laugh.
The point is: there really isn't much difference in protection between cheap body armor and expensive body armor.
The point is: there really isn't much difference in protection between cheap body armor and expensive body armor.
The real difference between a $250 set of armor and a $1500 set of armor comes from the fit, the comfort, and the features. For professional users, the extra cost can be worth it – discomfort is distracting, and distractions can be dangerous. For the bulk of the US civilian population, however, a $250 set of armor is perfectly fine.
How and why is it so cheap?
To understand where LAPG body armor fits in the big picture, it’s helpful to know what “real” body armor costs: over $1,000. That’s around $300 for a plate carrier like the Crye JPC or the AWS Operator’s Choice, plus around $500 each for lightweight front and back plates. Your plate carrier will have all the features you didn’t even know you needed (emergency plate release straps, tie-downs for comms antennae, padding in critical plate areas, etc.), and it will be well-sized to you (most are offered in at least four sizes, S – XL) with hard armor plates that are themselves size-specific to each size of plate carrier, usually governed by the Small Armor Protective Insert (SAPI) standard:
Small Plate: 11.75” x 8.75”
Medium Plate: 12.50” x 9.50”
Large Plate: 13.25” x 10.50”
Extra Large Plate: 14.00” x 11.25”
Budget brands like AR500, Spartan Armor, and LAPG cut that cost way down with a few simple tricks. First of all, they almost all offer one-size-fits-all plate carriers with one-size-fits-all hard armor plates inside them. The fit isn’t exact, which can be an uncomfortable problem if you are humping your gear for mile after mile, but most buyers of budget armor will not wear it further than the parking lot at the range so fit is not typically a major issue.
Budget armor brands also tend to use plate carriers that have few extra features – there’s a lot of Velcro so they’re quite adjustable, but we have yet to see an emergency plate release strap. Budget plate carriers are also typically made overseas (usually China, Taiwan, or Vietnam) from cheaper materials (the LAPG Atlas carrier, for instance, is made from Kodra©, which is essentially an off-brand Cordura©) which allows the carrier to be sold for around $75 instead of $250+.
Small Plate: 11.75” x 8.75”
Medium Plate: 12.50” x 9.50”
Large Plate: 13.25” x 10.50”
Extra Large Plate: 14.00” x 11.25”
Budget brands like AR500, Spartan Armor, and LAPG cut that cost way down with a few simple tricks. First of all, they almost all offer one-size-fits-all plate carriers with one-size-fits-all hard armor plates inside them. The fit isn’t exact, which can be an uncomfortable problem if you are humping your gear for mile after mile, but most buyers of budget armor will not wear it further than the parking lot at the range so fit is not typically a major issue.
Budget armor brands also tend to use plate carriers that have few extra features – there’s a lot of Velcro so they’re quite adjustable, but we have yet to see an emergency plate release strap. Budget plate carriers are also typically made overseas (usually China, Taiwan, or Vietnam) from cheaper materials (the LAPG Atlas carrier, for instance, is made from Kodra©, which is essentially an off-brand Cordura©) which allows the carrier to be sold for around $75 instead of $250+.
LAPG does a decent job of keeping “made in China” off of the actual kit, but the plastic shipping bags tell the tale.
Finally, while most American budget brands do use American-made armor plates, it’s almost always plain AR500 steel plus a spray-on spall coating, which is cheap and effective, but also very heavy.
So what’s different about LAPG?
LAPG opts for a slightly different approach from other budget armor brands – they keep all the costsavings strategies described above, but then go overseas for the plates, too. This allows them to offer an alumina-ceramic/UHMWPE hard armor plate for around $120 (that kind of armor would be much, much pricier if it was made in the USA) that is half the weight of a similarly-priced American steel plate and requires no spall coating, since ceramic/UHMWPE is inherently anti-spall.
We weighed a LAPG Level III plate against an AR500 Armor Level III 10x12 multi-curve plate with extra PAXCON build-up coating.
Both plates cost exactly the same at $119 plus tax and shipping, but the LAPG plate is about half the weight.
Both plates cost exactly the same at $119 plus tax and shipping, but the LAPG plate is about half the weight.
More subjectively, our testers also found the LAPG plates to be more comfortable. Their corners are softer, so they are more comfortable and cause less wear on the plate carrier pocket, and they are much thicker than AR500 armor plates, so they fit the oversized armor pockets found in most cheap plate carriers much better.
Downsides
There is one large drawback to LAPG’s ceramic plates – they have less protective surface area versus a plain steel plate. The first reason for this is that the AR500 plates are just slightly bigger overall:
AR500 10x12 Plate Actual Measurements: 10.20” x 12.10”
LAPG 10x12 Plate Actual Measurements: 9.80”x 11.75”
LAPG 10x12 Plate Actual Measurements: 9.80”x 11.75”
In both directions, the LAPG plate is about 0.4” smaller. However, the LAPG plates also have a ridge that runs around the perimeter of the strike face, and that ridge is not ceramic-armored – you’re only getting the UHMWPE. This yields even less protection:
AR500 10x12 Plate Actual Measurements: 10.20” x 12.10”
LAPG 10x12 Plate Actual Ceramic-Armored Measurements: 8.5”x 10.5”
LAPG 10x12 Plate Actual Ceramic-Armored Measurements: 8.5”x 10.5”
In round numbers for surface area, this means the LAPG plates have about 35% less hard armor protection, although that’s not a completely accurate number because the UHMWPE perimeter will still provide some protection, just not as much as the combination of UHMWPE and alumina-ceramic plates.
LAPG Atlas Plate Carrier Review
This is a pretty solid plate carrier that fits a range of body sizes, and is particularly notable for having an adjustable hook-and-loop cummerbund that can take 6x6 armor side plates, an impressive feature on a plate carrier that sits right around $80. The cummerbund is also smartly designed, which makes it faster to put on and off that some of the competition.
The Atlas uses a lot of laser-cut webbing to save time on the sewing machines, and its priced similarly or just below to competitors like the AR500 Veritas and the Spartan Armor Shooter’s Cut – they’re all basic, one-size-fits-all carriers that hold the armor where you want it, and are adjustable enough to accommodate a pretty good range of sizes.
The Atlas uses a lot of laser-cut webbing to save time on the sewing machines, and its priced similarly or just below to competitors like the AR500 Veritas and the Spartan Armor Shooter’s Cut – they’re all basic, one-size-fits-all carriers that hold the armor where you want it, and are adjustable enough to accommodate a pretty good range of sizes.
Thanks to Instagram, we could see a whole a range of different body types wearing the Atlas, all with their heart and lungs protected.
LAPG MOLLE Accesories
LAPG supplied us with some pistol and rifle magazine pouches to go with our Atlas carrier, and after running them a bit, they’re “okay”. They look the part, but there isn’t a whole lot of double-stitching or bartacking happening, and the designs are pretty basic. Compared to kit from a duty-grade soft goods manufacturer like AWS Inc, the pouches from LAPG just don’t measure up, but they also cost about half as much and at the end of the day, they will hold a magazine in place until you need it.
Wrap-up
LAPG’s plate carriers and armor plates are all made overseas, which might leave a sour taste in your freedom-loving mouth, but the plain truth is that LAPG offers a much lighter set of armor for the exact same price as American brands like AR500 Armor and Spartan Armor. There is a small reduction in protected surface area, but actual penetration protection in the center mass of the plate is identical or better. At the end of the day, body armor has one main job – stopping bullets – and in a very real way, any armor that succeeds at that is money well spent. So call LAPG’s armor money well spent.
Do us a solid?
If you decide to buy after reading our article, consider doing us a favor and clicking here to go to LAPG's website instead of googling it yourself. It really helps us out.
And that’s it. Happy shooting.