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.

Do ceramic armor plates expire. If your armor is expired and you cannot afford something new keep on wearing it. Both are really hot. You won t be able to move as quickly or get in and out of shooting positions easily while wearing it. Steel plates are easily 8lbs or more each.

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. Does body armor actually expire. 1 body armor is heavy and hot.

No one wants to find out the hard way that an expired vest is no longer viable. 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. You should expect to wear expired armor at your own risk.

I literally only wear them once or twice a year for a class or match that requires them. 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. Plate armor is really heavy. With the necessary spall coating maybe more.

They have a label that said expires in 5 years and their website says shelf life of 5 years. However there are no guarantees and no official testing for expired armor. Do they really stop working after that long. Again they do not expire and a pair will probably cost about 300 350.