Dayton armor

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Flight567

Newbie
Has anyone every heard of them? Their home office is a few minutes from my house. I'm kind of interested in what they have.

Dayton armor makes a lot of interesting claims. I don't know how many of them I believe. None of their plates are on the NIJ list but I know that they have several years worth of contracts and renewals with SOCOM.

I believe that they use UHMWP for their plates, but in not sure. I didn't see a lvl IV equivalent, but the do make a special threat equivalent.

Just looking for opinions. In reality I'm probably going to gram some RMA plates instead; but the novelty of having an armor company in my back yard is definitely interesting.

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AT Armor

AT Armor

Member
Vendor
“None of their plates are on the NIJ”
^
Probably a good place to start the purchase decision.

“but I know that they have several years worth of contracts and renewals with SOCOM.”.
^
I dont know them, but I cant find their company assigned CAGE code. It could be listed under another entity, but folks usually like to ride that branding across all the sales funnels.
 
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Flight567

Newbie
I'm thinking that I'm going to go to their factory this week. I was invited in to look at some stuff, not that I'm anything like an expert. I talked to their CS today, and was told that they had worked with tencate some years back. I also understand that they are supplying some local swat teams (again, not that that's in necessarily proof of quality.)

https://www.governmentcontractswon.com/department/defense/dayton-armor-llc-078275246.asp?yr=12
I'm not really sure what I'm looking at there. It says R&D, and one contract specifies lightweight helmets I think. I would love if someone more versed in these matters would read that and let me know what it means.

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Flight567

Newbie
I'm thinking that I'm going to go to their factory this week. I was invited in to look at some stuff, not that I'm anything like an expert. I talked to their CS today, and was told that they had worked with tencate some years back. I also understand that they are supplying some local swat teams (again, not that that's in necessarily proof of quality.)

https://www.governmentcontractswon.com/department/defense/dayton-armor-llc-078275246.asp?yr=12
I'm not really sure what I'm looking at there. It says R&D, and one contract specifies lightweight helmets I think. I would love if someone more versed in these matters would read that and let me know what it means.

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Bpeak88

Bpeak88

Amateur
Ive never heard of them and they're about 20 minutes away from me. I'd be interested in checking them out but in no way would I trust their armor without NIJ certification. I'm a big Hoplite fanboy anyway. I love their ethics.
 
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Flight567

Newbie
Bpeak88 said:
Ive never heard of them and they're about 20 minutes away from me. I'd be interested in checking them out but in no way would I trust their armor without NIJ certification. I'm a big Hoplite fanboy anyway. I love their ethics.
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I went to their office this afternoon. Talked with the owner, and an employee. Handled a lot of their stuff including some samples that they/ a couple of local PDs had shot. The guys there are awesome. I learned a lot talking to them. After handling their products, seeing their results and talking to them I would feel comfortable with their plates in my carrier.

They definitely use quality materials in their armor. I handled a couple of raw plates without any covers on them, and the polyethylene they use is absolutely high quality. I have no reason to believe that anything they use would be otherwise. The guys there are extremely knowledgeable regarding materials science, ballistics, and the armor market.

All that being said, I'm probably picking up some l210s because of budgetary constraints. At some point I wold like to pick up a set of their rf2 plates. They are really impressive.
Edit:
I'm in fairborn if you want to get together to train, or anything, at some point.

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Bpeak88

Bpeak88

Amateur
Personal opinion I'd go with a level 4 plate over the l210s. If budget is a concern RMA has super cheap level 4s and Hoplites aren't much more. You'll just be a little heavier than the l210s. Apex Armor Solutions is owned by a great guy (John Sun) that has plates in stock. Knowledgeable and trustworthy.
 
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Flight567

Newbie
Bpeak88 said:
Personal opinion I'd go with a level 4 plate over the l210s. If budget is a concern RMA has super cheap level 4s and Hoplites aren't much more. You'll just be a little heavier than the l210s. Apex Armor Solutions is owned by a great guy (John Sun) that has plates in stock. Knowledgeable and trustworthy.
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I've thought about the IVs. The RMAs are something like 8lbs/plate, which is ~6lbs heavier per set than are the l210s. Why do you prefer level IV plates? My only misgiving about the l210s are their failure to stop m80. I don't worry overmuch about facing a 30-06, but .308 is fairly common.

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Bpeak88

Bpeak88

Amateur
Flight567 said:
I've thought about the IVs. The RMAs are something like 8lbs/plate, which is ~6lbs heavier per set than are the l210s. Why do you prefer level IV plates? My only misgiving about the l210s are their failure to stop m80. I don't worry overmuch about facing a 30-06, but .308 is fairly common.

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If you're concerned about 308 I believe l210s stop the round but have massive backface deformation. The lack of NIJ cert is of concern for me because that covers everything including drops n such. Mission dictates gear so l210s might be a better option for you. If you want I can link you with an Armor guy that I trust that can explain the pros and cons better idk if he's in here yet but he's on FB still.
 
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Flight567

Newbie
Bpeak88 said:
If you're concerned about 308 I believe l210s stop the round but have massive backface deformation. The lack of NIJ cert is of concern for me because that covers everything including drops n such. Mission dictates gear so l210s might be a better option for you. If you want I can link you with an Armor guy that I trust that can explain the pros and cons better idk if he's in here yet but he's on FB still.
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NIJ is important, but I'm willing to take hescos brand name as assurance of quality. In a similar way, im willing to take proof of quality, and our discussion from Dayton armor as assurance.

I would be happy to talk to your armor guy!

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Bpeak88

Bpeak88

Amateur
Flight567 said:
NIJ is important, but I'm willing to take hescos brand name as assurance of quality. In a similar way, im willing to take proof of quality, and our discussion from Dayton armor as assurance.

I would be happy to talk to your armor guy!

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This is his FB page. I don't know if he's on here yet I'll have to ask then figure out how to tag someone lol. If you have any armor questions he's who I'd recommend to talk to. I won't buy plates elsewhere.
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Flight567

Newbie
LukeNCMX said:
Agreed. Another armor company worthy of trust is Velocity Sytems. P&S Modcast 196 covered this topic and is definitely worth a listen.


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The owner had talked about velocity systems. I don't remember exactly what he said though. I'll text the guy that gave me his number and ask about it tomorrow.

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Tim Shaffer

Tim Shaffer

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
I would also offer a second recommendation for AT Armor. There is a significant difference in being a reseller of someone's kit and being a SME who has a hand in designing specifications for their own armor.

The gents at AT are top notch and will give you the brutal honest feedback and recommendations that are required for this niche. Your life is worth using known quantities and not people that are generally parroting sales literature.
 
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Flight567

Newbie
Is it preferable to contact at armor through p&s, or email/call them?

I'm not buying dayton armor just hoping that they are legit; they're from my home town.

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