Hey everyone, I've been going down a rabbit hole on ballistic plate comparisons (backpacking101.com) protection options lately and wanted to share some thoughts because there's tons of debate out there, so buckle up — AR500 steel body armor are nearly indestructible and significantly less expensive than ceramic body armor options, but the spall and fragmentation is genuinely dangerous if your carrier doesn't have proper spall coating, and when you're comparing steel vs ceramic body armor, the weight difference is massive, since Level IV ceramic plates in ceramic are noticeably lighter even though Level III rated steel in AR500 steel plates can take round after round, so honestly any solid body armor buying guide will tell you it ultimately depends on your specific use case — what do you guys think?