r/canadaguns • u/pooshlinger • May 01 '26
Gun and gear reviews Body armour?
Im wondering if anyone has much knowledge or experience on body armour in Canada, specifically BC.
I do alot of shooting on crown land and in my area theres alot of other shooters in close proximity, so Im mainly just concerned about ricochet or stray rounds, or the odd crazy hillbilly when Im out in the forest.
Im leaning towards a soft vest as opposed to plates just for more coverage and being concealable if need be. A carrier would be cool and Ill end up buying one eventually but in a situation that I need to be wearing a vest, it screams “shoot me”.
However soft armour really only goes up to NIJ 3A. I like the idea of level 3 plates in a carrier just for the fact that 99% of shooters out there are shooting rifle rounds and shotguns, protection from just pistol rounds is kind of irrelevant in this situation.
On another note, Ive heard LOF defence is good, wondering what other options there are out there and where I can find them. Im aware that Canarmor is a heaping load of chinese shite.
Soft vest for peace of mind or blow the budget on a nice carrier and some plates?
5
u/BigRedGunNut May 01 '26
Personally, as others have said, I'd recommend plates. Further, I recommend doing research and shopping in China. Your not a cop, or security and the Chinese plates can be great at a fraction of the cost. I bought these 3a plates for $25 each on sale from Aliexpress a few years back. I didn't trust them so I bought 3 using one to test. The level 4 plates are more expensive but at the prices they sell for you can afford to buy test plates and try them out and still be a fraction of North American manufactured plates. Heck, you can buy sets from a number of different Chinese manufacturers and try them all out and still be cheaper.
On a side note, Canadian Customs has no problem letting them in. Body armor is privincialy regulated in some provinces like Alberta but not federally. I made that call before my purchase.