dkx max iii ballistic plates

FOG HORN 2013Twobirds Flying Publication

CSE Gear’s Modular Plate Carrier and DKX Max III Ballistic Plates – An eminently functional and light weight solution.

By: Sal Palma

It’s no rerun of “Will It Float”, these ballistic plates do in fact float. They are manufactured by DKX Advanced Manufacturing, Bismarck, North Dakota, and exhibit positive buoyancy making them an ideal choice for maritime operations. However, before I move into my review, I beg your indulgence to get a couple of points out of the way.

The recent mass shootings and bombings have created an opportunity for gun control advocates to leverage people’s fears. Any event, no matter how remote, is positioned to advance the gun control agenda. It’s not

just about firearms; included in that fear mongering is civilian use of ballistic protection.

Those efforts are spearheaded by a modern media that seems to have lost its way as well as its mission, and, we, the public, never get factual information or balanced views to aid us in forming our own opinions. It’s a sad state of affairs but it became brutally clear with Aurora, Sandy Hook and Boston.

In present day reportage, if a suspect wears a load bearing vest, as was the case in Aurora, in the commission of a crime it gets reported as body armor. In the wake of the Aurora, CO shootings, how many times did we hear CNN’s Piers Morgan, and others, report that James Holmes was covered “head-to-toe” in body armor, when in fact Holmes had nothing more than a load bearing vest, which simply allows pouches to be attached. Truthfully, what James Holmes wore on the night he committed his

Copyright 2013, Towbirds Flying Publication. All Rights Reserved.


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heinous crime would not have stopped a high velocity expulsion of intestinal putrefaction, let alone a police bullet.

There are many good people in the media but it just seems they can’t separate personal opinion from reporting. I sincerely believe ignorance is fueling that problem, but I also recognize there is little or no desire for enlightenment. It’s distressing to me and I hope to you.

So, why is there an irrational fear of ballistic protection? The answer is simply that some individuals, and legislators, believe firearms and ballistic protection are enablers serving criminal intent - guilty before proven innocent. We know unequivocally that nothing could be further from the truth.

Millions of Americans use automobiles safely and responsibly, day-in and day-out, just as millions of Americans use firearms responsibly. Should we ban automobiles because there are those who use them recklessly or in the commission of a crime, and should we deny our citizens ballistic protection because a few might use it unlawfully? You need to provide that answer for yourself but in my view certainly not; I can’t tell you how sick I am of hearing “Why do you need that?”

In preparing for this review, I had a discussion with some folks regarding the subject of civilian use of ballistic protection. My opening statement was; “…would you play football, baseball or soccer without an athletic supporter and cup?” Well, the eyes

rolled back, Bla, Bla, and Bla. I was inundated with comments like; you’re being ridiculous, of course not, etc. I clarified saying, “ladies and gentlemen, this is equivalent to a plate carrier (jock) and a ballistic plate (cup).”

So, where does the inexplicable fear come from? I think it can be distilled to a prevalent and largely mistaken assumption that wearing ballistic protection makes one invulnerable to police action. If this is your opinion, you are exceptionally naïve, and wearing ballistic protection will not keep you alive or give you a leg up on law enforcement; you’ll simply die 14 pounds heavier.

However, if you are a mature law abiding citizen actively participating in the shooting sports; particularly where there are more than one participant on the firing line at a time, be conscientious enough to practice safe weapon handling and by all means wear ballistic protection. It is the prudent and responsible thing to do.

With that thought in mind, I’d like to tell you about DKX Armor and why I think it is an exceptional choice for your personal ballistic protection needs.

There are two subsets comprising the personal body armor space, soft and hard armor.

Soft body armor is flexible allowing for greater ease of movement. It is generally

Copyright 2013, Twobirds Flying Publication, All Rights Reserved


2013

limited to NIJ1 Level IIIA2 protection, which means it’s effective against pistol calibers up to an including the .44 Magnum. Their disadvantage is they do nothing to prevent blunt trauma. In other words, soft armor will generally prevent the bullet from penetrating but will not protect you from bruises or broken ribs caused by the impact of a bullet. Soft armor has its place; it is suitable for low threat environments, and can be worn under garments. However, soft armor offers NO protection from rifle calibers.

On the other hand, hard armor, or rifle plates as they are often called, meets at least NIJ Level IIIA up to and including NIJ Level 4.

A Level IIIA hard plate, like the DKX IIIA3, will defeat the same calibers as its soft counterpart but will also protect you from blunt trauma. Its slight disadvantage is more bulk and less freedom of movement.

NIJ Level III protection meets level IIIA requirements but extends protection to rifle calibers. NIJ Level IV meets Levels IIIA and III but extends protection to include armor piercing rifle and pistol calibers.

1 The National Institute of Justice — the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice — is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. NIJ provides objective and independent knowledge and tools to reduce crime and promote justice, particularly at the state and local levels.2 NIJ Standards can be obtained at this URL https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/223054.pdf3 Not NIJA certified as of this writing.

DKX Advanced Manufacturing currently produces only hard armor; offering two models, DKX IIIA, recently released at SHOT SHOW 2013, and DKX MAX III.

Figure 1 DKX IIIA Strike Surface

Figure 2 DKX IIIA Back Face (Faces the Body)

Figure 3 Cross Section 8mm or .315 inches


https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/223054.pdf


2013

The DKX IIIA represents state of the art technology. The plate is extremely light weighing in at 690 grams or approximately 1.5 pounds for the square cut model. It is also drop resistant and available in shooter’s cut, or a backpack cut designed to be installed and carried in a backpack.

I was amazed at how light and ergonomic the DKX IIIA is; I can’t think of a better choice for civilian personal ballistic protection. DKX Advanced Manufacturing has a hit on its hands, and destined for tremendous success.

The DKX MAX III is Level III certified under NIJ Standard 0101.06. The plate is manufactured from Dyneema® and polyethylene composites accounting, to a large extent, for its drop resistance.

Figure 4 DKX MAX III Shooter's Cut NIJ certified.

DKX Advanced Manufacturing makes it available in a square cut and a swimmer’s cut. However, the company will make whatever adjustments you want given an adequate order quantity.

I am extremely impressed with this plate for a variety of reasons but most important its weight, a mere 3 pounds (2.9 lbs. to be exact) for a full stand-alone Level III rifle plate! Unheard of, particularly when one considers the majority of plates on the market are in the 7 to 8 pound range.

The MAX III plate is also multi-strike capable and has been tested against 7.62 x 39, 7.62 x 51, 7.62 x 63 and 5.56 x 45 calibers. On impact, the bullet is encapsulated by the plate material thus eliminating secondary impact effects.

Figure 5 Nine hits from 7.62 x 39 at 5 yards.

The DKX MAX III is buoyant, which drives my earlier comment on its suitability to maritime environments. Should you end up in the water, you won’t have 14 to 16 pounds of additional ballast; in fact, you



2013

won’t have 6 lbs. because the MAX III plates float.

Figure 6 DKX MAX III Positive Buoyancy.

I’m not suggesting you abandon your personal flotation device (PFD) as that would be a gross misrepresentation on my part and a bad judgment call on yours.

Other excellent features include drop resistance, no periodic x-ray required, a 7 year warranty and an embedded RFEV chip for asset and life-cycle management.

DKX MAX III plates represent cutting edge technology made in the U.S.A.

The use of personal ballistic protection requires a plate carrier. This is a garment with

appropriately sized pockets to hold the desired inserts. There are a number of designs available but there are basically two genres.

Some carriers have no load bearing provision; they are referred to as “slick.” Others incorporate PAL webbing in the design allowing for attachment of suitable pouches, like magazine pouches.

In this review I use CSE Gear’s modular plate carrier system with cummerbund. It’s an exceptional plate carrier leaving nothing to be desired. At its price point of $159 M.S.R.P, for unit one, it’s quite the bargain, which translates to brownie points for your acquisition and purchasing folks.

Figure 7 Front View with HSGI magazines installed

The CSE Gear plate carrier will accept any shooter’s cut insert, be it soft or hard armor; it also offers a number of features typically found on higher priced carriers, for example a fully adjustable and removable cummerbund. So, it’s one size fits all.



2013

Figure 8 Cummerbund

The cummerbund provides PAL webbing inside and out making it a breeze to add or remove side ballistic protection. Competing carriers will quite often have side protection pouches permanently installed on the inside surface of the cummerbund, which is a less comfortable arrangement.

The plate carrier has a large pocket on the front side, secured by heavy duty hook and loop, which ensures the pocket remains closed and its contents safe. I positively like this feature because it gives the operator an option to use it as an admin pouch for maps, documents or as a magazine pocket with or without a magazine insert. The resulting configuration is very clean and low profile.

Figure 9 Front Pocket

CSE Gear’s Modular Plate Carrier is designed to function as a load bearing vest, offering an abundance of PAL webbing front and back. It’s unlikely you’ll exhaust its mounting options.

Figure 10 Author modeling CSE's Modular Plate Carrier w/ DKX MAX III plate inserts.

The Modular Plate Carrier ships from the manufacturer without shoulder pads. However, shoulder pads specifically designed for the carrier are available directly from CSE, as are other accessories.

When donning the carrier, the first thing one notices is its comfort and breathability. CSE uses a high quality inner mesh with an abundance of padding. I encountered no hot spots, rough surfaces or binding of any sort. It’s important because you want the garment to fit snugly around the torso. That’s commendable and it’s uncommon to find this level of comfort at its price point. That’s a huge plus in my book!



2013

Figure 11 Author modeling CSE's Modular Plate C arrier with DKX MAX III plates (profile view)

Overall quality of construction for the plate carrier meets or exceeds that of competing carriers costing hundreds more. CSE used 1000D Cordura, Velcro drag handle, loop Velcro for patches front and back and PAL webbing throughout.

Closing Comments

As a system, DKX MAX III ballistic plates with CSE Gear’s Modular Plate Carrier address the overwhelming majority of law enforcement, military and civilian needs.

The quality and thoughtfulness of the design, speaks to the extensive experience its integrator, Critical Safety Equipment LLC, brings to the table.

Weight, quality and durability belie its reasonable cost. The discrete parts stand on their own merit; however, the sum of those makes for a superb offering.

Would you play football, baseball or soccer without a cup and athletic supporter?

- SP

Manufacturer Contact Information

DKX Advanced Manufacturing4041 Heartland DriveBismark, ND 58503-8979Clyde [email protected]

Critical Safety Equipment, LLC.Office: (850) 368-6549Additional Line: (850) 368-9598Fax: (866) [email protected]@CriticalSafetyEquipment.com


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http://www.criticalsafetyequipment.com/#!

mailto:[email protected]

http://dkxarmor.com/

dkx max iii ballistic plates

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