EnGarde's TRUST Plate Carrier Gives LE Officers Added Protection

Law enforcement officers need the best gear possible for life-or-death situations, including plate carriers like the EnGarde TRUST system, which can be combined with Level III or Level IV rifle plates. I recently had the chance to test the EnGarde TRUST with Level IV plates.

Why a plate carrier? When a spree killer starts shooting, police officers are behind the curve. The killer selected the time and place, and may have brought numerous firearms, including rifles. Since a standard bullet-resistant vest will not stop rifle rounds, having a plate carrier to put on can give the responding officer increased protection.

EnGarde Body Armor has essentially developed a plate carrier that is easy to don and offers protection against rifle rounds. The TRUST plate carrier provides front and rear protection through the use of standard 10-by-12-inch hard armor plates. The carrier can be worn over a standard uniform and is adjustable to fit the individual officer.

The carrier itself is made of heavy-duty Cordura nylon, and is equipped with PALS webbing for the attachment of magazine pouches or other gear. Plates are inserted from the bottom of the carrier, and are held in place by both snaps and hook-and-loop fasteners. In my testing, I found the system to be extremely secure. The plates will not come out during a deployment. This setup is perfect for a patrol officer looking to build a kit for dealing with a terrorist or spree killer.

My evaluation unit came with NIJ Standard 0101.06-certified Level IV hard plates and soft Level IIIA panels. This setup ran about 18.4 pounds. Using the company’s Level III rifle plates will drop the weight to about 8.6 pounds while still offering the officer a good degree of protection from rifle rounds. For testing, I shot the plates several times with .223 Remington, 7.62×39 and 7.62x54R ammo, and the plates stopped all of the rounds.

To learn more about this plate carrier system, check out the video and make sure you keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming issue of GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. To subscribe, visit www.tactical-life.com/subscribe.