About ArmorArmy.com

ArmorArmy.com is a small, independent site built around six free calculators for body armor and loadout planning, alongside an Armor & Protection Museum and a blog and learnsection covering the subject in more depth. It isn’t run by a manufacturer, a testing lab, or any standards body — it’s a reference built from published specifications, put into a form that’s faster to use than digging through a PDF.

How the tools are built

Each tool is a calculator wrapped around one publicly documented standard or a straightforward unit conversion — nothing is guessed. The Body Armor Level Guide is a direct reference to the NIJ 0101.06 ballistic resistance standard: it lists the IIA, II, IIIA, III, and IV protection levels, what each is rated to stop, and whether that level is soft armor or a hard rifle plate. The Ballistic Threat Lookupworks the same table from the other direction — pick a common round and see the minimum NIJ level documented to stop it.

The Armor Plate Size Finder maps a torso-height measurement onto the standard SAPI/ESAPI cut dimensions (Small, Medium, Large, XL) used across the plate market, so the output is a size that exists on real plates, not an arbitrary band. The Plate Carrier Weight Calculator is arithmetic: plate material and count, carrier weight, and accessory weight, summed and converted to both pounds and kilograms. The MOLLE Capacity Planner takes the rows and columns of a webbing field and returns the attachment points and a rough pouch count, based on standard MOLLE spacing. The Gear Loadout Weight Calculatoradds up a kit item by item, compares the total to body weight as a percentage, and reports the closest recognized military load classification — fighting load, approach march load, or emergency approach load.

None of this involves proprietary testing or lab data. It’s published standards and plain math, arranged so you don’t have to do either by hand. If a tool’s source table changes in a future revision of a standard, the numbers behind it get updated to match.

What this is — and isn’t

This is an independent, advertising-supported reference. It is not affiliated with the National Institute of Justice, any armor manufacturer, or any testing laboratory, and nothing here is an official rating or certification. Every result is an estimate built from the inputs you give it and the published figures behind the tool — not a substitute for the manufacturer’s own spec sheet, an independent lab test, or professional guidance. Body armor is regulated in some places; check the laws that apply to you, buy only certified gear, and verify any rating against the actual NIJ standard and the manufacturer before you rely on it for protection. No armor guarantees safety, and none of this content is professional safety, legal, or ballistic-protection advice.

Questions, corrections, or a tool that doesn’t match what you expected? See Contact.