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 plain arithmetic on your own numbers, or a reader for a published standard that quotes the standard rather than paraphrasing it. The Body Armor Level Guide reads the level name printed on a label: which NIJ standard defines it, the rename NIJ itself published between Standard 0101.06 and Standard 0123.00, and where the test threats are listed. It does not say what any armor will do: the label and the standard it names are the authority.

The Armor Plate Size Finder turns a torso measurement into inches and centimeters to take to a plate maker’s own sizing chart; it does not pick a size. The Plate Carrier Weight Calculator adds plate, carrier and accessory weights (your own figures, or a typical example) in 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. The Gear Loadout Weight Calculator adds up a kit item by item and shows the total as a share of body weight beside a common 20% rule of thumb for comfort, which is not a medical limit.

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. Laws on owning or buying body armor vary by country and state; check your local law. Verify any rating against the label, the standard it names and the manufacturer. 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.