Eclipsys Cooling Panel and Stratis Enhanced Plate

Premier Body Armor had a couple of particularly interesting new things to display this year at SHOT Show 2022, two versions of the Stratis Enhanced Plate and the Eclipsys Cooling Panel among them. 

Let’s go down the line:

Stratis Level III+ Enhanced plate

This plate weighs in at 2.8 pounds, making them some of the lightest rifle plates available. It is constructed of a proprietary UHMWPE. That’s the very convenient acronym for Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene if you’re not familiar with armor. 

These come with a long, 10-year warranty. This is significant because the industry standard is around five years.  As for the weight, the lighter the plates, the less strain on your body. This also helps with mobility, which is always a Good Thing. 

Stratis Level III+ Enhanced Plate Specs, according to their website:

Special Threat Tested against the following calibers at a distance of 15 meters:

  • 7.62×39 123gr PS Ball (MSC)
  • 7.62×51 147gr FMJ (M80) – up to 2850 ft/s
  • 5.56×45 55gr (M193) up to 3150ft/s  *This plate is not rated to stop M855

Features

  • NIJ 0101.06 Level III Certified
  • 15-year warranty
  • Lightweight
  • Ultra-durable cover to protect the plates in the roughest environments
  • Multi-Curve
  • Mult-Hit Capable 

Tech Specs

  • Size: 10″x12″
  • Weight: 2.8lbs
  • Thickness: 0.75″
  • Construction: Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)
  • Finished with a Polyurea outer covering for abrasion and moisture resistance
    • Polyurea finish can slightly vary in appearance. This has no impact on the ballistic capability.
  • Shape: 
    • Shooters Cut for comfort when shooting//moving
  • ESAPI Cut extended coverage with great mobility and comfort

 

The Stratis Level IV Enhanced Plate

This plate weighs in at an incredibly light 4.4 pounds.

If you have had to wear level IV plates in the past, you already know they’re usually in the 7-pound range or heavier. That means a pair of the Premier Body Armor Stratis Level IV plates is nearly the same weight as a single standard Level IV plate. 

The Stratis Level IV has a hybrid construction with a Polyethylene core and a tiled composite strike face. These act like individual cells, part of an interconnected system. This helps with making them capable of multiple hits because when struck, only the impacted tiles are shattered. This will also the damage of an accidental drop on a hard surface to just the immediately affected tiles and not the entire plate. 

Premier Body Armor Level IV Stratis Plate

Premier Body Armor Level IV Stratis Plate

Stratis Level IV Enhanced Plate Specs, from the website

Special Threat Tested against the following calibers at a distance of 15 meters:

  • 7.62×39 123gr PS Ball (MSC)
  • 7.62×51 147gr FMJ (M80) – up to 2850 ft/s
  • 5.56×45 55gr (M193) up to 3150ft/s 
  • 5.56x45mm 62 grain steel core (M855)
  • 5.56x45mm M855 A1
  • 7.62x63mm M2 AP (.30-06)

Features

  • Tested to meet the NIJ 0101.06 Level IV ballistic standard
  • 10-year warranty
  • Shooter Cut
  • Armor-Piercing Protection
  • Ultra-Lightweight
  • Ultra-durable cover to protect the plates in the roughest environments
  • Multi-Curve
  • Multi-Hit Capable 

Tech Specs

  • Size: 10″x12″
  • Thickness: .8″
  • Weight: 4.4lbs
  • Construction: Composite/Polyethylene
  • Finished with a Polyurea outer covering for abrasion and moisture resistance
    • Polyurea finish can slightly vary in appearance. This has no impact on the ballistic capability.
  • Shape: Standard military-style cut for comfort when shooting/moving
PBA multi-curve level IV plates
PBA says the Stratis multi-curve Level IV Enhances Plates are “…unlike anything on the market.” They advise the plates are “…They are composed of a tiled composite strike face and a polyethylene core, making them not only multi-hit rated but ultralightweight at only 4.4 pounds.”

The Eclipsys panel — Something Very New

This is an adhesive panel that you put on the inside of your level IIIA soft armor to help regulate body temperature.

Eclipsys Cooling Panel

PBA advises that:

  • It provides adaptive cooling so the hotter it gets, the more it cools.
  • It increases heat transport away from the wearer by 200% more than standard body armor
  • It can be placed onto any manufacturer’s body armor design.

The guys at the booth told me it’s not like a cooling panel on your body. They say it will, however, regulate your body temperature so that you don’t suffer the overheating and undershirt-soaking sweat that you normally get from wearing a soft vest.

As someone who wears such a vest at work every day, this is something I can appreciate — just as anyone who has to wear body armor for an extended period of time would. 

PBA Eclipsys Cooling Panel

PBA Eclipsys Cooling Panel

Key Features of Eclipsys (from their website)

  • Passive cooling means no batteries or wires. There is nothing to break.
  • Perpetual cooling. It works when you need it, for as long as you need it.
  • Ultrathin at just 0.42 mm thick.
  • Over a 12-hour shift, the Eclipsys panel provides as much cooling as an 11.8-pound block of ice.
  • Complements other cooling technologies for maximum cooling performance.
  • Non-flammable, non-toxic, environmentally friendly.
  • Patent pending.

Scroll down for their video about Eclipsys Cooling. 

They’re online at premierbodyarmor.com; find ’em on IG @premierbodyarmor or connect on Facebook, /premierbodyarmor/.

Post Malone at SHOT wearing Premier's Elite Executive Vest with "Eclipsys cooling technology".
Post Malone at SHOT wearing Premier’s Elite Executive Vest with “Eclipsys cooling technology”. The Elite Executive Vest is another offering from PBA. It’s evolved from its predecessor, the Discreet Executive Vest, including what they call “HOVERLIGHT ballistics” and the Eclipsys cooling technology. 

Premier Body Armor, Area of Operations Booth 41548
Premier Body Armor, Area of Operations Booth 41548

Premier Body Armor SHOT Show 2022