New FragLock™ Coating for Ballistic Steel Armor

The metallurgy techniques used to produce ballistic steel armor has come a long way over the years, but the one constant has been bullet fragmentation when a projectile hits a plate. If you’ve ever shot a steel target and seen puffs of dust in the dirt, you know what we’re talking about.

When we brought our $65 Level III armor steel plate to the market in 2012, we understood the need to solve for frag. After extensive testing of possible solutions, we landed on a polyurea coating that seals plates against exposure to the elements and can deflect or capture bullet fragmentation.

AR500 Armor, now with Fraglock™

For nearly eight years we have used the best off-the-shelf formulas that we could find to protect against frag on our steel core plates, but it’s time to up the ante once more.

Working with scientists and materials experts, we have developed a proprietary new polyurea blend that adheres better and offers improved durability. We call the formula FragLock™ and we’re proud to announce that it is the new standard for all of our steel body armor plates.

Running a raw steel plate isn’t the same as wearing an AR500 Armor® plate coated with FragLock™. Whether you’re content to capture some of the frag and deflect the rest safely away with our base coat, or you would prefer to contain almost 100% of it with our build up coat, fragmentation is not a serious concern for our steel plates coated with FragLock™. Learn more about how our coating works and how it stacks up against other types of armor here.

We were first to bring affordable body armor to the market by solving for frag on steel armor back in 2012, and we’ll continue to lead the way in providing the best armor solutions available to free men who recognize that it’s their God-given right to equip both arms and armor.

What is FragLock™?

1. Is FragLock only for the build-up coating?
   No. FragLock™ is our new, proprietary anti-frag coating, which is being used on both our base coat as well as our build up.
2. What is the difference between a base coat of FragLock™ and a build-up coat?
   Thickness. Our build-up coat is at least 5 times thicker than our minimum base coat. Each coat is designed to address fragmentation in a different way. The extra thickness of the build up coat allows it to capture and contain almost all round fragments while the base coat is designed to deflect them away from the wearer.
3. Why can’t I choose FragLock as an option?
   Because you do not need to. FragLock™ is the new standard on all of our steel core armor plates manufactured since June 8th, 2020.
4. Will this be applied to orders on backlog?
   That depends on when the plates for the order have been picked to be packaged and shipped out. In our efforts to get every order out as soon as possible, many orders with multiple products get some components set aside for them while they await the completion of the remaining elements. It may take some time before we cycle through all plates made with our previous formula. Although the FragLock™ formula represents an improvement over our previous coating, we stand behind the performance of our prior formula with every bit of confidence that we now place in FragLock™.
5. Paxcon is now called FragLock?
   No. PAXCON® is a brand of polyurea manufactured by LINE-X® LLC as a blast resistant coating. Similar to brand names like Kleenex® and Band-Aid® that are used colloquially to refer to tissues and bandages, PAXCON® is often used generically to refer to any polyurea coating. We have worked with many of the same people who developed PAXCON® to create our own polyurea formula, FragLock™, specifically designed to address the needs of a steel core body armor application.
6. Is FragLock better then the previous build-up coat or just a rebranding? 
   FragLock™ is a different formulation of polyurea than our previous coating, but it is best described as an incremental improvement rather than a giant leap forward. We have worked with chemistry experts to alter the mixture for improved longevity, even with constant exposure to the elements. Since the steel core can last for decades, we wanted the anti-frag coating to last as long as possible for maximum lifespan. In our internal testing of FragLock™, we found it to have better adhesion than our old formula as well, resulting in it absorbing more rounds before beginning to delaminate from the steel core.

Bare Steel – fragmentation goes everywhere

FragLock™ base coat – fragmentation is redirected, with some captured

FragLock™ build-up coat – most or all bullet fragmentation is contained