Any experience with Rhino Armor?

funnyman · 08-22-2010, 21:17

Howdy.

I saw this on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BALCS-SPEAR-...efaultDomain_0.

I've never heard of Rhino Armor before. Both a Google search and search here came up with nothing. ~$350 for a pair of IIIAs seems good compared to pricing from the big names in the industry. But I'm wondering if that price difference is a red flag indicating a lack of quality in materials or workmanship.

I'd like to get some G2 before considering an order. Anyone use them before?

Thanks in advance.

**Eagle5US** · 08-22-2010, 21:37

How much is your life worth?

That alone should answer your question...if it doesn't, then it STILL answers your question.

Eagle

BearW · 08-23-2010, 07:36

Hey pal,
I know the deals are tempting on ebay but i've had a few bad experiences and gut feelings with products purchased from that website. Though the seller may have good feedback and they're well rated, there are A LOT of guys who purchase junk from surpluses, fix it up and try to market it as new or what have you. I'm sure you're aware of a lot of this, and i'd never insult a fellow professionals' competency without warrant, but, heres my opinion on it, man.

Specifically armour related, I've seen sellers who buy old Crew Vehicle Comd, (CVC) helmets from surplus stores, rip out all the sound gear and ear muffs, add a BLSS kit and new suspension system, a cool coat of paint and some velcro and try to push it off as a ballistic SoF style high-cut helmet. Also, as i'm sure you know, its easy to make things look they're originally packaged.

At the end of the day, if a 14 year old is going to use it for airsoft or something like that-then sure, whatever. If you're a contractor or a professional soldier and need/want to buy your own stuff to use down range, then I'd personally buy good stuff and look at it as a business expense/inVESTment (terrible pun). Then i'd take some of that tour money and put it back into your job so you can do it a bit better, next time.

If i needed good BALC's, Plates or helmet i'd pay for it man, because you really get what you pay for when it comes to that stuff, i reckon-especially in our business. There are also dudes out there who don't think its worth it to spend money on it because they're fatalist who don't think it'll make a difference in the event you roll over a pressure cooker full of HME. Its a messy business and as a professional soldier, I take that stuff pretty seriously and i always roll with good gear.

It's my opinion that good armor could make the difference between waking up in the hospital with no legs next to my beautiful wife, mom and dad and little brother-or not waking up at all.

Hope this helps a bit and i'd think long and hard about buying cheap stuff, or anything off ebay.

Professionally yours,
Bear

funnyman · 08-23-2010, 09:49

Believe me, I value my life.

It's just that, in other industries, I've seen the same quality product sold at twice the price just because one vendor has the well-known brand name that folks know vs some unknown brand. Think of an IBM server vs a white label server: same internal components but IBM charges 2X or 3X the price just because their brand name allows them to get away with it.

I'm just wondering if the same thing applies here.

Thanks.

BearW · 08-23-2010, 10:24

Agreed, 100% Funnyman. The IBM comparison is accurate but I wouldn't buy IBM parts, out of the box, on ebay if i was a self employed computer programmer by profession, I don't think.

I agree with what your saying, and sometimes shopping around for the best price can really pay off, especially when it comes to the availibility of products found on the internet. But once again I would think twice about ordering stuff off ebay.

This isn't to say that you can't get quality products as a discount from other trusted websites, right?

At the end of the day, your a professional soldier and i'm sure you'll go with your gut.

I hope it works out for you bro and i'm sure you'll choose wisely

Bear