Ideally, How Much for DYI Vest?

Audie

New Member
Ideally, whats the budget for DYI Vest (no kit) with armor, buckles, straps, everything? Materials dont need to be screen accurate.
 
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I guess it really depends on how accurate you want. It could be $100 or it could be $500+.

The armor that Studiocreations sells on eBay is around $100. Craft foam and patience would be a fraction of that.
Badges usually go for around $50ish, or craft foam for a couple bucks.
Accurate spacer mesh will run $100+ per yard, something sorta similar might be $15 a yard
Accurate buckles would run you $150ish with shipping, plastic quick clips would be more like $10 - $15

Suede trim? Suede cloth? Vinyl? There are so many variables :)
 
Oh, thats not so bad. I want to squash the budget down to $230 for the entire attire, but that really, absolutely wouldnt get me the items I need. I calculated everything for a mildly accurate build and I can squeeze in about $307-$330. (with SC's armor cast set). If I save myself the labor, and opt for a Strauss vest, the total would be $438. Hmm, if only the shipping wasnt $100 I wouldve already settled for one of his vests.
 
My wife just assembled her vest from scratch. She bought Jeff Allen's plates, and bought some screen accurate mesh from Christopher Stiles. It ended up running her about $230-$250. She did not use cobra buckles, due to time, and I don't know if she will want to upgrade later on.
 
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