Thanks for the feedback.
Randy the reason I'm looking at hard armor is because it stops a wider verity of rounds. And I haven't seen level IIIA soft armour that's affordable.
I know you can't protect everything but some is better than nothing.
I'm not saying I'd wear it all the time. But if I'm buying a LBE chest rig then it might as well be able to carry plates or soft armor.
At my age the weight isn't an issue. In in a long distance but out situation you can all ways ditch the plates if it was an issue.