A body armor vest, also known as ballistic vest or ballistic resistant vest, is a piece of body armor which helps absorb the impact of a projectile fired by a firearm, as well as reducing or stopping the penetration to the trunk by shrapnel caused by explosions. Most bulletproof vests are composed of multiple layers of thin, tightly knitted cloth (usually Kevlar) which cushion and absorb impact from high-speed bullets.
Fictional bulletproof vests can also impede blades, icepicks, or similar weapons; in reality, however, soft-armor vests designed purely to protect against bullets are not effective against stabbing. Without the armour plates, vests are merely tactical vests, lacking any benefits from ballistic protection. While body armor covers a broad spectrum of ballistic protective gear, body armor typically covers just the trunk.
Most body armor manufacturers include extra pockets for body armor plates, so that a wearer may add up to Level IV solid body armor plates to their bulletproof vest, increasing ballistic protection levels, along with stabbing resistance capabilities, similar to the way that armor plates work. Protection is provided either through the use of armor plates already sewed onto a vest, or through adding armor plates onto a vest designed for the purpose of mounting armor plates. Because the lighter materials used for the stab-resistant armor plates are lighter, the vests used for carrying the shock plates are lighter weights than ballistic models.
Plate carriers are designed to hold ballistic plates, changing it from a conventional light tactical vest into a ballistic vest that can protect the wearer against gunfire. To protect the wearer, tactical ballistic vests are either designed with ballistic plates sewn in, or are made to allow for the addition of ballistic plates if needed. Some vests are equipped with either ceramic or metal plates, which are designed to protect the body against the effects of rifle or larger bullets.
A body armor vest, or bulletproof vest, is worn on the trunk and is meant to protect the body against small arms fire as well as from the slight shrapnel of an explosive device. As one of the most rugged, consistent, high-quality bulletproof vests in the world, the BulletSafe vest offers Level IIIA protection, stopping bullets from all handgun calibers down to the.44 Magnum — as well as providing protection against cuts and punctures from edged weapons. In recent years, advances in materials science have opened the door to the notion of a literal bulletproof vest, capable of stopping bullets from handguns and rifles using the supple, cloth vest, with no help from extra metal or ceramic plating.
While today, Kevlar(r) is still the most popular material for bullet resistance, several other high-performance ballistic materials are available in the marketplace, and many body armor manufacturers are even using systems incorporating more than one uniform material into a single vest. In 1975, Richard A. Armellino, the founder of American Body Armor, sold an all-Kevlar vest called the K-15, which consisted of 15 layers of Kevlar, which also included a 5-by-8-inch Shok plate made of ballistic steel, placed vertically above the heart, and was issued U.S. patent #3,971,072 for the innovation.
In the 1960s, new types of vests were developed that had plates made from composite layers of steel or from the highly durable ceramic, Boron Carbide. The latest vests use super-strong, yet light, ceramic-titanium composites overlaid. This was before the latest vest materials were used, which were designed to lessen the effects of a blunt force.
While protection against gun ammunition is the main application for body armour, levels of protection have extended to absorb the stabbing impacts from knives, as well as objects being thrown at the wearer. Tactical body armor is made up of ballistic vests designed to be worn over a police officers uniform or a members of the armed forces. Concealed armor is generally lighter in weight than conventional ballistic tactical vests, which allows more movement for the officer and the member while maintaining the integrity of the protective device.
While the most popular type is a Kevlar vest, which typically offers protection against threats ranging from Level IIA to IIIA, you can also find body armored vests that have extra pockets which can house solid body armor made from ceramic or steel ballistic panels, providing similar protection as a body armor vest. Our bullet proof vests are designed with your protection in mind, and SafeGuard Armor(r) guarantees only the highest-quality protective materials are used. Bulletproof Zone partners with the best brands in Body Armor such as BulletSafe, Protection Group Denmark, SafeGuard Armor, Spartan Armor Systems, and AR500 Armor, ensuring you have access to only the highest quality bullet proof vests and other ballistic Body Armor. As you can see, there is much that you do not know about Body Armor, and you can also see why it is critical that every law enforcement officer across the country, as well as around the world, utilizes their own Bulletproof Vest.
Many of these laws regarding wearing bulletproof vests and purchasing them were written as responses to the LA Riots, where a number of individuals were seen wearing body armor at the time of riots and protests. In addition to the apparent military applications of cloth bulletproof vests, the increase of terrorism during the latter part of the 20th century led to an increased use of body armour by the police and counterterrorism forces. Most states regulate vests and other body armor, banning some individuals from possessing them, in order to enhance sentences if armor is used to commit a crime (or make use of the vest itself a separate crime). Restrictions include laws about how a vest can be purchased and who can buy one, to the criminal penalties for unlawful possession or use during the commission of a crime.
In the European Union, the import and sale of ballistic vests and body armour is permitted, with exceptions to those that are developed according to stringent military specifications and/or are intended to serve primary military purposes, i.e., riot-proof vests that exceed NIJ 4-level protection, which are then considered armament materials under law, prohibited for civilians. Uniquely Fitted Body Armor Vest Requirements – jurisdictions receiving funds for reimbursement for the procurement of body armor shall establish an unique-fitting vest requirement at the time of submission of a request for a BVP.
Generally, you will pay a small premium for an outer vest with a soft shell, simply because the vest containing the soft body armor will have more features.