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Bulletproof vest
- Thread starter mordeeb
- Start date
Twigg
NES Member
There was a group buy from bulletproofme.com a while back. They sell new & used (not shot) vests adn help with fitting. Very informative website.
Twigg
NES Member
Yeah, I'd bet my life on the least expensive vest I can find.
![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
Why does it look "untrustworthy" ?
Yeah, I'd bet my life on the least expensive vest I can find.
Why does it look "untrustworthy" ?
if they are so cheap to find a decent web-designer, I hope that's not how they manage their vests.
last time I remember looking on Ebay at them out of curiosity they were a heck of a lot more than 200-350 bucks so to me those prices seem good. As for reliability goes something is better than nothing. If your looking to get into private security or being a body guard or something like that I wouldn't be going the cheap route.
hpm
NES Member
Of course a 10-20 year old web design does not necessarily mean that the business is bad or careless...best example would be 4 Seasons
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
Body armor comes in many shapes and thicknesses. Thicker armor stops more powerful rounds. Thinner armor is more comfortable & concealable. Military body armor is optimized against indirect fire (i.e. shrapnel from exploding mortars). LEO armor allocates more of the protection toward a round coming from the front. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Standard publishes standards that define the levels of protection.
My Second Chance vest is over 20 years old now. The soft vest is rated to stop any handgun round up to .44 mag, and it came with a 6"X8" kevlar-wrapped steel plate that sits over your sternum that's rated to stop armor-piercing 30-06. The plate only helps if the round hits it first, of course.
I trust Second Chance. Safariland owns them now. I suggest you read the NIJ standards and get the Second Chance model that's the best protection/comfort compromise for your needs.
My Second Chance vest is over 20 years old now. The soft vest is rated to stop any handgun round up to .44 mag, and it came with a 6"X8" kevlar-wrapped steel plate that sits over your sternum that's rated to stop armor-piercing 30-06. The plate only helps if the round hits it first, of course.
I trust Second Chance. Safariland owns them now. I suggest you read the NIJ standards and get the Second Chance model that's the best protection/comfort compromise for your needs.
Dirtypacman
NES Door Greeter
I just dodge bullets with my super ninja movement skills.
But to throw fuel on the fire you get a recommendation as to where to go then poo poo it. Don't blame you for speaking up but I'll do the same - Ebay really dude. I know you can get the stuff there but take about untrustworthy - your just hoping they ship what they describe and picture.
But to throw fuel on the fire you get a recommendation as to where to go then poo poo it. Don't blame you for speaking up but I'll do the same - Ebay really dude. I know you can get the stuff there but take about untrustworthy - your just hoping they ship what they describe and picture.
Point blank makes some good ones. I have a 3a (with a few extra chest plates) that I'll sell ya, it is ten years old, but it still works, smells a little, but still works. It really depends on what you are trying to stop. I've seen lower end ones defeated on gelatin molds.
Soft body armor will NOT stop a rifle round. Any high velocit spitzer profile bullet will likely penetrate soft body armor.
A level III or IV trauma plate can stop rifle rounds but only the rounds that hit that square on your chest. You then also have to worry about bullet fragments damaging your throat.
the two rules of body armor size that I have always gone by are:
1. Buy the heaviest vest that you will actually wear everyday.
2. At a minimum wear enough protection to stop what you carry.
NIJ standards: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/223054.pdf
hpm
NES Member
#2 was MrTwigg's answer to the #2 question "what are you pretty much screwed with"...so the right answer is what MrTwigg wrote - "you are screwed with pretty much any rifle round"
F
Finalygotabeltfed
If James Rawles of SurvivalBlog.com associates with BulletProofMe, I can assure you that they are a trustworthy company. He doesn't deal with slackers of any sort.
you can have it great, or you can have it cheap, but you can't have it both ways.
No way in hell I'd buy a vest off of EBAY, there is enough counterfeiting out there already, cripes nuts, bolts, and semi-conductors for military devices are counterfeited, I want a vest to come from a legit source with a reputation.
No way in hell I'd buy a vest off of EBAY, there is enough counterfeiting out there already, cripes nuts, bolts, and semi-conductors for military devices are counterfeited, I want a vest to come from a legit source with a reputation.
Wait around for the next marlboro show and the vest guys might be back, who knows they might be at some other shows before then.
www.uspalm.com They're quite affordable and I see them advertised in magazines and on tv.
What kind of vest are you looking for?
I would assume from your post that it's civilian related.
IOW's You're not in a combat situation.
That leads me to think you're looking for something that is worn underneath your clothes.
Yes? No?
This thread smells of something.
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Takis48:2092743 said:
I think those are "just" plate carriers. You need to buy/get your own steel, Kevlar, or something ceramic.
I have a used/surplus police vest from bulletproofme.com (from the group buy), as well as rifle plates from them too. I've never gotten shot while wearing them, but nothing is outwardly wrong with them.
I know that many are enamored about bullet-RESISTANT vests (none are "bullet PROOF"), but I'll offer my biased opinion here.
- When I worked for the PD, the Feds and State were buying vests for officers for no net cost to the cities/towns/PDs. The PDs ordered, paid for the vests, submitted paperwork and eventually were refunded by a combo of Fed and State funds. My Chief at the time wanted nothing to do with it and thus all of us (PT'rs like myself and FT'rs alike) went without any protection. NOT a good situation.
- When I started actively doing Constable work, realizing that not everyone was happy to receive divorce papers/child support summonses/lawsuits, I bought my own Second Chance vest. I wear it when I go out to do this work and can't wait to remove it when I'm done.
- Vests are heavy (yes even the "lightweight" ones), uncomfortable (bulky & contain body heat), restrict your movement, require you to dress around them and buy larger clothing sizes, may restrict access to your gun if IWB, etc. That which is uncomfortable is likely to go "unused" except in extreme circumstances. The more resistant to larger/faster/rifle calibers you want it to be, the exponentially more uncomfortable they are.
- I seriously pity our full time officers who must wear them 40 hrs/week or our Soldiers/Sailors/Marines/Airmen who are in-theater and have to wear them (much heavier gear) almost full-time.
So, my message is:
- Decide if you really, truly need one first before investing in one.
- Try one on for a few minutes to see for yourself how comfortable they are.
- Realize that "one size does not fit all" and they need to be fitted to your body to be effective.
- Understand when, where and why you really will need/wear one before committing the $$ for one.
- Buy a high quality vest if you buy anything. Do your research first. If you are going to buy junk, you might as well tape the Manhattan Yellow Pages to your chest and save the money (this is in a book I'm currently reading, a novel by Joseph Wambaugh).
- When I worked for the PD, the Feds and State were buying vests for officers for no net cost to the cities/towns/PDs. The PDs ordered, paid for the vests, submitted paperwork and eventually were refunded by a combo of Fed and State funds. My Chief at the time wanted nothing to do with it and thus all of us (PT'rs like myself and FT'rs alike) went without any protection. NOT a good situation.
- When I started actively doing Constable work, realizing that not everyone was happy to receive divorce papers/child support summonses/lawsuits, I bought my own Second Chance vest. I wear it when I go out to do this work and can't wait to remove it when I'm done.
- Vests are heavy (yes even the "lightweight" ones), uncomfortable (bulky & contain body heat), restrict your movement, require you to dress around them and buy larger clothing sizes, may restrict access to your gun if IWB, etc. That which is uncomfortable is likely to go "unused" except in extreme circumstances. The more resistant to larger/faster/rifle calibers you want it to be, the exponentially more uncomfortable they are.
- I seriously pity our full time officers who must wear them 40 hrs/week or our Soldiers/Sailors/Marines/Airmen who are in-theater and have to wear them (much heavier gear) almost full-time.
So, my message is:
- Decide if you really, truly need one first before investing in one.
- Try one on for a few minutes to see for yourself how comfortable they are.
- Realize that "one size does not fit all" and they need to be fitted to your body to be effective.
- Understand when, where and why you really will need/wear one before committing the $$ for one.
- Buy a high quality vest if you buy anything. Do your research first. If you are going to buy junk, you might as well tape the Manhattan Yellow Pages to your chest and save the money (this is in a book I'm currently reading, a novel by Joseph Wambaugh).
Garys
NES Member
Second Chance pretty much went under seven or eight years back when a whole bunch of vests that they sold with a new type of fiber (Zylon) proved to be not so bullet proof. They eventually provided replacement panels, but the company ended up being sold to someone else. I think Richard Davis, the founder of Second Chance and the inventor of soft body armor) started a new company, but I'm not sure. Safariland owns the name today.
As to vests themselves, a good one goes for several hundred dollars. They should be individually fitted. If worn every day, the panels should be replaced about every five years because the Kevlar or other fibers will break down from constant wear. Keep in mind that soft body armor is not designed to stop edged weapons. There are separate products for that.
