Ballistic PPE Gear for Civilians

If I remember correctly, I was cleaning the ballistic vest the army issued me and when I removed the soft armor inserts they disclosed that they were rated to withstand 9mm pistol rounds and the effectiveness of the armor degraded after successive impacts. The hard plates that are issued for combat operations disclosed that they were effective at withstanding up to three 7.62 NATO rounds.

I also remember having a pretty lengthy discussion with my platoon sergeant once that the Army really only intends for the soft armor inserts to protect against shrapnel.

Dangerfish said:

You don't want Dangon Skin, there is a reason the Military banned it. The disks have a low melting point, so when exposed to fire(IED mainly) they will melt. There were many a soldier that had Drangon Skin burned into them.

Another reason is that the way it is constructed, the adhesive holding the disks weakens around 120 degrees. That means you get some disks floating around inside the vest, rendering it useless.

There are other shortfalls of it, but it is a very good idea, once perfected it will be the next generation of body armor. But for now nothing beats a multi hit level IV plate.

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Other than those of us going to Iraq and Afghanistan, those situations are few and "very" far between. As a matter of fact last I checked the states had a grand total of 0 IED attacks. I never heard of the "120 degree" rule and it sounds suspiciously like a rumor. Hell, I just left the sandbox last month and the SF guys all wore it still, good enough for me.

EDIT: I just looked it up and there is Army backing of the 120 deg rule on these vests, but there is quite a bit of controversy around it. I think I might buy one and stick it in the oven just to find out.

As for the plate, sure, they are the be-all-end-all of the protective vest but are extremely uncomfortable, heavy, and impractical for civilian use outside of WW3 on US soil.

The point is that it's the highest level of body protection a civilian would ever want or need.

If I remember correctly, I was cleaning the ballistic vest the army issued me and when I removed the soft armor inserts they disclosed that they were rated to withstand 9mm pistol rounds and the effectiveness of the armor degraded after successive impacts. The hard plates that are issued for combat operations disclosed that they were effective at withstanding up to three 7.62 NATO rounds.

I also remember having a pretty lengthy discussion with my platoon sergeant once that the Army really only intends for the soft armor inserts to protect against shrapnel.

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That's right. The plates are a ceramic and they shatter when shot which is why they are only good for an average of 3 rounds. Problem with protecting from shrapnel is that it varies wildly in shape and velocity, the vest they give you will stop most of the small high-speed bits, problem is that the bigger and/or slower pieces will go right through either because of inertia or simply because they are not moving fast enough for the armor to properly function. Same reason people can still stab you through your armor.

As a matter of fact last I checked the states had a grand total of 0 IED attacks.

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Notable improvised explosive device attackers and attacks in the U.S.

Ted Kaczynsky, aka the Unabomber, numerous IEDs through the US Mail

Eric Rudolph, aka the Olympic Park Bomber, numerous IEDs

Philadelphia Police Dept., helicopter-dropped IED on the MOVE house

1993 World Trade Center, IED "truck bomb"

just a few U.S. IED incidents off the top of my head

Read this http://www.bulletproofme.com/Legal_Terms_of_Sale.shtml

To OP: Civilians are NOT banned from owning armor. You can buy plates capable of sustaining multiple 7.62 rounds, plate carriers, and soft armor at bulletproofme.com.

/endthread

Yard Sale said:

Notable improvised explosive device attackers and attacks in the U.S.

Ted Kaczynsky, aka the Unabomber, numerous IEDs through the US Mail

Eric Rudolph, aka the Olympic Park Bomber, numerous IEDs

Philadelphia Police Dept., helicopter-dropped IED on the MOVE house

1993 World Trade Center, IED "truck bomb"

just a few U.S. IED incidents off the top of my head

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Don't forget waco they(FBI+ATF) filled the place with explosive gas.

kwikrnu said:

Are you a want to be a cop? You looking to confront cops? Are you a criminal? No one needs PPE except for cops and military.

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There's something ironic in a guy who carries a gun telling me what I do and don't need . . .

Having just visited their site and trying the "Contact Us" link, I'm probably going to take back the Blackhawk stuff because their website sucks.

Any company that hides their contact information behind several layers of Javajunk and Flashcrap is trying to avoid being contacted, and I don't feel good about trusting my life to their products.

Yard Sale said:

Notable improvised explosive device attackers and attacks in the U.S.

Ted Kaczynsky, aka the Unabomber, numerous IEDs through the US Mail

Eric Rudolph, aka the Olympic Park Bomber, numerous IEDs

Philadelphia Police Dept., helicopter-dropped IED on the MOVE house

1993 World Trade Center, IED "truck bomb"

just a few U.S. IED incidents off the top of my head

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...alright, technically almost any bomb is improvised from something, therefore just about any bombing ever committed in the US is using an IED. I'll give you that in the most literal definition of the term.

You know what I was talking about though. Name a single incident of a car rolling down the road and just being blown up for no reason, or some guy ramming a random quick-e mart with an explosive truck. How about a shape charge on a highway overpass to disable semi-trucks? Pipe bombs being thrown over fences in suburbia?

I will consent that a number of IED attacks have happened in the US, however, I have never hear of any specifically targeting civilians outside of large POIs.

My fault for not clarifying in the first place, rule number 1 of internet debates.

They still qualify for being extremely rare none the less.

-->Back on the subject though, I would still use Dragon Skin in any situation I found myself in. It's the most practical solution for defeating a wide array of threats, even if it does melt if your set on fire... a good idea would be to take it off in that situation.

How about living in a armored personel carrier? You get full body protection that way. Keeps out the annoying wife also.

DVC said:

Having just visited their site and trying the "Contact Us" link, I'm probably going to take back the Blackhawk stuff because their website sucks.

Any company that hides their contact information behind several layers of Javajunk and Flashcrap is trying to avoid being contacted, and I don't feel good about trusting my life to their products.

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I've never heard anyone report that bulletproofme is hard to contact Nothing but good words actually.