Body Armor Design

The first vest level that mandates the use of a heavy bulky hard plate with the soft body armor to protect the officer from rifle rounds is level III body armor. However, it is heavier for civilians wishing to purchase this body armor. As technology is getting high and high, more and more advancement in designs are being developed, not only in the design phase, but as well as in the weight factor.

The weak points of any body armor are its excessive weight thus limiting the movements of the person who wears it. Whenever you aim for getting the best protection level, it has always been a fact that there is tradeoff between the protection that you need and the weight of the body armor. The higher the level of protection, the bulkier and heavier it is. By this, man has difficulty choosing which factor should be considered – protection or weight that limits his mobility.

Thanks to the most powerful computer – brains. There has been news of developments in terms of the body armor designs and prospective materials to be used for much lighter body armor especially for the soldiers who are destined to fight in the combat zone. Although it is not yet out but some manufacturers are already harnessing the advanced manufacturing techniques such as bonding materials, flexible steel fiber and meshes, ceramic-composites matrixes and molded glass-ceramics to develop lightweight personal protection systems that can better fit the human body.

These developments are still undergoing construction and thorough testing but for sure, a few years from now, maybe 10-15 years, this possibility of having lightweight body armor without the bulkiness of it will possibly become a reality. All the levels of body armor from level 1, level 2, and level III body armor and so on will all be lightweight compared to their weight currently.

A Basic Guide to Body Armor

A piece of body armor are created to be used at different times, so it is important to determine if you are going to be using this body armor beneath or over your clothing. For example, level IIIbody armor is a hard plate style of armor and is used in conjunction with soft body armor to give protection against rifles. These plates are designed to be used as an overt style body armor but are not generally not suitable to be worn in a covert style.

Cover forms of body armor are supposed to be used underneath clothing. Due to this they are often made to be as sleek and as lightweight as they can be, and are made to end up being invisible when worn beneath the clothes. Covert body armor is used by people who need the fact they are wearing body armor to go unnoticed. This can be individuals such as close protection officers, undercover operatives and door supervisors, since an overt piece of body armor would not be practical for them.

Once you have decided whether you will be needing a cover or overt body armor, it is equally important to select what protection level you need in your job or everyday life. When picking a piece of body armor you should take into account what level of threats that you will encounter, simply because different types of body armor will offer you protection for different types of risks.

There are different kinds of vests – it can be bullet proof vests, stab resistant vests up to combination of this two. The manufacturers just have to tweak and place another to form one combination of vest.

For example, if the threat in your life requires level III body armor then of course, you should buy a body armor which provides that kind of body armor.

Choosing the Right Body Armor

Choosing the right body armor for you nowadays is not that difficult. If you will search on the National Institute of Justice standards on body armor, you will find that level I thru level IIIA body armor are part of the soft body armor group and level III bodyarmor thru level IV makes up the hard body armor part. With that, the chart also shows the ammunition from which a certain type of body armor can protect the wearer from. You have to first know the right level of protection you will be needing.

The purpose of the armor has not changed at all in the thousands of years since it has been in use — to protect the wearer from death or serious bodily injury when engaged in mortal combat — but the increased comfort carries with it an increased probability that officers will wear it.

Soft body armor is the type typically worn by police officers. It usually is concealable and is some what flexible to allow easy mobility by the officer. Hard body armor is typically made out of ceramic or metal plates. It is very similar to the medieval times body suits. Hard body armor usually provides a higher greater level of protection yet allows for limited mobility. Therefore, it is usually only used in limited situations. Body armor that provides stab protection is typically used by correctional officers. This type of body armor usually doesn't provide a ballistic protection, yet a protection against stabs.

When choosing your vest, first determine the mission during which you will most likely be wearing it and the level of protection you will most likely need. At a minimum, make sure the vest will stop the rounds from the handgun you will be carrying in the event of a disarming.

For example, you just need the level of protection given by a level I body armor but instead you chose to buy level III body armor, don’t make the mistake of buying the highest level of protection at the expense of comfort. If it gets too hot, too stiff or too uncomfortable, you will likely leave it home when you should be wearing it.

How does a Soft Body Armor works?

From the National Institute of Justice standards, level I thru Level IIIA belongs to the soft body armor and level III body armor thru level IV belongs to the hard body armor. We all know how the hard body armor can protect us from the bullets but how about the soft body armor? How can a soft piece of clothing stop bullets? The principle at work is actually quite simple. At its heart, a piece of bullet-proof material is just a very strong net.

When a bullet or projectile strikes body armor, it is caught in a "web" of high performance fibers that are layered and stitched to exceed certain bullet resistant specifications. The engaged fibers absorb and disperse the impact energy that is transmitted to the vest from the bullet, causing the bullet to deform or "mushroom". Additional energy is absorbed by each successive layer of material in the vest, until such time as the bullet has been stopped. Because the fibers work together in both the individual layer and with other layers of material in the vest, a large area of the garment becomes involved in preventing the bullet from penetrating, as well as dissipating the forces which can cause non-penetrating injuries to internal organs.

Since soft body armor deforms backward upon impact, it also deforms backward into the wearer of the vest. The damage to tissue caused by this transfer of kinetic energy is called blunt trauma. Minimizing blunt trauma helps save lives, since it not only reduces internal injury, but prevents temporary incapacitation during the initial hit, allowing the wearer to respond immediately in a high-threat situation.

Hard body armor just like level III body armor typically incorporates an ultra-hard, ballistic ceramic top layer combined with a laminated blend of unidirectional-oriented fiber bundles which work together to stop bullets and fragments.

How Hard Body Armor Works

Level III body armor is type of hard body armor.  Hard body armor is used in a tactical situation to give the wearer extra protection against both high speed pistol caliber ammunition, and rifle caliber ammunition. Hard body armor is generally a rectangular plate of material, either ballistic ceramic or ballistic steel. Each material has their strengths and weaknesses. Ceramic plates are usually thicker but lighter than a steel plate of the same protection. Steel plates can take more hits than ceramic plates, but ceramic plates are more likely to trap the bullet, keeping it from becoming a richochet that could endanger fellow teammates or innocent bystanders. Ceramic plates are more expensive than steel plates and may shatter if they are dropped. Steel plates require a lining on the rear of the plate to prevent shards of the metal from fragmenting off the plate and into the wearer, an effect known as 'spalling'.

Hard armor is worn usually in conjunction with soft body armor. The hard armor takes the initial impact, and, depending on the type of ammunition that hits it, deforms a bit in the back, and the Kevlar takes the rest of the impact.

A person wearing body armor will still feel the energy of a bullet's impact, of course, but over the whole torso rather than in a specific area. If everything works correctly, the victim won't be seriously hurt.

Since no one layer can move a good distance, the vest, example the level III body armor has to slow the bullet down using many different layers. Each "net" slows the bullet a little bit more, until the bullet finally stops. The material also causes the bullet to deform at the point of the impact. Essentially, the bullet spreads out at the tip, in the same way a piece of clay spreads out if you throw it against a wall. This process, which further reduces the energy of the bullet, is called "mushrooming."