Soft Body Armor vs. Hard Body Armor

Ever since the beginning of time, warfare has existed. And the need for humans to protect themselves is already a basic need. From level I to level III body armor, man has searched for new and improved ways to harm his fellow man in order to impose his will upon his enemies.

There are two types of body armor: Hard and Soft armor. Each type has their own strengths and weaknesses. Hard body armor is made of ballistic steel or ceramic or other similar, inflexible material. Soft body armor is made from Kevlar, Spectra, Twaron, or any other fabric-like ballistic material. Hard body armor is much stronger than soft body armor - only hard armor is capable of defeating rifle caliber ammunition and some types of armor-piercing ammunition. However, hard armor is heavier (although recent advances in material technology is drastically bringing the weight down), and it is only capable of covering vital areas of a person - the heart and lungs, usually. It's impossible to construct, at least with current technology, a full vest or suit of hard armor. Hard armor is used in conjunction with soft body armor to absorb shots. Soft body armor, on the other hand, is flexible, lighter, and easier to wear. However, it can only stop pistol caliber ammunition, and generally only from pistols. While it is possible to construct a soft vest capable of defeating high velocity pistol ammunition, the vests begin to become hot, thick, and heavy.

Soft body armor, while it cannot stop very high velocity ammunition, it can stop tremendous amounts of slower ammunition, such as .45ACP, .40S&W, 00 Buckshot, and other types of ammunition fired at less than 1500 feet per second.

Hard body armor like level III 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.

Difference between Level IIIA and III Body Armor

Most often than not, sometimes, we people can’t help but interchange the description of level IIIA and levelIII body armor. In this article, you will learn the difference between the two and some similarities to help protect the wearer from ammunition.

First off, level IIIA belongs to the soft body armor area while level III belongs to the hard body armor group. From that alone, we can conclude that the materials being used are different. However, there are times that the hard body armor is placed outside the soft body armor for more protection just like what happened to level III body armor.

Level IIIA body armor protects the wearer against all lower levels and 9mm FMJ Round Nose (FMJ RN) rounds, with nominal masses of 8.0 g (124 gr) impacting at a minimum velocity of 427 m/s (1400 ft/s) or less and .44 Magnum JHP rounds, with masses of 15.6 g (240 gr) impacting at a minimum velocity of 427 m/s (1400 ft/s) or less. It also provides protection against most sidearm threats.

Level III body armor which is a hard body armor is 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. Soft body armor absorbs some of the trauma to minimize injury to the officer. This level vest must withstand 6 shots from a 7.62 x 51 NATO ball to travel up to 2800 ft/sec. 

Level III body armor protects the wearer against all lower levels and 7.62 mm FMJ rounds (US military designation M80) with nominal masses of 9.6 g (148 gr) impacting at a minimum velocity of 838 m/s (2750 ft/s) or less. It also provides protection against the threats mentioned in the lower levels – level I, level II and level IIIA body armors.

Things You Should Know before Purchasing Body Armor

Deciding which body armor, whether a level I or level III body armor, to purchase is as important as any purchase you will make. Before deciding on brands, you need a little knowledge about body armor to help with your decision.

The levels begin with Level I which offers the least amount of protection and go up to Level IV which offers the most amount of protection. This level system is the most important factor in making a purchase. You don’t need a Level IV - which will stop rifle rounds - if the purpose of the vest is to give you protection from sharp edged weapons.

A rule of the thumb is to have a level of performance that stops, at a minimum, the round you carry in your service weapon.  The rule is relevant and is as true today as it was when body armor was first available. However, there are more factors nowadays. 

Always try on your body armor before making a purchase. By trying it on, you will know if that body armor fits you perfectly or not. You should also put in mind that there will always be a tradeoff between comfort and protection. The higher the level of protection, the lesser comfort the body armor can give you. You have to balance two factors.

Body armor cannot be expected to provide adequate protection from ballistic threats that strike too close to the edge of an armor or too close to another impact. In the event that a body armor is damaged by bullets or in any way, replace it immediately. 

Soft body armor is not designed to protect the wearer against rifle rounds or edged or pointed weapon. Hard or tactical body armor like level III body armor is designed to defeat armor-piercing rounds that may provide protection only against a single-bullet impact on the ballistic plate.

Level III Body Armor according to Test Caliber

Selecting the appropriate level of protection of the body armor is the first step to consider before deciding to buy body armor. Whether you are going for level I or level III body armor, it is best that you should know the level of protection you will be needing based on the realistic weapon threat you face.

The National Institute of Justice (or NIJ), an arm of the Department of Defense (DoD) established six formal classification types of body armor, as well as a seventh type of armor. for now, we will discuss the level III body armor which is the first in line of the hard body armor in the classification chart of the NIJ.

Level III body armor (Rifles). This body armor protects the wearer against 7.62 mm full metal jacketed (FMJ) bullets (US military designation M80), with nominal masses of 9.6 g (148 grams), impacting at a minimum velocity of 838 m/s (or 2750 ft/s) or less. It also provides protection against level I through level III-A threats.

Level III body armor is clearly intended only for tactical situations when the threat warrants such protection, such as barricade confrontations involving sporting rifles. This is the level of body armor which is of a hard body armor type.

NIJ standards are used for law enforcement armors. The performance requirements of NIJ Standard–0101.04, which were developed with the active participation of body armor manufacturers, ensure that each armor level will provide a well defined minimum level of ballistic protection. 

Level III body armor requirements are identical to those above, except that only one type of ammunition is specified, and all six test rounds are fired perpendicular to the surface of the armor. A total of 12 shots are completed (6 shots per sample). 

This is one of the classifications of the National Institute of Justice – the level III body armor.

What is Body Armor?

Body armor is not bulletproof. It does not matter whether it is a level I or a level III body armor, but one thing is for sure, it not bullet proof. Soft body armor, for example, will not stop most centerfire rifle rounds. An industry rule of thumb is to buy armor that protects a service member from his or her duty firearm. Even better is that body armor routinely and significantly over-protects. The best body armor in the world will not help people who are not wearing it.

The first step in selecting the appropriate protection level of body armor is to establish the level of protection that users need based on the realistic weapon threat they face. To date, body armor has not been known to fail to prevent the penetration of a bullet constituting a threat equal to or less than the protection rating of the armor. However, officers have died from wounds received from weapons or ammunition exceeding the rated protection of the armor.

Even though the bullet may not penetrate through the body armor, there is still a possibility that the person wearing the body armor may receive injuries to their internal organs. These injuries are a result of blunt trauma force. The body armor provides some protection against these, but it is impossible to prevent it completely especially since it is soft body armor.

Soft body armor has proven to be a key element in saving police officer's lives. To date over 3,000 officers have been saved by body armor. 

If the ballistic vest doesn't fit you properly then there is no reason to wear it. Some manufacturers offer custom sizing of their vests so that no critical areas of your body are exposed. They even take their belief one step further and guarantee you will be satisfied with the fit of your vest for up to 30 days after purchase. If it doesn't fit right, just return it and they will fix the problem no matter what level of body armor is that, whether level I or level III body armor.