Body armor.

[Glock19Fan]

Hello.

Im interested in buying some body armor (at least a level IIa vest), but I know next to nothing about it.

I know I will probably get a used vest, since they should be like new in quality, and they are cheaper.

I heard of several materials being used, but I heard that I should always stick with kevlar. Is this true?

How comfortable are they? I know they wont fit like a normal shirt, but how noticeable is it to you and people around you? How much clothing is required for it not to be noticed?

Also, how much should I expect to pay for a used vest? Where can I get some (im guessing the majority of the used were once issued to LEO?)?

Thanks!

 

[jlwatts3]

try www.bulletproofme.com for starters

 

[jlwatts3]

they have used ones starting around $300 for level IIIa

 

[Blue Line]

Used? Remember the guarantee on most vests is 5 yrs. Do you really want to take a chance with a used vest?

 

[8830]

As long as the vest hasn't been shot, stabbed, got soaking wet or blunt force trauma to it then it should be fine. I shot one of my Sgts. vest after he wore it for 18yrs and it stopped 9mm,40,45,10mm and 12ga slugs. It functioned just like it was suppose to. The 5yr replacement is so vest companies can keep making money. I'm currently wearing one that is 10yrs old.

 

[RyanM]

Vests that have panels which are not Kevlar or Twaron do have problems. Here's a link you'll want to look at. http://www.tacticalforums.com/cgi-bin/tacticalubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=78;t=000502

Used vests are fine, and a great way to save money. They do not degrade very much over time at all. Only problem is if the vest belonged to a sweaty guy, it will probably really stink. Literally, that is.

 

[psyopspec]

I bought used and was happy with it. Saved 50% off new on a vest that was only worn for two weeks until the seller got an issue one from his dept.

Picked it up on ebay, of all places.

 

[Kevlarman]

eBay is a great place to get used vests! I got three of them there, all well below MSRP.

 

[armoredman]

Buy new. I have worn several over the years. New is custom fitted to you, and used was custom fitted to someone else. If you're wearing it over any length of time, you will notice a badly fitted vest.
Go light, if you are going to wear it long term - spend the bucks for light strong, at least IIIA, not IIA or II.
Check your local laws, some states actually restrict the ability of private citizens to purchase body armor.
The mail order stuff is probably junk, but I haven't seen it up close.
Good luck!

 

[coylh]

Oooph! http://www.thegunzone.com/mos/vest-save.html

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I have purchased vests and vest panels on ebay, all older versions and all regular kevlar (nothing fancy). While they are rated for 5 years, actual kevlar seems to do very well out to triple that amount of time. I was able to get panels fairly cheap because 1/2 of of the set had been shot or otherwise damaged and so it was no longer a useful 'set' with just one good panel.

Not only is there just the 5 year limit on panels, but they are only tested to 3 shots from the calibers the level (IIa, II, IIIa) is supposed to stop. What I have found is that panels can often stop 8-10 times that number of rounds if the rounds are spaced out. Failures start occurring when you get a later round impacting close to the hole of a previous round. So I could get 25 shots of 9mm or .45 acp in on a IIIa vest before any full penetrations actually occurred.

If you are going to buy used, I would STRONGLY suggest you not get any of the lighter weight miracle fabrics. They have not proven to have the longevity you see with kevlar. And never EVER consider getting anything made with Xylon! It has been shown to not even be reliable for the intended 5 years, with at least one officer injury and one officer death by rounds penetrating a panel rated for stopping the penetrating calibers. Xylon and some other materials simply are not stable enough to maintain integrity.

 

[Elmer]

And never EVER consider getting anything made with Xylon! It has been shown to not even be reliable for the intended 5 years, with at least one officer injury and one officer death by rounds penetrating a panel rated for stopping the penetrating calibers. Xylon and some other materials simply are not stable enough to maintain integrity

You're just repeating crap you read on the Internet. I believe the officer who was killed, was wearing a vest that was less than three months old.

There are two companies who supposedly had problems with Zylon vests. Both were super thin, ultralight vests. Other companies who make Zylon vests with an extra margin of safety built in, have had no problems. One of the companies who had problems is still making Zylon vests, but with more material. The other is going bankrupt. Good riddance. They made lousy kevlar vests too.

Kevlar degrades too, and if you made a vest out of it that was on the edge of passing the NIJ test when it was built, in a year or two, it would fail if you retested it.

Conscientious companies have always built a margin of safety into their vests, to allow for degradation. The "Mad" websites that have taken up the anti Zylon cause have an agenda.

Follow the money.......

 

[Lucky]

Good riddance to Second Chance?

 

[Kevlarman]

They made lousy kevlar vests too.

Uh huh.

 

[Elmer]

When all the vests were being made out of Kevlar 29, Second Chance was pushing 14 or 15 layer and less vests, while the better companies vests were 20 or 21 layer vests. Same exact materials, just less of them. They continued that philosphy into the newer materials. One of their models had more materials just where the NIJ protocol shot the vest, then less everywhere else!

They got rich by telling cops they needed the lightest vest possible, and it was just a coincidence that their margins were much higher, because they were using less materials....

So, Kevlarman what's the V-50's look like on your vest? How bout backface?

Ask most of the superlight vest proponents those questions and they just give you a blank stare. It never occurs to them that their vest might actually need to stop real bullets.

Second Chance had a cult-like following who somehow were made to believe that less was more. It wasn't, and it finally caught up to them.

 

[Kevlarman]

Still, I don't think that discounts the fact that Second Chance was the first producer of ballistic vests on the market. Their vests are are credited with over 1000 saves, and I think that's pretty good.

Comfort is one of the underlying factors when it comes to buying a vest. If the vest and heavy and cumbersome, it will spend it's time in the closet or the trunk of your car, and it doesn't do anybody any good there.

 

[Elmer]

20 years ago, the difference between the lightest and the heaviest vests was pretty substantial. Today, the companies that flog thin and light are talking about ounces. You're kidding yourself if you think you'll feel it while your wearing it.

And as I already said, it's just a coincidence that they make more money on a vest with less materials in it......

Second Chance was a great marketer. Keeping track of "saves", was a great idea. Even though many of the car crash ones, (which were a lot of them), were a little questionable.

There's no doubt that wearing some kind of vest is better than no vest.

 

[Lucky]

Thanks, that's a very good argument. You are right, I did buy into the mythos the company had around it.