Body Armor

Have You Got Body Armor?

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None for me.

Here is another classic from Gecko45 -
These kids want blood, and since they will have to go through me to shed any in my mall, I am constantly doging near misses and ricochets, I have taken to doubling up on my regular regimen on Body armor, as you probaly knwo.
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MikeNice said:
My wife has considerred buying me a level II because of the work I do. I haven't refused it, I just haven't encouraged her. I know the risk is out there. I also know I'm not going to wear it on every shift. So, what is the point of spending $400 on it?
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Check out this site before you commit to a level. Think about how comfortable a hospital stay is compared to how comfortable a vest is and don't forget, it's not just a bullet entering your body that can kill you but also blunt force trauma that can.

http://www.bulletproofme.com/Ballistic_Protection_Levels.shtml

If you need one for the work why skimp on the cost. Do you buy cheap tires for your car when you are planning a long trip? (rhetorical)
 
84, I don't think I need the vest. There have been maybe three incidents involving shots fired in the last ten years. The chances that any future event will happen while I am on duty is about 25%.

That means a one in four chance that I will be on duty for something that happens once every forty-two months. Then if you figure in the chances that it will happen on my post or when I am in the area, the odds drop further.

I just don't see buying a vest for something that really is probably a 3% chance of ever happening. Knowing the chances that I will wear it every night, it isn't worth it. The probability that the two events would line up wouldn't be high.

I'll save the money and play the odds. I'm more worried about needing protection against a stab or bite than a bullet.
 
MikeNice said:
84, I don't think I need the vest. There have been maybe three incidents involving shots fired in the last ten years. The chances that any future event will happen while I am on duty is about 25%.

That means a one in four chance that I will be on duty for something that happens once every forty-two months. Then if you figure in the chances that it will happen on my post or when I am in the area, the odds drop further.

I just don't see buying a vest for something that really is probably a 3% chance of ever happening. Knowing the chances that I will wear it every night, it isn't worth it. The probability that the two events would line up wouldn't be high.

I'll save the money and play the odds. I'm more worried about needing protection against a stab or bite than a bullet.
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You'll also save a lot of money if you drop you home owner insurance, even more if you drop your car insurance as well. Don't forget to get rid of any fire extinguishers you have, refilling them can be costly. ;)

If you have a job that only remotely requires a vest, don't sell you family short by risking the odds. The cost of a vest is a lot less than the cost of a hospital stay, even if the organization you work for picks up most of it.
 
Then why even have a gun, you'll probably never need one either? Just think about another Katrina or even another LA Riot taking place some place other than LA. Society may not be as stable as some think.
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i dont have guns because i need them.....i have them because i WANT them....

i use a gun for other things besides protection........a gun isnt going to sit in my closet never being used.


and people have been successfully fighting for thousands of years without any kind of body armour what so ever, its funny to think that we all of a sudden need it now.....

if you want armour, thats fine......but its a bit much to say that people are grossly unprepared simply because they dont have it.....

.....heck, im willing to bet theres someone out there who has their own bomb shelter, a private army, 4 years of supplies, and a small army of tanks who thinks that we are all unprepared should there be another katrina incident.



You'll also save a lot of money if you drop you home owner insurance, even more if you drop your car insurance as well. Don't forget to get rid of any fire extinguishers you have, refilling them can be costly.

If you have a job that only remotely requires a vest, don't sell you family short by risking the odds. The cost of a vest is a lot less than the cost of a hospital stay, even if the organization you work for picks up most of it.
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i live in an area where floods are extremely unlikely......so am i risking my house if i dont have flood insurance.....well technically yes.......but is that level of risk low enough that it justifies not getting insurance.....also yes........same logic applies to the vest.




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and people have been successfully fighting for thousands of years without any kind of body armour what so ever, its funny to think that we all of a sudden need it now.....
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And people have been successfully losing fights for thousands of years without any kind of body armor. Funny thing is, body armor has been used for thousands of years and it isn't only recently that people think they need it.

Heck, people have been successfully fighting and people have been successfully losing fights for thousands of years before firearms. Do you think it is funny that we all of a sudden think we need them now?

Just because something hasn't been done for a long period of time, as indicated by your claim, does not mean that the item or task isn't valid for use now.
 
I think it's interesting that so many posters give Katrina as an example of where body armor would be handy.

Body armor is expensive. That's at least several hundred dollars that won't be going towards food, water, gas, a generator, or a ticket to get the hell out before the storm hits.

Violent crime was grossly overrated. And besides, do you have rifle plates? How about a helmet?

Heavy and absorbent body armor also poses some challenges in a flooded city.
 
I think it's interesting that so many posters give Katrina as an example of where body armor would be handy.

Body armor is expensive. That's at least several hundred dollars that won't be going towards food, water, gas, a generator, or a ticket to get the hell out before the storm hits.

Violent crime was grossly overrated. And besides, do you have rifle plates? How about a helmet?

Heavy and absorbent body armor also poses some challenges in a flooded city.
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exactly.....in any emergency situation......what is going to be the most useful

$400-600 in food, gas, water, clothing, flashlights, blankets, supplies.....

or

a kevlar vest.


if the situation is really that bad...im loading up the car and getting the heck out of there......you can get pretty far with a few hundred dollars in gas.
 
M-Cameron said:
exactly.....in any emergency situation......what is going to be the most useful

$400-600 in food, gas, water, clothing, flashlights, blankets, supplies.....

or

a kevlar vest.


if the situation is really that bad...im loading up the car and getting the heck out of there......you can get pretty far with a few hundred dollars in gas.
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Why not both? By your logic why even have a gun. Just save the money you spend on it and ammo for gas and leave. Just hope you don't meet anyone on the way that wants your car.

Look, there are a lot of reasons for both arguments. I just feel being over prepared is better than being under prepared.
 
I'll never buy any unless my work requires me to carry. I once had a job where I worked on banking and atm telecommunication stuff. I never even considered a vest then and I still wouldn't. The security guard that watched my 6 perhaps should buy one. Sometimes "security guard" was a questionable term, I'd say %25+ of the guys who were contracted were itching for an incident...I swear ghecko45 was my guard a few times. The nights this guy was on duty I felt more comfortable without any guard at all. He was the full on body armor, "they'll never take me alive" type. You never knew who you would get, sometimes it was gecko45. Other times it was Barney Fife. A few times it was a drunken ex Delta guy who never spoke and carried a 1911 Mexican style. Anyway if I were THOSE guys, I would consider it. Me? Never.

If we're talking dollar value, spending that same amount of dough on ammo and/or a training class will benefit you more than body armor.

Aside from that, it is hot and humid down here...adding a pistol and extra ammo is enough added heft.

Carrying a concealed weapon is my right and leaves me with a "back against the wall, no where to go" plan. If I feel that I stand a high enough probability of walking into a 2 way range, I'll switch day jobs or move. But to each his own, it is a free country!

Oh...one more thing...doesn't body armor have an expiration? I'd feel kind of silly spend several hundred bucks to replenish something every few years when all it does is sit in a closet or a bug out bag. I'm cheap, I already feel bad for buying sights that contain vials of radioactive isotopes with a half life sure to expire within my lifetime (and that's only $120).
 
Why not both? By your logic why even have a gun. Just save the money you spend on it and ammo for gas and leave. Just hope you don't meet anyone on the way that wants your car.

Look, there are a lot of reasons for both arguments. I just feel being over prepared is better than being under prepared.
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i dont know about you....but i certainty dont, and im willing to bet most people....dont have a spare $600 to spend on something thats going to sit im my closet.


as for someone wanting your stuff.......a bullet proof vest isnt going to stop them from taking it......hell, they may want that too.

that is why you carry a gun.


and honestly, if you are at the point where people are going to try and kill you for your stuff......youve stuck around too long.
 
Look, Guys, half the guns I own, I own because they're cool, not because they have a practical purpose. I have a IIIa vest because I think it's cool to have one. I didn't spend a lot of money for it,(in fact I traded a giant zippo for it) I also have a surplus plate carrier w. that dangly crotch thing. I don't wear the stuff, and I don't plan to wear the stuff, but isn't there an old saying that goes "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it"?
 
I'm not saying we should all buy BA, just that in a SHTF situation it is better to have it than not. I wouldn't wear it either unless that arises and I'm also not sure I would have bought it if my work (news photographer during several riots) didn't require it. I did however buy my own Kevlar vest before the paper supplied me with a newer version because I have felt being prepared for disaster after serving during a war and my experiences in LA over the last 40 or so years is the way to go. But that's just me.
 
I've worn level II vests with trauma plate for a living for the last decade in fine Dallas heat... Notice I said vestS, since I'm currently on my third. Human sweat and the nasty stuff that's in it doesn't play well with most things. You just don't notice what it does to your clothes since most people don't wear the same shirt every day and get it completely soaked with sweat. If you did, it would fall apart pretty quickly. Since Dallas is great for sweat production, I retire my vests faster than the suggested rate. I've also got four sets of carriers for it since they get super nasty super fast and I'm not about to do laundry every day. It's not a cheap investment, especially when you factor in other costs like all the various powders, sprays and "miracle" products you are going to try out to keep your skin from falling off in one giant sheet, or to get rid of the rashes and sores you will develop.

If you guys want to know what it's like to wear body armor in the south... get two thick sheets of cardboard and duct tape them to your body front and back. Now, wait for the temperature outside to get to about 110 and go jogging. Yes, yes, it's not always 110 degrees out... but, wearing body armor will raise your core body temperature 10-20 degrees. So, a 90 degree day out means that your torso will be feeling like it's 110. Get a day that's really 110 out and that means your cooking. Yeah, the guys coming back from the sandbox won't be so impressed, but most people on here really never think about that.

The other thing no one ever thinks about until after they try wearing armor... it's a nasty sponge. Wear what ever expensive t-shirt you want, by the end of a shift you are a smelly soggy mess. It's like wearing a nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long. And since you are wearing the nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long, you will smell like a nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long... even after you've tried every spray and powder on the market and have four different carriers.
 
ClickClickD'oh said:
I've worn level II vests with trauma plate for a living for the last decade in fine Dallas heat... Notice I said vestS, since I'm currently on my third. Human sweat and the nasty stuff that's in it doesn't play well with most things. You just don't notice what it does to your clothes since most people don't wear the same shirt every day and get it completely soaked with sweat. If you did, it would fall apart pretty quickly. Since Dallas is great for sweat production, I retire my vests faster than the suggested rate. I've also got four sets of carriers for it since they get super nasty super fast and I'm not about to do laundry every day. It's not a cheap investment, especially when you factor in other costs like all the various powders, sprays and "miracle" products you are going to try out to keep your skin from falling off in one giant sheet, or to get rid of the rashes and sores you will develop.

If you guys want to know what it's like to wear body armor in the south... get two thick sheets of cardboard and duct tape them to your body front and back. Now, wait for the temperature outside to get to about 110 and go jogging. Yes, yes, it's not always 110 degrees out... but, wearing body armor will raise your core body temperature 10-20 degrees. So, a 90 degree day out means that your torso will be feeling like it's 110. Get a day that's really 110 out and that means your cooking. Yeah, the guys coming back from the sandbox won't be so impressed, but most people on here really never think about that.

The other thing no one ever thinks about until after they try wearing armor... it's a nasty sponge. Wear what ever expensive t-shirt you want, by the end of a shift you are a smelly soggy mess. It's like wearing a nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long. And since you are wearing the nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long, you will smell like a nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long... even after you've tried every spray and powder on the market and have four different carriers.
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I hope you wear the special ribbed T-shirt under the vest. I know all too well the Texas heat and humidity, my wife's family is all from there. I try to visit mostly in the cooler months because of it, too much like Vietnam. :)
 
The other thing no one ever thinks about until after they try wearing armor... it's a nasty sponge. Wear what ever expensive t-shirt you want, by the end of a shift you are a smelly soggy mess. It's like wearing a nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long. And since you are wearing the nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long, you will smell like a nasty sponge that's been sitting in your sink too long... even after you've tried every spray and powder on the market and have four different carriers.
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The summer humidity constantly hovering above %75 (often above %90) here in NC makes you sweat disproportionately to the temperature. The thought of what you just said makes me cringe. Yeah, I'll pass on the body armor since an IT job isn't exactly a high risk venture.
 
It's a simple cost benefit analysis.

None of us have exactly the same risk profile.

Most of us don't have infinite resources to blow on "gear".

Me personally? I'll spend my next $1,000 of serious "security gear" money on a home alarm system.

But I'll probably buy a few metal working tools and a toy or two before I make the investment. :)
 
I've gone back and forth on buying some. Presently I don't own any. I don't plan on buying any in the near future.

Shortly after I was released from active duty (ca Desert Shield/Storm) I had armor. I also had a set of ALICE gear, an AR-15, and a 9mm pistol always loaded and ready to go. I felt I was prepared for considerably more than a home invasion.

I recognize the fragilness that our society exists in and the potential of the necessity for such equipment. The folks who say it is better to have it and not need it have a bomb proof point. But, I think there are much better ways to spend the money that would otherwise go to a vest. If you are in a situation where you are forced to stand and slug it out chances are armor wont dramatically improve your odds.
 
Having lived through a home invasion, you won't have time to put on your body armor. They don't tell you in advance when they are going to break in. I happens in seconds. You will be lucky to get to your gun, unless you carry one all the time, as I now do. It usually happens when you are coming in or going out. Plus in FL it's so freaking hot, that the body armor may kill you before the bad guys. I think that anyone worried about protection from high powered rifles is being oner dramatic, maybe a shotgun. But unless everyone in the house has a setup like that, or you live alone, a dog and an alarm with cameras, are a better solution. No one wants to be on video.
 
It's a simple cost benefit analysis.

None of us have exactly the same risk profile.

Most of us don't have infinite resources to blow on "gear".
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Good point. Spending that kind of cash is a family getaway for me or money that could be better spent actually shooting with my children.

Aside from that, if I'm buying body armor for SHTF scenario....what kind of father am I if I'm not buying the whole family body armor!! The kids will be pack mules for the ammo, food and meds that I can't carry in such a situation so they will be priority targets. Now we're getting expensive. :neener:
 
I'm not going to be THAT guy.....

Rather than live my life inside body armor with a gun strapped on each ankle, two on my belt and an AK in my left hand with my PGO shotty in my right as I watch TV in my residential bunker..........I would move to someplace safer than downtown Mogadishu.

Seriously.....if your job is high risk or you live in a dangerous area get NEW body armor. The used stuff is a crapshoot and BA does deterioriate over time due to sweat and heat.

The day I feel the need to wear body armor while mowing the yard or on a trip to the grocery store is about the same time you'll see me wrapping aluminum foil around my head to shield me from the CIA satellites.
 
Yup.....+1 to what gym said and what dogtown tom said.

Besides;
1. I have not yet paid-off my armored truck and hardened bunker extension to house it.
2. I learned in the 1950's that a basic 'duck and cover' will save me from anything up to and including a nuclear device. :D

.
 
A lot of these arguments about not having BA sound a lot like the anti's reason why they "don't believe in guns" (my answer to them is: I don't believe in the tooth fairy, which one of our decisions is based in reality) but it just boils down to whether one wants to be prepared for a catastrophic even or not. I have long term storage of food as well as a generator. Will I need it? Hopefully not but the time to get them is when you don’t need them. IMHO
 
A lot of these arguments about not having BA sound a lot like the anti's reason why they "don't believe in guns" (my answer to them is: I don't believe in the tooth fairy, which one of our decisions is based in reality) but it just boils down to whether one wants to be prepared for a catastrophic even or not. I have long term storage of food as well as a generator. Will I need it? Hopefully not but the time to get them is when you don’t need them. IMHO
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There is one HUGE difference. Some of us are saying why we won't buy, wear or store body armor; but we all will agree that you can buy as much body armor as you want. Anti's will tell you that you shouldn't have it because they don't see a need. That's a pretty big difference. :)
 
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