When you consider buying body armor, it’s not a luxury you are looking for, but rather a necessity. Think of the ancient times, when warriors that had to protect themselves from swords, spears, and arrows – they plainly found out that wearing some armor on them makes a huge difference. Buying body armor is quite a serious investment and you have to make your decision carefully, choosing the best body armor for your particular needs and situation. When thinking about purchasing body armor online you need to be aware of some key factors before purchase, SafeGuardClothing.com has a range of detailed information on body armor to better expand your knowledge before buying.
In case you still do not own a body armor set, there are a few things you should consider and reflect on, before you make up your mind.
Carriers
Carriers are normally made of either cloth of nylon. The materials of production vary in the way they absorb water from sweat, comfort levels, price, and the type of maintenance they demand. Also, it is a must to consider what you are going to be wearing under your body armor and for how long the armor is going to stay on you, because there are vests that may cause skin irritation and abrasion because of rubbing.
Stop Plates
Stop plates can be either soft or hard panels, which slide into the carrier’s front in order to provide the wearer with some additional protection. Make certain that the panels holding the plates are sealed with heat. This way, the panels and ballistic material – normally, Kevlar – are protected from moisture and sunlight.
Shoulder Straps
Most of the contemporary bullet proof vests have two sleeves that are either closed or connected.
Maintenance
As it was mentioned above, the purchase of body armor is a very serious investment and you might want to make the most out of your expense. Make certain that you always keep up with the regular schedule to clean your bullet proof vest. You may also ask the consultant about the care and cleaning requirements and guidelines.
You may also refer to the US National Institute of Justice (NIJ), where you can get any help you need. You may simply visit their website and learn more information concerning body armor, when you decide to buy a set.
Don’t Forget about Protection Levels
Speaking of the NIJ, this entity is the one that provides official ratings for bullet proof armor. People are often purchasing something without knowing the exact details about the product and other information that is meant to help making a good buy. The same is with body armor. Many people don’t know what type of body armor they should look for. They don’t even know that there are various types of body armor and other necessary information that can keep them from a useless purchase. Some of it is actually quite important.
Making your mind on the type of body armor you are going to buy is as significant as any buy you will make. Thus, some brief information will be quite helpful for you.
All bulletproof vests are classified under six protection levels. Level I is the very first level, offering the lowest amount of protection. Then the list goes up to Level IV, which is the highest protection level. You must know protection levels, because it’s the most essential factor in a body armor purchase. You don’t require a Level IV tactical bullet proof vest, if you’re simply protecting yourself from possible knife attacks, while walking through a dangerous neighborhood. Such vest would be appropriate, if you are a military person or your job demands proper protection, because of the involved risks.
One should wear body armor that has a ballistic protection level that stops at least the caliber of your service pistol. Nevertheless, there are supplementary advices associated to this. Ballistic protection levels have particular factors, including shape, composition, mass, caliber, and angle of collision along with velocity.
NIJ is the institute that researches, appraises, and develops body armor gear. Thus, make sure you learn all you need about protection levels to find the armor that will meet your everyday or special needs.
