A beginners guide to Body Armor

Different items of body armor are created to be used at different times, so you must determine if you are going to be wearing your body armor below or above your clothing.

Covert types of body armor are designed to be worn under clothes. For that reason they are normally made to be as sleek and as light-weight as possible, and are designed to end up being hidden when put on under clothes. These types of body armor are usually manufactured from moisture wicking materials which help to keep the individual wearing it cool, and they are often produced in lighter colours than other types of body armor.

Covert body armor is usually worn by people that want the fact they are using body armor to go undetected. This is people like close protection officers, undercover operatives and door supervisors, as an overt type of body armor would not be practical for them.

Overt varieties of body armor are created to be worn over your clothing, and as a result they tend to be produced from tougher materials than covert types of body armor. The idea of overt body armor is it will be obvious to people, and due to this fact normal overt body armor covers are generally black, however there are various other colors available. In some cases overt pieces of body armor will include high visibility markings, or be manufactured completely from high visibility materials, meaning that the person wearing them sticks out.

Police forces around the globe use overt types of body armor, as well as security firms and security staff. An overt piece of body armor will often act as a deterrent, as it can help identify individuals of power easily within a crowd.

Body armor has become widely used in the last 25 years, for 2 main factors. Initially, early kinds of body armor were heavy and rigid, but advancements in technology means that the body armor we use these days offers high levels of protection, whilst at the same time being lightweight, flexible and comfy even when used for extended time periods. The second cause for the surge in body armor use is that, sadly, it’s actually starting to be essential in countless types of work as a result of the increased risks that many of us encounter in modern society.

Once you have decided if you want a covert or overt piece of body armor, it’s now important to decide on what protection levels you’ll need. When purchasing a piece of body armor you should think about what kinds of threats you will face, because different varieties of body armor offer protection against different types of threats.

A bullet proof vest is the most well recognised piece of body armor available on the market. This kind of body armor is designed to stop a bullet by “catching” it in a web of incredibly strong fibres, preventing it from passing through the vest itself. They can provide various levels of protection, that will offer the person wearing them defense against low powered pistols up to high powered Magnums.

Another commonly used form of body armor is stab proof vests. Plenty of people think that if a piece of body armor can stop a round then it will also stop a blade, however this is not the case. This is because a blade penetrates material in another way to a bullet, and therefore a conventional bullet proof jacket isn’t going to defend its wearer from a knife based attack.

Recently spike resistant vests have also become available on the body armor marketplace. These kinds of vests offer the person wearing them protection from spiked weapons such as needles and also syringes, which will very easily slide through the weave in the fabric of a bullet or stab resistant piece of body armor.

With such a wide range of body armor available it’s important to think about which type is correct for yourself. If you’re employed in a place with zero gun crime but high amounts of knife violence then it’s pointless wearing an item of body armor which will just defend from guns. Likewise a knife proof item of body armor is useless when you’re in danger of getting shot.

Thankfully modern day kinds of body armor are now able to provide multi-threat protection. In other words they will protect the wearer from a variety of assaults, for instance there is now body armor which is both bullet and stab resistant, as well as bullet, stab and spike proof varieties.

The most important consideration when buying your body armor is to be sure it’ll protect you. Make sure that you have the appropriate kind of protection for the threats you are likely to face, since you can’t put a price on your life.