A quick guide to Body Armor.
Different pieces of body armor are created to be used at different times, for that reason it’s important to decide if you are going to be using your body armor under or over your clothing.
Covert varieties of body armor are designed to be worn beneath clothes. As a result they are often made to be as slim and as lightweight as possible, and are designed to end up being undetectable when put on below clothes. These types of body armor are frequently made of moisture wicking fabrics which help to keep the person wearing them cooler, and they are typically produced in lighter colors than other types of body armor.
Covert body armor will be used by individuals that prefer the fact they’re wearing body armor to go undetected. This is individuals like close protection officers, undercover agents and door supervisors, as an overt type of body armor would not be practical for them.
Overt models of body armor are designed to be worn above your clothes, and for that reason they tend to be made from stronger materials than those used for covert types of body armor. The idea of overt body armor is it is noticeable to others, and as a result normal overt body armor covers are generally black, but there are many other colours available. Occasionally overt pieces of body armor will come with high visibility strips, or be manufactured totally from high visibility materials, ensuring that the person wearing them sticks out.
Police forces globally wear overt forms of body armor, as do security firms and security staff. An overt piece of body armor will often act as a deterrent, as it can help identify a person of authority very easily in a large crowd.
Body armor has come to be commonly used over the last twenty-five years, for two key reasons. To begin with, earlier types of body armor were heavy and also rigid, however developments in technology means that the body armor we benefit from today has high levels of protection, whilst also being light-weight, flexible and comfortable when worn for long time periods. The second cause for the surge in body armor use is because, unfortunately, it’s starting to be essential in many lines of work as a result of the increased risks we encounter in modern-day society.
When you’ve decided if you will need a covert or overt piece of body armor, it is then important to decide on what protection levels you’ll need. When picking an item of body armor you must take into account what types of threats that you’ll encounter, as different kinds of body armor will offer protection for different types of risks.
A bullet proof vest is easily the most well recognised item of body armor on the market today. This type of body armor is made to stop a bullet by “catching” it inside a web of ultra strong fibers, preventing it from penetrating through the jacket itself. They can provide a number of levels of protection, which can offer the person wearing them protection from low powered pistols up to high powered Magnums.
Another widely used kind of body armor is stab proof vests. A lot of people think that if a unit of body armor can stop a round it may be able to stop a blade, but unfortunately this isn’t the case. The reason is , a knife penetrates fabric in different ways to a bullet, and consequently a conventional bullet proof jacket isn’t going to defend its wearer from a knife based attack.
In recent times spike resistant vests have also become obtainable on the body armor marketplace. These kinds of vests provide the person wearing them protection from spiked guns like needles and syringes, which can easily slip through the weave within the material of a bullet or stab proof piece of body armor.
With such a selection of body armor available it is important to think about which sort is correct for you. If you’re doing work in an area with absolutely no gun crime but substantial amounts of knife violence then it’s useless using an item of body armor that can just protect from firearms. Similarly a knife resistant piece of body armor will be worthless if you’re at risk of being shot.
However modern-day types of body armor are now able to offer multi-threat protection. Because of this they will protect the person wearing them from a variety of attacks, for example there is now body armor that is both bullet and stab proof, and even bullet, stab and spike proof varieties.
The most important aspect when deciding on your body armor is to be sure it’ll protect you. Make sure that you have the suitable form of protection for the threats you can expect to face, because you can not put a price on your life.