I recently invested in Safelife Defense body armor and immediately suffered from buyers remorse. Not because the quality of the product is lacking because it it not. The product is superbly made. This is not concelable, but instead is a tactical vest similar to the kind worn by police. The monetery investment was considerable.
My primary motivation for the purchase was protection in the event of a SHTF situation. Civil unrest, natural disaster, where I might be in the position of having to protect the perimeter of my property.
Iām not waiting for End Of The Worldā¦ if it comes, nothing can help meā¦
For me as the civilian, living a normal life, Body Armor is not necessary. If itās not concealable it doesnāt give any advantages.
Itās easier to learn how to use cover during gunfight instead of wearing body armor or keeping it in every closetā¦
These are my thoughtsā¦
Check laws in the state you live. If the time comes for SHTF situation I personally will not be out involved in it, since my main focus/concern is mine and my families safety first. Thatās my two cents. For my current employment as a first responder healthcare provider, I can wear a concealable vest if I want to and choose not to. If you prefer a more concealable armor check out these other companies. I do have experience with armor and currently deciding whether I want to invest again into buying another. Here is 6 other companies that have concealable armor.
Ive already made the purchase which is legal in my State and I actually spent a tremendous amount of time researching before deciding on both the style and the manufacturer. Im in Florida, where the threat of natural disaster looms every hurricane season. In future events, like in past events, my priority was keeping my family secure and indoors while patroling and posting on my own property to protect against those who use natural disasters as an oportunity to take advantage of the lack of electricity and distracted first responders.
Unless you want to shell out a fortune youāre not going to find any Level IIIA + armor that wills top rifles bullets that I know of.
For that kind of āstoppageā you also need both rifle plates and trauma pads because with that kind of energy even if it doesnāt penetrate with only soft armor the trauma can break bones, rupture organs and major vessels and render you unable to respond/exit, or taking the room temperature challenge.
Even if youāre limiting your protection to handguns, the affordable concealable soft armor often isnāt enough to prevent serious trauma even if it does stop the round.
If it makes you feel any better I think I may have the same vest in a different color or one very similar to it with both rifle plates soft armor and trauma pads.
After an incident we had with a class on an open, uncontrolled, public range near Ft. Worth my wife put her foot down and said either I buy it and wear it, or I never teach on that range or one similar again.
I agreed and before I could buy it, she bought it for either my birthday or Christmas. Some guys marry pretty well.
Iām going to have to dig and find the name of the ammo, but as we go forward weāre going to find more and more handgun calibers capable of defeating body armor. Ballistics technology is moving faster than body armor technology. I watched a video of 9mm rounds defeating body armor rated to stop all common handgun calibers. It did not penetrate body armor designed to stop rifle calibers though.
Dont have it yet, plan on getting both something like what you got and concealable.
Some of the training Iāve been to lately some of the teachers wear itā¦ havenāt decided if Iām going to or not, or what the reasons are to choose each optionā¦ still processing that.
Re: SHTF, yes. I work 800 miles from home, and Iāve got to get there to protect me and mine. Iāve got the get home kit in the truck, and the fuel tanks to get me there in one go (130+gallons). If it all goes somewhere in a handbasket, and I decide early enough to head home, thatāll work fine and Iāll be home the next day. If I have to get out and walk, itāll take a lot longer. In either case Iād like to be wearing something thatāll help add some insurance.
Iāve debated getting soft armor for ājust in caseā. I think pistol rounds would be the most common threat in any sort of SHTF situation, but that may vary depending on where you live. The main thing keeping me from investing is that they typically expire after X years, so the prospect of buying a thing and having it sit in a closet un-used for years and then buying another one to replace it just sort of gnaws at me ĀÆ_(ć)_/ĀÆ
What I have invested in is soft armor for backpacks. I carry a backpack to/from work every day with a laptop (and other misc junk) and tossing a armor insert into the bag behind the laptop costs me nothing. My wife is a grad student so I bought her one and tossed it into her backpack as well. Theyāre ~1/4" thick and less than a pound so itās hardly noticeable and in the event of some sort of active shooter (most use handguns) theyāll be right at hand.
I would not allow that guy on any range I had control of just because of his shirt.
As for the ammo I would not expect it to remain legal for very long. If it is ever used in a shooting by a bad guy vs cop weāre going to see a huge national outcry aganst ācop killer bulletsā again and we may be back to hard cast lead only by the time they are done.
Velocity and not mass is what penetrates soft armor. Level IIIA will stop a one ounce slug along with a .44 magnum bullet but there are a few specialty 9mm rounds that push almost 2000 fps and level IIIA protects up to around 1600 fps. The thing is that armor is not designed to defend against ammo enthusiasts. Its used to protect against common thugs who dont carry rounds that exceed 1600 fps. If I really wanted the extra insurance, for about $165.00 I could add rifle plates to the rig.
I think proper fitting for women becomes more challenging. I have a friend who is a female deputy who told me she is on her third carrier and not happy with this one either. I believe the one she has now is made by Citizens Armor and she paid a pretty penny for it.
Thats true but the elephant in the room is that fact that i have seen 20 year old āexpiredā armor perform flawlessly. Im not suggesting that you should go beyond the manufacturers suggested expiration date, but as for me, once it expires I will replace it when I am able to without a sense of urgency.
