I’m definitely looking into this. It sounds interesting and a good means of extra safety.
I’ve been tempted to get something, unfortunately I am fairly big.
I’m torn between something low profile and modest stopping power.
I also sweat a lot and can overheat which would be another potential problem.
Have you considered the plates that go in backpacks, @Orpackrat? The Into the Fray linked above discusses them. It maybe a decent option for you.
While I do carry a backpack a lot. Your protection only works if it is shot first. Unless I’m on trips and out and about, my backpack is not on me.
Might as well leave my carry in my backpack. While it could be useful, if it’s not on me when needed, Odds are I will not need it again.
I own a vest with ar500 plates and wouldnt do this! Insane
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If your going to use a vest or a backpack with a plate, I highly suggest getting under armor moisture wicking shirts…
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My husband actually ordered one for me and my youngest son. We ordered in November and still have not gotten them, It was supposed to have shipped last week. When I get it, I will let you know how heavy it is. It has been way passed the 8 weeks they said it would take to get here and going on 3 months.
I would like a slim lined bulletproof vest.
The responsible gun owner in me is cringing! I understand the reasoning for the demonstration, but everything we stand for goes out the window in that video. Yikes!!
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I have absolutely no experience with these but i hear good things about them and they look like they are quality products. I personally have a ar500 plate carrier from spartan armor
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I was going to create a new topic but I saw this one and it is covering vests as well as jackets so here goes.
I am with @Dawn on this one. I’ve seen companies that make vests test them by having an employee shoot them with it on and if this video wasn’t scary enough, the one I saw was. Also, once you shoot the vest, it is no longer as strong as it was so it is wasted. Either way, this is a stupid thing to do!
I am currently in the dilemma of finding the right vest as well. @Thad, getting a bulletproof jacket for going to the theatre (for example) is fine but when you are in the theatre and I suppose they have temperature control, aren’t you going to want to take it off and then you are unprotected from any shooting?
My first vest was a Level 3a from SafeLife Defense. It weighs about 8 lbs or so and is not concealable at all. My last vest is a Level 2 from SafeGuard Clothing and it is supposed to be concealed for undercover use. When I first put it on my wife broke into tears. It looked like I had breasts. Haha. After a number of days of use that is starting to deminish. My dimensions are as follows: 6’4” tall, chest about 46”, waist about 40” and dropping. The salesperson on the phone said since I was tall to get the long size however the vest butts with my belt so I am going to have to send it back and get the regular length maybe. I’m not sure how much this one weighs but it does weigh less than the first one and I sweat less with this one. I am diabetic so any vest is going to make me sweat somewhat. Take that into consideration when buying if you have a medical condition.
As for whether or not it is worth the investment depends on you, where you live, how many times you going into an area of extreme danger, and whether or not you have the money to put out every three to five years when the vest wears out. Without going into too much detail I live in an area where there is a lot of drugs and unfortunately some of the dealers lived in and around our apartment. I also have two sons who have followed that drug life and don’t trust them as far as I could throw them. I can’t conceal carry in New Jersey yet so when I go out, I like to know that I will live to see another day. For me, it is worth the cost but be prepared to pay some big bucks.
I hope that this further helps in everyone’s decision.
Looked at their site. I’d be most intrigued by the vest. Due to body heat, I usually take off any outerwear with sleeves, then roll up the sleeves on my cover shirt. I even pull up sleeves on sweaters and hoodies. The vest would give me good torso protection and better vent-ability than all but the polo. Ergo, I would wear it a lot more than anything else. That bruise is ugly, but no penetration. I wonder what the shockwave did to his innerds?
My allowance isn’t there yet. Will I get one of these before a new gun? Stay tuned…
My son’s coat arrived and I took pics of it. Mine should be here on Tuesday. I was really hesitant about posting the pics but honestly, they already have pics on their website so I will post and give my honest opinion of my son’s coat.
My son is 14 , about 5 foot 4 and 120 pounds. He wears a mens small in shirts and a 30 inch waist, This is a size small coat. As you can see from the pictures, this is a coat that has been modified. They did a nice job at hiding the seems of the inner pouches that they made that hold the bullet resistant panels. The way the panels overlap in the front make it REALLY hard to zip the panels together. One problem is that since this is pretty much an already made coat that has been modified, there is very little room to line up the zipper for the front panels. The weight of the panels pull down and then you are trying to get your fingers in this little tiny space between the lining of the coat itself and the pocket for the panels and it got frustrating real fast. This may have been easier to do while wearing the coat but I tried to zip it for my son while he was wearing it and was about to throw things. I can see people not wanting to be bothered after a few times. I think heavy duty velcro would have been better. The other thing is that my son looks like Santa in this thing. I pushed his shoulders back and the panels hung closer to his body that the appearance of the belly went away but who wants to walk around bent backwards? The buttons appear to be popping as well because of the excess bulk of the panels. Again, because this seems to be a modified coat, there isn’t enough room to compensate for the bulk of the panels. We rescue cats and dogs and this wool coat attracts hair but all wool type coats do so that is not the company’s fault. This coat was $350, the other companies that offer bullet resistant coats that I have seen are around a grand and up. I say bullet resistant because this coat will not stop armor penetrating so the correct term is bullet resistant. They do sell the kevlar panels on their website for $250 . If you had some basic sewing skills you could just buy the panels and modify your own coat. However, if you had to pay a seamstress to make the pouches and sew them in you are going to spend about $100 and may as well just buy the coat already made unless you really just hate the coats they offer. I am considering making pouches for my coat as I would rather have a color other than black.
So after seeing this coat and fighting with the zipper, I would say if you are on a budget and live / work/ spend time in bad areas it is worth it . I wanted one and wanted my son to have one because of the shear number of armed car jackings and shootings around sporting events and concerts . I avoid the city like the plague but have been conned into going a few times and feel like a moving target. If I was going to have to fight with the zipper on this coat everyday I would just buck up and buy a better one or put some velcro on it. I will post pics of my coat when I get it. The lead time on this coat was supposed to be 2 months, it has been 3. They were out of the size I originally ordered for me and they have no idea when it would be back in so I had to go with a different size. I will say, there are lots of comments on their facebook page from others that have ordered.
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IIIA vests either hard or soft armor is worth the peace of mind. Spartan Armor is good. There is a place out of North Dakota that is awesome. Super light weight and level III. (Rifle level)
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You can now get bulletproof clothes and jackets. They have class III vests now for $300
Not sure that Kevin’s test, though well-intentioned, is valid. Under his testing procedure with the plate clipped to two lathes with nothing but thin air behind it, the plate is giving way to the energy force of the bullet and only being knock away into the thin air behind it. The plate isn’t having to take the full energy force of bullet shot into it as it would if were strapped to the mass of a human body. Repeat the tests with the plate strapped tightly to something of a size and mass similar to a human body and see what happens. The bullets might still not penetrate the plate, but you’ll never know unless it’s tested.
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I like their selection. Will definitely be grabbing some from them in the future
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Bulletproof everyone has dropped pricing on a polo and a hoodie under $200… if you’re interested, its FAR the best price I’ve seen on their stuff
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AR500 is running a BOGO sale in plates I’ve ordered a couple sets for myself and a friend…
One is a low profile 9x9, probably going to keep it in my car…
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