I have certainly thought about it, but think I will go for ammo/training. Not that it is a bad idea to have it.
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hope you never need it, and glad you do if you do need it.
Price point is a bit highā¦but it is something to consider in the future.
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I would get body armor, but I damn near went broke buying guns and ammo this year.
We in VA are dealing with an anti-gun government. I went crazy just before Covid arrived. Glad I did now. I felt a little silly back then.
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At first body armor seemed like a great idea if I could afford it, but then I started to think of the practicalities, and more, if it was a SHTF and body armor kept me alive, but an ER was unreachable or didnāt exist, might a terrible wound possibly be worse than death? Mostly though, for me, I couldnāt see where Iād actually end up with it on at some unpredictable moment when I actually needed it on. The stuff you could wear more often, the soft body armor, may keep the bullet from entering your body, but, think being hit full force with a baseball bat in the chest, broken ribs and all. If I was a soldier, could wear the full on plate carrier with plates, and had full back up medical available, sure, Iād pay for it.
I submit this line of thinking to the more knowledgeable here, is there a hole in my thinking? ( no pun intended )
I guess if you didnāt have medical professionals available, then it doesnāt matter if you have armor on or not. Youāre going to bleed. A lot. But youāre right that body armor doesnāt guarantee that youāll stop a bullet. It lowers the odds that a hit will be fatal. If you think thereās a fair chance youāll be shot (i.e. LE, security, downtown war zone), then you might be willing to invest in something that will reduce those odds.
If the decision seems daunting, consider that professional armies have been struggling with this same topic for centuries. Weāve gone from fully armored knights, to lightly armored musketeers, to unarmored linear infantry, and now weāre back to armored grunts driving armored trucks (or completely open tactical vehicles).
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If we start talking about thereās no medical professionals available, that sounds like more reason to have body armor 
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Hahaha if you have it wear it. Wonāt do you much good sitting in your trunk unless shtf. Just like a weapon. Carry it
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IDK about you, but if youāre talking about stopping a rifle round, the energy involved tells me I want to be wearing plates.
i have plates for if the SHTF, and I have soft armor I wear under my clothes when Iām instructing on the range. Overkill for the range? IDKāwhen Iām around 30 new shooters, I figure thatās the most dangerous environment Iām in by choice.
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Agreed. Armor isnāt comfortable so if Iām gonna be uncomfortable it might as well stop as much as reasonably possible
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Bottom lineāI donāt think this is a āconvince meā argument. If you donāt see the need or are unwilling to buy it for the very remote chance youāll ever need it, youāre probably better off upgrading home security measures or something else with that money.
I think itās definitely a 2nd or 3rd tier priority for a civilian at this point. Problem is, if that changes, youāll never have it in time to use it.
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It was certainly further down on my list. It was body armor or night vision for me, I chose body armor
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The rabbit hole is a real thing when it comes to this topic. A year ago if somebody asked me if Iād buy an AR Iād laugh and say āno need for itā, then 2020 rolled around and now I have a gun safe and itās fully utilized. Body armor in my mind is a matter of your disposable income and what you want to spend it it on. This shit is expensive and I canāt say that I havenāt looked at body armor but I also need slings and maybe a battle belt or vest that holds multiple mags. That doesnāt include the never ending quest for ammo.
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I bought a chest rig first, complimented it with a batman belt. The chest rig is cheaper and it helped me figure out what was and wasnāt needed. I spent money on training before body armor. Still gonna train but the training again helped with gear and setup. You never know what you need/want till you use it. I mean really train with it not just put it on see if it feels right.
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Good point and thatās another thing Iām looking at, training. Trying to find classes with good instructors and then paying for it is not cheap either. Plus the classes usually require a bit of ammo which is not cheap or easy to come by these days either. Itās a viscous cycle.
Heard it put this way as far as ammo goes. Would you like 1500 rounds or 500 trained rounds. My last class improved my shooting beyond my expectations, Iāll take 500 trained every time.
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Does it have shark repellent?
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Iāll be honest, Sharks havenāt been accounted for in my defensive plans. 
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In comparison to the price of one firearm, a body armor āvestā can be relatively close in price.
Who would actually benefit from it?:
Depends on where you live, work, and roam for fun/life.
An innocent stabbed or shot by a criminal, a citizen accidentally shot by a police officer. As seen in some news articles.
Rare do I use it, but glad to have in an emergency societal event. Remembering 2020-2022. Another event can occur again. Though hope not.
My messages: Save your receipts. Be proactive to read as many proposals and bills (movements). Buy now (if still legally allowed) before you get banned; For the whole family.
I just learned another state strictly banned body armor.
Some laws are written allowing you to register your body armor within certain time period in order to still keep it, kinda like getting āgrand-fathered inā.
Iām kicking myself for not buying a body armor āhelmetā in time.
Donāt like some of these laws, but warning my brothers and sisters here. Food for thought.
Peace.
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The only time in civilian life i wished I had body armor and didnāt have it onā¦firing range. The instructor didnāt tell the women not to sweep by standers while showing off a loaded revolver.She pointed it people five times before I took cover.
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