Kevlar: does a body good!
Why would a person willingly choose to be heavy, hot, sweaty, chafed, and, generally speaking, uncomfortable?
Because it could save your life.
Body armor has come a long way in just the past few years, and yet.....
Still there are those people who put their asses on the line every day who choose to not wear body armor.
I honestly cannot understand these people.
True, even soft body armor is uncomfortable (unless you go with the high-end *read: expensive* stuff) to wear for long periods of time.
True, your odds of actually needing it, whether you're a cop, grunt, or security, are rather small.
On the realistic side of the coin....
According to a National Institute of Justice study I read a few years ago, upwards of 65% of the lives saved by the typical "bullet proof vest", are saved in "non-ballistic-events". Whats that mean?
By their nature, most types of body armor are designed to capture and redistribute the kinetic forces of an incoming ballistic projectile.
In the simplest terms, wearing a bullet proof vest is the equivalent to crawling across thin ice as opposed to walking upright. The force is spread over a wider area.
Thus, by their "bullet proof" design, most modern body armor is well equipped to handle a myriad of other kinetic energy threats.
This means that more than two-thirds of the lives saved by soft body armor are lives saved in, for example; vehicle accidents, falls, blunt trauma, edged weapons, animal attacks, etc, etc, etc.
I have personally known/ spoken to people who have;
Fallen over 3 stories onto concrete, who sustained no serious injury
Been struck by a vehicle while on foot, who sustained no serious injury
Wrapped a vehicle around a telephone pole, who sustained no serious injury
Why?
Because they wore their body armor.
I have also spoken to people who have been shot, have been in bad vehicle accidents, or have sustained serious falls...
All of whom have sustained serious permanent injury.
Why?
Because they did not wear their body armor.
Look at it like this; if you picked up someone in a bar, with the intent of engaging in sexual congress, you'd insist on a rubber, right?
Well, kevlar is your general purpose rubber. And its good for just about any situation.
Personally, I prefer to wear a vest that chafes, is hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable, as opposed to the alternative.
Because it could save your life.
Body armor has come a long way in just the past few years, and yet.....
Still there are those people who put their asses on the line every day who choose to not wear body armor.
I honestly cannot understand these people.
True, even soft body armor is uncomfortable (unless you go with the high-end *read: expensive* stuff) to wear for long periods of time.
True, your odds of actually needing it, whether you're a cop, grunt, or security, are rather small.
On the realistic side of the coin....
According to a National Institute of Justice study I read a few years ago, upwards of 65% of the lives saved by the typical "bullet proof vest", are saved in "non-ballistic-events". Whats that mean?
By their nature, most types of body armor are designed to capture and redistribute the kinetic forces of an incoming ballistic projectile.
In the simplest terms, wearing a bullet proof vest is the equivalent to crawling across thin ice as opposed to walking upright. The force is spread over a wider area.
Thus, by their "bullet proof" design, most modern body armor is well equipped to handle a myriad of other kinetic energy threats.
This means that more than two-thirds of the lives saved by soft body armor are lives saved in, for example; vehicle accidents, falls, blunt trauma, edged weapons, animal attacks, etc, etc, etc.
I have personally known/ spoken to people who have;
Fallen over 3 stories onto concrete, who sustained no serious injury
Been struck by a vehicle while on foot, who sustained no serious injury
Wrapped a vehicle around a telephone pole, who sustained no serious injury
Why?
Because they wore their body armor.
I have also spoken to people who have been shot, have been in bad vehicle accidents, or have sustained serious falls...
All of whom have sustained serious permanent injury.
Why?
Because they did not wear their body armor.
Look at it like this; if you picked up someone in a bar, with the intent of engaging in sexual congress, you'd insist on a rubber, right?
Well, kevlar is your general purpose rubber. And its good for just about any situation.
Personally, I prefer to wear a vest that chafes, is hot, sweaty, and uncomfortable, as opposed to the alternative.