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What is best choice for soft armor?

Body armor in 2022 is constantly changing, with exciting new technologies and developments popping up all the time. In the field of soft armor, manufacturers are competing to make the most flexible, lightweight solutions, while focusing on sustainability.
However, there are many ballistic solutions on the market right now and it’s almost impossible to review all of them and choose body armor that best suits your needs. To make your job easier, we at BodyArmorNews.com have you covered!
For this article, we reviewed five of the most concealable and lightweight body armor packages available on the market today. These are the best of the best. Choosing a ballistic vest is an investment and you should always ask yourself what a piece of lifesaving equipment is worth to you.
We have collected information on five amazing soft armor panel solutions from five excellent body armor manufacturers: Slate Solutions, Armor Express, Point Blank Enterprises, EnGarde body armor and Safariland to help you make your decision.

Five Body Armor Criteria

We judge the soft armor panels on the five most important criteria for body armor: Thickness, weight, flexibility, warranty, and price.
1. Thickness
The thickness of a panel is important for the concealability of a ballistic vest. The thicker and bulkier the vest is, the more obvious it is that a person is wearing it.

2. Weight
The weight of a ballistic panel is important. The lighter weight a panel has, the more options for additional load bearing equipment you have. Moreover, a lighter ballistic vest is generally more comfortable to wear. In order to compare the weight of different panels it is best to use a lbs/ft² (or kg/m²) calculation since not all panels have the same ballistic coverage. It would be unfair to use the total vest weights, as vests with a great 360 coverage could come out as “heavy” compared with vest that have no side protection.

3. Flexibility
The flexibility of a soft armor panel is a key feature. It increases the wearer’s comfort and is especially important for concealable body armor solutions. This is because flexible panels tend to follow body contours better.

4. Price
The stated retail prices are online prices that include the ballistic panel set and a concealable textile carrier. We have also calculated the price per year by dividing the price by the warranty period.

5. Warranty /  Sustainability
The warranty is the period a body armor manufacturer guarantees its armor panel to keep its ballistic properties. An increased warranty greatly influences the cost per year (=price vest : warranty period) for a ballistic vest.
For example, A US$ 700 vest with a warranty of 5 years compared with a US$ 700 vest that has a warranty of 10 years is actually twice as expensive using a price per year calculation.
As the body armor industry strives to become more sustainable, the lifespan (and therefore warranty) of a ballistic panel also becomes more and more important. The higher the lifespan, the higher the sustainability of the product.


Post time:Sep-09-2022

Post time: 09-09-2022
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