Body Armor

Do you keep body armor as part of your "emergency gear"?

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 20.8%

  • No - but it's a good idea

    Votes: 47 44.3%

  • No - there's no point.

    Votes: 37 34.9%
  • Total voters
    106
  • Poll closed .
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dayman

New member
The "stopping power working both ways" thread got me thinking. How many of you - in addition to having a gun for home protection - have some form of body armor?
Personally I keep a vest in the nightstand where I keep my gun and light, and have always seen it as a good "just in case" thing to have around. It's nothing fancy, but it will supposidly stop most anything that comes out of a pistol. Should I ever need to leave my room in a emergency situation - get to the kids, etc. - it takes all of 5 seconds to put on.

I know it's not fun to consider the posibility that the BG gets off the first shot, but if it does happen it seems like a good idea to be prepared.

Anyway, it seemed like a tactical choice worth discussing
 
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Ferretboy

New member
I keep a loaded AK by the bed in case the BG thinks the way you do.

Does a set of leather bracers count as armor anymore? Lol.
 
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Dwight55

New member
Not by the bed, . . . not in the safe, . . . but I can get it if we get into a serious SHTF scenario.

I'ts old school, . . . not the greatest, . . . but I've only got $100 in it, . . . and it is better than a wife beater tee.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
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Jimboh247

New member
If it's quick and easy to get on, stops anything that can be delivered by pistol, and doesn't affect your movement, IMHO Why Not?
Definitely better than a wife beater tee.
 
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SPEMack618

New member
I've got an old PASGT helmet that Pops bought me in forth grade for making honor roll.

I've also got an old PASGT vest that was about to be surveyed off at th armory.

So yeah, I've got body armor, but I couldn't find it right now if I needed to in order to save the world.
 
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jmfc606

New member
I have 2 sets of Body Armour that I took home when I retired. I do have a vest in it's wintercover in my bedroom just incase I'll have enough time to put it on. If the SHTF all over and it's like the "walking Dead" outside all the time then I'll wear it everyday. My second set of armour is the trunk of my car, you never know when you might happen upon a shootout of some kind or someother crummy situation. just my 2 cents!
 
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PH/CIB

New member
I have thought about body armor, although I have never used any in the military or as a civilian,,,I have thought more likely of buying a couple of ballistic shields to keep in the bedroom, one for my Wife to use as hard cover and one for me to defend the position from.
 
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dayman

New member
So far, so good

This is actually pretty informative.

For those of you who are choosing "No- there's no point", I'm curious as to why you feel that way. No judgment - and I really don't want this to degrade into an argument, but why is it that you feel there's no point.
 
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Woody55

New member
No. Not since the last time I was overseas.

As to the question above, I consider the probability of needing it so low that it isn't worth paying for it, storing it etc.

In addition, I'll consider myself luck if I have enough notice to arm myself. I can just see me trying into put on body armor.

Of course, if you are really worried you can always sleep in it. And don't forget the helmet. And the shatter proof glasses.
 
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dayman

New member
lol, I have a sneaking suspicion that sleeping in armor would not go over well with the little lady. Plus it's not super comfortable.

I agree that it's not very likely I'll ever need it, but then again, maybe I will. If nothing else it provides a level or authenticity to my punisher costume at Halloween :)
 
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PH/CIB

New member
There is no doubt that body armor saves lives I imagine the number of good Men and Women killed in action or wounded in action in Iraq and Afghanistan would be five or ten times higher if not for body armor and up-armored vehicles.

That being said most of us would like to have body armor except for a lot of reasons, including, the high cost, the weight and heat retention, wearing it all the time, if not wearing it all the time the access to and time to put it on in a life threatening situation, etc..

Somewhere down the road in doing my part to stimulate the economy, I will probably purchase some, but like other things I would like to purchase that cost a good deal of money, like night vision and thermal, I have heard there is a shelf life on night vision and thermal and on body armor.

Not trying to high jack the thread, but since this is a discussion on body armor, is there a shelf life on body armor that has never taken a round.
 
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Ferretboy

New member
"Having it and never needing it is better than needing it and not having it." I see and here this statement alot and while it makes sense in some situations, if we did it for everything we would run out of places to store things, then its gonna be real fun digging through the clutter to find what you need, when you need it.

I think this thought applies to this thread.
 
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dayman

New member
Kevlar body armor does have a shelf life. Kind of like plastics, kevlar does degrade over time... I think it typically lasts 5ish years.
I imagine it would still offer some protection for a good while after that - the factor of safety has to be pretty high on armor - but they come with an expiration date.
 
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jason_iowa

New member
dayman makes a good point. I trade in my MRE's and body armor every 5 years to keep em fresh. Steel plates tend to last a lot longer but are heavy but if you are only wearing it for very short periods its not bad but can splash lead fragments. I don't know how long the ceramic plates will last I would imagine if well taken care of they should last until they are broken. Soft body armor will not stop knives, bayonets, arrows or crossbow bolts fyi. It will help against slashing blades but not stabbing blades.
 
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