Body Armor

Comment by Adam Spinniken on October 21, 2009 at 10:04am

If you haven't checked back in a while - I added some key resources under "Did you know?" tab (above)

Comment by Andres A. Escobar-Martinez on October 21, 2009 at 12:45pm

Thanks for the invitation to join the group. Its a subject that I need to keep abreast of...

Comment by Adam Spinniken on October 21, 2009 at 1:00pm

No problem Andres, our goal is to provide a powerful discussion and reference area for officers to turn to when they get questions on body armor. If you run across any useful information then feel more then welcome to post it in this group.

Also, please tell your friends about this group, the larger we grow the better.

Thank you,

Adam

Comment by John Peranio on April 29, 2010 at 11:52am

question??? Is a 12 year old (yes 12...Feb 98) worth wearing? It's a Second Chance, "superfeatherlite series" , level II. The officer, new to the department, is wearing it until his newly ordered on comes in.

Comment by Adam Spinniken on April 30, 2010 at 10:55am

Any vest is worth wearing if the debate is between wearing it or wearing no vest at all. If, however, the gentleman could get his hands on something still within it's warranty period then without a doubt the younger vest would be the better choice.

The warranty period on a bullet resistant vest is usually 5 years and was put in place for a reason. The vest in question is over twice the suggested warranty period - so it's performance could be in jeopardy.

Check out the article 30 Things You Need to Know About Body Armor it states:

"5 It's Not the Years, It's the Mileage

Most soft body armor sold in the United States is rated for five years of service. That's the standard of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). But the truth is that body armor wear should really be calculated by how it's been worn. As Indiana Jones said in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," it's not the years it's the mileage. A vest that's worn every day will lose its protective capability much faster than one that has been sitting on a shelf. Unfortunately, there's no way to track wear of vests by the hour, so the NIJ set five years as a standard. Regardless, after a few years of wear, you should check your own ballistic panels. Look for tears, creases, burns, smells, and damage. If you take good care of your vest, it should easily survive five years. If you treat it like an old T-shirt, it may degrade much sooner. Follow your user care instructions."

When considering any vest one should consider some key factors:

If it is a used vest how did the previous user take care of it?
Was it cleaned properly and regularly?
Did the last user keep it in the sun or extreme temperatures during storage?
Will the vest provide the coverage adequate to your body type and size? (aka was the last users body type drastically different then yours?)

These are just a few of the questions I would pose to someone in the situation you presented.

Warranties in the case of body armor are very important - if at all possible armor should be replaced at the end of the warranty period.

And again to reiterate - ANY protection is better then none.

Comment by Terry Grafenauer on May 6, 2010 at 1:34pm

Discomfort has been commonplace with many K-9 vests. Whether it is restricting to the animals movement, bulky, or too small there are many issues that K-9 handlers notice on a regular basis.


I am looking to get some key insight into the issues with the current vests that are out there for our K-9 officers.

Comment by William Terence Gates on August 10, 2010 at 5:31pm

When I started in this business small agencies did not provide armor. I had to buy my own. At the time I was working for a 5 officer department on the Texas Coast. Talk about hot, but my wife told me, it's like American Express don't leave home without and better hot than shot. 30 years later I would no sooner leave home in uniform without it than I would leave my weapon at home. Not only does my agency, different agency 105 sworn, issue them they have offered us an alternative this year. Exterior vest covers. All budgeted for we don't have to pay out of our own pocket. If there are a few words of advice I would give anyone in this crazy world we live in. If you aren't going to wear your vest find another job. They might not save you, but they sure bring the odds up in your favor.

By the way anyone have any comments or experiences with the exterior vest covers. We recently changed to black uniforms and the covers look exactly like the shirts we wear. They blend very well.

Comment by Travis Yates on August 17, 2010 at 4:22am

Too many officers do not have ballistic vests. Until we can provide every officer a new vest, we hope this project can fill the gap. For additional information you can go to www.vestforlife.com

Comment by John Peranio on December 16, 2010 at 12:49pm

??? for group:

I just bought a new Armor Express HALO.  I need to send it back for re-sizing, the neck is riding up too high on me. Should I "scoop the neck" or take it off the bottom, or a little of both? Any suggestions would be helpful, particularly from Adam or anyone who has had it done.

Thanks...

Comment by Adam Spinniken on December 16, 2010 at 4:36pm

You're right in thinking that it might require a combination of these two things in order to fit it properly.  I submitted this question to our customer service manager and she gave me some feedback:

"If the officer lives close to his dealer it is advantageous for him/her to
go there. It offers a more personal touch - if the dealer can see it
on them and offer a solution to their problem.  Also, the dealer is sending
it back and the shipping is usually not coming out of the officer's pocket."

It sounds like some pretty good advise to me, if you want to get in touch with us directly you can always call us at 1-800-357-3845

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