Question about a vest

[NYPD4ME]

Hello!
I am planning on joining auxiliary force soon, and i was told that i am going to have to buy my own vest. So i wanted to ask you guys for a suggestion, which one would you suggest? And by the way, do they have a vest that protects you from both knife and gun attack?

[mcsap]

Buying a vest is like buying a car. It all depends on what you like and what fits you the best. There are basically two kinds of vests, bullet resistant and edged weapon resistant. The former is for LEO's while the latter is aimed at corrections. No vest that I know of is good at BOTH.

Plan on spending $300 to $500 depending on the threat level ( there are 4 threat levels on vests) and the style. You dont want level 1 or 4 . Too much or too little. Look over the specs on what the vest is rated to stop and make sure it is capable of stopping the ammo for the type of gun YOU carry.

Wearing a vest in the winter is like having "long johns" on. Wearing it in warmer weather means you WILL SWEAT. There are a number of special t-shirts ( UNder Armour is one) that are made to wear under body armor to prevent sweating and or increase ventilation so you don't sweat as much.

Bottom line, if you are a LEO , you NEED a vest. It is like a seatbelt. You NEVER know when you will need it and the time you don't wear it is probably when the need will arise.

WEAR YOUR VEST.

When I started as an LEO ( 1986) we had to buy our own vests, the dept now does. I didn't wear a vest for the first 2 years, hardly anybody did. A guy I went through the academy with was shot and killed when he confronted 2 robbers who had just held up a jewelry store at gunpoint. He was shot in the chest and died. He had no vest. ( 1993)

[hitnrun]

www.bulletproofme.com

[nabnet]

After the latest in recalls by Second Chance, it is probably a good idea to hold off on buying any Zylon based body armor.

Reportedly, Zylon (with two Second Chance Ulitima II failures) rapidly degrades under direct sunlight or UV light and when exposed to temperatures 5 degrees over normal body heat.

My suggestion is to stick with Kevlar until this Zylon thing gets worked out, and, if you have a vest made with Zylon, call the manufacturer to see if it has been recalled.

By the way, both the vests were less than a year old.

Rex

[TheLivingJuliet]

Do you always have to wear your vests when on duty? Down here, it seems the RCMP have to. Everytime I see them drive by, they have their vests on.

[mcsap]

YES we MUST wear our vests on duty.

But besides that , we WANT to wear it on duty. Get used to sweating and it binding and otherwise being uncomfortable. After while you will get used to it and when you do NEED it, you will be glad you wore it.

[Whitewolf1970]

Every LE hafta wear vests or they won't survive (or lead a normal life). Better safe. The firearm/rifle manufacturers are gettin' crazy to invent more and more powerful weapons. Can someone at least make the vests look like Robocop style? How many time does the PD have to keep changin' the vests to withstand the degree of gun powers? :eek:

[Babysmamadrama]

You can get vests that will stop assault rifle rounds and even some armor piercing rounds. They have the pockets that accept a 10 x 12 armor plate that is rated to level 4. But these boogers are heavy. I don't think an everyday street copper will want to wear one all day. They are more tactical operations.

I personally would like to see a comfortable wearable armor that covers up the throat, biceps and underneath the armpit. It would save a lot of lives.

In St. Louis City PD, an officer named Bob Stanze was killed when a guy fired on him and the round went over the top of his vest. :(

[Whitewolf1970]

That's a great idea. It sounds almost similar to the characters' vests in Robocops, covered completely on arms, armpits, throats, front and back areas. I like that idea. Wonder if cops will complain that they have to wear 'em or they're happy to wear them. I dunno which one. Gosh, so many rounds are gettin' to be more and more dangerous in make and model. Let tear the firearm/rifle manufacturing companies down so they cannot make any more illegal guns/rifles. :rolleyes:

As for an officer named Bob Stanze, I'm sorry to hear what happened to him. God bless him and his families.

[Babysmamadrama]

Well there is hope in the future, the Army is experimenting with new kinds of armor, one of which will supposedly be able to stop just about anything. It's worn all over the body and it deforms to catch the round on impact, but since it would be a high powered round it spreads the blunt force trauma over the rest of the armor. It use some type of secret material and process to do so. Caught this off the Discovery Science Channel. Will be expensive though.

[Ghost 1]

Let tear the firearm/rifle manufacturing companies down so they cannot make any more illegal guns/rifles.

I hope you're not serious.

There is absolutely NO firearm maker producing "illegal" weapons. All weapons being made/sold in this country comply with all federal firearms laws. They are sold legally in this country everyday. Now if some criminal gets ahold of one through illegal means and uses it to kill an officer or an innocent person,that is a bad thing. But it is still NOT the weapons fault. It is the users.

A weapon is nothing more than a tool. If used correctly,it can help people. If used improperly,it can hurt people. But it does not have a mind of its own. The operator of that tool dictates its use.

[BryGuy]

I've actually been thinking about puncture resistant vests over a ballistic vest lately. I've only snagged a few guns over the past couple years but a LOT of knives. I've never had an encounter with a subject with a firearm that was ready to rock and roll (always just hidden in the vehicle or a gymbag/backpack). But I've had many altercations with subjects armed with knives and even had a few people go for a knife. I'm not diminishing the risk firearms pose, just wondering if I was always doing just that for the risk of a stabbing. I guess my train of thought is: The risk of being shot or being stabbed are both very real, but which is the greater likelihood?

Anyone else have a thought?

[hitnrun]

Well there is hope in the future, the Army is experimenting with new kinds of armor, one of which will supposedly be able to stop just about anything. It's worn all over the body and it deforms to catch the round on impact, but since it would be a high powered round it spreads the blunt force trauma over the rest of the armor. It use some type of secret material and process to do so. Caught this off the Discovery Science Channel. Will be expensive though.

I believe that I saw this too! The materials included nanotechnology and stuff. The whole getup WILL be expensive though. Definitely very interesting to read about though!

[steelcityk9cop]

BryGuy..... it only takes one guy with a gun to end your life. Check out the odmp.org site....lots of stories about officers killed while not wearing their vests.

[BryGuy]

I guess you didn't understand my point. Never once did I mention going out without a vest. And it also takes just one man to kill you with a knife. My point was the likelihood of assault by gun or knife, which is a higher likelihood of occurance for an officer...