body armor

[hkfooey]

I recall seeing a vendor sell Lev 3 vest at Cow Palace gun show (happening again this weekend) for around $500.

I saw a few from Ebay for around $400 (used from Canadian Police/SWAT, or something like that).

[Beelzy]

$500 for a vest?? Wow!

[sytfu_RR]

to me thats already on the cheaper end, the Second Chance Body Armor that Oakland PD use, its like $899 for Level 3. That doesn't include any trauma plates either.

[cmmgar15]

wow thanks everyone for the response. i was just wonderin about the cost.$500 doesnt seem too bad.and i really dont think rifle ammo is gonna be a threat, i live on the east side of salinas. i would just like the body armor for piece of mind. thanks everyone

[Salty]

If it failed why was the company ordered by the government to keep the materials to make the vest classified.

Just about every item initially sold to the military and not civilians (wether by marketing or law) has at least the lowest level of classification. Which would mean every US citizen, and only US citizens may know about it. If Dragon Skin were to publish what their vests are made out of in say, Guns & Ammo, anyone can read about it on the internet, or send a copy to our enemies, etc. Before that information wanders beyond our borders they must first be granted an export license.

[JohnnyRooks]

DRAGON SKIN?

take a closer look..

Dragon skin? pffttt..not the future.. here's an X-ray result.

[JohnnyRooks]

[JohnnyRooks]

i own several body armors..

paraclete level 3A and level IV plates..


they are easy to get if you know where to look..

[SDgarrick]

The army passed a rule not allowing any body armour that wasn't issued.
Because they want to be sure of the soldier's safety, and not rely on shotty untested products. Or so they claim.

I don't think that safety is the primary concern of those in charge of Gov't spending and contracts.

[JDay]

Dragon skin seems to be the real deal. It was indeed rejected by the military, but that was likely political... I saw/read about the Fresno police dept getting ahold of some, and it stood up to all types of rifle and pistol rounds, even bursts from a MP5...hundreds of rounds total.

The military is using it now, though its not standard issue at this time.

[JDay]

Dragon skin is heavy at almost 50 lbs. Add that to an Infantryman's basic load and you are talking about a lot of weight to carry around. Slowing you down can be deadly in and of itself.

Dragon Skin distributes the load more evenly which makes it feel lighter, its also flexible which allows you to move around much easier.

The primary reason the Army rejected it was due to its repeated failures to stop penetration.

Army: Dragon Skin armor failed battery of tests

Tell that to these guys.

http://www.pinnaclearmor.com/dragon-skin-survivors.php

Name: N/A
Incident type: Sniper encounter
Location: Iraq
Employment: Reconstruction Contractor
Details: Survived five impacts from 7.62x39 mild steel core. All five rounds impacted the front, sides and rear of the vest while descending from power pole repair work. Did not even bruise from impacts sustained in body armor.

I'd like to see the Interceptor body armor stop a side impact from a rifle. The fact is that the Interceptor body armor only has the ceramic plates in the front and back, they also fail after 1-3 rounds impact (ceramic shatters). Dragon skin does not have this problem, I'd also like to see Interceptor stop a grenade place directly under it from penetrating.



The truth is that the Army study was biased to favor the Interceptor body armor.

[BadFish]

I am a little confused, So a plate carrier is for the Ceramic plates with are level 3 and 4, and this will stop a rifle threat. Soft armour which is consealable is level 2 or 3A and this is for handgun. The plates do not require a tramua plate but the soft vest does? It that right?

[JDay]

I am a little confused, So a plate carrier is for the Ceramic plates with are level 3 and 4, and this will stop a rifle threat. Soft armour which is consealable is level 2 or 3A and this is for handgun. The plates do not require a tramua plate but the soft vest does? It that right?

The trauma plate is not a requirement, its optional for extra protection.