Body armor question

[billofrights]

Ok, I'm going to ask this here and *hopefully* sidestep the more neanderthal responses along the line of "herp derp we need pics durr". I'm looking into body armor, and figured I'd better look for the GF as well. Here's the 'problem.' She's rather busty, what does one do in this situation? Snug sports bra and vest over that, or does anybody make one with cups? To get everything secured inside a vest she'd end up looking like a keg, I'm sure; appearance aside the issue would be that I doubt she'd have much mobility.

Any advice? I'm talking farther down the alphabet than "D" here.

[GrizFyrFyter]

That made me laugh pretty good. I was looking into the same info with little result. Kinda like trying to find a motorcycle jacket (wife is short as well as an F).

[JHermsen]

Armor manufacturers make armor for female LEOs, I'd start with a call to one of them.

Good luck

[db42]

Depending on just how busty she is, plate armor might not be an option. Soft armor would be able to conform to her shape a bit, but would offer far less protection.

Are you looking at plates or just a kevlar weave? Safariland makes the Savvy line, which is specifically formed for women.

EDIT: If you go with plates, you can just get a carrier that's big enough to fit over her breasts and add foam padding to the midsection. That should make the plate lay flat.

[Bugguts]

Gentlemen, I am here to tell you, as an F cup, what you seek is nearly impossible to find for either armor or riding gear. I ride sportbikes and the gear that is out there for women is either a man's gear just in a smaller size or womens gear geared toward 90lb models who probably don't know how to ride. I had to go custom made.

[9mmepiphany]

On my last department most of the female officers went braless under their soft body armor. They told me that it was just more comfortable over a 10+ hour shift.

The supplier did supply soft body armor with contours to accommodate female body shapes, but my partners told me the fit was less than optimal for comfort during a long shift

[db42]

Gentlemen, I am here to tell you, as an F cup, what you seek is nearly impossible to find for either armor or riding gear. I ride sportbikes and the gear that is out there for women is either a man's gear just in a smaller size or womens gear geared toward 90lb models who probably don't know how to ride. I had to go custom made.

Would it be possible to wear a men's size and insert memory foam into the carrier to make it fit more flush? IE: Pad the wearer's midsection to compensate for her breast size and flatten everything a bit?

[billofrights]

That sounds pretty impractical. Plus memory foam gets pretty warm, ever tried one of the pillows? I wake up soaked if I sleep on one.

[Bugguts]

Would it be possible to wear a men's size and insert memory foam into the carrier to make it fit more flush? IE: Pad the wearer's midsection to compensate for her breast size and flatten everything a bit?

Uh uh, no way. My midsection needs no further padding, trust me on this. LOL

[db42]

That sounds pretty impractical. Plus memory foam gets pretty warm, ever tried one of the pillows? I wake up soaked if I sleep on one.

It doesn't need to be "memory foam" - whatever kind of foam or padding would be comfortable.

I just figure that will be more comfortable than having the plate carrier bounce against your stomach as you walk.

[tlcwrites]

I have a friend who's a retired cop who ran into this problem, and she ended up having to have a custom vest made. It wasn't cheap, but they were able to make it relatively comfortable.

Tammy

[ocmsrzr]

When I was a FTO, I had several female trainees grapple with this issue. Two of them were rather busty(one naturally and the other...not so much). The less endowed females just wore male patterned soft body armor. The two more endowed officers wore female patterned soft armor, such as this: http://www.safariland.com/BodyArmor/...ody-Armor.aspx

I can't claim to be an expert in these matters but I recall an eyebrow lifting lunch, where these two busty officers traded experiences and insight, while I did my best to mind my own business. The two definately agreed that finding the right bra was very important for managing conform levels under the soft armor. Neither liked sports bra because of breathe ability issues. The naturally busty officer said that a push up bra was critical to make sure she fit it the right spot in the contour of the female style soft armor. The officer with implants said she had better luck with some sort of adhesive cups that are designed for support while wearing strapless dresses.

It was an eye opening conversation but all in all, I was happier when the topic moved to fitting ankle holsters.

[stingray4540]

Can plates be made in shapes other than flat? Maybe this would be a decent niche market to get into? Why couldn't you make formed plates and carriers?

I'm envisioning something along the lines of a spaghetti strap tank top my wife has. The cups are foam and preformed. Her boobs just fit inside, and if she was too small for it, they would maintain there shape, she just wouldn't fill them. If that makes sense. So why not make carriers and plates in this manner? I don't see why you couldn't make women specific armor, just like they do clothing.

Is there just not enough demand? Wouldn't be profitable?

P.S. Not sure how I ended up in the women's forum. Sorry for butting in ladies.

[LCU1670]

My wife got hers at bulletproofme.com, Tim helped her get a good fit on a police surplus, concealment vest with a bent k30 plate. Cost $225.00 plus 25 S&H&ins.

[movie zombie]

one would think that in this day and age technology would be able to make something comfortable.....perhaps as more demand is apparent, the cost will come down.