Bullet proof vests

[TNDixieGirl]

Whoa...the VA burbs must be pretty rough.

 

[WR Moore]

Originally posted by Wheelgunner840:

Thanks for the info. This vest was used for a very short time by my brother who was a police recruit many years ago. He never followed through with it. I worked for the city Fire dept. We had vests issued for use when we were going into certain calls with the police. The vests they gave us were all tiny, and I am not. My brother gave me his vest to wear at work because it fit me. It has been hanging in a closet since I retired from the FD.

So, the problem with this vest would be that it may not have the correct number of kevlar layers, not that it may have lost it's structural integrity over time? This was apparently shipped to the east coast, as my brother bought it here.

Thanks again for the info.

WG840

You've potentially got several issues here. When Dupont developed Kevlar and it's various improvements, their warranty was for 5 years. Kevlar can be degraded by UV light, abrasion from folding and friction and exposure to chemicals, plus a couple of other things I'm not aware of. The 5 years is a reasonable life estimate on their part. (They also want to sell more kevlar, but that's another issue.)

Properly cared for kevlar armor doesn't magically become a sieve at 5 years. One of the more recent Second Chance saves that was advertised featured a vest that was 7 years old. 20 year old armor isn't something I'd personally wear or advise anyone else to.

The number of layers of material in a vest depend upon the material and the rating of the vest. We're getting into techinical details here beyond what a user can determine. More to the point, at various times, several prominent manufacturers have been found to have delivered armor that did not meet the ratings.

 

[Smitty500Mag]

Originally posted by TNDixieGirl:

What would you like to know more about?

Not sure what he wants, but would it be out of line if I asked what you do for a living that requires a vest to be worn daily? LEO? Military? If you've told before, I totally missed it.

Dixie you missed some great stuff when Gator was living in Lancing. His days as the slumlord...er, property manager were some of most entertaining times that we had here.

Smitty...wonder how Dan's doing these days?

 

[slowburninsteve]

Not really. Unless you live in an urban area like the cities of Richmond, Norfolk, or in the shady side of the smaller cities you have a greater need for a good fire extinquisher than a bullet proof vest. Of course if you frequent low life places like the combination bar, strip joint, prostitution, dope dealing establishment you might need a tank more. Common sense goes a long way in where to go and when to go there.
JMO,
Steve
Oh yeah, I've got an old ballistic vest that was never used as part of a police auction. It is a Second Chance. I would guess it is about 15 years old, and I have kept it pristinely stored. I would have no hesitation in using it over my soft skin!

Originally posted by TNDixieGirl:
Whoa...the VA burbs must be pretty rough.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by TNDixieGirl:
Whoa...the VA burbs must be pretty rough.

It is the "Home" of 'Spies are Us' as well as many other unfriendly Nations!!!

 

[george minze]

Originally posted by ragman:
I have sold body armor for over 20 years. Smith revolver cop and gator farmer know of what they speak. I have examined and fitted a lot of armor and never found but 2 that I would have not worn and both of them were over 12 years old. As a side note I have a vest panel that Richard Davis (former owner of Second Chance)shot himself with. He used 44mag,357mag,40cal and 9mm. 5 shots all in a 3.5 inch space. The vest was well damaged but did not fail. Richard signed it and gave it to me.

Boy I'll bet he was one sore dude after
t the 357 and the 44mag. that is trusting you product. we had some that had the trauma plates in the chest area. they were discontinued due to the rumor that ricochets tend to go up under the chin. I didn't see this but that is what we were told. I had a friend that was shot by a 22LR in the left shoulder on the inside of his shoulder joint next to vest he was dead before he hit the ground. The ME said the 22 bounced around in him and did all kind of internal damage. Some times we forget how fast those 22s move.

 

[ragman]

Richard Davis used a 2 inch phone book covered with duct tape under his vest. Even with that he still had large red marks and a few small black and blue spots. Richard is a very good marksman, I had the chance to shoot with him at the Second Chance range.

 

[AKAOV1MAN]

I'd be good to, if I was shooting myself.