As a key component of a modern soldier's gear, body armor provides comprehensive protection of the torso, and therefore of vital organs.
Today the body-armor market offers a multitude of options for various tasks: external and concealed wear, lightened, tactical, modular, men's and women's, with different protection classes, and so on. And in order for body armor to perform its main function — protecting you! — and at the same time contribute to effective work rather than restricting your movements, it must be correctly chosen for your needs.
How body armor works
According to statistics, servicemen receive most injuries on the battlefield from hits by fragments — of grenades, mines, artillery shells, other explosive devices, rebar, and so on. Body armor, covering most of the torso, protects precisely against damage thanks to the presence in it of a ballistic package of UHMWPE or Kevlar.
Soft ballistic protection absorbs the energy of the damaging element, stopping it. The larger the area of soft armor in the body armor, the more areas of the body are protected. However, it's important to understand that soft armor has a low level of protection (Level 1 or 2 under DSTU, and accordingly V50 500 m/s or V50 603.6 m/s per STANAG), so its main task is to protect precisely against fragments. But if you need protection against bullets, then a ballistic package alone will not be enough — you need to additionally equip the body armor with plates.
Factors in choosing body armor
Body armor should be chosen taking into account several main factors — its purpose, or your occupation. In other words, the protection class, size and color.
Intended Use
Despite the fact that the goal of body armor remains unchanged (protecting the body's organs), it still needs to be chosen taking into account your tasks. After all, the conditions in which a private guard and a serviceman will work can differ significantly. In the first case a minimalist body armor with soft ballistic panels will be enough, whereas soldiers need a product that can be additionally equipped with armor plates and various tactical gear — for this, military body armor has a MOLLE panel.
Protection Class Armor, like clothing, must be chosen individually, since all people are different. When choosing body armor, pay attention to the size chart: measure your chest and waist circumference, check against the chart and select your size. Similarly, the armor plate must be chosen for your build. And here the question is not only of comfort but above all of safety: a plate that's too small won't have the necessary protected area relative to your body, and therefore "gaps" vulnerable to injury will remain; at the same time a plate that's too large is an unnecessary burden, as well as a restriction of mobility. We make plates in sizes from XS to XL to ensure optimal protection for people of different builds. Color The color of body armor also needs to be chosen with regard to your activity: if a serviceman needs camouflage patterns (MultiCam, pixel) to remain maximally "invisible" to the enemy, then, for example, a journalist or volunteer, on the contrary, needs gear of a noticeable blue color, which will allow them to be distinguished from soldiers from afar. So, if you plan to buy body armor, as with choosing any other gear, always rely on your individual needs. First of all, you need to determine in what conditions you'll use it: if you work in the civilian sector, then you can look at concealed-wear body armor; but if you plan to go to the front line, then you should choose among military body armor. And similarly choose the protection class. Say, for work at a checkpoint, for volunteer or humanitarian missions (that is, when there's no threat of close combat or a direct hit), Level 2 will be enough, but at the front Level 4 protection and above is mostly needed.
The most important characteristic of any armor is its protection class, which is determined in a certified laboratory in accordance with quality standards such as the State Standard of Ukraine (DSTU). Body armor without pockets for rigid plates has Level 1 or 2 under DSTU and provides protection against pistol rounds and fragments. The level of military body armor will depend on the chosen armor plate — this can be Level 3, 4 or 6 protection. Accordingly, such gear will already provide protection against bullets with greater penetrating power. For DSTU tests, the rounds most common in the Russian-Ukrainian war are used, so our defenders should be guided by the classification specifically under this standard.
Size
Choosing body armor
Regardless of the conditions of use, body armor must be your size, that is, chosen for your parameters. Only in that case will it provide you with proper protection!
We offer body armor of various formats, colors and sizes, so you can choose exactly the one that suits your tasks. The price of a product will vary depending on the model, configuration and level of protection.
You can buy body armor both online and in our network of offline stores in Kyiv, Dnipro, Bila Tserkva, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv. Our specialists are always ready to advise on any questions and help you choose gear for your tasks.
