The biggest deciding factors when choosing a vest should be threat level and weight. Our vests are categorized and priced according to these two factors as well as the materials being used. The following information is intended to assist in educating our customers so they can choose the perfect vest for their personal comfort, peace of mind, and protection level.
WHICH THREAT LEVEL SHOULD I CHOOSE?
The first step in choosing the right vest for you is knowing your threat. It is essential to choose a ballistic package that has been tested to perform under the circumstances that you face in the field. This ultimately means knowing which types of rounds you might come up against and selecting a vest that has been proven to stop it. Additionally, consider the weapon you are carrying since there is a high chance of being shot in a confrontation by your own weapon. Our vests are certified under the rigorous “torture tests” of the NIJ 0101.06 Standard which provide independent verification of multiple rounds of fire under the most extreme conditions.
LEVEL II
Protects against 9mm (FMJ RN) and a .357 Magnum (JSP)
LEVEL IIA
Protects against 9mm (FMJ RN) and a .40 S&W (FMJ).
LEVEL III
Protects against a 7.62mm (FMJ) steel jacketed (M80/NATO).
LEVEL IIIA
Protects against a .357 SIG (FMJ RN) and a .44 Magnum (SJHP)
LEVEL IV
Protects against a .30 caliber Armor Piercing (M2 AP).
SECONDARY CONSIDERATIONS
COMFORT: The next biggest deciding factor should be personal comfort level. Often, comfort level is a direct result of the feel of each vest. Second Chance vests are made for a range of comfort preferences from basic and dependable to lightweight and breathable. Ultimately, each person should find the vest that has the capabilities to perform in their field of work.
WEIGHT: When comparing the weight of each ballistic package, remember the unit of measurement is lbs/ft2.
TRAUMA: Trauma is the measurement of the indentation the blunt force of a bullet will cause the on human body. All of our vests are certified under NIJ 06 for a trauma indentation of 44mm or less. 44mm has been determined to be the maximum indentation the human body can withstand without having the potential for internal damage. The way you can tell which vest has the best trauma protection is by looking at the V50 results; the higher the V50, the better the trauma protection. For trauma protection against fragmentation or spike threats, consider our Multi-Threat or Prism series.
V 50: The test results for each ballistic package have been included with each product line. The V50 number indicates the velocity at which a bullet is traveling where the vest will stop the round 50% of the time. V50 1 shows the average fps of the vest against 9mm (Threat II) or .357 SIG (Threat IIIA) whereas the V50 2 indicates the average fps of the vest against .357 FMJ (Threat II) or .44 Magnum (Threat IIIA).
Making an educated decision is key to selecting the perfect vest that might save your life. For additional information call Customer Service at (800) 347-1200.
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) 0101.06 Standard is the latest compliance standard in regards to modern body armor and supersedes the 2005 Interim Requirement Standard (August 2005) and 0101.04 Rev. A Standard (June 2001).
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