A Guide to Modern Personal Armor
Armor has come a long way since the days of beaten plates of bronze and thick leather.
On today's battlefields, the weapons are different, and the need for mobility often outweighs all other concerns.
But as always, armor has adapted to the needs of its wearers.
We'll discuss the components of the various types of modern body armor.
Helmets are one of the earliest forms of protective gear, and they are still alive and well going into the 21st century.
Today's combat helmets are made from modern anti-ballistic materials such as Kevlar, much like other modern body armor, but some are also designed to protect against non-ballistic wounds, such as vehicle crashes, shockwave from explosions, and the like.
Due to weight concerns, combat helmets cannot provide the same level of protection that vests can, but they are a vital part of reducing combat fatalities nonetheless.
The most common and most vital piece of modern armor is the ballistic vest.
Ballistic vests come in two flavors; soft vests, and reinforced vests.
The two types of vests share a base of Kevlar or some other anti-ballistic material, but the reinforced vests allow for the insertion of metal plates or ceramic plates, providing greater protection against rounds that might penetrate a lighter vest, such as rifle rounds.
Some vests also provide protections against stabs and slashes, something early armor often proved weak against.
Tight fiber weaves and weaving metal strands into the vests both provide a greater degree of protection against knives.
Other than the ballistic vest and combat helmet, the specifics of modern armor vary heavily based on usage; shields are sometimes used by soldiers and special police teams during siege-breaches, gas masks are common for those in danger of biological attacks, bombsuits are used for those in danger of losing limbs to explosive devices, etc, etc.
A full writeup of all the potential gear a person might use is somewhat beyond the scope of this basic guide, but hopefully I've given you a decent idea of the basics of modern personal armor.
On today's battlefields, the weapons are different, and the need for mobility often outweighs all other concerns.
But as always, armor has adapted to the needs of its wearers.
We'll discuss the components of the various types of modern body armor.
Helmets are one of the earliest forms of protective gear, and they are still alive and well going into the 21st century.
Today's combat helmets are made from modern anti-ballistic materials such as Kevlar, much like other modern body armor, but some are also designed to protect against non-ballistic wounds, such as vehicle crashes, shockwave from explosions, and the like.
Due to weight concerns, combat helmets cannot provide the same level of protection that vests can, but they are a vital part of reducing combat fatalities nonetheless.
The most common and most vital piece of modern armor is the ballistic vest.
Ballistic vests come in two flavors; soft vests, and reinforced vests.
The two types of vests share a base of Kevlar or some other anti-ballistic material, but the reinforced vests allow for the insertion of metal plates or ceramic plates, providing greater protection against rounds that might penetrate a lighter vest, such as rifle rounds.
Some vests also provide protections against stabs and slashes, something early armor often proved weak against.
Tight fiber weaves and weaving metal strands into the vests both provide a greater degree of protection against knives.
Other than the ballistic vest and combat helmet, the specifics of modern armor vary heavily based on usage; shields are sometimes used by soldiers and special police teams during siege-breaches, gas masks are common for those in danger of biological attacks, bombsuits are used for those in danger of losing limbs to explosive devices, etc, etc.
A full writeup of all the potential gear a person might use is somewhat beyond the scope of this basic guide, but hopefully I've given you a decent idea of the basics of modern personal armor.
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