Can This Soft Body Armor Be Real?

So I was just doing some typical Twitter investigatiobe into global battle hotspots and criminal proceedings against political corruption when I happened to see an ad for something that interested me. Took me to a site that sells body armor. Looking through I found a video done by a channel called Kentucky Ballistics that went to town on this body armor with all kinds of caliber cartridges . if what we witness in this video is real, damn man this is like superman armor. Even looks comfortable. Multi layer fiber weaves and a layer of honeycomb ceramic tiles make this a very flexible and durable armor.

If you are currently in an urban area experiencing targeted violence by racist cults, this could be something for you or your family.


What can the experts of ATS tell is about this defensive skin? Is this legit or some scam gimmick?? Obviously even if one were to survive being hit by high velocity rifle rounds wearing this armor, anyone well read is aware of the nasty bruising and even broken/shattered bones just from the kinetic force traveling with these rounds. However, that is clearly a preferable outcome to having ones insides ground up and shredded into meatloaf.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

I actually got some but not as nice as that.
The socks pants and long sleeve shirt I got are for working with big heavy and some dangerous tools.
Mine are mainly to prevent puncture wounds.
So I could imagine they have way better stuff out.
Cool video though man.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Looks pretty solid...doubt its cheap though...

ETA: looks to be about 2k a vest...honestly cheaper than I thought it'd be but still pretty damn pricey. I dont believe the test in the video is fake so I guess it really is that solid.

Could be "Dragonskin"
2nd

So, I have done some R&D time in ballistics and survivability for various forms of armour protection. Planes, vehicle armour, body, transparent, blast attenuation, etc

Yes, this is probably real. I'll be honest and say I stopped watching before he got to the pistols. It will probably stop those rounds. And that's reasonably impressive, actually. But I can tell you right now without making a single measurement and just seeing the amount of backface deformation on the back of the vest, there are several fatal wounds in that video.

The reason this vest isn't rated for those rounds isn't because it won't catch the round. It's because it won't protect you from them. And it's not just broken ribs. It is fatal trauma, which can be blunt trauma organ damage or the splinters from the broken ribs and sternum making a mess of all the soft tissue. When you poke someone in the torso at a couple hundred meters per second to a depth of two to four inches, you've very likely killed them or caused extremely serious injury, even if you don't puncture the skin with the round or spall.

I promise the manufacturers didn't pass up a level III or level IV rating and all the money that would come with it just because they were too dumb or cheap to get it certified

The only trouble with body armor like this is there is a trade off. The armor is lighter and more flexible, yes, but it also lacks the ability to disperse the shock trauma over a larger surface area. So, while it may stop / deflect a bullet, the impact trauma to the body at the site of the impact is going to be far greater.

Probably the best real world example of body armor performance comes from US Navy SEAL, Mike Day, who was shot 27 times in Iraq. During a firefight in Fallujah, Day walked into a room where 3 enemy insurgents opened fire on him with AK-47's. He was hit 11 times in his body armor, and 16 more times in the body (both arms, both legs, abdomen and scrotum). Miraculously, not only did he live to tell the story, but he also endured a point blank hand grenade blast which knocked him out, and after regaining consciousness he re-engaged the enemy insurgents with his pistol and killed them all...and then walked himself to a medevac helicopter. Of the ordeal, Day has said the most painful part was getting hit in the body armor, which broke several of his ribs and left him badly bruised. Said he didn't even feel the bullet wounds to his body. In fact, he said this was part of the reason he decided to walk to the helicopter himself unassisted, because he thought it would be more painful if he let someone help him.

Now, I suspect he was wearing body armor with AR500 plates, not fully soft armor. Imagine what would have happened with soft armor.

originally posted by: Gothmog
Could be "Dragonskin"
2nd

good call bloke
my thoughts exactly
that dragon skin defeats m26a1 fragmentation grenades
hell of a day at the bloody office

a reply to: RadioRobert

Yea I saw the deformation from both the .308 and .30-06 and it was a good 3-4" protrusion. If it didn't kill you you'll probably feel like you wish it had. The 7.62 is covered by its rating though and it stopped those with moderate deformation. I guess you could still be unlucky but I'd say for 2k its not a bad deal...nothing I'd buy personally though.

a reply to: RadioRobert
It is actually rated iiia+ to stop up to 7.62 x 39 . it technically was not rated for any of those higher rounds, he just decides to use them to see if he could kill the armor. I suspect what you wrote about fatal organ damage would explain why they had not rated it to stop those other rounds. But still, if you can walk away to live another day after taking an AK round to torso, well that's fine enough for me. Despite that price I would say its well worth it.

They also have a nice warranty where if that vest saves your life one day they will replace it with a new for free. It could also be that the back was severely deformed only because of how many rounds were pumped into it back to back.

Maybe you could survive that solid brass slug and the .500 mag or 50 ae or 30-06 as a single seperate incident on a brand new vest. All I gotta say is, damn that's a well made purpose built product.

a reply to: RickyD

I looked them up and they are calling it "IIIA+ " which is just marketing. It stopped IIIA requirements, but didn't meet level III.

They have data from a NIJ NVLAB certified lab, but it's not one that existed when I was in this particular field. They don't have v50 data published that I can see, and presumably the threats not published are the ones it didn't stop. It would be interesting to see both of those data sets.

I'm not trying to diminish the product. I just think the video is dangerously misleading. You're just as dead if your ribs are pressed in four inches and the rib or splinters puncture your heart or other organs as you would be if a bullet punctures you.

a reply to: RadioRobert

You're just as dead if your ribs are pressed in four inches and the rib or splinters puncture your heart or other organs as you would be if a bullet punctures you.

Yep!

Just the impact trauma alone would be enough to stop your heart.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Where the future of soft movable body armor is concerned, liquid ceramics, combined with other more conventional armor materials, seems to be the way its headed.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

The only trouble with body armor like this is there is a trade off. The armor is lighter and more flexible, yes, but it also lacks the ability to disperse the shock trauma over a larger surface area.

If it is "Dragonskin" it does a much better job than most folks think.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

If it met requirements to safely stop those rounds, it would have a higher rating. Again, I'm not trying to denigrate the vest. It was NIJ certified to IIIA and stopped at least one of the III requirements.

But people tend to think it just has to stop a bullet to protect them, and that can cause someone to have a very bad day.

Put that stuff on a styrofoam torso and repeat the test, then show the styrofoam torso afterwards.

I'll bet it would be all dented up, IF it's even still in one piece.

a reply to: RadioRobert

Which is why I posted the story about SEAL, Mike Day.

Even after being shot 27 times (11 in the armor, and 16 to the body) he didn't want to be assisted to the helo because the shots to the armor hurt so bad, not to mention the broken ribs and severe contusions.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
Put that stuff on a styrofoam torso and repeat the test, then show the styrofoam torso afterwards.

I'll bet it would be all dented up, IF it's even still in one piece.

That is the only convincing demonstration that'd make me buy it; I want to see the aftermath on what was underneath.

Any idea of the weight ? I don't see it mentioned anywhere.

It's real. It's not technically dragonskin, but it's pretty close. I wear the same vest and inserts for work. They'll stop a bullet, but your insides will still take the hit

It's basically level 3 soft armor with interlocked rifle plates. I guess they figured out what a good balance between the soft armor and rifle plate thickness can be.

I like it. Haven't been shot in it yet. So, can't speak from experience, but it is pretty comfortable.

Those impacts though could do some damage like getting hit in the stomach with a blunt object. Doesn't need to break the skin to break ribs or cause internal bleeding.

But damn did it stop those rounds!