671grains_of_diplomacy
6 January 2001, 07:16
Our STF unit here in oman is issued the tankers slimline vest level IIIA from US ARMOR INC. I was issued mine on the 5/11/00 just in time for our major once a year exercises that we conduct here with all the armed forces combined. The vest were also issued with a 10 x 12" dyneema plate.Now the quality of the vest is good. Its a very low profile vest , almost to the extent of being concealable. I have worn this thing everywhere, fording wadis in winter, extreme cold on the jebel akhdar mountain range here & even in the wahiba desert in summer where the temperatures reach 55 degrees C.
As the nylon outer carrier wore out i made plans to order a new carrier from US ARMOR. or get a custom made 1 from TT.
After i removed the outer carrier i was shocked at how dirty the inner panel was. Now i was sure that the nylon carrier was water/perspiration resistant. But it would not protect the inner panel if completely submerged in fresh or salt water. Now i know for a fact that i never sumerged myself with it on, i did wear it in the rain here in the winter month of june when we get the monsoon rains. But i was wearing a tactical vest over it. Maybe the constant sweating in summer killed it?
To the point. Out of curiosity our SO1 ops & SO2 log here,after looking at the vest told me to go shoot it with a FN BHP 9mm pistol. SO i headed to the range to test both of the panels.I taped the front ballistic panel against a jute sand bag. making sure it was the right way around. I loaded the pistol with 5 rounds of NATO spec 115gr FMJ ammo from CZ. I shot the vest once from 10 meters and hit it centermass. Immediately i noticed a small puff of the fine white river sand from the sandbag. I inspected the panel and found that the 9mm round had gone through all 28 layers of kevlar & stopped in the sandbag.
To cut a long story short both the panels didnt stop the bullets i was shooting. I have spoken to CEO Edgar Ponce of US Armor and he said that saltwater was probably the cause. Severe sweating & humidity maybe but unlikely. He has told us to try & shoot other old vests & if they fail he will replace them FOC.
Has anyone else had this problem with service bodyarmor? This is the first time its happened to me. How about guys back in europe in or the states? Im going to investigate more vests this week. I 'll put the pictures on this board when i get them developed.
cheers
Six
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"You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough."
[This message has been edited by 671grains_of_diplomacy (edited 01-06-2001).]
As the nylon outer carrier wore out i made plans to order a new carrier from US ARMOR. or get a custom made 1 from TT.
After i removed the outer carrier i was shocked at how dirty the inner panel was. Now i was sure that the nylon carrier was water/perspiration resistant. But it would not protect the inner panel if completely submerged in fresh or salt water. Now i know for a fact that i never sumerged myself with it on, i did wear it in the rain here in the winter month of june when we get the monsoon rains. But i was wearing a tactical vest over it. Maybe the constant sweating in summer killed it?
To the point. Out of curiosity our SO1 ops & SO2 log here,after looking at the vest told me to go shoot it with a FN BHP 9mm pistol. SO i headed to the range to test both of the panels.I taped the front ballistic panel against a jute sand bag. making sure it was the right way around. I loaded the pistol with 5 rounds of NATO spec 115gr FMJ ammo from CZ. I shot the vest once from 10 meters and hit it centermass. Immediately i noticed a small puff of the fine white river sand from the sandbag. I inspected the panel and found that the 9mm round had gone through all 28 layers of kevlar & stopped in the sandbag.
To cut a long story short both the panels didnt stop the bullets i was shooting. I have spoken to CEO Edgar Ponce of US Armor and he said that saltwater was probably the cause. Severe sweating & humidity maybe but unlikely. He has told us to try & shoot other old vests & if they fail he will replace them FOC.
Has anyone else had this problem with service bodyarmor? This is the first time its happened to me. How about guys back in europe in or the states? Im going to investigate more vests this week. I 'll put the pictures on this board when i get them developed.
cheers
Six
------------------
"You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough."
[This message has been edited by 671grains_of_diplomacy (edited 01-06-2001).]