It is true when they say that it is not all about working hard, but working smart. Sometimes it is not ideal to wear your bulletproof vest so that everyone can see, you can either become a target of crazies, which are always where you least expect, or you can stress people by making them think about those crazies.
And that is where armored clothing comes in, which is one of the best advances in personal protection since that first Korean dude folded cloth to stop a French bullet. These clothes are virtually indistinguishable from normal clothes and can be worn everywhere.
There are three major sections of armored clothing:
- Armored innerwear (T-shirts, singlets)
- Armored fall clothes (hoodies, vests)
- Jackets with full ballistic panels
And, due to advancements in technology, these pieces of fashionable apparel can stop almost any handgun round, including those fired from a .357 Magnum.
The increase in weight is noticeable, but armored clothing alone is lighter and more flexible than if you would wear a ballistic vest under a similar model of clothes and it is nothing a regular person can’t handle.
Finally, because it is so covert, you can wear it anywhere and anytime. For those who work with people and don’t want to compromise public relations with keeping themselves safe, it is a perfect option. It is not even a compromise, just a good overall solution.
What is Armored Clothing Exactly?
Even though the idea behind armored clothing is relatively simple, the right execution is quite tricky. The ballistic fibers from a vest need to be installed into the clothes so that you can still move as you would with a regular T-shirt, or a regular hoodie, but still have the protection.
On the outermost and innermost sides, armored clothes are made from regular non-ballistic materials like cotton, but with a significantly larger thread count than a regular piece of clothing. This makes the product soft and comfortable, as well as more resistant to tears.
But, on the inside is where the magic happens. For products like the AH™ Armored Hoodie from UARM, there are wide ballistic panels made from UHMWPE fibers that equate to an NIJ Level IIIa protection that will stop a round from even the most powerful handguns. These panels are seamless and can only be noticed if some were to try to grab your hoodie.
Finally, in the case of innerwear armor, which covers about the same as an external vest, the weight is about 3 pounds, which is barely noticeable after a short while. And, for larger items that offer a wider area of protection, like the aforementioned hoodie, the added weight of about 8 pounds somehow makes it even more comfortable.
Not to mention that you can take these clothes on and off just as easily as regular clothes.
Best Type of Covert Armor
The biggest advantage of covert armor is that it is completely covert. If you don’t want to be noticed or even if it is your job to stay incognito, this is the perfect option.