How does Armored Clothing Work?
Armored clothing, a collective term for the equipment that looks and feels like civilian clothing while offering ballistic protection, is one of the most interesting types of gear that came on to the security market in recent years.
And the way armored clothing works is quite simple. Soft ballistic panels are inserted into high-quality shirts, sweatshirts, puffer vests, and winter jackets, making them bulletproof. The way the fabric melds with the ballistic material makes everything look natural.
There are three major benefits of wearing armored clothing:
- Complete covertness
- Wide coverage
- Durability and comfort
The point of such attire is to allow for protection in places where you can’t really show that you are prepared. This includes venue and VIP protection, but also a lot of high-risk sales like liquor, gas, or jewelry.
If you are a jeweler, you don’t want people entering your business to see you wearing a plate carrier or bulletproof vest as that hurts sales. You want everyone to feel at ease and comfortable. But, you know that you are one of the biggest victims of larceny in the country.
Armored clothing solves that problem by allowing you to wear plain clothes that will still stop a bullet.
Conforming To the Body
The biggest issue with covert armor, which is something police forces face regularly, is that it is visible that you are wearing something under your clothes. To repeat a known saying ‘’real humans have curves’’, and a straight panel under your clothes breaks that expectation.
That is why armored clothing is made to follow the lines of the body and make it seem like you are wearing only plain clothes. This way nobody would notice that you are armored short of trying to wear your clothes.
This is especially the case with thicker clothes like the AH™ Armored Hoodie from UARM, that feels and looks even better than a regular hoodie. It is soft and falling and you will be very comfortable wearing it.
Also, some issues that all ballistic protection has, and that is increased heat under the vest, becomes beneficial when you want to wear a hoodie to warm up. This effect is not overwhelming but is a nice bonus to have.
Finally, the weight of the armor that is so well balanced is next to negligible. Even though the armored hoodie weighs as much as a parka, you can even sleep in it as you would under a weighted blanket.
Using Ballistic Panels
Armored clothes are not a single piece of clothing with permanently installed ballistic protection. Rather, you can remove and reinstall soft ballistic panels that give the clothes their anti-ballistic properties.
This allows you to use different panels if you need different degrees of protection. Also, you can have more shirts with a single panel, exchanging them when you need to wash the clothes.
Otherwise, it would be hard to wash because soft ballistic inserts are vulnerable to soap and your washing machine is incapable of taking in such weight. But, separately, it is as easy as cleaning any shirt, hoodie, or jacket.
