Body armor comes in all different shapes, sizes, weights and protection levels - meaning there are numerous variations that could work for anyone's specific needs. With such variety comes a lot of questions about its composition - asking "what materials is body armor made out of" being one such inquiry - this knowledge could help you select options suitable to you more easily.
What Is A Bulletproof Vest Made Of?
Soft armor may be better known by its former moniker: bulletproof vest. Although industry has moved away from using this term, it remains popular with Hollywood and the general public alike. Soft armor 'bulletproof' vests are only intended to withstand handgun munitions; rifle-loaded ammunition requires higher protection levels. Level II and IIIA soft body armor products offer exceptional handgun munition protection such as 9mm pistol ammunition or 45 ACP cartridges while remaining virtually indecipherable from naked eyesight.
Simply stated, Level II and IIIA can both be created by stacking layers of Para-Aramid (commonly referred to as Aramid or Kevlar) and/or Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE, or Dyneema). Kevlar and Dyneema are well-known brand names within these fields, respectively. The exact number of layers needed depends upon your material choice - there are numerous varieties of both Aramids and UHMWPEs which each has their own price, strength characteristics as well as material properties such as price.
Level II armor differs from Level IIIA by having fewer layers, which results in it providing less protection from higher threat handgun rounds like.44 magnum. So-called bulletproof vests consisting of soft armor levels II and IIIA are widely known. SAPI-shaped plate backer panels used on plate carriers also utilize this soft armor type. In addition, soft armor manufacturers often make concealable vests from this level IIIA armor as well as accessories to be added by SWAT teams or military units as an added measure against weapon threats like this level II armor is worn under clothing layers II and IIIA soft armor is also commonly found within soft armor manufacturers' concealable accessory armor pieces like throat, shoulder groin and more when added by SWAT units or military units to increase protection.
Aramid vs UHMWPE
Aramid armor tends to be softer, more flexible, heavier and thicker than UHMWPE body armor; most manufacturers today prefer UHMWPE over older-generation aramid materials like Kevlar because it is significantly stronger.
As soon as you look at UHMWPE and aramid materials, they're readily identifiable from one another. Aramids typically come in golden or yellow tones and feature a fabric-like appearance similar to fabric while remaining flexible like it. Meanwhile, most UHMWPE material comes as unidirectional laminates with translucent white colors; more similar to stiff plastic sheets than textile textiles.
UHMWPE's ultra-strong properties allow manufacturers to use less mass and volume of UHMWPE than aramid for reaching ballistic standards, which significantly reduces costs while meeting ballistic standards. Aramid still remains relevant in certain regards: Aramid fiber has inherent fireproof properties which UHMWPE struggles to replicate while being substantially cheaper - meaning you can enjoy high levels of ballistic resistance, fireproof properties, soft wear experience at an economical cost; plus aramid is often significantly less expensive. But for ultra thin and lightweight wear experience only UHMWPE can meet these objectives compared to its rival aramid.
Manufacturers sometimes combine aramid and UHMWPE into one soft armor vest to achieve both lightweight and flexible protection.
Soft Armor Wearability
Wearability is subjective to your own evaluation; whether that means opting for ultra-thin and lightweight protection or something softer and more flexible that provides all-day comfort is up to you and ultimately determined by what's most comfortable for you. Both options have their own set of advantages and disadvantages - the decision lies with you.
Hard plates, vehicles and buildings require other IIIA materials as well. Fiberglass-reinforced polyethylene and other composites are
popular choices for hard armor applications; while fiberglass reinforced polyethylene (FRP) may also be utilized. Although FRP and similar composites are inexpensive and tough enough for hard armor use, their inflexibility makes them impractical when applied as soft armor because its flexibility and thinness is of utmost importance; especially as thinner and cheaper aramid and polyethylene options continue to become available at affordable rates; more on that later!
What Is Rifle-Rated Body Armor Made Of?
Rifle-rated armor typically comes in the form of hard armor solutions, while there may be flexible solutions on the market resembling handgun-rated Level II or IIIA soft armor you are familiar with. There are only so many components in an armor plate and each component can have several variants; we will discuss ceramics, polyethylene, steel, aramids, and composites in more depth here.
We often describe selecting armor as a series of tradeoffs between thickness and weight, price and protection level. While this statement holds generally true, material science changes can result in different outcomes: switching out Alumina ceramics for Boron Carbide ceramics may not result in direct correspondence between materials.
Ceramics
Modern rifle-rated ceramic body armor generally comprises Alumina Oxide, Silicon Carbide or Boron Carbide combined with UHMWPE, Aramid or composite backers to meet specific end user requirements such as thinness, protection level and price point. By mixing and matching components to meet these demands, manufacturers are able to tailor solutions specifically tailored for individual users based on thinness, protection level and price point requirements.
Alumina
Alumina is by far the world's most widely used armor ceramic material. Cost-effective yet effective, Alumina makes high-grade ballistic protection accessible for everyone. Alumina's main drawback, however, is that its plates tend to be relatively heavy; this may be true; but its lower level of brittleness means that multiple hits won't compromise its integrity as quickly.
These Level IV (RF3) and III+ (RF2) plates combine affordability with versatility. While heavier than our ultralight Boron Carbide-based 1192 Level IV plate, their Alumina strike faces deliver outstanding multi-hit performance at extremely reasonable price points.
Silicon Carbide
Many experts consider Silicon Carbide the optimal ceramic material. Although harder and lighter than Alumina, it is much less brittle than Boron Carbide - making for an intermediate combination between hardness and brittleness and price point compared to Alumina; although still more costly. Like other armor materials, Silicon Carbide comes in multiple grades for easier usage.
Silicon Carbide can vary significantly in hardness, thickness and effectiveness against steel and Tungsten projectiles, depending on which armor manufacturer it comes from. Material properties will often differ between armor manufacturers as manufacturers use different materials - even ceramic manufacturers don't manufacture all materials equally!
China-produced Alumina used in our bulletproof plate is distinct in thickness, length and width dimensions, chemical makeup, content purity and hardness from imported strike faces used by most other manufacturers; Silicon and Boron remain unaltered from previous strikes used by them; unfortunately no manufacturer would disclose where their materials come from and which they use specifically in each product - after all we must preserve trade secrets!
