Ok so some of you may think I have my tin foil hat on a little to tight, but I was at my local military surplus store and they had Flak Jackets. I was thinking about getting a couple. They were 40.00 a piece and looked in good condition. I ve herd that the warranty on vests expire after 5 years but I think that might just be a way to make people buy more. I would rather have one that may protect me than not have one at all. What do you guys think.
Save your money. Read more and post less; not to be a dick but there is so much information on this site already if you use the search feature.
Trust me, it’s all been asked before.
Save your money for real body armor if you think you need it. There is a metric-shit-ton of body armor info in the Tactical Gear Forum that can answer all your questions.
Is flak a problem where you live? Just kidding. My experience with flak jackets was a long time ago, but I found them pretty much useless for anything other than relatively low velocity shrapnel. If you are interested in body armor I would spend the money on some form of plate armor. There are just a lot better choices available. YMMV.
flak jackets are only good for small and light shrapnel unless they have done a completely different job on new gear. my experience is they are hot and heavy practically useless and i never wore them on patrol or n.d.p. unless it was a fixed position (perimeter bunker.
the new stuff i see now is a million times better.
if u really mean a “real flak jacket” run away they are unless and dont stop serious shrapnel or exploding hi grade h.e. i didnt even think they were in use. also inside the right flap is a army patch with nsn # and some writing will tell u when they were put into service.
ask me how i know that.
Don’t waste you money. Save up for real armor.
well this aint the professional or “correct” answer but it is truthful… so here it goes
kevlar is kevlar. Oddly enough the kevlar seems to have a very long life. if it’s a all green vest leave it. if it’s the camo ones from the late 80’s onward then it’s better. I have seen testing where it stopped standard pistol rounds like 9 and 45. to my unprofessional estimation it seemed like they are about as good as a level II/IIa vest maybe a wee bit more.
For 40 bucks i’d go test it out and see what it did.
Heck a lot of things will stop bullets. in fact you can make a plate that will stop level III rifle threats with 4 layers of 1/4" ceramic tile and some contact cement (yes I have personally verified that).
I would also point out that bulletproofme sells used vests for “testing” for a similar price and you would truthfully be better protected with one of those.
so in answer to your question of will the vest stop bullets the answer is MAYBE/PROBABLY but the weight and bulk of a vest like that make it kind of a waste for the maybe.
Like I said. Not the “correct” answer but it is truthful.
If you are relying upon body armor, buy high quality new armor properly fit for you from a reliable manufacturer. The only time I would buy used armor is if I knew its origin and had verifiable history of its wear and storage.
Understand what flak jackets are, and are not. Surplus flak jackets are mostly obsolete. They are not concealable soft body armor.
Also, are you sure that it’s a “flak jacket”? What’s the label say? Many confuse the modern armor variants with old flak jackets. I know a couple folks that bought RBAs, IBAs, and all points in between for $50.00 from pawnbrokers who didn’t know the difference.
This.
Read more and post less…
And this.
Good old dude wisdom there…
zombies can bite threw flak jackets…its simple zombie theory
!!!
If you life is worth $40 go for it…
Seriously, if you think you need armor, get real rated armor and/or plates. If you ever take a hit you’ll be thankful you did.
Cost me just below 500$ for level IV plates and a carrier. The deals are out there.:jester:
For me, armor is one of the items where purchasing may cause me to cry. $40 for armor? No way. Velocity Systems; and it ain’t cheap, but I do place a high value on my life. My infant daughter is, unfortunately, absolutely beautiful, so I need to stick around until she gets through several TigerSwan pistol and carbine classes.
The German flectarn has been bullet tested by several people, video is on the web. It MOSTLY stops many pistol rounds. It’s better than nothing and I keep one in my truck with my GHB and a plate carrier with a steel rifle plate. The combination ran me about $120, which was cheap enough to be part of my emergency kit for the truck. It’s definitely WAY better than nothing and in my opinion improves my chances, even if it’s not prefect. Others may prefer to rely on their t-shirt if they can’t have Dragonscale. I wouldn’t regard it as a +7 shirt of imperviousnness:nono:, but you don’t have to be invulnerable to have improved your odds.
John
there was a member here that sold a New Model IBA without plates but it had all the soft Kelvar panels on the EE for 200.
I wish I had the money I would have got it .deals are there if you buy 2 that is 80 bucks you should put into a Jar and just drop in money when you can and buy some good gear .
you are looking at out dated gear that is why it is at the Army surplus store that right there should tell you something
The old woodland PASGT vests stopped a surprising number of various service pistol caliber rounds in testing that I did at our range.
As warpigM4 said check out what it is you are buing… the “surplus” store in my area also sell new equipment as well just ask about it and the dealer should… should …tell you what its good for …