Chatterbox
04-01-16, 19:50
A little bit of a back story - I already own 2 sets of ceramic Level IV armor. I figure it's my insurance in case things go sideways. Lately, I've been thinking of expanding my "insurance policy" with some additional plates, but having already covered the 1% contingency I don't really feel like shelling out several hundred more dollars to cover the 0.01% case - where I need to have 2+ sets of body armor. So, I'm looking to go cheap. :)
It seems to me that the main hazards of bullet fragments come from the front plate. The throat, the jaw, the inside of the arm are all relatively likely to be hit by pieces of lead or brass. The fragments from the back plate, by comparison, can end up in the back of your skull and your gluteous maximus. In some borderline cases they could hit the back of your leg or the area around the elbow joint. Obviously, this would not be any kind of fun, but those would be mostly minor nuisance injuries. Given all the above-listed considerations, I'm curious if others would feel comfortable wearing an uncoated back plate.
It seems to me that the main hazards of bullet fragments come from the front plate. The throat, the jaw, the inside of the arm are all relatively likely to be hit by pieces of lead or brass. The fragments from the back plate, by comparison, can end up in the back of your skull and your gluteous maximus. In some borderline cases they could hit the back of your leg or the area around the elbow joint. Obviously, this would not be any kind of fun, but those would be mostly minor nuisance injuries. Given all the above-listed considerations, I'm curious if others would feel comfortable wearing an uncoated back plate.