Materials in DBT Soft Armor Suites? polyaramid vs UHMWPE

[TehLlama]

I've read Doc Roberts' reviews of the various DBT Soft armor kits, but I'm trying to match this up against the materials science knowledge I have on the subject.

The GPA-3A unit most closely resembles DSM Dyneema as far as I can tell, at a thickness just under 1/5 of an inch. Am I right about this?

What disadvantage would this have against the RVA-3A that iirc is Twaron backed by Spectra?
Where does the QPA and SQPA fit into this setup?


My primary goal for this is concealability, but I want function against any common handgun threat, and still maintain a light enough system to run under rifle plates.

The thinner lighter GPA3A has my interest, especially at that price, but I'm curious what advantages the polyaramid (especially the KM2) has over the UHMWPE options.

[TehLlama]

Did I install this in the wrong section?

[DocGKR]

I can only speak about the DBT products we have directly tested--the QVA3A and RVA3A. Both are FBI compliant, both work very well against contact shots. P-aramids, like KM2, are generally more durable, less prone to contact shot failures, less prone to creasing issues, tolerate high heat much better, and have longer service lives than PE laminate materials; however the p-aramids are thicker and heavier--in addition, the woven p-aramids loose some of their protective ability if the ballistic fibers are wet (strength returns upon drying) which is why many have waterproof covers.