Different pieces of body armor are designed to be used at different times, and so you have to determine if you're going to be using your body armor under or over your clothing.
Covert sorts of body armor are supposed to be worn below clothes. Due to this they are generally created to be as thin and as light in weight as they can be, and are designed to be invisible when worn under clothes. These types of body armor are generally made of moisture wicking fabrics that will help to keep the wearer cool, and they are often designed in lighter shades than other types of body armor.
Covert body armor will be used by individuals who need the fact they are wearing body armor to go unnoticed. This is individuals such as close protection officers, undercover agents and door supervisors, where an overt piece of body armor would not be practical for them.
Overt varieties of body armor are designed to be worn over your clothes, and for that reason they tend to be made of stronger fabrics than covert pieces of body armor. The idea of overt body armor is that it is apparent to people, and for this reason standard overt body armor covers are generally black, but there are lots of other colours that are available. Quite often overt types of body armor will have high visibility markings, or be manufactured completely from high visibility materials, making sure that the wearer sticks out.
Police forces across the globe use overt types of body armor, as do security firms and security staff. An overt piece of body armor will often work as a deterrent, because it can help identify a person of power easily in a large crowd.
Body armor has become very popular in the last 25 years, for two key reasons. Initially, earlier varieties of body armor were heavy and rigid, but developments in engineering means that the body armor we use today offers high levels of protection, while additionally being light-weight, flexible and comfy when worn for very long amounts of time. The second cause for the increase in body armor use is because, unfortunately, it is actually becoming required in countless types of work due to the increased risks that people deal with in modern-day society.
When you have decided if you will need a covert or overt type of body armor, it's now important to select what protection levels you require. When choosing an item of body armor you will need to consider what sorts of risks you may encounter, as different kinds of body armor will offer you protection against different types of risks.
A bullet proof vest is easily the most well recognised piece of body armor on the market. This kind of body armor is made to stop a round by "catching" it within a web of incredibly strong fibers, and prevent it from passing through the vest itself. They are available in various levels of protection, which can offer the person wearing them protection from low powered pistols up to high powered Magnums.
Another commonly used type of body armor is stab resistant vests. Lots of people think that if a piece of body armor can stop a bullet it can easily stop a blade, however this is not the case. The reason being a knife penetrates fabric in a different way to a round, and consequently a normal bullet resistant vest is not going to protect its wearer from a blade based assault.
In recent times spike proof vests have also become available on the body armor marketplace. These types of vests provide the person wearing them protection from spiked weapons such as needles and also syringes, which will very easily slip through the weave within the fabric of a bullet or stab resistant piece of body armor.
With such a wide range of body armor available you will have to think about which kind is suitable for yourself. If you are being employed in an area with absolutely no gun crime but high amounts of knife violence then it is pointless using a piece of body armor that will just defend from firearms. Equally a knife proof piece of body armor will be ineffective when you are at risk of getting shot.
Fortunately modern varieties of body armor are now able to offer multi-threat protection. Because of this they will protect the person wearing them from several types of assaults, for instance there is now body armor that's both bullet and stab proof, and even bullet, stab and spike resistant varieties.
The most important factor in choosing your body armor is to be certain that it's going to protect you. Ensure that you have the appropriate form of protection for the dangers you are going to encounter, since you can not put a price on your life.
