Every year, millions of lives are saved by body armors, which serve as essential safety equipment. When purchasing body armor for the first time, it can be difficult to determine which option is best. Since there are numerous major factors, such as threat level, handling, size, and cost, one must determine which body armor is appropriate for them.
The hazard level or protection level of a body armor, which is also the most difficult aspect to comprehend, is frequently the deciding factor in selecting the ideal body armor. You must be aware of the level of protection your shield provides and the types of firearms it may deflect. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has created and revised minimum performance requirements for body armor so that users are aware of the exact level of protection it will provide. The NIJ has classed body armors into five distinct threat resistance levels. Level IIA is listed first, followed by Level II, Level IIIA, Level III, as well as the best Level IV body armor.
Body armor is occasionally built using soft armor protection materials of NIJ Level IIA or Level II. Level II is designed to protect against.9mm FMJ flying at 1,430 feet per second and.357 Magnum JSP traveling at 1,245 feet per second. A Level IIIA body armor is meant to stop most popular handgun bullets, such as.357 Sig FMJ FN and.44 Magnum SJHP rounds moving at 1470 and 1430 feet per second, respectively. Level III armor is designed to withstand six impacts with 7.62x51mm NATO FM shells traveling at 2780 feet per second, which is comparable to the.308 Winchester hunting shell.
Standardized by NIJ 101.06, the best Level IV body armor plates offer the highest level of protection. The shields are designed to withstand a single armor-piercing weapon strike. They have been tested to withstand 7.62mm armor-piercing (AP) bullets (also known as.30-06 and 30 ot 6 projectiles) traveling at a velocity of 2,880 ft/s. The best level body armor offers full protection against the widest range of ballistic threats.
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