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Posted: 7/17/2015 4:00:40 AM EDT
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Recently, I bought a police surplus lvl 2 vest from bulletproofme.com. It came in the mail today, and I found that the manufacturer was First Choice Armor. When I googled the company, they had apparently taken on a lawsuit sometime around 2009 for using Zylon in their products. Supposedly they had stopped production of the Zylon vests in 2005.
The vest that I have was made on 6/11, according to the ballistic panel. It does not, however, list its composition. I can't look at the material itself because the cover over the panel appears to be sewn shut. Since I'm in AZ, heat degradation is a serious problem. BPM says that all of their products (except some of the custom Goldflex vests) are Aramid, but I'd like some reassurance. Can someone with more knowledge than me tell me if my vest is safe to use? |
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NIJ found the Zylon was breaking down long before its stated service life. Its no longer used by anyone to make vests since that came out years ago.
The lawsuits were against several different manufacturers not because they used it, but because when it was discovered it was breaking down and NIJ pulled their certs, some manufacturers issued prorated refunds, some did not. The ones who didn't pay out or offer a discount on new vests got sued. I was involved in two different law suits as I owned two vests with zylon. I got a check for $50 five years later... thanks... the other one I received a 50% discount off LE pricing for a new vest. I picked up a new all kevlar vest for about $150 bucks from second chance. I wouldn't worry about your vest as long as its serial numbered and has the NIJ rating printed on the label on the panel. |
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