Is it legal to purchase Kevlar Armor?  I live in Commiefornia (surprised they haven't banned bb-guns yet).

Anyone know the issue of buying kevlar?  Also, can anyone point me to a website that explains the different levels of kevlar?

Thanks!

I don't know about California, but in Oklahoma I had to show my commission card in order to purchase my vest.

Ian

Things may have changed but you should be able to get a vest anywhere in Kali. The rules may vary with certain Counties. Kevlar and Spectra vests are available in many catalogs. Spectra fiber is just Kevlar embedded in a resin which deflects most of the impact force horizontally instead of straight into your body.

Class 2 vests will be effective up to .357mag, Class 3A up to .44mag and 12 gauge slug, True Class 3 up will hold up to 7.62 Nato ball. I think Class 4 will stand up to 7.62 AP.

For US Govt. info re: body armor standards either

click on: [url]www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/183651.pdf[/url] and download file

or go to: [url]www.ncjrs.org/viewall.html[/url] then go to: Law Enforcement, then: police equipment, then: Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor. 2000, NCJ 183651.

Both give you the exact same document

Not necessarily. That's the beauty of Spectra fiber, it is designed to radiate energy sideways. Just like Lexan glass, instead of just stopping the bullet, it also directs it's energy sideways away from the trajectory. With a 12g slug, you may still get some broken ribs if you are hit in the right place.

Uh Sodie--

You are definitely right that Spectra-shield vests have a resin coating around fibers which redirects the impact of projectiles.

But Spectra by Allied Signal is not the same as DuPont's Kevlar, even from a chemical standpoint.  Spectra is a polyethylene fiber, which I guess makes it not that different chemically from the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag.  

Kevlar, like Nomex, belongs to the Aramid family of fibers.  It is a "poly para-phenyleneterephthalamide, and it is more properly known as a para-aramid. Aramids belong to the family of nylons."

I have no idea which is better, but looking at a swatch of Spectra shield, that stuff has to be UNCOMFORTABLE, as in vapor barrier.  

Cheers

No, it's not that much more uncomfortable. It is slightly stiffer than Kevlar. It also may not breath as well as Kevlar but my vest does have some kind of gore-tex type covering that helps to wick/absorb sweat. I wouldn't say that kevlar is any less heat insulating. Any extra clothing around your torso will trap heat, especially if worn close to the body.