Service life of body armor

[That Guy]

Sorry, I wasn't sure where to put this. The post that prompted this was over in the Law Enforcement forum, but it didn't seem like a good fit for my question. On the other hand, body armor and especially plate armor isn't exactly every day carry (well, except perhaps by voodoo_man's EDC picture standards...). I hope this is a good place for this?


Everything has a shelf life.

Plates if they are ceramic should be x-rayed every year and handled with care.

Uh-oh...

In my country, the most active portion of military reserves have a bunch of personally owned gear, body armor included. This gear gets used in classes, some matches, some range training... So, not heavy or frequent use, but the stuff doesn't always just sit in a closet either. Having said personally owned plates x-rayed, once a year or once in a blue moon, is really not going to happen. I know kevlar degrades from UV radiation and moisture, and if I recall the instructions of soft armor issued to me way back when correctly, when used daily it is recommended kevlar panels should be replaced every five years, but I know very little about plates. What kind of shelf lifes are we talking about with plates? Any other things that would be good to know?

How easily do ceramic plates break, by the way? The idea of body armor that needs to be handled with care seems a bit daft...

[DpdG]

I'm no expert, but I've spent a fair bit of time researching some aspects of the issue and likely know enough to be dangerous. In regards to soft armor, almost every reputable manufacturer I'm aware of has a 5 year warranty period. I've seen 15 year old vests shot in non-scientific testing without issue, but I cannot think of a liability conscious agency endorsing the wearing of out-of-warranty equipment. I believe the warranty period is likely based on a worst case scenario of handling and exposure to moisture, UV, and bending/flexing.

In regards to hard plates- the material is the biggest variable.
Steel (for better and worse) is very durable and some manufacturers have 20 year warranties. There are issues with very high velocity projectiles defeating steel (M193 from 20" barrels).
UHDPE is reportedly susceptible to heat delamination, so care must be exercised in storage. I don't know if there is any non-destructive testing possible, but 2-5 year warranties seem common. There are issues with certain types of projectile construction defeating pure UHDPE plates, such as M855.
Ceramic- It's incredibly hard (which is why it stops bullets), but it is also brittle, so each bullet strike likely fractures the ceramic. Ceramic is often rated only for single-hit, compared to the other types which are commonly multi-hit (but against lower powered rounds). A corollary is that ceramic is susceptible to damage through careless storage and handling. I don't know exactly what the threshold for damage is, but many are covered in material that makes visual inspection difficult at best and there are also micro cracks to consider. These factors prompt the recommendation for annual x-ray inspections.

My thoughts are for military (US or similar logistic support) and SWAT roles, the strengths of ceramic outweigh the weakness. For police in the patrol role or what it sounds like you describe where logistic support or care in handling cannot be assured, then the other, more durable, plates begin to shine within their respective threat matrixes.

If you search for the AR500 Recall thread, Doc Roberts provided a much more thorough and detailed analysis based on vast analysis and testing.

[DocGKR]

LE agencies use out of warranty equipment all the time--vehicles, aircraft, firearms, radios, computers, etc...

100% woven p-aramid soft armor has demonstrated very long service lives—we have tested numerous older Kevlar vests, including one that was 25 years old, a few that were 15 to 18 years old, and numerous vests in the 9-12 year range, that ALL continued to easily stop the threats they were rated for, including multiple contact shots from the same 9 mm and .44 Mag loads that perforated brand new polyethelene laminate vests.

[That Guy]

Doc, that is extremely good to hear.


If you search for the AR500 Recall thread, Doc Roberts provided a much more thorough and detailed analysis based on vast analysis and testing.

Thank you very much for this tip! That thread is the single best source of information on plate armor I have seen anywhere.

[DocGKR]

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?21471-Soft-Armor