The bad guys are using more firepower than ever before. And, law enforcement must be ready.
“We are starting to see a lot more people carrying rifles,” says Lt. Jamie Lovett, a ShotStop Ballistics body armor plate user. “It’s just so much easier for someone to get an AR or AK, and to carry them. If the people we’re dealing with are carrying these rifles more and more, we need something beyond our soft body armor to stop them.”
ShotStop Ballistics has seen the change in criminal tools and worked on advanced ballistics protection to meet those changes. With the launch of the its lightweight Level III in-conjunction-with (ICW) body armor plate, law enforcement can easily upgrade their existing Level IIIA soft body armor to rifle-rated protection—easily and affordably.
Retrofitting isn’t a problem. ShotStop’s NIJ-compliant ICW plate comes in multiple sizes and cuts to fit into the pockets of your soft body armor. And with such a low profile, the plate can fit into the IIIA pocket with the IIIA insert of the daily vest so that no overt carrier is required.
This is unique in the industry—and operators are taking note.
Does increasing your body armor threat protection increase the weight?
ShotStop’s ICW plates are made of proprietary Duritium®, a light-weight material that offers unusual, multi-hit capability. The use of Duritium® adds serious protection— resulting in body armor plates up to 45 percent thinner and up to half the weight compared to other plates on the global market at the same protection level.
This means field officers can achieve rifle-rated protection, but with much less bulk and weight than opting for a rifle-rated ceramic, steel or poly option.
“We’re passionate about our work because men and women are putting their lives on the line every day to protect us,” says Skip Gavorski, ShotStop business development. “Times are changing. Most police officers and other law enforcement today are faced with heavier firepower, and they’re not always equipped for that. We’ve developed technology to give them the durability and mobility they need to feel confident that they can be safe and effective in the field.”
Lovett appreciates this advantage.
“My soft body armor will bend, fold and scrunch up. It just gets out of whack,” he says. “The [ShotStop ICW] plates fit absolutely perfectly; they have since day one. They feel good and they’re light. I’d rather wear them than something else. I’m 43 years old, I’m not the youngest cop out here.”
Is upgrading to rifle-rated body armor protection affordable?
The safety advantages come at reduced net cost, too.
“It was cheaper to buy two [in conjunction with] plates from ShotStop Ballistics than what it was going to cost us to buy one more [in conjunction with] plate to go with our vests from another vendor,” Lovett says.
In addition to the affordable upfront price, ShotStop’s ICW plates come with a warranty beyond the industry standard—extending the lifespan for wearers.
“Not only were the ShotStop Duritium® plates more cost effective, they are warrantied for 15 years,” Lovett says. “You’re talking about a warranty that’s three times the length of the warranty on the plates we’d gotten before.”
The longevity—combined with the boost in threat-level protection, weight reduction and wearability—of ShotStop’s ICW plate are important factors in any body armor purchasing decision. Backed by Duritium® technology, it’s a cost-effective and easy solution to upgrade your existing Level IIIA soft body armor to rifle-rated protection when the situation demands—ultimately providing your team with the best advanced protection to help keep them comfortable, mentally sharp and bodily safe in the line of duty.
To learn more about how ShotStop Ballistics’ Duritium®-based ballistics technologies compare to other options on the market, or to take your best shot and test them out for yourself in a live demo, click here to contact a ShotStop body armor expert.