It’s a wonder Medieval soldiers could move much. Their protective gear was heavy. Though flexible, the average iron chain-mail shirt weighed 35 to 55 pounds. And, it was just part of a soldier’s burden.
Fortunately, much has changed in a few centuries with regard to body armor. And yet, many officers in the field are still carrying around unnecessary pounds to achieve the rifle-rated protection they need to face today’s threats.
Why?
Because traditionally, there has been no perfect ballistic material. Soft body armor options, while lightweight, don’t provide protection beyond pistols. And both ceramic and steel body armor plate options, while providing Level III protection against rifles, significantly increase the weight officers must carry.
That’s why ShotStop Ballistics has developed and patented a new kind of lightweight, rifle-rated body armor material—Duritium®. The resulting body armor plates are up to 45 percent thinner and up to half the weight compared to other plates on the global market at the same protection level.
What is Duritium® ballistics technology
ShotStop’s revolutionary Duritium® is a portfolio of technologies, including a next-generation polyethylene with unusually high tensile strength—all combined and used to manufacture body armor plates and other ballistics solutions that provide NIJ-compliant Level III, Level IV and Special Threat protection with unusual, multi-hit capability.
“The strength of Duritium® comes from pairing this proprietary technology with a computer-navigated, layer-based design in construction—similar to a spiderweb—to greatly improve the disbursement of kinetic energy of any projectile,” says Skip Gavorski, business development for ShotStop. “This allows officers to have maximum threat protection, with dramatically less bulk and weight.”
Due to its high performance, ShotStop’s Duritium® technology enables the company to offer a 15-year warranty on most of its armor plates, three times the industry standard of five years.
“As a company, we can offer an extended warranty beyond industry standards because it’s not set by NIJ—it’s actually set by ShotStop,” Gavorski says. “We produce our own materials and products locally, right here in Ohio.”
How lightweight Duritium® holds up under pressure
To back its claims, ShotStop invites body armor users to take their best shot and demo Duritium® products for themselves.
“I put multiple rounds into (ShotStop’s In Conjunction With) plate from between 5 and 7 feet, and I was 100 percent blown away,” says Adam A., an Arizona police officer who participated in a recent demo. “I can’t believe a plate of that weight and size could withstand the abuse that we put it through. I have 100-percent confidence that no matter what situation I encounter in the field, that plate’s going to withstand it. It’s total safety.”
Shooting multiple types of bullets, he says there’s no comparison to the ceramic plates he’s previously handled.
“With the new material it’s easy, and you’re very mobile—not restricted—while able to take multiple hits, God forbid that happens,” Adam says. “With ceramic, you had to be delicate just carrying it to your car. With this, I have no worries that when I throw that ICW onto my soft body armor, it’s going to be ready to rock and roll.”
(Click here to watch videos of ShotStop body armor put to the test!)
Learn more about ShotStop’s Duritium® body armor plates
The threat-level protection, weight, wearability and longevity of any body armor product are of critical importance when making a purchasing decision, well beyond the price tag.
Fortunately, with the introduction of Duritium® technology to the market, you can explore body armor solutions that excel in all categories while being cost effective to fit your budget—and ultimately provide your team with lightweight protective plates to help keep them safe, comfortable and manuevarble 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.