Do Men and Women Use Different Body Armor?

May 25, 2016May 23, 2016 / Ben / 3 Comments

TLDR: They don’t. Fit, function and coverage matter more than gender.

I’m on the cusp of breaking my golden rule, but I’m writing this post at the request of Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader, a frequent visitor of this blog. He spotted this promo shot from the new Power Rangers movie reboot:

(Image via the movie’s Facebook page)

Notice anything about the way the costumes are different for the male and female characters? Perhaps in the chest area? Hoffelder did, and he wanted to know whether body armor in reality is divided along similar lines.

The short answer is no. Here’s why. Continue reading →

Does Getting Shot While Wearing Body Armor Leave a Bruise?

April 7, 2016March 11, 2016 / Ben / 10 Comments

There’s nothing magical about body armor (aka bulletproof vests or ballistic vests or bullet-resistant vests or any number of other names). They only protect what they cover, and they offer no guarantees. (Shutterstock photo)

TLDR: Yes. The extent of that bruise and other internal injuries depends on many factors, but it’s both possible and probable to expect damage even if the bullet doesn’t penetrate the body armor.

Continue reading →

Just for Fun: How Many Peeps Does it Take to Stop a Bullet?

March 27, 2016March 31, 2016 / Ben / 5 Comments

Peeps are like inverse zombies. They want you to eat them, not the other way around. This makes them especially insidious. Julie Clopper / Shutterstock.com

Marshmallow Peeps are the fruitcakes of Easter. They’re a time-honored ~~tradition~~ obligation, the novelty wears off after exactly six seconds and they refuse to die. Or do they? What would happen if you shot a bunch of Peeps? Would the science that brings these gooey creatures to life also stop a bullet?

Kirsten Joy Weiss, a terrifically talented shooter with a great YouTube channel, decided to find out. The following videos chronicle her heroic attempts to destroy the zombies of food, marshmallow Peeps. Continue reading →

Can a “Bulletproof Vest” Also Stop a Knife?

June 17, 2015December 7, 2016 / Ben / 12 Comments

At the risk of sounding like a condescending ass, knives aren’t bullets. The only exception is when I butter my toast with ammo in the morning. (Image by imaspy via sxc.hu)

TLDR: Most likely not.

Bulletproof vests on walls of corpses sparked the idea for today’s topic. But before I get into that, a point of clarification.

Continue reading →

Could a Wall of Corpses Wearing Body Armor Offer Protection During a Gunfight?

June 6, 2015September 3, 2015 / Ben / 2 Comments

TLDR: Yes, but not much.

Holy Hannah, what a question. This one came from crime writer James Pierson, who tells me he’s nearing completion of his crime novel. Here’s how he laid it out:

So I have my rogue special forces guy and everyone is hunting him. He’s taken shelter in a cottage where he had to kill some guys, all of whom were wearing body armour. Anyway, the bad guys have reinforcements on the way. I mean a lot of cavalry, all armed with carbines and military-grade weapons.

My guy dons body armour. He then makes a human wall from the guys he killed earlier. Let’s say it’s two bodies high, two bodies wide. He doesn’t strip the bodies of their body armour. So the bad guys’ cavalry charge in, and they’re faced with the hero hiding behind a stack of bodies. The requisite firefight follows. Let’s say the firefight takes place over a distance of say 20 feet, so pretty close range.

So here’s the question. How much protection would dead bodies provide?

To clarify, Pierson said all of the bad guys are military characters.

The verdict depends on two primary variables. I’ll go over each separately.

Continue reading →