A bulletproof vest consists of a cover and an insert. The cover itself does not protect you from bullets; the insert does. The insert is made from extremely strong fibres that absorb and distribute the energy from a projectile across the vest. By distributing the energy, the impact force — also called "blunt trauma" — is minimized, so being hit by a shot will hurt less.
Note that we say hurt less. Even though you protect your life with a bulletproof vest, and even if you do not die from being hit by a bullet, that does not mean it won’t hurt to be hit.
The fibres in the insert
The insert can be made of aramid (including Kevlar and TWARON) or UHMWPE (including EA-TEX and Dyneema). Regardless of the type of fibres the insert is made from, the fibres are woven criss-cross until they eventually become impenetrable.
Protection level
Depending on the protection level of the ballistic insert, the insert can consist of different numbers of layers. The fewer layers, the lower the protection level.
The protection level on this page is defined in NIJ standard 101.06 Level IIIA (Level 3A), which is the highest level for soft bulletproof vests, also called "Soft Armor". If a higher level of protection is desired, some of our models can be upgraded to "Hard Armor" by using a trauma plate, thereby achieving Level IV protection.
Composition of a bulletproof vest
A bulletproof vest is composed of ballistic fibres, and when the ballistic fibres are assembled they must subsequently be enclosed. The enclosure of the ballistic fibres can be done in two different ways – as described below.
Some manufacturers use rubber sealing intended to keep the fibres dry. The drawback, however, is that rubber sealing is not breathable, and therefore the vest will typically be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.
All Elite Armor inserts are sealed with a high-tech membrane designed to keep the insert dry while remaining breathable and allowing a higher degree of comfort.
About EA-TEX
Here at Elite Armor we have developed our own sealing material for our inserts, called EA-TEX. EA-TEX is very similar to technologies like Gore-Tex. This membrane ensures maximum breathability, which provides comfort for the end user and helps protect the fibres in the insert. A layer of comfort foam is also added, produced from an ultralight and very soft material. The comfort foam is placed between the insert itself and the insert sealing – naturally with the soft side against the body, so the vest is as comfortable as possible to wear.
The comfort foam is available in many qualities and the purpose of this foam layer is precisely to make the vest more comfortable to wear. There is also a variant of our comfort foam that gives the vest a cooling effect, which of course can help make the vest comfortable to wear even for longer periods.
Covers
There are different types of covers or "shells" for our bulletproof inserts. Some covers will have pockets on the chest into which it is possible to insert extra protection in the form of a trauma plate, also known as a "hard armor plate".
Other cover types include covers with fabric "straps" that hang down. These straps also provide an additional form of protection, since a potential attacker will have a harder time getting hold of the vest from underneath and pulling it up, which would leave the abdomen unprotected. Here we can, for example, refer to our RX1 model, which comes with these straps.
Some of our covers also have an extra function consisting of fabric "straps" that are meant to be tucked into the trousers. This makes it more difficult for an attacker to get hold of the vest from underneath and pull it up. This results in a higher degree of abdominal protection by keeping the vest in place.
The finished vest
A finished Elite-Armor vest therefore consists of up to three parts, depending on the desired level of protection. Generally speaking, most of our "soft armor" vests are stated to have a protection level corresponding to NIJ Level IIIA. If a higher level of protection is desired, NIJ Level IV protection can be achieved with some of our vests by using trauma plates.
A bulletproof vest is therefore composed of both an insert and a cover. Some vests can be supplemented with a trauma plate or exist only as a "plate carrier" where protection is achieved only by inserting plates.
- Elite Armor RX2 bulletproof vest
- Elite Armor Impact bulletproof vest – NIJ IIIA + plate
- Elite Armor Xtreme bulletproof and stab-resistant vest – NIJ IIIA
- Elite Armor VIP discreet bulletproof vest – NIJ IIIA
- Elite Armor Combat bulletproof vest – with plate option
- Elite Armor Plate Carrier – vest for ballistic plates
At Elite Armor we only carry NIJ-certified bullet- and stab-resistant vests, which are tested and approved according to the applicable standards.
