Concealable Body Armor for Women
At the 2014 SHOT Show we had the opportunity to meet with some of the staff at #SurvivalArmor to get an up close look at their concealable #bodyarmor . Since armor can be heavy, bulky, hard to conceal and difficult to conform to the curves of the human body, it was great to see Survival Armor addressing these issues with innovative products that included concealable options as well.
I was fitted for one of Survival Armor’s concealable structured-armor options to demonstrate just how conforming their body armor could be to my torso. My body is petite but curvy, so I have a short torso with an ample chest and small waist. I was definitely curious about what the customized armor would look and feel like when it was ready to be worn, I expected it to just hang off of my shoulders, mash down my chest and not permit me to sit comfortably in a chair. Fortunately, I quickly found out after my armor arrived that wasn’t the case at all.
The Falcon6 IIIA fully structured vest was sent to me with an F7 (trauma pack) plate. At the time my vest was made, I was able to choose from white, black or navy fabric options, but tan, olive and brown are also now available. I opted for a black vest. The new F7 level IIIA plate that was included is exclusively for females and has a permanent bend which contours with the female cup for maximum comfort. The Falcon6 model is also available unstructured, which means it won’t have the darts (side seams) that draw the shape further in on the sides of the bust. Unstructured options will still take on the female shape and can still be fitted with the F7 plate. All of the female concealable armor options can be found here on Survival Armor’s Website.
The first thing I noticed after receiving the vest was that it felt much lighter when I picked it up than I originally imagined it would be. Granted, weight is going to vary by the size of the vest and the guys in the office joked that my carrier looked child-sized, but my first impression of the vest was that it was going to be very wearable. After putting it on and getting the shoulder and side straps adjusted, I walked around and then sat down to see if I had full arm, waist, neck and shoulder movement throughout the rest of my day. My movement wasn’t impeded in any way. Adjustments are made by repositioning the Velcro hook and loop straps and two styles of side straps were provided for me to try out in order to get the perfect fit.
