Bulletproof Vest

Also known as a ballistic or bullet-resistant vest, bulletproof vest is a necessary item for soldiers, maybe even equally important as a combat helmet. Its main task is to prevent bullets from getting into body and absorb their kinetic energy. The vest provides torso protection from knives, small-caliber gun missiles or even some shrapnels and fragments from hand granade explosives.

There are many kinds of bullet-resistant vests, for example, prison guards and policemen use soft vests designed specifically against bladed weapons and sharp objects, whereas hard-plate reinforced vests are usually used for military purpose.

In history there were many attempts to make a cloth providing safety from weapons but the first vest protecting from black powder handguns was made from layered silk fabric. It could protect from 8mm caliber revolver bullets or even some rifle missiles. Nowadays, there are many types of vests, usually made of kevlar or other kinds of polymer fibers. Their main parts consist of many layers strong enough to catch the bullet and deform it so it's energy is absorbed by larger fiber area. Some of the layers may be penetrated but as long as the projectile is deformed, the energy is still taken off by the vest and less impact energy is delivered to the wearer.

Despite the fact that bulletproof vests are not weapons and are used only for protection, in some countries posessing body armor is restricted by their law, for example in some states of America felons are not allowed to wear it, whereas in Italy there are no regulations, except from the ones developed under military specifications.