• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Soldier Body Armour - FPV, BRP, shoulder pads & throat protectors (Merged Thread)

noreaga808

New Member
Inactive
Reaction score
0
Points
110
This is from the Clothe the Soldier website. The actual vest is called the Fragmentation Protection Vest(FPV). The required insert is called the Bullet Resistant Plates(BRP). If the following information doesn't answer all your needs just check out the website which you can find from dnd.ca. The following information is from the User Guide for the FPV.



1.2.1. Ballistic Protection. The primary mission of the Gen III FPV is to provide soldiers with protection from ballistic fragmentation threats under combat conditions.  Ballistic fragmentation threats include fragments from bombs, shells and grenades that cause in the order of 80% of all casualties on the battlefield.  With the up-armour option of the BRP, the Gen III FPV will stop 5.56 mm armour-piercing rounds at point blank range and 7.62 mm armour-piercing rounds at 250 m.

1.2.2. Camouflage Features Based on operational requirements, the FPV outer shell material has been procured in the Canadian Disruptive Pattern (CADPAT) Temperate Woodland or Arid Regions to address battlefield signature management of the individual soldier.

Personal ballistic protection clearly reduces casualties. Failure to use it increases the risk of wounding (and the severity of wounding) to soldiers.

1.3. WARNING. Your FPV and BRP are state-of-the-art SAFETY products designed for the modern battlefield.  They have been designed to provide fragmentation and ballistic protection to specific vital body organs.  A correctly sized, fitted and adjusted vest is ESSENTIAL for the protection of these organs.  NO ARMOUR PROTECTS FROM ALL BALLISTIC THREATS. Nevertheless, the advantages of wearing your FPV far outweigh any limitations. Due to the nature of the materials comprising your FPV and BRP they are subject to the following limitations:

1.3.1 The FPV alone is not designed to protect against rifle bullets, sharp edged or pointed weapons;

1.3.2 Protection from bullets and specific direct fire threats when worn with the BRPs;

1.3.3 Seek medical attention if you are shot while wearing your FPV - even if the bullet does not penetrate. Although body armour protects against blunt trauma from non-penetrating bullets, internal injuries requiring medical attention may still result; and

1.3.4 Replace your FPV and BRP immediately if a bullet has impacted or damaged it in any way. Ensure that you maintain a record of events and submit official documentation concerning the incident.

Your FPV will provide effective fragmentation protection against bombs, shell and grenade fragments for your neck, shoulders, chest, upper abdomen, and back.
 
jmackenzie_15 said:
lol good points.No one has yet addressed my question about the effectiveness of the vests though =p Ive never been shot with one on or talked to anyone that has.Nor have I heard of any stories of anything like that.

lol sometimes thats a good thing
 
I was looking through the new PSP site (does anybody know if they still make crap for the CF?) and found this page about Zylon. PSP armour contains Zylon. For those who haven’t been keeping track, Zylon was found to rapidly degrade and most manufacturers in the US who used it issued a recall (it contributed to the bankruptcy of Second Chance). For more info, here’s a link to some more info on Zylon http://www.policeone.com/Zylon/.

From one of the reports:

The Justice Department tests showed that vests made with Zylon lose strength over time, well before their standard five-year warranty expires and even when the armor appears to be in good condition, according to the study released Wednesday by the department's National Institute of Justice.

"Visual inspection is not enough to tell you if there is a problem with the armor," said NIJ's director, Sarah V. Hart.

The vests were subjected to six shots from 9-millimeter pistols and other weapons. Sixty vests, 58 percent of the total, were penetrated by at least one round.

I noticed that PSP took the link to their military products down, are they still the ones who make the armour and vests for the CF?

If the CF still buys from PSP and given the fact that the CF tends to keep crap in service way past it’s life expectancy does anybody else see a problem with this?
 
Yes -- I inquired during the beginning of the Zylon issue if the PBA used Zylon -- it does.

Given that manufactuers using Zylon have been found CRIMINALLY responsible it does not surprise me that PSP is burying the Zylon issue.

  Worse yet the CF is now issuing the PBA without LevelIIIA soft armour (even with Zylon) but a thinner (and much less protective) Zylon Fragmentation inner...



Hmmm.....
 
God and ?


  I bought my own Level IIIA Dyneema (what Paraclete sells as its armour) - its about as thick as the CF issue LIIIA - nd much thicker than the CF Frag insert for the PBA - as I had concerns about the armour my compnay issues (it contains zylon and is of a date that make me go hmmm...)

Keep in mind Zylon is a strong fabric - just breaks down MUCH sooner than Kevlar/Aramid - so unless you want to chnage armour ever 10 months or so I woudl STRONGLY recommend against using Zylon...

There is a rumour (some of the 1 VP board members here know it to be fact  :-X) that the CF started to issue the Frag insert due to liability issues with certifiying something to be Level IIIA...



 
Whats the general rule on canadian soldiers using their own body armor while in afghanastan?

Is it CF stuff only or if a soldier is willing to put some money into something better, more power to them?

 
How is anybody going to know what soft armour or plates are inside your Canadian carrier? If I were going to Astan with the army I'd just throw in IIIa and poly plates and keep my mouth shut.
 
KevinB said:
Yes -- I inquired during the beginning of the Zylon issue if the PBA used Zylon -- it does.

Given that manufactuers using Zylon have been found CRIMINALLY responsible it does not surprise me that PSP is burying the Zylon issue.

Worse yet the CF is now issuing the PBA without LevelIIIA soft armour (even with Zylon) but a thinner (and much less protective) Zylon Fragmentation inner...

Hmmm.....

Yep I noticed that when inspecting my plates and soft armour...

How long before the Zylon gets out in the papers up here??

Is the CF moving to introduce a replacement? Maybe Bomber would know...
 
Mike_R23A said:
Is the CF moving to introduce a replacement? Maybe Bomber would know...

About the same time as the TACVEST  ;)


The CF just bought and is still buying these inserts...

[KevinB rant]
Typical CF incompetance to place DLR and CTS pers who are wholely out of their element in the field they are put into - but are solely rewarded for being a career kiss ass.
General Rick should put a swack of them out to pasture...
Heaven forbid you put a SME who is interested in the the field in that role...  ::)
[/KevinB rant]

 
I came across some PDFs that provide more information. Seems a lot are ditching use of the fiber but the degradation itself has been know for years and should have be taken into account in the design of vests and inserts.

A FAQ from the manufacturer of the fiber. A Report of a survey of what police forces are doing about the issue. A US DoJ Q&A on Aug 24, 2005 about testing they did.
 
Does anybody know when the oldest plates containing zylon, were purchased?  If the company had known about the durability issues of Zylon and were not mentioning it doesn't that make them criminally accountable...in a perfect world at least? Thanks.
 
After a couple of weeks wait I have received an answer from the equipment program manager for protective kit,the FPV does NOT contain Zylon but an amarid fibre known as KM2 which is also used in the US Interceptor vest.
 
Back
Top