Where Can I Buy Dragon Skin Body Armor
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Nigh people will never have to worry about body armor, but in that location are few things more important to those who do. Having reliable protection can literally be the divergence between life and decease. This makes reliable armor of the utmost importance, and at that place was a fourth dimension when many expected Dragon Skin body armor to exist the armor of the hereafter.
Dragon Pare body armor, officially Superlative Armor's SOV 3000, is a flexible body armor that was marketed at a premium, costing effectually $5000 for a complete prepare. Due to bug with military machine testing and certification, it is currently only available from online retailers or individual sellers. When Dragon Skin body armor get-go appeared, it promised superior protection and unmatched flexibility. Information technology promised innovation and a new path for torso armor, merely the question is, did it deliver?
The Cost of Dragon Skin Body Armor
Let u.s. first by taking a look at the cost. At around $5000 for a complete set, the Dragon Skin body armor is priced far above its competitors. In fact, at the time of its inception and fame in the mid-2000s, information technology cost upwards of five times more than the body armor issued to the troops in the armed forces. For instance, this level Iv plate is considered i of the best options on the market right now and it comes in under $500.
Why the higher price tag? Well, the unproblematic answer is that it was supposed to provide a remarkable increase in several areas compared to the competitors. Mainly, it boasted improved flexibility and protection against multiple rounds. This means better move and greater defensive capabilities, something most would exist willing to pay for.
Under normal circumstances, even at such a loftier price point, in that location would be no way for such impressive body armor to fail on the open up market. But, it did. Not only did Dragon Skin torso armor neglect, not managing to pass armed forces testing due to beingness found unreliable, but the visitor that manufactured information technology, Superlative Armor, went under.
Where to Buy Dragon Skin Body Armor?
Because of the failure of Dragon Skin body armor and Height Armor as a whole, the armor was removed from the National Institute of Justice's listing of certified bullet-resistant trunk armor. This means that any reputable seller cannot marketplace this trunk armor as reliable, which has limited the market severely. Despite the prophylactic concerns and lack of certification, at that place are ways to buy a set. If you look hard enough, y'all can find a retailer online or an individual seller. For example, there are sets of the armor on eBay, and a grouping chosen Mockingbird Precision has a few sets they say have been re-manufactured to bargain with the issues the armor had.
If you do decide to purchase Dragon Pare body armor, be sure that yous know what yous are getting. If you buy an older set, pay particular attending to the testing that this article will go through afterward to understand the problems with the armor. Also, take note that one of the issues the DoJ had with the armor was the warranty on the adhesive used, and it has been around 13 years since Superlative Armor made the last set of Dragon Skin body armor. Lastly, before you purchase, ask yourself why at that place has not been a single piece of armor of this blueprint on the market. Should you buy it?
Understanding Dragon Peel Torso Armor
The concept of Dragon Skin body armor is 1 of the reasons information technology reached such unprecedented hype. Unlike traditional body armor, which relies on larger plates, Dragon Skin body armor utilizes overlapping 2-inch round discs fabricated of silicon carbide ceramic. The presumed advantages of such a design are that information technology:
- Provides superior flexibility, allowing for a higher range of motion
- Is skilful at absorbing ballistic affect, reducing blunt force trauma
- Is able to stand up to a high number of hits compared to traditional armor
It is easy to see why body armor with such features would be attractive, especially to those in the war machine or law enforcement. Later all, mobility is of import in various situations, from moving during gainsay to repelling downwardly from a building or helicopter. Furthermore, being able to rely on your armor to take multiple shots means a lot.
Just what about the other specs of the armor? After all, there are other factors when considering torso armor, which includes the weight of the armor, how much coverage information technology gives the wearer, and other dimensions that tin have a major touch on on its effectiveness in existent-life situations.
The Specs
- Ballistic Protection: The SOV 3000, Dragon Skin's Level Four body armor, claims to provide protection against a number of rifle rounds. This includes protecting against weapons like an AK-47 and defending the wearer from armor-piercing rounds. The armor even exceeds the requirements for fragmentation on paper.
- Flexibility: Superlative Armor claimed that the armor "moved when y'all moved." Due to the scale-similar design, the armor can wrap effectually the body, allowing for far better range of motion and, equally they put it, wearing soft trunk armor despite the superior protection.
- Size and Weight: Compared to the standard x" X 12" tactical plates, it is supposed to provide effectually a minimum of 40% more coverage. However, the armor also has a greater thickness and substantial weight increase, upwards to 47.v pounds and 1.9 inches thick.
The about of import aspect of all body armor is protection. While being able to move factors into that, Dragon Skin body armor claims greater flexibility on top of its impressive ballistic protection specs, making it the ideal body armor, at to the lowest degree in theory.
The Reality of Dragon Skin Body Armor
The concept of Dragon Skin body armor was something new, and information technology provided an interesting take on the classic plates. Mimicking scales, the thought was to overlap them to provide greater protection while improving flexibility and movement. However, these innovative features all seemed to become big problems for the armor. Unlike traditional armor plates that remain the aforementioned throughout, the overlapping design has major points of weakness. The armor works by overlapping the edges of each private ceramic disc. However, even though that provides greater protection at the points of intersection, it leaves the center of each disc by itself every bit a thin, single layer.
Another major defect of the armor is in the binding amanuensis of the discs. An adhesive holds all of the discs together. This is the core concept of the armor, with the discs needing a flexible agglutinative to keep them layered and flexible, maximizing protection without sacrificing movement. This makes problems with the adhesive a huge issue. Dragon Skin was supposed to exist the future of trunk armor technology, promising to outperform traditional armor in every facet. However, did it?
The Bulkiness of Dragon Skin Trunk Armor
While the specs of the armor await good on paper, there are quite a few problems with them, such as the size. While Dragon Skin offers more coverage than traditional 10" X 12" plates, the truth is that the protection in the center of the console is still but 10" X 12". While not a detriment in and of itself, it does mean more weight for no reason. The thickness can also be a problem, with 1.7 to 1.9 inches reducing some aspects of mobility. Considering other armor is somewhere around 1 inch or and then, information technology makes a divergence. In the same vein is the weight. At 47.5 pounds, the Dragon Skin torso armor is well above its competitors, past more than 15 pounds in some instances.
Bulk and weight is non something that is desirable for torso armor, and the Dragon Skin armor was the bulkiest and the heaviest. What does this mean for the armor?
- Coverage is only slightly improve at best
- Far thicker, meaning reduced mobility in some areas
- Much heavier, which tin can exist hurtful in a variety of situations
- Makes essential tasks similar shouldering a rifle more difficult and forces the wearer to shoot in an uncomfortable position.
Overall, the armor is more cumbersome. Yet, Dragon Pare'south main objective was providing flexibility and ballistic protection. While thickness and weight take away from move, the Dragon Skin body armor still bends, retaining flexibility that plates cannot match. So, the important function becomes whether it can protect against bullets.
Dragon Skin Undergoes Military Testing
With Dragon Skin body armor promising such great things, the military was curious to come across how it performed. Therefore, in May of 2006, subsequently selecting Dragon Pare as one of the armors it wished to test for potential battlefield use, information technology underwent a series of rigorous tests to determine its effectiveness under a variety of weather.
These tests were conducted at the H.P. White labs, the National Establish of Justice's certified ballistics lab used for testing trunk armor. During the tests, protocols meant for Enhanced Pocket-size Artillery Protective Inserts (ESAPI) and Enhanced Side Ballistics Inserts (ESBI), the industry standard for trunk armor, were used.
The protocols for ESAPI and ESBI state that they must laissez passer a variety of tests, including:
- Exposure to farthermost temperatures
- Exposure to diesel fuel, oil, and salt h2o
- A 14-hour temperature cycle
Size and Weight Issues
At that place are many situations where size and weight volition not hateful much to someone needing body armor, but the same cannot exist said for those in the regular army. After all, soldiers have to operate under a vast number of conditions, which includes moving over difficult terrain or roofing long distances. In those weather condition, weight matters. Therefore, prior to testing its ballistic protection, the regular army compared the different size aspects of the Dragon Peel trunk armor to the Interceptor body armor used by the army. This is the same line of trunk armor yet used past the military today.
Differences between the Dragon Peel SOV 3000 and the Interceptor torso armor:
- Weight: 47.5 pounds versus Interceptor's 28 pounds
- Thickness: one.vii to 1.9 inches versus Interceptor's 1.three or fewer inches
- Coverage: 743 foursquare inches versus Interceptor's 720 foursquare inches
The differences proved staggering. The increased coverage is insignificant compared to the added weight and thickness. That is the weight of a single piece of equipment that will be utilized aslope many others, and a difference of virtually xx pounds could prove detrimental in many situations.
Ballistic Testing Protocol
Ballistic testing was performed on the armor earlier with spectacular results past the manufacturer, independent testers, and even NBC. But the army's requirements were dissimilar. In fact, the regular army's testing criteria surpasses the NIJ, the organization responsible for certifying bullet-resistant armor. With the goal of determining whether torso armor would testify effective and reliable under the harshest conditions, the military machine designed a battery of tests. The conditions Dragon Skin body armor was tested against were:
- Ambience Temperature, depression temperature (-lx), and high temperature (+160)
- A bicycle of temperatures, ranging from -25 degrees to +120 degrees Fahrenheit
- Exposure to table salt h2o, motor oil, and diesel
- Bear on from a autumn, essentially dropping the armor
The offset step was exposing the body armor to the conditions listed above. And so, after a set corporeality of time, they took the armor and tested its ability to withstand projectiles. For each condition and set of armor, they tested a total of four spots, which were the forepart, back, right, and left side of the armor.
The Furnishings of Temperature and Exposure
The Dragon Skin trunk armor showed signs of trouble from the very kickoff. On the very start test involving ambient temperature, the body armor was penetrated, with the front receiving full penetration on the 2d shot. While the other shots failed to penetrate, the control condition already saw one failure. Depression-temperature testing showed satisfying results, with no penetrations, but that changed with loftier-temperature testing. The high-temperature tests ended with all sides being penetrated on the 1st shot. On the backend of things, the temperature wheel also proved problematic, with both the 1st and 2nd shots penetrating the back of the armor.
While being exposed to water did non bear witness to be a problem, at that place was penetration on the left side of the armor afterward it was dropped. The armor did not hold upward for long, however, with shocking results occurring when the body armor was exposed to motor oil and diesel fuel. After being exposed to motor oil, the operation of the armor took a significant dive, with both the front and dorsum of the armor beingness completely penetrated past the second shot. As for diesel fuel, the exposure led to 1st shot penetration on both the forepart and right side, and 2nd shot penetration at the back of the armor. The results were clear.
Catastrophic Failure
The results were abysmal. Out of 48 full shots, 13 penetrated the body armor. This can be seen from the very commencement, with ambient temperature seeing a complete penetration. Withal, a unmarried penetration can exist attributed to something else, to being unlucky even. After all, there is no completely bullet-proof solution. However, the flaws in the design showed themselves to exist likewise astringent. With the overlapping plates being the core concept of the armor, their successive failures are alarming. Non just are in that location signs of penetration due to the thin centers of the discs, but the adhesive holding everything together was the kickoff affair to completely autumn apart.
It was under high heat that the adhesive truly faltered, completely losing effectiveness. Due to the adhesives failure, the discs, no longer properly secured, shifted. Not only did they move out of position, simply many dropped down, accumulating in the lower portion of the armor. With so many penetrations, the "revolutionary" Dragon Peel torso armor barely passed 4 of the 8 categories required for approving. Not but did this non meet the required protection standards for soldiers, only it displayed a dangerous reliability issue when faced with ESAPI threat baselines.
A Lasting Impact
Dragon Pare body armor took the consumer market by tempest upon its release. Information technology was touted as the future of armor, with a not bad number of people testing and reporting on the incredible new product. It was even featured on NBC News, which gave it rave reviews after some individual testing. There were even reports of live combat effectiveness, with ane private contractor proverb how the armor kept him live in a state of affairs where no other armor would have. The hype had people ownership the armor, including those in the war machine looking for a way to make themselves safer, despite the high price tag.
All the same, later on beingness put under military machine scrutiny, the armor failed to deliver. In big role, this tin can be blamed on the level of testing. After all, under cold and ambient temperatures, the armor did relatively well, and most of those who tested the armor previously did not do so nether various weather. If not for the intense war machine testing, what would have happened? How many lives would have been lost because people expected it to protect them under any circumstance? Information technology was a wake-upwards telephone call, ane that can be seen even today, with testing now existence more than stringent than ever. After all, body armor needs to exist safe, ever.
The Fate of Height Armor
After the results of the testing, many of Pinnacle Armor'due south supporters disappeared. They tried to fight the ruling, even attempting to sue, but they were dropped past the Department of Justice and were never successful in their attempts to contrary the tests they claimed to be fraudulent.
As mentioned previously, Dragon Pare body armor is no longer available from whatever reputable vendor. This is because it never passed time to come testing. Without the armor being certified, Acme Armor could not sell it, and it did not take long for the company to go nether.
At present, over a decade afterwards, both Pinnacle Armor and its Dragon Skin body armor seem to have disappeared, and information technology is non only the make simply the concept. The Interceptor body armor used by the armed services remains the aforementioned, and it still uses the same tried-and-true system equally earlier, utilizing enhanced small artillery protective inserts.
SAPI and ESAPI
Small arms protective inserts and enhanced small arms protective inserts are the trunk armor near people are familiar with. They are plates that tin can exist inserted into a vest and serve every bit ballistic armor. They even come in various materials, including silicon carbide ceramic, the aforementioned material used by the Dragon Skin torso armor.
Some things to go on in listen most SAPI and ESAPI:
- SAPI plates are classified as Level 3 torso armor and are unremarkably made from silicon carbide ceramic.
- ESAPI plates are classified as Level Iv body armor and are usually made from boron carbide ceramic.
- SAPI and ESAPI tin can be thought of as plate types, with other cuts being available, such as shooters cut and swimmers cutting.
Regardless of the cut, these plates are a tried and true method. Fifty-fifty after the disruption caused past the Dragon Skin and years of time for innovation afterward, they stand up firm as the start and almost reliable choice for those looking for ballistic protection.
Culling Trunk Armor
With the Dragon Skin body armor being such a disaster, there is niggling reason to buy it. In fact, for anyone because the option, I would recommend against information technology. Not only does it cost an astronomical sum compared to similar armor, but it provides subpar protection and reliability, especially now that the adhesive has had over a decade to age. If yous are looking for body armor, stick with options utilizing protective inserts. Not simply are they proven, but they work under a wide variety of conditions. One great pick if you lot are looking to purchase body armor is Spartan Armor Systems.
What to Expect from ESAPI Plates?
The easiest mode to explain the benefits of ESAPI plates is to compare them against what nosotros take been talking about, the Dragon Peel trunk armor. To do this, we will keep in mind the specs of the disc-based armor while going over the specs of the ESAPI plates from Spartan Armor Systems. Get-go, keep in mind that armor comes in different levels, each with its ain standard of protection. The SOV 3000 Dragon Skin body armor was designed to provide maximum protection, so information technology was labeled as a Level Four trunk armor meant to protect against high quotient firearms and armor-piercing rounds. In order to ensure an accurate comparison, we volition compare a similar armor from Spartan Armor Systems, one utilizing ceramic plates like the Dragon Peel body armor. The armor selected is also meant to have multiple hits to friction match the Dragon Skin'southward claim to stand up to multiple rounds.
The Spartan Armor Systems Level IV Plate
It is important to know that this plate is NIJ certified, which is something you should await for with any torso armor you purchase. Hither is what to look from the armor plates:
- Ballistics Protection: After being tested by an NIJ certified lab, it was institute that this plate could defeat between 5 and 7 M2AP rounds. This means protection against armor-piercing rounds, the highest level of protection. Moreover, each plate can handle multiple hits without breaking.
- Size and Weight: Each plate provides 10" X 12" coverage and weighs effectually 7 pounds, with one being needed in both the front end and the back. Equally for thickness, it comes in at around 1 inch. It is likewise a single-bend plate and is SAPI/ESAPI-cut.
- Reliability: The plate utilizes a patented tile array, which mitigates the harm and cracking upon bear on. This ways higher plate-integrity and improved reliability. Information technology besides comes with a water-resistant cover and is stiff enough to go along working in the harshest of conditions.
The Obvious Option
Looking at the specs, there is little more to be said. When information technology comes to ballistics protection, the poor performance of the Dragon Peel in harsh environments is already a killing blow. Yet, even putting that aside, the functioning of the Spartan Armor Systems plates is more than impressive.
Not only exercise the Spartan Armor Systems plates provide superior protection, merely they do so with less weight and reduced size. It fifty-fifty boasts ameliorate reliability, making it the obvious choice when comparing the two. While it may even so lose out in flexibility, there is no contest between that and protection.
This does non but hold true with Spartan Armor Systems, either. As a whole, Dragon Skin trunk armor cannot compete with the reliable alternative that is insertable plates. Even if we were to toss aside operation as a whole, the longevity of solid plates over discs held together by an unreliable adhesive is a no brainer.
Conclusion
Dragon Peel torso armor may seem similar an interesting concept, just it is unreliable. While you can detect and buy it over the internet, it stopped being made for a reason, and then doing and then could hateful gambling with your life. With body armor being and so important for those who need it, and with in that location being neat alternatives, in that location is no reason to take the risk.
Source: https://legionary.com/how-much-does-dragon-skin-armor-cost-where-can-you-get-it/
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