If earlier concealed body armor was associated mainly with businessmen and politicians, now such body armor can be useful not only for the civilian but also for military purposes. Let’s take a closer look.
The idea behind concealed body armor is its anatomical shape and minimal volume, so that it can be hidden under clothing. To achieve this, the hard cover used in conventional body armor is replaced with a fabric version. This results in a sufficiently flexible and lightweight body armor.
At the same time, the concealed body armor uses a standard ballistic package that complies with DSTU Class 1 (withstands 9×18 mm bullets from a Makarov pistol and 9×19 mm bullets from a Luger) and has a V50 according to Stanag 2920 of over 600 m/s.
The V50 indicator is calculated according to the speed of a 1.1 g fragment simulator, which has a 50% probability of penetrating the test sample. V50 is the average velocity for six shots, consisting of the three lowest velocities for full penetration and the three highest velocities for partial penetration, provided that the difference between these velocities does not exceed 40 meters/second.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, a more important parameter is its ability to retain fragments that can enter the so-called “lethal zone” – the heart and lungs. Also, the flexibility of the material and its small volume make it very comfortable to wear compared to other civilian body armor, which still restricts movement due to the rigidity of the frame. And the weight of the body armor, from 2 to 3 kg, makes it comfortable to wear for long periods of time without excessive fatigue.
Thus, the Slick body armor is suitable for many people, especially those who, due to the specifics of their profession, have to perform their duties in places with an increased risk of being injured by debris during shelling or by explosive devices.
When choosing a concealed carry bulletproof vest, it should be noted that its cover is made of less wear-resistant material than other civilian bulletproof vests, but the ballistic package does not wear out with prolonged wear, so you can always replace the cover itself to extend the service life of the bulletproof vest. The bulletproof vest cover can also be safely washed in a washing machine. This is obviously very important when worn for long periods of time under clothing.
In the basic version, the bulletproof vest is equipped with G28-type NVMPE ballistic packages from the Israeli manufacturer FMS. As for the Slick Advanced solution, which is mainly used by businessmen and politicians, it comes with G115-type NBME ballistic inserts from FMS. They are much softer and even more flexible than G28, but they are also more expensive.
In this review, you can see the testing of the Slick Advanced concealed carry body armor with ultra-flexible and thin ballistic packages with G-115 NBME for bullet and shrapnel resistance:
