So my memory could be wrong but I think about two years ago someone on this forum posted that a relative of theirs (BIL maybe?) had invented a new body armor material called Hardwire and sold it to Safariland. At the time I remember being interested in getting some for work once mine expired after looking at interesting specs claiming significant weight reduction.

Fast forward to now, I just transferred to a new Sheriff's Office, the armor they ordered for me showed up today and it turned out to be this Hardwire armor from Safariland.

Here are some interesting comparisons from past soft body armor I have worn. I have always worn custom sized armor in an external carrier from Safariland, mostly the "Oregon City" Carrier. I carry all my gear on my vest except for my gun and two mags that are on the belt.

First Set (worn for 5.5 years):

Second Chance IIIA soft armor panels
Weight of front and back panels together - 4.0lb
Thickness of each panel - 0.325"
Weight of total vest set up with gear and carrier (minus radio) - 11.2 lb

* This set was extremely soft and pliable, like thick fabric vs stiff armor.



Second Set (just worn for a month waiting for the new armor):

Point Blank IIIA soft armor panels
Weight of front and back panels together - 4.0lb
Thickness of each panel - 0.250"
Weight of total vest set up with gear and carrier (minus radio) - 11.2 lb

*So same exact weight as first set but thinner (.325" vs .250")
*This set was significantly stiffer than the Second Chance armor, annoyingly so...



New set:

Hardwire (Safariland) IIIA soft armor panels.
Weight of front and back panels together - 2.6lb
Thickness of each panel - 0.150" (Front and back panels together thinner than a single panel from my old armor).
Weight of total vest set up with gear and carrier (minus radio) - 8.0 lb

* The Hardwire is pretty stiff compared to the Second Chance but not as much as the Point Blank and being noticable thinner makes up for it.

Conclusions:

So these new Hardwire armor panels are each 54% thinner than the Second Chance armor I started with almost 6 years ago.

The Hardwire armor panels are 35% lighter than my former panels.

My total vest setup is 29% lighter than it was with the old armor.



Whoever came up with this Hardwire armor did a good job, if your looking for IIIA soft armor this is it, just get it.
If it was a forum member's relative, I hope you see this and tell him thanks...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rln_21,

Sounds great! My first thought seeing how thin they are is I'd want good trauma pads under. They will add a little thickness, but hardly any weight.

https://www.spartanarmorsystems.com/trauma-pad-set/

Hmm, how much does it run?

Hardwire is the name of the company that developed a lot of the armor technology using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene; commercial name is Dyneema. The company is based in southern Maryland. It isn't a new invention, but the application to body armor in mass production is somewhat recent.

quote:

Originally posted by DSgrouse:
Hmm, how much does it run?

No idea, department supplied.