Things you need to know before you buy a bulletproof vest

All bulletproof vests and body armor from SPT Protection are made with carefully selected raw materials from the industry's leading manufacturers. All products have also undergone ballistic testing at an internationally recognized laboratory in accordance with the latest NIJ standards, and we perform our own in-house tests on each new batch to ensure a consistent and high quality.

Ballistic tests are expensive and quality control is a ongoing cost for us. Using exclusively quality raw materials increases safety considerably but also entails extra costs. Because of this we do not have the lowest prices in the industry, but we sell products that we are proud of and as a customer of SPT Protection you can be sure of getting what you pay for. Unfortunately, the opposite is often the case in this industry where far too many people take dangerous shortcuts to save money.

 
Chinese body armor; low quality materials and lack of safety margins
 

A large part of the bulletproof vests and other body armor products available on the market are made in China. The quality varies and the performance is often unreliable as almost all manufacturers use cheap raw materials and / or ignore safety margins to save money by using a smaller amount of ballistic material.

 
False marketing is common

Our experience is that it is more the rule than the exception that bulletproof vests that are sold cheaply via various marketplaces on the internet does NOT have the protection level stated by the seller, and are not tested in accordance with the ballistic standard as stated in the product description. The cheapest body armor sold on the internet are death traps and pure scam as they do not perform even close to the protection level they claim to have.

 
Many bulletproof vests fail a real ballistic test

We have seen cases where even large and well-established asian companies lie about the protection level of their products and refer to ballistic tests which on examination turn out to be completely incorrectly performed or not performed at all. When the armor is tested according to the claimed protection level it usually fails. In the first video below, you can see one such a test that we have performed on a bulletproof vest panel from a well-known chinese manufacturer. Strike number 5 is a complete penetration and would have been lethal.

 
Would you buy a parachute on wish or e-bay?

When it comes to products that are supposed to protect lives, there is no room for quality deficiencies. As with motorcycle helmets, parachutes and climbing ropes, a bulletproof vest must perform exactly according to its specified protection level every day throughout the warranty period. Failure to protect inevitably results in very serious injury or death.

The saying "You get what you pay for" certainly applies to bulletproof vests and body armor and there is no shortcut. You do not have to buy the most expensive ballistic gear on the market, but we strongly recommend that you invest in body armour made of well-known brand materials. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

 
Think about this before you buy a bulletproof vest:

• Do not buy cheap body armor from unknown suppliers on the internet.
• Pay extra to get armor that is made of brand name materials such as Twaron®, Kevlar® or Dyneema®
• If you are uncertain - Ask for a ballistic test report (from a laboratory located in a western country).

Test video of a chinese made armor panel. Strike 5 is a complete penetration.

The YouTube channel Demolition Ranch has made a couple of videos where Chinese body armor is demonstrated. Only one of the products in the video performs in the vicinity of the stated classification, and this armor panel also had a clearly higher price. (Fast forward until 1:14 to skip the intro).​