Can soft body armor get wet?

[Blake 50]

Im still going thru items from the store that got wet in the flood, and we have a few level III soft armor vests that got wet (but are now dry). They are the type that the military used to use that we bought off of contractors. Anybody know if they are worth cleaning and keeping, or if kevlar is useless after it gets wet?

 

They are intercptor vests for anyone familiar with the style.

 

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[jrfly3006 42]

I would try to contact the manufacterer and see what they say..guessing theyre gonna say no because they dont want the liability..ive gotten mine wet at work and it seemed fine after drying..that being said only way to test is to hang one up and fire away..

[johnp 45]

Interesting question made me do a bing search.

 

These, however, should never be allowed to get wet - water acts as a lubricant allowing the bullet to slide between the fibres, although sealed panels within the vest can help improve the proofing.

http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/article/276

 

I don't know if that means it loses some of its stopping power while it is wet, or if water deteriorates it and somehow stops it from working. I agree with jrfly take one to the range and test it.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

Plenty of guys sweat all day long in vests... so take that into consideration. i would say it adds to the wear and tear of the fibers, but shouldn't be a problem... and from what i know water just acts as a lubricant, but over a long period of time where it gets wet a lot it will start to degenerate the fibers.

[blksheep 466]

I do everyday in the summer...

[High Exposure 5,664]

Moisture causes aramid fibers to deteriorate. Rain, humidity, sweat, all are harmful to bullet resistant vests and factor into the reasoning behind the 5 year "life span" of US manufactured vests and the NIJ replacement standards for concealed body armor. Now, BA doesn't just magically expire after 5 years. I have shot 20 year old concealed armor to see what would happen and it stopped everything it was rated for.

 

But if it was submerged I wouldn't trust it to work 100% as advertised and would chuck it or shoot it to experiment.

 

I absolutely would not sell used armor and especially not armor that got wet, I wouldn't even give it away. Too much liability in this day and age.

[Blake 50]

Thanks for all of the input guys. We sold them basically as a novelty, and had anyone who purchased sign a waiver releasing us from any responsibility. 2 of them are pretty nasty and covered in mud. I think i will take one to the range to test it out. Anyone know if range 14 allows you to bring stuff like this to shoot at? I only ever bring paper or clay pigeons.

 

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[myosys 0]

Thanks for all of the input guys. We sold them basically as a novelty, and had anyone who purchased sign a waiver releasing us from any responsibility. 2 of them are pretty nasty and covered in mud. I think i will take one to the range to test it out. Anyone know if range 14 allows you to bring stuff like this to shoot at?

 

I bet you can ask the RO and they would be interested in your experiment too.

 

Anyway, there are different brands of aramids (Kevlar, Technora, Twaron, etc.) and those manufacturers recommend that you keep salt and especially UV away from them. UV degrades Kevlar; a brilliant gold colored Kevlar sail turns paper bag brown after 5-6 seasons. I think a fresh water bath wouldn't do anything to aramids. I mean, there are plenty of sailboat running rigging with aramid cores and polyester sheaths.

[Blake 50]

I bet you can ask the RO and they would be interested in your experiment too.

 

Anyway, there are different brands of aramids (Kevlar, Technora, Twaron, etc.) and those manufacturers recommend that you keep salt and especially UV away from them. UV degrades Kevlar; a brilliant gold colored Kevlar sail turns paper bag brown after 5-6 seasons. I think a fresh water bath wouldn't do anything to aramids. I mean, there are plenty of sailboat running rigging with aramid cores and polyester sheaths.

 

Next time I head to the range I will bring one with me and see what the RO says. They were submerged in muddy sea water for probably about 2 days so this will be an interesting test. I will take pics when I go.

[Mikeythumbs 1]

If range 14 won't let you let me know and we can go to cjrpc and set them up in the pits and shoot them

[anabolism 2]

I sweat in mine on a daily basis

[Blake 50]

If range 14 won't let you let me know and we can go to cjrpc and set them up in the pits and shoot them

 

 

I will def let you know. I went to cjrpc a couple weeks ago with one of my friends and really liked the place. I am going to try to go to the Jan meeting and become a member.

[BlueLineFish 615]

I sweat like mad in my vest on the summertime. Our locker room isn't vented that well and my last vest actually got mold in the plates.

[JETagent 1]

What happens if your wearing one and it rains? Ide imagine its fine if dries out. While wet may be less effective but I can't imagine every time a cop is rained on his vest is trash

[Blake 50]

I know that sweat/rain will not significantly deteriorate the vest as long as its dried out. Submerging a vest in muddy salt water for an extended period of time then air drying is another story.

 

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[fishnut 2,358]

I might be intrested in buying one of these if the price is right. OP shoot me a PM with a pic and a price if you can

[raz-0 1,259]

Moisture will mess up ballistic panels. It can degrade the fiber, but it also affects the mechanical interface between fibers, and the weave and interaction under impact due to the weave is what makes ballistic panels resistant. To the best of my knowledge, NIj rated stuff has to have a moisture barrier for the panels. I have NO idea how that would stand up to submersion and for how long.

 

Also if you are going to test, remember a panel needs to have support on the back face to function properly. In testing, a big pile of modeling clay is usually used. I don't know if a rigid surface negatively affects performance, but just letting it hang in the air significantly reduces its resiliency to bullets.

[KpdPipes 388]

Plenty of guys sweat all day long in vests... so take that into consideration. i would say it adds to the wear and tear of the fibers, but shouldn't be a problem... and from what i know water just acts as a lubricant, but over a long period of time where it gets wet a lot it will start to degenerate the fibers.

 

If allowed to get Soaking wet it also loosens up the weave, I pretty much retired the vest I wore in NOLA 2 straight weeks of 90+ Degree weather and 95+% Humidity..but i had expected that and taken an older one that was pretty much out of warranty anyway. Shot it up a couple of years later and it held up fine, but I didnt want to trust it between the age and amount of water/humidity it'd been exposed to. that said, OP, if the panels were not Sealed, I dont know if i'd trust my life to it....depending of course on how long it was submerged, WHAT it was submerged in (Clean V Polluted V Fresh v Salt) and how it was dried.