Do You Really Need Body Armor?

Do I need it? No. Does a politician want me to not have it? I need it.

If a politician ever wants to ban a personal protection device, you should see him as an enemy and promptly vote him out.

Body armor is like a fire extinguisher. Most of the time it isn’t needed & is just fine sitting untouched, but in a specific crisis it is priceless.

A Medics Perspective: I can somewhat treat junctional bleeds and pneumothorax long enough to get you to a surgeon, but I cannot treat you if your heart looks like pulled pork....... and neither can the surgeon..... take that as you wish.

I wore a soft 3A as a bouncer when I got out of the military. I didn’t wear it because I was afraid, I actually put it on, on the days it was cold outside. I was the door man. One night it was cold so I threw it on under my jacket to keep warm. Long story short….i got shot by some homies that came back after being kicked out the club. I took one to my left midsection. The cold saved my ass that night.

I summon POT OF GREED, which allows me to draw 3 battle rifles from my local national guard armory

Do you need an airbag, do you need a seat belt, do you need a parachute, do you need a climbing harness, do you need a safety on a rifle, do you need a motorcycle helmet. No but they sure are nice to have. 😅

My father always told me "son it's better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it". With that said I'm not much of the larping type but I do want to be prepared for even the most unlikely of events and that's how I look at it!

When you've got politicians calling a chi-com rig "advanced gear", you know something is a little sus.

Admin. You forgot the Maui fire catastrophe. I live on Maui, and while I did not live in Lahaina town, I do have family over there. Immediately after the fire there was extremely limited law enforcement in the area. The local PD was however preventing access to that side of the island. The survivors and others in the neighboring town had no food or water, and of course no electricity. Fortunately good citizens were able to boat supplies in. It was a good week at least before the Feds and the state had any meaningful presence. The locals organized and created a self governing system. It really helps that the folks out there are either all family or like family because they’ve been together forever. Eventually the US government was able to organize aid, but until then the people had to defend and feed themselves (yes there were looters and shots fired.) In the tacticool world guys seem to forget that a natural disaster is THE most relevant scenario to train for.

Don't forget the battle belt! Takes weight off your shoulders and rebalances them to your hip. Pistol on right, extra mags on left. Think front AND back weight when wearing a plate carrier.

I picked up my armor during the summer of love, there was a real possibility of a raving pack burning down people's houses. I would say having qd options for armor is highly desirable, if you can get out quick you can get in quick.

I did use body armor during a riot in my town. It was close by, my cop buddy told us no one was coming if we called for help. My buddy and I sat on the porch with body armor, NODs, and suppressed SBRs. When people we didn't know were looking through cars and trying house doors taking advantage of the chaos. We asked if they were lost, and they left promptly. Never made threats or aimed weapons. They wanted no resistance, and rolled out as soon as they saw it was possible. It's great for static defense.

"Is that a class 3 firearm?" "Are those level 4 plates?"

I'll tell you the same thing I tell the "Do you really NEED an Ar15?" Crowd... Fortunately for me it is called the Bill of Rights. NOT the Bill of Needs...

You should do a video on standoff distance. Surviving a fight depends a lot on how close to you it starts. The further you keep the potential threat away from you, the more difficult it becomes for them to land an incapacitating hit. That means, communications at distance of at least fifty meters becomes extremely important, i.e. a bullhorn.

Imagine being in someone’s house and here comes a fully nude man wielding a Benelli shotgun yelling “THERE ARE NO RULES!”

I’m retired from 33 years of law enforcement. I have body armor. Do I need body armor? Wow, I certainly hope not! I also have life insurance. I really hope I don’t need that.

It’s the little things that get you everyone’s worried about stockpiling ammo, plate carriers, learning CQB, having the top of the line rifles. In reality you will most likely die from disease, dehydration, infection, or exposure to the elements. Trying running an 80lb pack for 3 days with crap boots, minimal caloric intake, or no electrolyte solution. It’s not fun.

I really appreciate the emphasis on the thinking man’s game. As Americans were blessed to be able to prepare for the unexpected. But there’s tons of ways to prepare for the worst. Always weigh the pros and cons. It’s easy to imagine how a straight up gunfight would go and how to be prepared for it. But we should also prepared for how else we can survive and thrive. Kit is badass, but maybe survival skills and preparation is likely much more useful in the long term.